I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here yet, but I’m in the process of participating in a 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Challenge. Today’s task was to compose a list post… hence the format. I do enjoy a good list, and I sometimes forget how fun they can be! For other list-type posts I’ve done in the past, check out these: favorite posts, bath tips, favorite tv episodes, parody TV shows and parody movie pitches. I also utilize the list format for No Frown Friday and sometimes add smaller lists in other posts (like this BlogPaws recap ). Do you use list posts? What do you think about them? Tell me about it in the comments!
This week’s challenge? Walk it off.
The first K9 Kamp task was to walk for 60 minutes this week. Given the fact that it feels like it’s been raining here for a month, I had a feeling that completing this challenge would be… well, a challenge.
We did manage to get in two good walks outside. For the first walk, we had some company. Bella had a play date with our friends’ new dog, Dozer. (Photos below.) It was the first time the two had met, so we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood together before letting them run around in the backyard. (In addition to our walk, Bella got plenty of running and romping in that day as well. She was one sleepy pup that evening!)
For our second walk, we managed to get out during one of the rare sunny spells. However, to complete our final minutes for the week, I had to get creative. Things here have felt sort of like a monsoon – going outside was not a great option, so I decided to improvise. Bella and I did some laps around the house instead. I’m sure anyone looking through my windows would think I’d finally gone insane. In any event, I convinced Bella to follow me around the first floor by carrying her favorite rope bone. It ultimately became a walk/tug hybrid, but I think we did the best we could given the circumstances.
Be sure to check in with Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place today to read more recaps of the first challenge, and then check them out tomorrow for Challenge #2. To tide you over until then, I leave you with a few photos from Bella’s play date…
I’m not sure what’s up with Bella’s face in that last photo… she
managed to get stuff stuck to her face during the course of the play
date. I removed it, of course – but not without taking a quick photo
first!
My series of posts on BlogPaws has more episodes than some TV shows… apparently I had quite a bit to say!
Anyway, it’s time to recap Day 2. I was running a tad behind, but I managed to grab some breakfast and slip in just as the keynote speaker was getting started. The morning began with a talk by Heidi Ganahl, the Top Dog at Camp Bow-Wow, which sounds like a pretty fun place for a pup to spend a day or an evening.
Heidi is quite the impressive entrepreneur as well as a philanthropist. Her speech was quite inspirational; she shared the experience of losing her husband at the age of 27 and the journey that eventually led to the creation of Camp Bow-Wow.
For more on Heidi, check out her website and then read this pre-BlogPaws interview that Grouchy Puppy did with Heidi. If you’re interested in finding out if there’s a Camp Bow-Wow near you, check here. You can also check out the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation, a nonprofit arm that is involved in some great causes.
After listening to Heidi, I should have gone to a breakout session. I planned to – and from what I heard, the offerings in the first time slot were great. However, I ended up hanging out with Diane and Cosmo from To Dog With Love and a few other bloggers, including Tamar from I Have Cat and Donna (and her pup Yaxley) from Raising a Super Dog.
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| Cosmo |
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| Yaxley |
I got so distracted by talking (and by cute puppies and that adorable kitten Tamar is holding in the photo above) that I completely missed the first session. The dangers of being chatty, I suppose.
I got back on track in time for the second session of the day. There were a few I was interested in, but I’m very happy with the one I chose, entitled “No Blog is an Island: Tools to Build Traffic & Community.” The session was presented by Felissa Elfenbein from Two Little Cavaliers and Neil Brogan from Life with Dogs. Neil was unable to make it in person. However, thanks to the wonders of technology, he joined us via phone. While waiting for the session to start, I talked it up with Lisa the Pet Book Lady. So glad I got to meet her!
The session began with an absolutely awesome video. Seriously. Go watch it. I’ll still be here when you’re done.
Now that you’re back, a few notes about the session itself. We had a great discussion of the concept of community, which led to last week’s Pay it Forward Blog Hop. (I still plan to find some great guests posts from you from the hop… my to do list is just taking longer than I thought! However, one of the lessons I took from the session was that guest posting is a great way for us to build on each others’ ideas within the greater community.)
A few other highlights:
After that interesting session (complete with Felissa’s retelling of the Stone Soup folk story – a timeless classic in my book), I headed to lunch. While eating, we were treated to a special presentation from BZTAT (a.k.a. Vicky Boatright). She teamed up with Miah from Start the Change for a very moving performance. Go visit BZTAT’s website to learn more about Okey’s Promise. I also recommend this great post about Okey’s Promise over at Bocci’s Beefs.
Oh, and did I mention that Saturday morning was when my fun photo shoot with Pamela and Honey from Something Wagging this Way Comes took place? It was a good time!
