Yay! We ordered the books last night. It couldn’t have been any more last-minute. In fact, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the printer’s shipping schedule is accurate. Yikes. As it is, everything’s being shipped to my hotel, even the business cards. Regardless of how seamless I’d like my business endeavors to come across, it’s a bit insane wearing so many hats.
Today I’m going to learn how to run an LCD projector. My husband bought a new Apple laptop a couple of weeks ago – it’s fancy – and I became the new owner of his old “mistress” (my obnoxious name for his laptop). She’s pretty fancy too — I can’t complain. He outfitted her with a slick orange case, cleared her off and synced her up to my iMac, so I’m all set. I’m glad Isaac knows how to do that stuff. I can find my way around the computer pretty well, but there are some things I really don’t care to learn. All she needs now is a new name.Â
The projector is for a fifteen-minute Schoolhouse class I’m teaching on Friday at Quilt Market. What’s the class about, you say? Well, it’s about you guys 🙂 I’ll be sharing my take on the internet craft community and encouraging folks, quilt-shop owners, designers, sewers, whoever attends to get online and get involved. So many people have still never heard of a blog, lovely word it is. And many who have, wish they’d discovered blogs sooner. So, I’ll see what I can do in fifteen minutes. Perhaps a dictionary of terms is in order, along with a spotlight on resources and services — good for a flyer. The main point I’d like to get to is WHY: Why pay attention? Why join in? Why is this so much fun?
I’ll be talking you guys up all weekend. Easy to do. I’d love to hear your take on the subject. Thoughts? Feelings? Maybe I’ll put together some quotes — another flyer. Hmmm.
Also, does anyone know a good resource for statistics on the blogosphere?
Or articles discussing the subject?
Hmmm..well, being relatively new to the blogging world myself, I don’t know a lot of the particulars. Still trying to figure everything out.
But one thing that I think would be cool if I went to a seminar like that would be a list of resources to search on the internet for. Like favorite fabric sites, cool blogs to check out etc..
I know you’ll do a wompin’ good job!
That’s funny I used to call my husband’s guitar his mistress. We are such the jealous type.
My contribution thought to blogging is this:
*Its no harder than an email with an attachment and it is so much fresher than a website. There is a cerain staleness to a website becuase you inherently need to design it for today, tomorrow and next year. The bog is now and therefore never stale.*
Feel free to quote me 😉 See you at Quilt Market my friend.
xoxo, Anna Maria
I think just about everyone who creates, or blogs for that matter, is an addict to the “Ooh…ah!” And being online not only gets you seen by a wider audience, but people can be more objective. If they don’t like it, you will know. Where else can you get your ideas seen by so many people for so little?
Goodluck with your presentation.
What I love about craft blogs is the way people combine their creativity with living. It becomes a wholly enchanting window into so many lives and loves from around the world. It is of course an edited look at life, but that is ok because a little bit of the magic is a sprinkle of fantasy.
*disregard previous post with typos!*
That’s funny I used to call my husband’s guitar his mistress. We are such the jealous type.
My contribution thought to blogging is this:
*Its no harder than sending an email with an attachment and it is so much fresher than a website. There is a certain staleness to a website because you inherently need to design it for today, tomorrow and next year. The blog is now and therefore never stale.*
Feel free to quote me 😉 See you at Quilt Market my friend.
xoxo, Anna Maria
Have fun, heather. I am so glad I discovered blogging a few months ago- it is wonderful. So easy to stay in touch with what is going on ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!!!
I use – http://www.google.com/analytics/ for statistics on my blogosphere. Might be helpful. I don’t have a lot of hits on my 2 websites- but I live in California and have had people from Australia, Norway, France, Portugal, Hawaii, England and more looking at mine. So amazing.
I have only been blogging since June this year so am still very new to this game. And yes I wish I’d heard about blogs and started one sooner. I don’t come from a crafty family so the blog world is that family offering support, constructive advice and kindly comments. I have found a wealth of inspiration out there in blogland – craft bloggers are so generous in sharing their thoughts, ideas and time.
Sorry I don’t have any information about stats or articles – good luck.
