Thomas Umstattd Jr. » New Media

Technology Talks (March 2010)

Thomas — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:16:08 +0000

As you may know, I teach on technology a lot. Several of you have asked when my next classes are. So here you go here is a list of some of my upcoming talks. I would love to see you there!

How Everything Has Changed & Nothing is New

What the changes in Social Media mean for your business.

Date: March 2 (8-9:30am)
Cost: Free (registration required)
City: Austin, TX
Register Now

Tools like Facebook, Twitter & Blogging can be an inexpensive way to take your business to a whole new level. It can also be a colossal waste of time.

Regardless of what tool you use, the principles for success are the same. In this class you will learn the advantages and disadvantages of the major social media platforms. More importantly you will learn the philosophy needed to make you a success online.

Learn how to pick the right blend for your business and which tools to avoid altogether.

If you are just starting out marketing your organization online this class is for you. We have plenty of time for questions and discussion during the class.

SEO 101 – 7 Strategies to Boost Your Google Ranking

Increase Your Website’s Rankings With On-Site Optimization

Date: March 4 (12-1:30pm)
Cost: Free (registration required)
City: Austin, TX
Register Now

Ranking high on Google is one of the best ways to boost sales for your business. The problem is most people don’t know how to rank high and much of the advice they get is out dated and wrong.

In this class you will learn seven best practices that will help you improve your website’s ranking. These are not black hat tricks. They are simple, proven techniques you can use on your own website without paying an SEO expert.

You don’t need to be a techie person to take this class. It will help if you already have your own website. It also helps if you can update it yourself.

This class is about on-site SEO. It goes hand in hand with SEO 202 Link Building Strategies http://www.riseaustin.org/seo-202-link-building-strategies-small-businesses. You are welcome to stay and enjoy Conjunctured Coworking between classes.

Writers Building Buzz Workshop

Establishing Your Online Identity: Building a Web Site and the Importance of Blogging

Date: March 18 (7-9pm)
Cost: Free
City: Austin, TX
Where: 611 S. Congress Ave, Suite 130
More info.

I’ll be on a panel of folks talking about Author Websites. This event will be at the Writers League of Texas monthly meeting Thursday, March 18, at the WLT office in Austin.

Guest Speakers:

Nettie Hartsock,
Jimmy Flannigan
Thomas Umstattd Jr.

Writing for Excellence Seminar

All day hand on workshop with Thomas Umstattd Jr.

Date: March 27 (9am-4pm)
Cost: $59 (When registered by March 1st)
City: Keller, TX (near Dallas)
Register Now

In this seminar you will learn:

What tools on your computer will make writing easier and more fun.
How to improve your writing and build your platform through blogging.
How to promote your book using social media.
How to use your computer to work less and do more.• How to get a great author web site without spending a lot of money.

Mount Hermon Writer’s Conference

Writer’s Conference with hundred of classes by dozens of faculty.

Dates: March 26-30th (9am-4pm)
Cost: $867-$1545
City: Felton, CA (near San Jose, CA)
More Info & Registration

I will be teaching a class on Social Media at this conference as well as a class on Blogging.

March 2010 Voter’s Guide For those of you who live outside Texas please forgive...
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Profesional Speaker

Thomas — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:26:29 +0000

One of my favorite things in the world is teaching. Now I (sometimes) get paid to do something I love. If you would like to learn how to use Twitter better you are invited to come hear me speak. I’m just getting started as a professional speaker and so many of my classes are still free.

I have also added an upcoming speaking events widget to the sidebar.

Upcoming Classes:

July 27, 2009
- Introduction to WordPress (If you ever wanted to learn how to use wordpress better come to this free class)
July 29, 2009
- How to Use Twitter Class (this class costs $35 and comes with a free lunch. Download Flier)
July 30, 2009
- Tech Talk With Rick Green on KLGO (tune into 98.5 or 99,3fm or listen on KLGO.net)
August 4, 2009
- New Media and Politics (only for Patriot Academy Students)
August 6, 2009
- Tech Talk With Rick Green on KLGO (tune into 98.5 or 99,3fm or listen on KLGO.net)
August 13, 2009
- Tech Talk With Rick Green on KLGO (tune into 98.5 or 99,3fm or listen on KLGO.net)
August 20, 2009
- Tech Talk With Rick Green on KLGO (tune into 98.5 or 99,3fm or listen on KLGO.net)
August 27, 2009
- Tech Talk With Rick Green on KLGO (tune into 98.5 or 99,3fm or listen on KLGO.net)
September 11-12, 2009
- NTCW Writers Conference (I’ll give a very short talk at this conference and then give 15 minute consultations)

Speaker Packet

View my Speaker Packet.

