TechPhx Update!

Explaining the finer points of the weekend at
last year's TechPhx (Photo by Snapping Fire Dragon)

One of the many places I volunteer my time is TechPHX. If you don't know, it is a weekend unconference covering just about anything technology and social media related. Podcasts, video, photography, code... sessions for anyone who wants to learn a little more about these things (and more) and apply them to what they do. This year it is happening November 16 & 17.

What you do can be anything as well. To the casual blogger who needs to learn some WordPress basics, to the Podcaster who wants to learn more about editing software, to the business person who wants to make better use of social media, I can't think of any person that wouldn't get something out of attending. It's about community first, and building that community to bring us all a little closer together. You can learn more about TechPhx here, and also check out last year's sessions here.

Since it is community first, we have always had pride in the fact that we could remain low-cost. Conferences can get very expensive! We also know that paying more doesn't necessarily mean you will get more out of it. This is why attending for the weekend is a mere $10, basically to just cover some prizes and supplies that sponsors do not. This week however, we are having a special registration discount for You Tube's Geek Week- FREE registration using the "GeekWeek" promotional code! You can read more about it on the TechPhx blog.

TechPhx is one of my favorite events to volunteer for, because I know first-hand the value. Technology and the Internet isn't going anywhere, it will only keep advancing and growing. It's important to have a place where you can learn to handle it, and share what you know with others. AND have a good time! TechPhx is all of that rolled into one weekend. Check out the website, register to attend OR speak, and I'll see you in November!









Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

What Exactly Do You *Do*?

Random Instagram Photos. Yes, I love social media!

I get that question alot. I'm new at this business thing, and I've blogged recently about how I finally made the decision to branch out on my own. Still, I haven't done a whole lot of advertising. I cross-post things occasionally on my personal Facebook page, but for the most part I don't want to turn people off by talking about my business all the time. I even feel weird blogging about it now, though I absolutely love it. I've always been a connector, and social media is all about connecting with others. It just fit to help small businesses do the same.

So, as my business Facebook page says, "Content Creation and Management." What the heck is that? It's exactly what it says. I create content in the form of posts, tweets, updates, photos, memes, podcasts and video for use on social media. I've been volunteering my time for many years now with KWSS radio and TechPhx, and running their social media. I've learned so much, and am fascinated with the way social media works, and how people respond to it.

It's also interesting to see how small businesses use it, which is another thing that prompted me to start this business. Number one thing I see? Businesses don't put enough into their social media. This is not their fault however. As one of those small business owners, I get it. Time is hard to come by. When you are out there working on the other 5,000 parts of your business, you can't exactly stay connected 100% of the time on social media. You've got things to do!

This is why I made my business social media. I make the posts, I check the comments. I interact with other people and businesses for you. I find information to share that is relevant to your brand, so that you become a valuable source of information for anyone who follows you. My philosophy is if people get to know you and what you are about, they will want to know more about your business. After all, we started our businesses because we have something worthy to share, right? That's what you want people to see, and I help make that happen. I help you be seen.

I can also help you be heard. With years of audio and podcasting experience, I know the value of using a podcast to further your reach with current and potential clients. People love to listen to stories and learn more about who they are seeing in their social media feeds. Podcasting is the perfect compliment to social media promotions.

So that's really it. That's my business. My business is helping small businesses be seen and heard. I help them make it more personal and engaging. There's alot of content out there, and my goal is to make a small business stand out from all of the other content out there, so their name is what comes to a person's mind when they are looking for something specific.

Not only do I do this to help businesses be successful, I want to get to know you too! Social media works for me because I'm so social! Find me over on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

You never know what will happen...

Why, it's Josh Temple of House Crashers!
Why is he at our TechPhx meeting?

Today began our 2013 TechPhx season! We had a lovely kickoff brunch at Paradise Bakery in Tempe Marketplace, and had a good group of interested (and interesting!) people turn out. This year I am co-leading the (un) conference with the marvelous Perri Collins, and I couldn't be happier. Her spunk and go-get'em attitude will not only help keep ME on track, but we always have a great time together too! I was also very happy to see many old and new faces turn up. It's going to be an exciting year of planning! Follow the TechPhx Facebook and Twitter pages to keep up on all the latest happenings. There is also plenty of opportunity to get involved! Meetings will be every third Saturday of the month from here on out.

We ended up outside by the fire pit for the majority of the meeting- it was just too busy inside! There's a big sign of commitment- braving this unusual cold weather! Afterwards a few of us were still standing outside chatting, and a camera crew walked by. Then they were striking up conversation. Turns out the crew of the DIY series "House Crashers" is in Tempe looking for a lucky home to crash and redecorate. He was super nice, and we got to plug TechPhx while the cameras were rolling! Of course, who knows if any of that makes it into the final cut, but it never hurts!

It was a fun and crazy morning. Sometimes the unexpected is a good thing, and now some of us have a nice memory from the morning. You never know what the day will bring!

Some post-TechPhx thoughts

Well, it’s over. The first TechPhx happened, now a little over a week ago. I’m still recuperating! I’ve received a lot of feedback via Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and in person. Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and was pleased with the weekend; from the content, to the food, to the people who attended. We do have a couple of surveys we’re sending out to get the good stuff to help us be even better next year, and links are included at the bottom of this post.

Personally, I am still looking back on the weekend and smiling. I know my opinion is biased, but I think we pulled off a pretty spectacular event. Nine hours of sessions with 4-6 speakers at a time, open panels where people can gather and talk about their specific craft, awesome raffle items, a food drive, food truck for lunch- and an added bonus of entertainment throughout the afternoon by a fencing club competition!