Up next… one last session, finally meeting up with the fabulous lady behind Grouchy Puppy, and some closing thoughts. We’re in the home stretch!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years. It’s a day fixed in my mind – I remember exactly where I was that morning. I had an early class and returned to my on-campus apartment to find my roommates watching the news, horrified by what they were seeing. While trying to process what was happening, some made panicked phone calls to loved ones who worked at the Pentagon (less than 20 miles from our campus). Others checked on the status of friends and family in New York and DC, hoping they were okay.
I don’t even know what else to say about the tragedy that unfolded that day. Words don’t seem to be enough.
However, I want to share this video from the archives – it’s from The Dog Files, and although I posted it last year, I think it’s just as powerful today.
Bless all the heroes – both human and canine – who were there that day, as well as those who continue to work tirelessly on our behalf. We are forever in your debt.
Previously… I ate some cheesecake and finished the educational portion of Day 1.
After learning about various bloggy things, the first day of sessions was over. It was time to head back out into that big lobby and chat it up once again before our screening of Spooky Buddies. Luckily, I quickly encountered Kim from This One Wild Life, who was kind enough to allow me to be her wingwoman (wingblogger?) for the evening.
We grabbed a glass of wine (farewell to my final drink ticket) and some popcorn (in my book, wine goes with anything) while we waited for the evening’s festivities to get underway.
After mingling for a bit, the doors opened and we headed inside. We picked up some movie snacks and grabbed a seat a few rows from the front. Little did we know that the rows in front of us would later be removed and we’d be in the very first row… not that I’m complaining, but it was somewhat unexpected. Anyway, Kim and I chatted for a while about this and that – it was like hanging out with an old friend. (Kim, feel free to correct me in the comments if you thought it was more like hanging out with an annoying person who won’t go away… I kid, I kid.)
Here’s the coolest part… not long before the movie began, Kim and I checked our Twitter feeds (hey, it’s a blogging conference) to find out the results of the Petties (it’s like the Oscars, but for pet blogs). Be the Change for Animals (which Kim co-founded) won for Best Cause Blog! It was a pretty amazing moment – and fortunately, the BlogPaws photographer happened to swing by at the perfect time and get it on camera.
(Check out her acceptance speech – Be the Change for Animals donated its $1,000 to Best Friends Animal Society. Pretty great, huh?)
Not long after that, it was time for the movie premiere of Spooky Buddies – BlogPaws was the first press screening in the country. I’ll admit, I’ve never seen any of the other movies in the franchise, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
The basic story – the five main characters (a.k.a the Buddies, a group of five adorable Golden Retriever puppies) encounter the legend of the Howl-oween Hound and must stop Warwick the Warlock’s evil plan before it’s too late.
The movie was cute… not necessarily one I would have sought out on my own, but I definitely think kids would like it. I actually enjoyed it – there was something about the crowd (including dogs barking at the screen) that just made it a fun experience. Here’s the trailer:
Obviously, I’m not the only blogger writing up her thoughts on her Spooky Buddies experience these days. For a few more, go visit Bocci’s Beefs (and find out how many stand-ins each puppy had on set), My Tail Hurts from Wagging So Much (for an interview with the director), and The Chronicles of Cardigan (for a firsthand account of what it was like to watch the movie with your pups).
After the movie, it was time for a Q&A session with the director. I have to imagine that working with kids and puppies is quite the challenge, but he really seemed to enjoy it.
Once the Q&A ended, we had the opportunity to get our photo taken
with one of the stars – an adorable puppy dressed in a bunny costume.
The photographer wasn’t very quick on the draw – which didn’t work so
well when a tired puppy was involved.
In the interest of getting these
photos done quickly so that the pup could get out of his duds and take a
nap, Kim and I did our photo as a duo. Once I have a copy, I’ll
definitely share it here.
Once that was all done, Kim invited me to crash a Greenies happy hour that she was invited to attend at the hotel bar. I was a bit hesitant, but I’m glad I let her talk me into it. I had a fantastic time chatting with Doreen from Doggies and Stuff, Jess from Indy Dog Blog (a party crasher like me), and others.
Eventually, it was time for me to say goodnight and head home. After I got home, I snuggled with Bella and caught up on Project Runway.
One day down, one more to go. I was able to attend the second day, but I did end up ducking out a bit early due to the hurricane. Never fear, I still have lots to tell you.
Up next? More sessions, some great speakers, a photo shoot or two, and meeting up with some more of my favorite bloggers.
Time for some Friday linkage! Sadly, I cannot herald the beginning of another three-day weekend. If only…
Finally, this week’s video. If you went to middle school with this cat, he would totally take your lunch money. And then stuff you in a locker.
(via Jezebel)
Looking for something to do this weekend? If you’re in the DC metro area, consider checking out the Third Annual Doggie Day Swim tomorrow afternoon or swinging by a happy hour to support the Homeless Animals Rescue Team (HART) tomorrow night.
