This post will cover what I’ve learned at WordCamp NYC while on the Blogger Track. Probably the best track to be if you are a Blogger…I have sooo much to share, but I’ll try to keep it simple so you don’t get bored from all the text… So let’s go..
First on the Blogger Track was learning about LIFESTREAM, which is pretty much blogging about your life. An electronic diary about YOU, by Erin Blaskie. Check out Erin’s very useful slideshow presentation and use it to better your blog, even if you are a not a Lifestreamer, I’m sure you can find something useful as well.
Next up was Choosing the Right Theme for your Blog by Daisy Olsen. During this section we learned about where to find WordPress Themes (iThemes, StudioPress, WooThemes, ThemeHybrid, WPTavern). Catch Daisy’s slideshow here.
Borrow Buy or Build: Get Your Dream Theme or Bust by Adria Richards was also very informative. We learned where to get Free themes (wordpress.org/extend/themes), Commercial Themes (wordpress.org/extend/themes/commercial).
10 Tips to Media by Kenn Bell was a great presentation for those interested in video blogging/interviewing etc… Very informative. Kenn did not have any slides, but I took some notes:
- Do not use storyboards, use shot lists and establish your shots before the interview.
- Do not put a subject against a wall. Shoot them in the middle of the room; you want visual interest in the background. If you watch the news lately you’ll see their backgrounds tend to be the studio and people working in the back, so emulate what the pros do.
- Best light is Sunlight. Do not use Fluorescent lights. Practice with White Balance. Cloudy days are better than sunny days for filming. Creates better image.
- Foreground/middle-ground/background keep those in mind when shooting.
- Use reflectors you can get these from B&H for about $35 bucks. They are great for that “glow” on the person you are interviewing, when shooting in sunlight.
- Use tripods as much as possible. Up is powerful, down is less.
- Invest in a good sound equipment (2 microphones)
– Shotgun mic
– Lavalier mic (wireless) - Make sure you always have a headset on.
- Think about art and composition. Don’t always put a person in the middle, put people on angles, left or right.
Photos, Sounds, and Video: Blogging with Media by Noel Jackson. This presentation showed us some really cool themes and plugins to make our blog as Noel calls it “dance.” No slideshow posted for this presentation yet, but I took notes:
- If you are into Photo Blogging these are two great themes you should check out AutoFocus (wordpress.org/extend/themes/autofocus) and Duotone (the link to this one is not posted yet, according to Noel it should be available Monday or Tuesday of next week).
- Noel also taught us about adding video to our blogs using VideoPress Plugin (wordpress.org/extend/plugins/video/) and adding sound/music to our blogs by using Sound Manager 2 (schillmania.com/projects/soundmanager2/) or search on WordPress: SMAudio
I’ll end this post here…I still have to cover 4 more topics which have a lot of information and I want you to absorb most of everything and put them to good use…
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