I am speaking at the VRMA (Vacation Rental Managers Association) Western Seminar in Las Vegas.

This is the 21st year of this annual event. VRMA Western Seminar will take place at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas on Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1.

This VRMA event will feature educational sessions on Owner Relations, Employee Development and Retention, Marketing and Best Practices. My specific topic will include Search Engine Optimization.

If you plan on attending please drop me a note. I would love to meet up with anyone and everyone.

I will be speaking at the VRMA Eastern Seminar in Myrtle Beach next week.

The 17th Annual Vacation Rental Management Association Eastern Seminar focuses on providing information to improve the operation of a vacation rental management company.

My session will be a SEO Site Clinic. I am joined by Trent Blizzard, Blizzard Internet Marketing. We will be evaluating sites web sites and making suggestions to enhance search engine optimization.

If you are attending the conference, please stop by and say “hi”.

See you in Myrtle Beach!

On March, 4 1993, Jim Valvano won the Arthur Ashe Award at the very first ESPY Awards. This year marks the 15th anniversary.

Jim Valvano coached the NC State Wolfpack to a NCAA National Basketball Championship 1983. After leaving basketball, he became a television Basketball Commentator/Analyst in 1990.

For those not into sports, that is okay. It’s not sports that made him an inspirational person.

In June, 1992 Jim Valvano was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In his acceptance speech for the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, Jimmy V announced the formation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Jim Valvano died later that same year.

Below is his inspirational and humorous speech from that famous night. (The title of the post will make sense when you watch the video.)

This week, I thoroughly enjoyed my speaking engagement at PodCamp Nashville. Plus, I was honored to be asked.

If you are ever asked to participate I would jump on the opportunity. Similar to BarCamp Nashville, the audience is eager and very welcoming.

As I stated while on stage, I am not a podcaster. My knowledge of any advanced media (video, audio, and graphics) is very limited, so I picked up great knowledge from the “camp”.

Below are some of the basic points I learned at PodCamp Nashville, which may seem obvious to those more experienced then me.

1. Anyone can be Podcaster
2. Advance equipment is not necessary for podcasting, but certainly helps.
3. Start small and build an audience before looking for networks or sponsors.
4. Users can quickly see through the sales pitch. Keep it personal.
5. I am starting to “get” Twitter. Thanks Dave Delaney.
6. Nashville wants to learn, they just need the opportunity.

I enjoyed my time at BarCamp Nashville so much, that I ask for more punishment.

I hope to bring my knowledge of search engine marketing to the media discussion at PodCamp Nashville.

We will have lots of creative people at the un-conference, so hopefully I can help with getting that creativity noticed by Google.

PodCamp Nashville is Saturday, February 9.

Stop by, say “hi”, and meet some great people. Join us at PodCamp Nashville at The Cannery Ballroom.

See you there!

VRMA Eastern Seminar will be in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3. The VRMA announcement came last week. Although many other details are still pending, this VRMA conference is sure to be a great gathering.

VRMA, Vacation Rental Managers Association, represents over 125,000 vacation rentals.

This VRMA conference, like the previous VRMA conference in New Orleans, will feature educational sessions on improving the vacation rental business. From marketing to management, there are many sessions for everyone.

Just like the October VRMA conference, I am also attending this one. If you are planning to attend, drop me a note here.

Well, I was not chosen as a finalist for the Semmys, but its okay. As they say, “it is an honor to be nominated”. There were some great articles this past year. I definitely can not say my writings were better than the finalists.

Local Search
Anatomy & Optimization of A Local Business Profile - By Chris “Silver” Smith

Analytics
Web Analytics Demystified - By Avinash Kaushik, Occam’s Razor

Google
Google 2.0: Google Universal Search - By Danny Sullivan

SEO
SEO Linking Gotchas Even the Pros Make - By Andy Beard

Online Marketing / General
How A Pretty Face Can Push Visitors Away - By Bryan Eisenberg

PPC
Five Common Paid Search Mistakes That Can Sink Your Campaign - By Jennifer Laycock, Search Engine Guide
* This one mentions some of the same points that I mentioned in 7 Habits of Highly Effective PPC Advertisers. However, Jennifer does a much better job of explaining in many of the points. Plus, she has some other great points that I left off. I strive to write as good as her.

