{photo by KaBloom Studios}

Happy New Year to everyone!  We’ve been working hard on Awesome Camp 2011 over at Toolulu.  This will be the second year for the event.  And we couldn’t be more excited!  The response we’ve had so far is incredible, and we still have about two more months until the event!  We are changing things ever so slightly from last year because we think we can handle a bigger event this year.   Plus, we want as much local talented as possible to attend.  Here are a couple things we are excited about:

• FRIDAY NIGHT— We added a Friday night opening and mixer to the event.  wOOt!  We want to give people the chance to network as much as possible, and kick of the event in a great way.  We are excited to have red9 with us on board again this year.  They always do it right, and never let us down.
• UN-CONFERENCE AWESOMENESS— Saturday is the un-conference portion of the event and will have three tracks: Entrepreneurship, Tech and Creative.  We added the Tech track this year because we want to hear from app developers, IT gurus, and techy geniuses.  What exactly is an un-conference? It’s where the agenda is made up by the attendees.  All speakers are decided on the very day of the conference.  Which usually means that the people who speak are passionate about what they’re talking about.  Which also makes for a very cool event.
• SATURDAY KICK OFF— We’re excited to announce that Jay Wilkinson will be kicking things off on Saturday morning.  Be prepared to be inspired.  Very inspired.  We’re lucky to have Jay in the Lincoln community, and we’re happy to have him at Awesome Camp.
• LUNCH—  If you look at our twitter mentions from last year, lunch was just as big of a hit as the speakers and content.  Like I said, red9 knows how to entertain and make us feel good.
• SPONSORSHIPS— We’re depending on sponsors more than ever.  This year’s event will be the launch of the official Social Media Club- Lincoln Chapter.  And to make everything official, we need to dot a couple i’s and cross a few t’s… and that takes a little dough.

{photo by KaBloom Studios}

You can find out more about Awesome Camp on the website.  And you may want to get your tickets soon as we are limiting them to 200 this year.  {and the way sales are going, we’re sure to sell out}.  Plus, it’s only $10 and well worth it!

It’s not who you go out with or where you go, it’s who you meet when you get there.

Even the gas station, grocery store or post office has potential for some great social networking.  This doesn’t mean “spamming” people with your business cards at every turn.  How about just being a genuine and caring person?

How to connect with people IRL:

1. Make meaningful conversations

2. Ask thoughtful questions.

3. Listen to the answers.

4. Remember the conversation.

5. Follow up appropriately.

Going to conferences has helped us grow professionally in many ways.  Not only that, it has shaped the path of our career.  We have received so much from our own experiences that we though we’d bring that to the table by working with our partners and creating a new conference for the professional crafter in mind.  CraftyCon is a labor of love for us and we’re really excited about the opportunities it will bring to so many people.

Content is really important at conferences and the speaker lineup at Big Omaha is stacked!  Of course, I’m excited to hear from Foursquare founder, Dennis Crowley.  Just earlier this week I professed my love for his app on this blog.  We’ll also hear from Matt Mullenweg of Wordpress, Aksimet, and Gravatar fame.  Toolulu loves Wordpress.  We can’t forget Jason Fried, either.  Deb just blogged a few days ago about how we use his product, Basecamp.

What is being said in the sessions is important.  But, we can’t forget the time we can use outside of the sessions.  This is where the magic happens.  Don’t stick yourself in a corner browsing the internet.  Get out there and meet people.  Some of the most amazing collaborations and partnerships come from those serendipitous moments at conferences.

Are you going to be there?

We announced CraftyCon just over a week ago!  Today we’ve opened submissions for our call for speakers!  Wondering what to submit?

We’ve had to be a little bit sparse on the details as we’re finalizing our plans with sponsors but we want to give you a heads up on what kind of content we will be providing.

CraftyCon is “For Crafters, By Crafters.” and we want to make sure you play a huge role in its success.  We’re looking for authors, designers, crafters just starting out with their businesses, etsy shop owners, etc…  Do you have something you’ve learned the hard way in your craft business?  Have an innovative marketing idea you’d like to share?  Have tips on how to get published or pitch a book?  Are you a member of a crafty group in your area?  Certainly don’t limit yourself to these types of things…they are just to get you thinking!

Do you have someone in particular that you’d like to hear speak at the conference?  Let us know that, too!

We’ll see you in Chicago!