I find myself comparing it to PodcampAZ, even though I don’t want to. In some ways, it’s good to compare. After all, TechPhx is the evolution of PodcampAZ. We rebranded to fit what PodcampAZ couldn’t hold anymore. It didn’t make sense. So we kept the campy, “unconference” style, because that is what makes us different. What makes us unique. People seemed to like the fact that we encouraged them to check out other sessions (though I am not sure yet how the speakers felt). It is sort of like the freedom to choose *not* to choose. We did end up being pretty lucky though, because at the last moment we discovered we could stream video in each room, and record. For a thrown together test-run I think it went amazingly well. Miles was tireless the past week gathering every bit of content he could and putting it up on the schedule page. I think this also helps people feel more comfortable with the “Law Of Two Feet” concept. You can always catch what you missed later. I for one am grateful for this!

Attendee numbers weren’t high, but for a first time, I am not disappointed. Attendance is probably the only place where I feel it’s not fair to compare to past PodcampAZ events. I’ve always looked at TechPhx as the first. Clean slate. With rebranding comes re-introduction of the concept. Sure, you get your core 50 or 60 who have always been there supporting you, and they get it (for better or worse). However, this time we extended our reach, in speakers and in attendees. There were more faces I didn’t recognize than I did. The range of speakers and the content covered a broader spectrum. Over both days we had around 170 who checked-in. I consider that a win.



Of course none of this is possible without a group of committed people (or people who should be committed) to put it all together. For me it was strange at first. I had always been the one “taking orders”- and now I had to delegate. It didn’t start out well, because I didn’t have much of a plan myself. We also lost a few people, but things work out and we gained too. I think by the end all of us got into a good groove putting it together, and I need to acknowledge the organizing committee for making the entire weekend possible.

Everything from the website, securing the venue, Tech Support before and during the weekend, registration, the after party, volunteer organizing, the food drive, media kit, and of course kicking my butt to make sure I got my tasks completed could not be possible without them (I know I’m missing many things but you get the idea). Miles, Perri, Kevin, Debbie, Crystal, and Sean, you know how grateful I am. Also thanks to those who took the time to volunteer and be extra bodies where we needed them during the weekend!
Can’t forget our podcast voices either- sending much thanks to CJ and Scott for lending their voices to the live stream!

I see nothing but good things moving forward with the next TechPhx. I’m so excited to watch this event continue its evolution- and you can help us figure out the direction! Please respond to the surveys below (one for speakers, one for attendees), and give us your feedback about what you thought of TechPhx. We have all ready made quite a list of our own personal feedback, but it’s more important to hear back from the ones who have the most to gain from this!

*Attendee Survey
*Speaker Survey

January we start up again in planning the next TechPhx- so stay in touch with us via Facebook, Twitter, and the website!

So what's going on with this TechPhx thing?

It may seem like all we are doing behind the scenes of this year's PodcampAZ TechPhx is sharing interesting things via Facebook and Twitter. I can assure you we've been pretty busy! I wanted to take a moment to give you an update, and what to expect in the very near future!

First off, see the pretty logo up there? The organizing committee decided that the chat bubbles had to go. The absolutely fabulous Perri Collins put this together for us! We couldn't completely part with our Podcamp roots- we love that darn rss sunburst-fiery thingamajig!

We have been working hard to get techphx.com all nice and purdy so we can finally get registration rolling! Which is extra-exciting, because along with that we will be opening up Speaker Nominations too! So start thinking about the types of things you want to learn or hear about at TechPhx this year, and who you would want to hear talk about said topics. You will even be able to nominate yourself- just go crazy!

Just in case you didn't know, this year's TechPhx will be on November 10th and 11th, and will be held at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe. So block out the weekend right now- I'll wait.




Yay! All calendared in!

Ok, that is the big update. We're here, and we're ready to rock this thing. Keep your eye on the internet- because registration is coming soon! You will be the first to know when that happens!

The Tech Phx Planning Season Is On!

I am so excited to announce that a new season of conferencing has arrived! When last we spoke, the conference known as PodcampAZ was laid to rest, and a new name emerged... TechPhx! Which, well, is the only thing to change. It's still going to cover all the awesome topics, and have all the awesome panels it did before, but the name will now be more... fitting (and awesome*).

Well, there was one small change. Tyler has stepped back from leading the charge this year. Apparently he's getting married or something, and wants to focus on that right now. Our Tyler, growing up so fast! So, after what was probably too much deliberation (on my part), I'm going to be taking his place as leader this year! I am super-excited, because I don't look at it as if I'm in charge. I am still looking at this conference as a group effort, and we want to get as much community involvement as possible. We just need someone to call meetings to order, right? RIGHT?

Although the types of sessions themselves are not changing, and we're keeping with our unconference theme, we do have some new ideas we'd like to incorporate into this years' conference. I don't want to reveal it all now- but what it involves is a way to spotlight all the great things the valley has to offer. And there are a ton of great groups, gatherings, and conferences in the valley.

However, we need your help to do it. Mark those calendars for Saturday, February 11th. 10:00 am, Room 203, at the University of Advancing Technology (where last year's conference was held).  We are especially making an appeal to those who run other conferences, camps, and clubs during the year in the valley. You know, Ignite, Social Media Club, WordCamp, EPublish Unum...  etc. All we need are one or two representatives to come out and hear what our big idea is. We think you'll like it. Of course beyond that, anyone and everyone is invited to get involved with this year's TechPhx. Something you loved last year? Help us make it better. Something you didn't love so much? Help us make it better.

RSVP Here!

I've said it before- I was blown away with what a group of 8 or 9 of us did last year with Podcamp. With 20 people, or 30... well I can't even imagine the degree of awesome and amazing TechPhx can reach.

Actually I can. So see you on February 11th!



*I've been watching a LOT of "How I Met Your Mother" lately.