WordCamp Birmingham announces keynote speakers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE André Natta

Sept. 10, 2009 acnatta[AT]gmail.com / 205-276-6585

WORDCAMP BIRMINGHAM KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE
WORDPRESS FOUNDER AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The keynote speakers at WORDCAMP BIRMINGHAM will be Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress, and Esra’a Al Shafei, one of its most important proponents. The two join a roster of presenters from the region and across the nation.

“We’re thrilled that Matt could attend despite his extremely busy schedule,” says André Natta, WordCamp organizer. “And having seen Esra’a speak at Social South [in August], I know her presentation will touch hearts and minds.”

Mullenweg developed WordPress, a popular software package used for blogging, Web sites and content management. In 2007, PC World named him one of the “50 Most Important People on the Web” (he was reportedly the youngest on the list at age 23).

Al Shafei is the director of Mideast Youth, a human rights organization. The 22-year-old student campaigns for freedom of speech and religion from her home in Bahrain, organizing protests, social media campaigns and more using the group’s Web site, Mideastyouth.com.

WordCamp Birmingham is a two-day homegrown conference with seminars on WordPress and blogging. The event takes place Sept. 26 at Innovation Depot and Sept. 27 at Shift Workspace, both in downtown Birmingham. Tickets are $40 for the weekend.

Event sponsors include AL.com, Birmingham Ad Network, Bright House Networks, Campaign Monitor, Innovation Depot, Microsoft, Shift Workspace, Skribit, The Terminal, UAB School of Engineering and Woo Themes.

For more information and to register, visit http://wordcampbirmingham.org.

André Natta is available for interviews to discuss first steps to blogging and WordPress. Contact him at acnatta@gmail.com or 205-276-6585.

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WordCamp Birmingham, http://wordcampbirmingham.org

We have a new logo!

Thanks to my pal Billy at SPJ HQ.

Check it out!

Back from Indy!

Alright ladies and gentlemen. Here's the beginning of what I'm sure will be many updates from Indy.

The 2009 SPJ national convention was time well spent, even if I did have to drive 8 hours up and 8 back...felt like more. But hey, when else will I pass through the southern countryside on my way to journalism shenanigans.

I'll admit I didn't make it to as many sessions as I'd have liked, meetings, networking, planning and getting arrested by Sheriff Leadingham slowed me down a bit. Still, very productive and very busy weekend.

First off, I've been elected Regional Director for Region 3, which includes Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. That means we've got a new president coming soon since I'd have to be more than my already admitted level of crazy to pull that off.

Our former RD, Darcie Lunsford, is now the secretary/treasurer.

We've got some fresh Alabama blood in the chapter now too, I've been recruiting and found a few up in Indy. It's shaping up to be a good year for the chapter.

Some programming ideas are in the works, we'll be applying for a grant from HQ soon and get some fundraising underway.

Atlanta is next on my list of pro chapters to get up and running so here's early notice of a mini-regional event out there sometime this fall or spring. I'll keep you updated and there will be carpooling opportunities.

Alright, last tidbit for now. If you haven't heard, 'bama is on tap to host the 2011 Region 3 Conference, so I'll be calling on y'all for ideas of locations, dates, programs, etc. The 2010 conference is in Orlando in March. I'll post details as I get them.

For more about Region 3, check out the new Facebook page (SPJ Region 3) and the new Google group at http://groups.google.com/group/spjregion3

Any questions, comments, suggestions, etc, feel free to contact me, rowell83[at]gmail.com

Twitter isn't just for those techie types anymore...

Interesting post on major news being broken on Twitter lately.

http://mashable.com/2009/08/18/mainstream-news-twitter/

I'll admit I hesitate to put upcoming stories on Twitter before they're published, to avoid being picked up by local competition. But, I've been doing it more and more. If the story's done, it's done.

Plus, the author of this post has a good point, Twitter has a broader reach than my small capital city paper does on a good day. Even if I don't have thousands of followers, my followers have followers and news spreads quickly that way. It's like a game of telephone, or high school.

I'm a newspaper girl through and through, but Twitter is a useful tool for journalists and we'll be having an SPJ session to discuss that very soon.

Why join SPJ?

Lots of reasons.

Like professional development.
Networking.
Scholarships.
Awards.
Conferences/conventions.
Job banks.
Programming.
Mentors.
Professional resources.
Legal support.

Personally, I joined SPJ when I was a college student in Virginia. It was my dad's idea actually. He said "If you're serious about being a journalist, you should start joining professional organizations."

So I did.

Next thing I know, I was awarded the chapter's scholarship. That's where I met the internship for the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, which would become my first job out of college. Then, I was on the board.

Now, I'm in 'bama, running the state chapter here. Through SPJ, I've gotten more training, professional development and mentors than anywhere else. I've been able to network with some of the nation's best, and that interaction has been just as valuable as on the job training.

In short, I highly recommend joining SPJ and then getting actively involved in the organization. We have plenty of room to grow in Alabama and we need your help to do it.

For more about joining SPJ: http://www.spj.org/whyjoin.asp

SPJ in the news

SPJ's code of ethics is mentioned at the bottom of this USA Today op-ed.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/letters-lines-are-blurring-in-strange-new-world-of-journalism-.html

National Convention

The national convention is coming up, next week, and there's still time to register.

www.spj.org

I'll be headed up and looking forward to visiting with friends from last year's convention and the Scripps leadership institute from last year.

Plus, I'm running for regional director for Region 3, which includes Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. That means there will be some shifts in leadership for Alabama Pro and I'll keep you posted as those come together.

If anyone is interested in leadership positions or getting more involved in the chapter, please let me know. We've got some great programs coming up and I'm pretty excited to see them come together and would love to have you all involved!