Small Business
When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: What You Don’t Know About Your Web Site Can Hurt You - By Christine Churchill

LOL Funny!
Web 3.0 Sites - By Philipp Lenssen, Google Blogoscoped

Viral Marketing
Viral Marketing is NOT the Same as Word of Mouth - By Jennifer Laycock, Search Engine Guide

Renowned tech insiders Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman to Speak to local bloggers, podcasters, social networking specialists, new media marketers, and business leaders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Members of the marketing, business, design, technology and music industries will gather at the historic Cannery Ballroom on February 9, 2008, for PodCamp Nashville, a nine hour “unconference” that aims to promote education, innovation and collaboration between technology and media professionals and Nashville’s blogging and podcasting communities.

“This is all about building community,” said Dave Delaney, an event organizer. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. By attending PodCamp Nashville, members of the blogging, podcasting, marketing, development and business communities will be able to join forces to put Nashville on the digital world map. After the huge success of BarCamp Nashville, it’s clear that Nashville’s tech community is alive and kicking.”

PodCamp Nashville (www.podcampnashville.com) is a community “unconference” for podcasters and listeners, bloggers and readers, and anyone interested in New Media. The first PodCamp was held in September 2006 in Boston, and the concept is now spreading across the world. PodCamp Nashville is a follow up to the highly acclaimed BarCamp Nashville, an “unconference” held in August 2007. A video recap is available here: barcampnashville.com.

PodCamp is spearheaded by Delaney along with Kelly Stewart and Marcus Whitney, area leaders in the fields of technology and New Media. The event, which is free to the public, is designed for anyone interested in the online world to share ideas, hear from industry experts, and participate in discussions and demos.

Don’t miss PodCamp Nashville’s keynote speakers, Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman. Jaffe is one of the most sought-after consultants, authors, speakers and thought leaders on New Marketing. He is the President and Chief Interruptor of crayon, a conversational marketing company, specializing in community, dialogue and partnership. C.C. Chapman has been described as a New Media maven, a podcasting pioneer and a grounded futurist. Chapman is a Partner of The Advance Guard, a new company focusing on using social media and emerging technology to create radical marketing programs.

New Media Marketing experts predict that businesses will thrive in 2008 if they embrace social media and conversational marketing methodologies. Forrester Research predicts that spending on interactive technologies will grow to $61 billion by 2012 and social media (podcasting, blogging, etc.) will drive emerging channels to $10.6 billion.

Participants of PodCamp Nashville are guaranteed to return to their offices revitalized and excited about what New Media has to offer. Students, hobbyists and professionals are encouraged to attend to network and to learn. Experience with blogging or podcasting are not requirements to participate:

Anyone with an interest in technology and new media is welcome to attend.

PodCamp Nashville is proudly presented by the PodCamp Nashville Crew (PCNC), Emma Email Marketing, Griffin Technology and Sitening.

PodCamp Nashville will be held on February 9, 2008 at the historic Cannery Ballroom from 9am — 6pm. Visit podcampnashville.com to learn more.

Nominations for the first Semmys were recently announced recently.

The awards recognize the best articles in search engine marketing over the past year. “The SEMMYS are an annual awards event honoring the great content produced across the search and online marketing industry.” - Semmys.org

I was honored to be nominated in the PPC Category, for Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pay-Per-Click Advertisers.

The finalist will be announced around January, 23rd. From there the public can vote for a winner. In the PPC category, the judges are Christine Churchill and Aaron Wall. With that being said ….

Have I mentioned how much of a fan I am of Christine Churchill and Aaron Wall? They are geniuses and masters of search engine marketing. Their intelligence is beyond belief, and they would … (too much?)

Christine Churchill is the President of KeyRelevance and a frequent speaker and contributor to the search engine marketing community. Christine can also be found on SEMClubHouse.com

Aaron Wall is SeoBook.com, one of the leading SEO blogs around. SEOBook.com has long been a source for quality articles in the industry..

(Link love never hurts)

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Thanks for reading all year. I look forward to another great year of blogging.