Hope you have lots of fun with your new ‘pute and lots of fun at Quilt Market.
I think one of the main reasons to get into the blogging community is to have someone or something to feel accountable to. To motivate you when you cant motivate yourself. Even if its all in your head, since no one comes to your blog, you get the feeling that you would be letting someone down if you didnt update.
i have no uselfull infor today but a “have fun in Houston”…we are about to move there!
I will look for you at Market, Heather. I have a patter coming out with Fig Tree Quilts – we’ll be near the Moda area. I think letting folks out there know more about blogging is so valuable. My husband is in advertising and they call blogging “Web 2.0” because it’s all about community and interaction, not being static with the computer and just taking things in. I’m glad you’re doing that!! Hope I get to meet you!
I whole-heartedly agree with Sarah- it’s great for getting your rear into gear on that thing you mentioned a few posts (or months, ahem) ago.
It’s also a great support group if you have problems or need advice on making a big purchase, using a certain material, etc.
Have fun!
I usually get my husband’s computer hand-me-downs, except for this time I’m the owner of the new laptop. This way, we have one desktop system (the powerhouse) and a laptop for travelling (which he also borrows occasionally).
As for blog info, I’d check out BlogHer…lots of good info about women and blogging and diy people, etc.
I am somewhat new to blogging only a few months. I am still a relatively newbie ( since July)). My blogisn’t as well known as others but it has put my name out there. it has given me new job opportunities, such as my name in a magazine, starting a new company, edited a craft book for accuracy will have my name in that book too. It is a good jumping off place to see if you sink or swim. If people really like something or can relate they let you know. If they don’t like something in my case ( a little problem with spelling issues) trust me they let you know that too. Not bad to me I was an art major and still consider myself an artist a critique always has some good in it somewhere if you look for it. Find the inverse of the negative and you will find the possitive thing you need to achieve not dwell on the bad comment. I have seen so may blogs where a person is going through a hard time and mentions it ( ie. your strep throught and so many people want to uplift them and make them feel better). Over all the world is good and shows it if you look. Blogs are a good way to see the world I have had people look at my site from every continent except antartica of course. Now how would that many diverse people know who I am other wise. Ask a question and people give you help as with this post. I wish you well at your lecture and meetings good luck with the book and business cards.
take care I hope you are feeling much better
Sunshine
http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com
p.s. I just realized my email had been posting wrong for awhile sorry if this caused you any amount of problems take care.
Yay! I’m an avid reader of your blog, and will definetly be at your school house on Friday! I agree with you about blogs, but unfortunately am really bad at updating mine. I think that having a business blog is a really great thing. Our quilt shop started one before we opened, to give everyone the chance to see our shop come together.
I can’t wait to meet you at market!
~Phoebe
I live in the Netherlands I have a stack of american patterns, I know Your fabric line and I have been checking if I can buy it somehow. That is a big reason to go blogging if you sell stuff don’t you think?
I use StatCounter.com. The free version. I think it’s pretty good 🙂
your talk sounds intriguing, shame you live on a different continent!
i did a paper in linguistics about blogs a while back, although it was a very specific topic i discussed i do have a list of articles i ploughed through, if you like i can send you the bibliography. there are not many analytic books to date, as blogging is still relatively new.
x barbara
your talk sounds intriguing, shame you live on a different continent!
i did a paper in linguistics about blogs a while back, although it was a very specific topic i discussed i do have a list of articles i ploughed through, if you like i can send you the bibliography. there are not many analytic books to date, as blogging is still relatively new.
x barbara
I love crafting and reading blogs but I don’t have one myself — I am not new to computers at all, have used them for a very long time, but for some reason, having a blog is a little intimidating…maybe you could help alleviate those fears, perhaps others may have them too. I would also like to know if I did have a blog, what do people want to *hear* or know about. How do you find other blogs to read, etc.
