So two Lesbian’s decided to try and enroll a 4 year old child into a Christian School, why didn’t they think that this was going to be a problem. When you cross out the Fathers name on the application, and write in Mother on the Application, then that school would certianly have a problem with you doing that thinking your are now no longer thinking of Man and Woman, I think this is what caught their eyes and made them make a decision based on that alone.

“St. Vincent’s School as a ministry of St. Vincent’s Cathedral upholds the clear teaching of the Christian faith, the Holy Bible, and the Anglican Church in North America,” the Rev. Ryan Reed said.

“We based our decisions about enrollment on what is best for the children of St. Vincent’s as a whole and in conformity with the above standards,” he said. “We regret the disappointment the mother feels, but also do not understand why she would want to enroll her child in a school that would undercut her own personal values at home.”

The bigger issue I have is that they decided to bring this child on the air while we are talking about her, that’s not good parenting IMO.  When are grown ups going to stop having children listen to grown issues and problems that only grown ups can handle.  The child should not be in this video that is the bigger issue for me, not the lesbians.

Today I received a notice that the SXSW 2011 panel picker was live and taking votes on those panels that have been submitted for review.  A little over a month ago I submitted a panel that I thought was relevant, and very much needed by people who are new to blogging or those who want to start a blog.

The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery.

The name of my Panel is:  The Cost, Commitment, & Satisfaction of Starting a Blog.  I thought the title was good and would appeal to a lot of people.  I guess the committee decided it was good enough to put up for a vote. So for the next couple of weeks you have a chance to vote as to which panels are interesting, relevant, and just plain old needed for the masses at the SXSW Panel Picker website.  I would encourage you to vote for more than just my panel, I have friends who have panels up for vote also, another blog post soon on which panels are my friends and why I am voting for them.

What I am needing from my faithful followers are votes, tweets, more tweets…  I believe this panel can be a great one that will provide people with the proper information on how to start blogging, what to blog about and how to keep it all going.

So now I have to ask all of you if you can do me a favor and go to my SXSW Panel page and vote for my panel here is the link The Cost, Commitment, & Satisfaction of Starting a Blog. I would also love to see feed back on the panel so that ideas can flow and interesting conversations can be seen by the review committee.  This would probably help my chances so please lets discuss it.

First let me say Happy new year, it’s already moving along in a positive direction.  A new year brings a lot of things.  I for one took some time at the end of the year to look at where I have been in the blogosphere, and where I’m going.  The changes are many, my mind is turning toward changing things so I can help those who need it.  This blog will undergo some changes, subtraction, and addition.  I hope in the coming weeks we can have some great conversations here and around the web.

I decided at the end of the year to go ahead and purchase the thesis theme package, I have to many blogs to name here and I want to start getting back to the core of my business, blogging and creating content that people come to trust, and use.  I hope you will stay with me, those who read this blog, as well as my other blogs.  The new year is again full of possibilities you can’t Begin to see the value I’m going to bring in 2010, but you soon will, I promise.

I have one request as many of you see me and talk to me on the web, do me a favor, hold my feet to the fire, if you don’t see me post, let me know on twitter.  If the blog starts to fizzle and you think the direction goes against the steps I will layout in the about section, let me know.  I know in the past I have not always stayed consistant, but for 2010 with your help and my dedication we will get this ball rolling.

Stay tuned the best is yet to come.

Jayson Flint

Izeafest logo

Izeafest was touted as an interactive event designed to educate, inform and connect social media enthusiasts. Meet the world’s foremost social media experts in a collaborative, fun and open setting.

Each word was true, while other conferences give you a ton of information that seems to speak well about what you the attendee will learn and gain. Most never deliver the goods, with so much fluff the attendees leave the conference upset, wanting more, or their money back.

Izeafest did an excellent job of sticking to the agenda and giving more than they touted. In the materials it also stated

Learn how to grow your traffic, build your brand and make more money online.

Of all the conferences I’ve attended I do believe this one gave me the most information to take home with me and apply to my blog specifically.

So why did I want to attend, knowing I’m in transition at this time

I just moved to Orlando recently and came across this conference by chance a friend of mine from twitter @ifroggy was talking about attending and it caught my eye. So we passed a couple of messages on twitter. At the time I didn’t see myself attending so I was trying to see if me, Patrick, and some other friends attending could catch up with each other sometime while they were in town. We set some time to meet up and while I was looking around the Izeafest website I found that there was true value in what they where saying was going to take place on October 1 – 4.

