Youtube and blogging workshop sessions at the National Association of Professional Organizers conference and what I took away from them.

At the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Conference in Baltimore, there are these workshops every day. Some are sessions everyone goes to (like the keynotes), but a lot of times you get to choose which subjects you really want to learn about. Does it surprise you that I usually chose anything related to technology, the internet, or social media? Did you know I like rhetorical questions?

Moving right along.

Two of my favorite presentations of the entire conference were both by Rich Brooks of Flyte New Media. Both were about the internet, so of course I loved it, but I also thought that the information was interesting and enlightening. And I took notes! Want to take a peek and see some of my thoughts on what was essentially classes about the internet? Sure you do!

YouTube.

Okay, so a class about YouTube sounds a little strange, like the presentation would be called “Charlie the Unicorn, Rickrolling, and Honey Badgers*: A Study in Memes”. By strange I mean awesome! However, it was not like that, but it was actually really great. Even with a lack of Maru.

Basically, what I learned was I have got to start making videos. There’s no two ways about it. I’m not pressuring myself or anything, but video can sometimes just be better, easier, and more effective than other alternatives. I knew video was a great way to do things, I just didn’t know that it was something I could be doing right now. After his talk I have a bunch of ideas on things I should do. Now I just have to get to them. Even if I start with just my iphone camera!

This is also an idea that I’d love to see other people use! There are skills that my friends have (in cooking, makeup, etc.) that I think would make great how-to/tip videos. It does take effort, but I think it’s a really fun way to spread knowledge and make things.

What would you make videos about?

seo and keywords.

I knew what seo was (search engine optimization, of course!) but putting it into practice? I had no clue. We ran through the basic plugins, but there’s potential for content and trend related knowledge with seo and keywords. When you use a site like a keyword analyzer (the google adwords keyword tool, for example), you can discover what people are searching for and tailor your content to be more findable, or more needed. Let me explain the needed part. Stats on google keywords include not only how many people search, but also how competitive the keyword subject is. If you choose to write on a topic that is popular, but not competitive, you’re filling a needed gap in the internet (who knew there even were gaps?).

It’s kind of a marketing/popularity tactic, which in execution can be sleazy and inauthentic if the intent is bad. It doesn’t have to be that way at all, though! Finding out what your audience might want to know about is a good thing - helps you, helps them!

blogging.

Since the presentation about blogging was at a conference for mainly small business owners, the focus was somewhat on marketing. All of that was really useful, however, the part I liked most was viewing blogging as a way to answer questions. Here’s how I think about it: find a gap, and fill it with what you know, what you like, and what people want to know about. This isn’t exactly what Rich said, but it’s what I discovered from from his talk that interests me about having a blog!

There was also a huge amount of stuff that I learned about blogging and marketing, plus a bunch of other new (to me) ideas. But that’s for me to know and for you to learn - he says it best!

*He did mention honey badgers in his presentation, though. Dun dun dun dun: HONEY BADGER!

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