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| Cosmo Havanese from To Dog With Love |
Now, where was I? Oh, yes… cheesecake. Good stuff, right? Anyway, after thoroughly enjoying that cheesecake and chatting with a few others during the break, it was time for afternoon sessions. During each time slot, there were four breakout sessions to choose from. Sometimes, it was a tough choice. At other times, I didn’t have to think twice. You will probably not be surprised to learn that the title of this next session called to me like a siren to a sailor.
A punny title? Pop culture references? How could I say no?
This session was presented by Lauren Spencer from Fetching Communications. We learned about various widgets (stand-alone applications that you can embed on your blog to create a more dynamic and interactive experience for your readers – check out Something Wagging This Way Comes for list of the links we got from Lauren that day). It seems like there are widgets for everything – including Facebook (so readers can like your page… hint, hint), Twitter, and YouTube. You can even create polls and surveys for your site.
Just make sure not to engage in widget overload – too many widgets and your page begins to look like Times Square. Your reader won’t even know where to start.
Anyway, there was one widget in particular that piqued my interest: embedding a slideshow from Flickr. Lauren showed us how to do this using Flickr’s own app, as well as third-party applications from Flickr’s App Garden. I made the one below using pictobrowser:
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| The Chronicles of Cardigan meets Something Wagging |
Cool, right? I have a feeling I’ll be using this tool a lot in the future – I was wondering how to create slideshows on the blog, but was a bit too lazy to figure it out myself. So thank goodness for punny sessions. The session even came with an unexpected bonus: I finally got to meet Elizabeth, Jon Farleigh and Dewi from The Chronicles of Cardigan!
Now that my brain was playing songs from The Wizard of Oz on a permanent loop, it was time to head to yet another session – the last one of the day, in fact. For this final session, I chose to attend “StumbleUpon: How to Create, Share and Discover Great Content.” I’d heard about StumbleUpon but wasn’t really familiar with how it works.
Apparently part of the concept is based on “unexpected relevance,” which I thought was interesting. According to our presenter (from StumbleUpon, of course), it’s the second biggest social media referrer online in North America. So you know… kind of a big deal, I suppose. This was yet another technical session – there are a variety of free tools and widgets (as well as paid ones) available. If you’re interested, you can check them out here. Any of you use it? What do you think?
That closes the book on the sessions from Day 1. However, the day wasn’t over yet… up next, I’ll tell you all about my evening. It included popcorn, candy, a movie, puppies, and new friends. After that, I’ll give you a recap of Day 2, and finally some closing thoughts. The end is in sight!
I’ve told you about my initial impressions of BlogPaws, and about some of the tough guys I encountered along the way. I wasn’t quite sure what to tackle next. When all else fails, I tend to default to chronological order. So, for argument’s sake, let’s just say that all else failed…
After listening to the Rescue Ink guys, it was time to attend my first actual session. You know, where I’d go to learn stuff. I had a hard time deciding what to attend – I ended up choosing one called “Demystifying Search Engine Optimization.” I didn’t have the foggiest idea what that was, so I figured I could use the demystification.
I’m not going to lie… at the time, I thought I had a basic grasp of SEO. Looking back at my notes a week later, I’m not so sure. I scribbled something about keywords, improving my search engine ranking – and a bunch of technical things that I need to revisit in more detail. I’m not really qualified to advise any of you on this one! Luckily, the folks over at BlogPaws recently had a great post about SEO for paw bloggers, so I’ll let them do the heavy lifting.
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| Paris & John from DogTipper.com |
During the break between sessions, I met a few more fun bloggers, including Carrie from All Things Dog Blog; Paris & John from DogTipper.com; and Missy from Dogs for the Paws.
Missy wins the prize for best business card – a slap bracelet! That thing was awesome – I wore it for the rest of the day, and it’s currently still decorating my camera bag.
Up next, I headed to a session called “Reach. Relevance. Design. Presentation.” I was excited to hear the presenter, Dino Dogan (the creator of Triberr). This one was more up my alley (and it was also the session where Tango decided his nose was cold). I really enjoyed this session. Some of the choice quotes/concepts I jotted down:
I could write a lot more about this session – I think it was the kick I needed to start thinking about my own blog in a more analytical way. I’ll be doing some self-evaluation in the coming months and you may see some changes as a result. However, first I need to find the time for all of that virtual navel gazing…
Anyway, after that session, it was time for lunch. I was in for a pleasant surprise – the speakers during lunch were from the rescue group where I adopted Bella! The group is called Homeless Animals Rescue Team (aka HART), and they operate in the Northern Virginia area.
Also a pleasant surprise? Cheesecake. I love cheesecake.
Anyway, after I inhaled that cheesecake, it was time for my next session. I chose it based on its delightfully punny name. I’ll tell you all about it my next installment…
(I told you that recapping BlogPaws would take me a while. I wasn’t kidding. When you’re as wordy as I am, these things take time. Hang in there.)