Need Help With Technology? Check out my new website. This robot goes with the new website I started to...

Need Help With Technology? Check out my new website.

Thomas — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:35:59 +0000

This robot goes with the new website I started to help people use technology to advance the kingdom. It’s targeted at Authors but the tips will be helpful to you as well. Do you have a question about some tech topic? This is the place to ask it.

Recent Tech Tips:

If you help get the word out about the site I would appreciate it.

Technology Talks (March 2010) As you may know, I teach on technology a lot....
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Easy Guide to Blogs (New Media Monday)

Thomas — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:06:58 +0000

Today is the first in a series I am calling New Media Mondays. For the next several Monday’s I am going to explain a new form of media, how it works, and how you can use it to change the world.

Today we are talking about blogs. What are they? What are they good for? And how to have a great blog.

Filter friendly video link .

What are blogs?
Blog are platforms for you to have your own publication. They started off as journals or weB LOGs but they have become so much more now.

Blogs are better than email for mass communication. Email is plagued by spam filters and by people deleting it before reading it. Blogs don’t face these challenges. Facebook notes and MySpace notes are not real blogs.

Blogs often have comments section after each post allowing for community discussion

What are they good for?

Gaining accesses to famous people: Having a blog has allowed me to interview and interrogate a state representative, congressmen and even the Texas Land Commissioner.
Gaining local influence: Local political blogs are one of the most powerful weapons in the modern political arsenal. If you have a good blog on Podunk Texas politics you can become just as influential as the Podunk Texas newspaper. All politics is local.
Communicating with the press: I have had major news magazines contact me about blog posts. As a candidate it is a great way to communicate with the media in between press releases. There is really no reason to be a candidate and not have a blog.
Advocating Issues: Sometimes the best way to take on the local school board is to blog about them. If you blog each school board meeting you will become the source of information about the school board. You will become the expert and able to influence change.
Fact Checking the Media: It is a lot harder for the liberal media to get away with lying now with bloggers watching. Rick Green may have one in 2002 if he or some of his supporters had active blogs and could have held the press accountable for their deceptions. If you don’t believe me I have two words for you. Dan Rather.
Search Engine Optimization: Google likes blogs. Just google “Abolition of Abortion” and see what comes up.

Blog Tips:

Have something to say. People have no patience for parrots. If you don’t have something original and why should someone read you?
Practice . The first 2 years of my blog were awful. Getting the hang of writing something other people want to read takes practice.
Read other blogs. Google reader is the best blog reader and it is free! reader.google.com for more info. ProBlogger and CopyBlogger are some great blogs on blogging. The key to reading blogs is to understand and use RSS feeds .
Be interesting. Boring blogs don’t get read.
Be Original. Touting the party line is boring. So is repeating Rush Limbaugh or Shaun Hanity.
Study Blogging. I recomend reading and applying: 50 Way to Take Your Blog to the Next Level

My Favorite Blogs

News & Business Blogs

Public Speaking/Presentation Blogs

Fun Blogs

Political Blogs

Friends Blogs

Educational Blogs

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Podcasts (New Media Mondays)

Thomas — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:40:39 +0000

In this issue of New Media Monday you will learn:

What are Podcasts?
What are they good for?
How to find and listen to a podcast.
How to start your own podcast.
A list of my favorite podcasts

What are Podcasts?
A podcast is an online radio show that delivers new episodes to people’s computers and iPods automatically. You don’t need an iPod to listen to a Podcast.

Podcasts In Plain English (video)

Watch the video on: blip.tv , YouTube , TeacherTube .

What are they good for?

Learning. Many podcasts are informative. They provide a great alternative to the dribble of talk radio. I have learned more from podcasts than in many of the classes I took in college.

Podcasts can also be an easy way to get the word out. There are over 50 million blogs which makes it hard to get a following. But there are less than 100k podcasts in the iTunes Store. Podcasting is newer than blogging and so it is easier to get a following for your podcast.

How to Listen to a podcast.
The easiest way to listen to a podcast is to download iTunes . The iTunes store has one of the most complete podcast directories on the web.

How to start your own podcast.
The easiest way to start your own podcast is to sign up for a podcast at MyPodcast.com which will host your podcast for free. All you need to do is record your voice using Audacity or Garageband and then upload the mp3 to MyPodcast.com .

Helpful Podcasting Links:

How to start a podcast (wikihow.com)
Podcasting for Dummies (amazon.com)

Podcast Tips

List your podcast in the iTunes music store. Most podcasts listeners use iTunes.
Be interesting. Boring podcasts don’t get heard.
Listen to other podcasts to learn how its done.

