Holy cow, I just checked the updates for this fall’s Midwest Birding Symposium and those Ohio birders are pulling out all the stops. I think this is going to be the birding event of the year!
I was already excited to go because Mike Bergin of 10,000 Birds and I were asked to come and do live blogging–our computers will be hooked up to a big screen and you can see us create blog entries (or lots of typos in my case). I love hanging out with Mike so I was looking forward to that.
But now, I see fun additions to the agenda like Birding by Segway! I love the creativity of this gathering, but that’s what I would expect coming from the birding community that includes Bill of the Birds, Julie Zickefoose, Kenn and Kim Kaufman. Just take a gander at the speakers list: Scott Weidensaul, Lang Elliot, Al Batt, Jeff Gordon…are you kidding me? This is going to be a blast.
I hear early registration is still open, who’s up for some fun birding and a great time in Ohio? Rumor has it that Chet Baker could make an appearance…that might even bring Non Birding Bill out.
Already signed up! It really should be an awesome event!
I’m signed up and ready to go. My first real birding festival / convention / symposium EVER!
This has nothing to do with your post. I found this and knew you would enjoy it.
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Love your blog.
WOW…A big screen showing people blogging!!! OMG that is going to be SO exciting. You’ll be typing words on your computer and everyone will see them AS YOU TYPE THEM!
…i’m sorry…that was uncalled for…..I apologize…I’m sure it will be very exciting.
Steve,
I hear ya–you’re at a bird festival…wouldn’t you rather be out watching the birds?
But there is a method to this set up, it’s more informal, people who have blogs or are thinking of starting them can come and see how to use different blogger programs. I’ll also talk about Twitter and how to use that and I’m sure things like FB and Flickr will be brought up. Mike is a super connector and he will talk about blog carnivals and connecting with other bloggers.
You’d be surprised about how little some people know about the internet. One of the programs I give at bird festivals is either “Blogging: The New Nature Journal.” It’s intended to showcase some of the great bird blogs out there and even give tips for starting your own blog.
However, some of the questions I get at those programs (and this has been in the last few months) are ones we would consider incredibly basic–like how to search for something online. I kid you not–I have had to explain how to do google searches. Bill of the Birds and I both talked about how there seems to be a ton of birders who want to do more online, but don’t know how to do it and are afraid to ask questions publicly. If Mike and I are plugged into a large screen, we can easily show what we’re doing to help answer those questions.
Okay…good points. I sometimes get a little TOO sarcastic for my own good, and I also forget how new the Interwebs are to many birders. Your response was too kind for the likes of me. Next time let your smackdown be more….hmm….how shall i say it…. smart-assical?