Looking at the speakers let me further know that this was a real conference not something that was just thrown together as a promotional conference for some new products that Izea wanted to drop on attending bloggers. I was surprised by the speakers that were attending the conference each of them have success in there own way and by attending I knew they would give me true value for my hard earned money.

I saw the following names Liz Strauss of successful-blog.com, Geroge Smith the Social Media Specialist for Crocs, Inc, Chris Heuer founder of Social Media Club, Chris Brogan of chrisbrogan.com and NML, Rae Hoffman of sugarrae.com and my friend Wayne Sutton of SocialWayne.com & Ourhashtag.com Each one of these individuals I have followed, or been following for a very long time, some of them I call friends. This was another reason attending this conference made since to me, all of the above I look to for advise weather it’s through their blog, or the many other conferences they have attended and I’ve been able to get a copy of what was said.

What value do I see in such conferences

Part of the value I see in attending these social media conferences is the networking and captivating ideas you gain from hearing someone’s perspective on the current market of blogging and social media. The money while it can place a financial burden on your pocket also, is a source of income in the long run if you choose to implement some of the ideas that are given to you. Izeafest showed me a couple of great points:

• When it comes to your image/photo hire a Pro

• Capture your personality in those photos | Get the rights for publication in all media

• The most common mistake of a blogger is to use a standard theme

• Design your blog w/clean code and a true purpose

Those are just some of the tips you gain from attending a conference like Izeafest. That was just a small amount of the nuggets I gained by attending. Some of this stuff is a little common sense but at the same time it always helps for someone from the outside looking in to drive that point home.

What I think the future holds for Izeafest

Izea while I know it’s not just about business I think they want to give back to the community and at the same time be able to tell the world about new products or services they launch. I do believe the future hold bright for the Izeafest event. Orlando is not the biggest place for social media but I do see the need for some hard nosed back to basics that are taught during all the sessions. It was stated by @tedmurphy that last year 200 or so attended Izeafest, this year 400+ attended. I would presume that next year 800+ will attend and we might even get multiple sessions going on at the same time which would be a win, win for both conference planners and attendees.

Why I’m gonna attend Izeafest10 next year

I will attend another Izeafest because it’s worth my time to gain new insight and to network with other people who are blogging, or vlogging on the internet. Communications is key when you talk about what do you expect next year or would you attend again next year. My answer is “Hell Yes” I will attend again next year. By that time I know my skills will be further along but just like technology,  Social Media is changing everyday. We bloggers, social media strategist, vloggers, and others are paving the way. By paving the way we all get to shape what social media is about and where it is going. I plan on being part of the process and getting my feet wet in the social sphere.

What others should learn from conferences like this

One thing you gotta do when attending a conference you must know what sessions your going to attend. Some of these sessions will talk about things you have no knowledge about and others will speak about things you already know. It’s worth your time to map out what your going to do before you get there. Make sure you look at the following nuggets to help you get the most out of the conference:

• Try to stay at the attending hotel (Great networking at the in house bar or restaurant)

• Bring sneakers, you never know how much walking your going to do

• Make sure you have business cards a head of time, no last minute cards created with avery like I seem to do right before every event I attend.

• Carry some cash with you for the small purchases

• Ensure your website is working

• If you win a gift please trying to pick it up immediately since giveaways are limited you ensure your item is still there

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, everyone is attending for the same reasons to learn and meet like minded people
Those are just some of the nuggets I like to tell people when they are attending a conference, if you have more to add, please leave them in the comments.

Today I got an email from Darren Rowse, if you don’t know him he is the mind behind ProBlogger.net.  He has been known for giving away tips on blogging and making people feel they can blog as a full time job.  It looks like today he is launching a new Paid Community called ProBlogger Community.

With the cost being $1.95 per month at an introductionary rate this may be the time to fall in line and sign up.  I’m always about doing things that cost little or no money and Darren’s cost of $1.95 is right up my alley.

If your a new blogger and want to know how to blog, how to create content, and how to treat your community then it might be time for you to sign up and give this a try, the price says it all.