Where: WOSU@COSI, 333 W. Broad St. Cols. *Parking at COSI is $5.00, good for the entire day.
When: May 8, 2010. 8:30am – 4pm. Food and wireless will be provided.
Who: WOSU Public Media will be the host. Presentations are created by participants. Here is the latest list of presenters. You must register first to add your ideas.
Cost: Free! (Please bring $5 cash for parking)

Read our blog, visit the wiki, follow us on Twitter at @PubCampOhio, register and we’ll see you on Saturday, May 8!

Sponsored by: Spinelli’s Deli and Wonderland Columbus.

We – the folks at WOSU and the local social media gusus who have given us so much time and energy – are actively discussing possibilities and looking at new ways that this group can continue its mission.

If you have suggestions or would just like to talk to one of us, start here.

Otherwise, we’ll be back anon…

- Scott Gowans

Digital technologies are changing the way people work, recreate and communicate within their physical community. The explosion of social applications has caused vast amounts of opinion and fact based data about local resources and issues to be cataloged. Due to this explosion of information; collaboration and community organizing is building around these issues, ideas and community resources with participation levels not previously possible. This phenomenon is referred to as hyperlocal networking.

Come and out and be inspired on Friday, July 19, 2009 at OSU.

Follow that up with Pod Camp Ohio on Saturday and you’ve got a full weekend of geeking out!

Finally, we’ll talk about the Columbus Corners project and anything else on people’s minds. So if you have a burning question/issue you’re currently facing with your blog or any other social media tool, tonight is your night! We’ll see you at 6:30!

If you haven’t been paying attention then you wouldn’t know that the Wild Goose Creative is more than just a collective of artists and musicians. They play host to several events a month, and often a week, as broad as cooking parties to open mic comedy to performance and visual arts events.

Columbus Ohio is fortunate to have many similar groups of interesting and community oriented folks who see a niche and fill it. Wild Goose Creative has been known to fill several different niches with such great success that we are sure they’ll be around for the long haul and can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Check them out when you have a chance, you won’t be disappointed!

This #cbuscorners project brought to you by the Columbus Social Media Cafe.

http://www.podcampohio.com/

PodCamp operates very similarly to the CSMC, as it uses Open Space rules and allows the community to be really involved in shaping the experience. Hope to see you there. This year, the event is being held on OSU’s campus at Mendenhall Laboratory.

Here’s a quick about – courtesy of PodCamp Ohio:

PodCamp Ohio is the media community UnConference that helps connect people interested in blogging, social networks, podcasting and new media to learn, share, and grow their new media skills. Whether you’re just interested in new media or an experienced veteran, PodCamp Ohio is for you!

PodCamp Ohio is structured with everyone in mind. Each session time segment provides 5-7 concurrent sessions for guests to pick from. There are a number of sessions that will be organized as ‘tracks’ for those who are new to blogging and podcasting.

wildgoosecreative.com/

Read WOSU’s story about Wild Goose Creative:

Topics: TBD

Now what?

While keeping your content fresh is central to bringing visitors back to your site, what do you do if you’re having trouble getting visitors to your site?

Promote. Promote. Promote.

Generating traffic is all about increasing your site’s visibility. One free and simple way to promote your site is to link it to other sites. Start by identifying your existing relationships with relevant people and organizations as well as new relationships you’d like to explore. Then research these groups’ websites to identify the best place to put your link (often websites and blogs will have a designated place for partner links). Next, determine where on your site you can highlight your partners’ links and what other information of theirs you’re willing to provide (i.e., partner logo, a brief description about the partner, etc).

Now it’s time to contact your partners. Let them know that you would like to promote their organization and/or cause on your site in exchange for a link on their site. More than likely, your partner will be interested in cross promoting your web sites. If for some reason they can’t put your link on their site, get creative—ask permission to put your events on their calendar or ask if your organization can be a guest author or the feature for an online story on their site.

It takes a little time and a bit of research, but the results are well worth it: more visitors to your site mean greater awareness of your cause.

Tips for reciprocal links:
1. Put links on your site where they make the most sense—on a resource/partner page, or in an article about a specific topic for which your partners can provide more information.

2. Identify as many partners as possible. The more links you have to your site, the higher your site will display in search engine results.

3. Name your links with relevant keywords. Rather than use “click here,” use the name of your organization or the topic or item you’re linking to. (I.e., WOSU Public Media or WOSU reports on the latest news.) The description not only informs the visitor about the content of your site, it will help search engines find your site and rank it higher in search results.

4. Use Google Analytics to understand visitor behavior. This free and extensive tool can also identify where visitors come from and what page they entered on. Re-evaluate the partnership every six months to a year to ensure relevancy and effectiveness.