I just discovered blogs this summer, with wee wonderfuls and since then I have joined Flickr and started my own blog. At first I was shocked that this was happening and I had no idea, I felt left-behind. Then I thought these people must be self-absorbed-egomaniacs. Then I thought, what a wonderful way to network and share. All in the span of 3 seconds. I spent months just collecting and reading blogs. Then after two failed attempts I tried one more time to set up a blog. There is so much to learn, and my husband is a nerd/geek so he pulls me from the edge of the abyss quite often. I love it! I am fascinated with the way art is changing due to computer technology- especially quilting- you can print your own fabric. The blog community also is teaching a new generation of crafters and artists what my grandmother taught me: sewing, embroidery, knitting, quilting-and it’s wonderful to know that the future grows only brighter. I love reading your blog, BTW, and would like to congratulate you on your wonerous new fabric line! I can’t wait to buy it! You’ll have to make a Flickr Group for the pictures of all the stuff everyone is going to make! Happy Sewing! Kim
Sounds like a great presentation! I discovered blogs when I started knitting, and it was so encouraging to find a knitting community as I didn’t know any other knitters. I learned so much from the blogs I read about how to knit, and even now am grateful and amazed at the wealth of information and humor in blogland. Alison over at the blue blog http://alison.knitsmiths.us/blog_just_blogging_05.html
posted about a similar sounding talk she gave at MIT – check out the entry on Nov 16th 2005. cheers!
Just wanted to say have a great time at market! And I love this blog.
I think blogs are like magazines in that they are filled with ideas, inspiration, instructions, and photos for new projects to try and fun things to buy. We discover them by clicking on all the links and bookmarking the ones we want to be sure to return to. Although we may never meet eachother in person, it’s a great way for like-minded people to share.
I took an internet programming class last year (I’m such a nerd ! :D) and we spent some considerable time talking about Web 2.0 and how the internet has changed into a community-based, more user-controlled space. In particular we talked about pages like flickr and other wiki-sites. It’s amazing what the average person can have control over with the internet now. Good luck! Hopefully everything goes well!
To me blogging is all about sharing.You share what you do and bits about your life and in return get input from others outside your immediate family and circle of friends – a fresh view on things. There is a real sense of friendship and generousity in the blogworld that is unique, I think, and being a part of that is what’s keeping me here.
Best of luck with your presentation!
This doesn’t have too much to do with blogging….but I got a Hancocks of Paducah catalog today…….and…….your fabric is in there all beautiful and ready for us to order!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself”.
from a business Week article here:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm
Blogs allow anyone with access to the internet to become self-published.–No competition, no red tape. Through blogging one can network endlessly in the niche of her choice, as well as influence, and be influenced like never before. A magazine, television show, or newspaper conveys information third-hand; A blog allows for the free exchange of first-hand information instantly.
If you’re looking for statistics on blogging in general, this report looks useful (and only slightly out of date): http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp
A sneak peek: “8 million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users.”
Your librarian reader,
Carrie
Hi Heather,
I was at your Schoohouse at Market, and can’t say enough about both your amazing fabric line and the VERY helpful tips on the handouts you gave. My partner and I are planning to open a shop next year, and boy did we get the message from Market loud & clear: “go for the younger sewers!” My question for you and your readers is: we’ve gone so far as to incorporate a name that has the word Quiltworks in it. Are we risking alienation of sewers out there who will want your fabric (which we of course plan to carry!) and other funky, fun, fresh stuff but won’t think to go to a shop advertised as a quilt shop to get it? I would LOVE to know your thoughts and others on this subject – we’ll have to quickly get on the horn with the lawyer if we need to change! Thanks so much, Heather, and best wishes!
I am one of “those” who feel left out, left out in that I had no idea the power, the wonder, and the beauty of the blog community before my September entry into the world by a chance search on the internet for something regarding thrifting. Since that day, I have been hooked, inspired, uplifted, and a host of other positive things after I sheepishly created my own blog. I hope to acheive several things by doing so. Meet new friends, hone my writing skills, improve my photography, connect with friends (old and new) and family, and motivate myself to continue to create bigger and better things. Eventually I’d like to own a thrift/craft store and I am hoping by the time I do that, I will have my own mini following to launch my venture. All the more reason to BLOG ON!
lucy