My Favorite Podcasts

Get it Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More. This guy is funny and I have been more efficient because of his advice.
The Public Speaker’s Tips for Improving Your Commuication Skills. Good communication tips.
Paul Washer Podcast . I have never heard a man preach like this man does.
Cranky Geeks . John C Dvorák hosts a show where geeks argue about tech news. I love this show.
Ask a Ninja . This podcast has no point other than the fact that it is insanely funny. Listen as a ninja tries to answer all of life’s most difficult questions.
cGames Podcast . I host this podcast about the dangers of digital gaming.

I listen to almost all the Quick and Dirty Tips Podcasts . They are short helpfull and funny.

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How to Use & Edit Wikipedia (New Media Monday)

Thomas — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:12:58 +0000

So what is wikipedia? Why is it so important? How can you use a wiki and even wikipedia? These questions and more will be answered in today’s New Media Monday.

Wikis in Plain English

What is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is the source of truth for many people. When they look for the facts they ask google and google sends them to Wikipedia. Anyone can edit wikipedia. That means YOU can edit wikipedia. Each wiki page has a discussion page where users debate what the content should be.

At one time the 3 page Wikipedia post on abortion had over 80 pages of discussion. Every word has been a struggle. Is it a fetus or a baby? Pro Life or Anti-Abortion? The Wikipedia discussion page is on the front lines of the abortion debate.

Disagreements on wikipedia are settled democratically so the side with the most people wins. Wikipedia leans left because conservatives don’t edit it.

What is wikipedia good for?

Arena of Ideas: The debate pages on wikipedia are some of the most important on the internet.
Candidate Information: Some candidates have lots of accurate information about them on wikipedia. Some do not. This is where the press will goes to look for details and sources. Google any politician and their wikipedia page will in the top three sites on that politician.
Driving Traffic to Conservative Sites: Each wikipedia page has a links section at the bottom. You may find it useful.

How to Edit Wikipedia

Editing wikipedia, or any wiki for that matter, is not as hard as you might think. Belive it or not wikipedia has a great article on how to edit wikipedia .

Careful:
Wikipeida does not look kindly on vanity pages. Unless you are running for a major office (State rep and up) and a party nominee a page on you will likely be deleted. It is better to edit other pages than to create one about yourself.

Wikipedia is not the place to fight for your point of view. Wikipedia is your place to fight for fairness.

How & Where to find time to edit Wikipedia

How to Use a Wiki for a Debate Clup
The Austin Rhetoric Club has started using a wiki to handle all our research. So far it has saved us a tun of time and the students seem to enjoy editing it. We tried Wet Paint but found that it was lacking several important features (such as an easy way to print) to work well for a debate club.

We settled on Deki Wiki which is also free and powerful. It lacks a to-do feature but we bypassed our need for it by having a to do page that the students themselves can edit.

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Anouncing: New Media Mondays

Thomas — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:20:44 +0000

One difference between Martin Luther and the reformers who came before him is that Luther used a new technology to spread his message. He also broke from the tradition of writing only in Latin and talked straight to the people.

Technology helped Luther change the world.

As Christians it is important for us to do the same. We must embrace new technologies to help spread the Good News. Learning new tech can be intimidating. So, for the next several weeks I will present a new technology every Monday.

You will learn:

What it is
How it works
How to use it to change the world

My goal is to use clear simple English and videos that I have found on the web. If you don’t understand the technology after 5 minutes I will consider that post a failure as far as you are concerned.

Before we get started, I want to share a preview video about Social Media. This is the big picture and the individual technologies are like the puzzle pieces that fit into that picture. In short, social media gives the power to the people.

Social Media in Plain English

Social Media in Plain English on blip.tv . Please leave me a comment if Blip.tv is blocked by your filter so I can find a better video site.

You can subscribe to my blog to get new posts automatically delivered either by email or rss feed .

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How a Podcast Works (Video)

Thomas — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:17:58 +0000

This short 4 minute video explains podcasting better than anything else I have ever seen.

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What is a RSS Feed and how do I use it?

Thomas — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:39:34 +0000

We have all seen this orange icon and likely just ignored it. But this little icon can transform your internet experience. Clicking this icon causes good things to happen. To explain those good things I have found a short 2 minute YoouTube video.

RSS in Plain English

Using Google Reader (Tutorial)
I use google reader. For me its the easiest to use since I use gmail. If you are a yahoo person you can use yahoo’s RSS.

Yahoo RSS Faq

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