Having epic amounts of fun

#eshb09 - Epic Super Hero/Villain Battle 2009

Originally uploaded by sheiladeeisme

Last night was the Epic Super Hero/Villain Battle 2009. I helped organize the event as part of Improv AZ. Additionally, I took on directorial duties to coordinate the Hero-side of the battle.

As you can see from dozens of pics on Flickr, the battle was a smash success. Truly meeting the "epic" descriptor. While it looks like it went off without a hitch -- a hitch there was. Scottsdale Fashion Square security intercepted my intrepid band of heroes before we could step foot inside the mall. After some tense negotiation (kidding -- everyone was quite friendly) between our group, security and a lone police officer, we were allowed to pass through the mall sans masks. Since the battle was taking place outside of the mall-proper (you don't think we're stupid enough to do this inside the mall, do you?), we modified our plans slightly and proceeded.

Which brings me to the point of this post. You see, Improv AZ is fun. PodCamp AZ is fun. Hacknight at Gangplank is fun. Ignite Phoenix is fun. And #evfn is a heck of a lot of fun.

I'm working a full time job now. With a 45 minute one-way commute. And I'm still dedicating 15 - 20 hours a week to my duties for Podiobooks.com¹.

I spend a lot of time on things that are fun. And when something stops being fun, I stop doing it. Save the work stuff. But I try and make that fun, too.

Are you having fun?

^{1 - Podiobooks.com is a hell of a lot of fun. I put it here in the "work" paragraph because it's more than fun, and I can quantify the time.}

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PodCamp AZ in November. You should come.

Nice shirt

Originally uploaded by sheiladeeisme

On November 14th and 15th, we'll once again be putting on PodCamp AZ. I'm really looking forward to the event. It's our third year and the folks helping plan the event are fantastic -- even more fantastic than the prior years. I think we're getting good at this stuff.

PodCamp AZ is free to attend. If you live further north than say, Phoenix, your weather sucks in November. You'll want to come here. It's usually still in the 80s, with no fear of that frozen water falling as if by magic from the sky.

PodCamp AZ is also a blast. I've heard many folks call it the new and social media event of the southwest. We drew over 700 people last year. If you were one, great. If not, come out this year and help us break 1000.

PodCamp AZ is a free unconference, but with a twist. Most notable: we actually schedule tracks, speakers and presentations. Anyone can present on any topic, but we encourage speakers to get us their info quickly so we can get them on the schedule. That helps those who want to attend but aren't sure of the value. But let me assure you -- we provide value to spare.

And yes boys, I'm sure iJustine will be back this year. We're getting commitments from other web-celebs from all over the country. It is the place to both see and be seen. Oh, and you can learn some stuff about new and social media, too.

If you're interested, register now. It's free. In the coming weeks we'll be putting up special rates for lodging at local hotels. Or find a buddy to crash with. Couch surfing is the hot new trend.

And if you want to help spread the word on this, today is the day. We're doing a big blog blast. Find the details here. See you in November!

Big Numbers - The video from Ignite Phoenix #4

If you missed the event or didn't get the full picture from the Sideshare presentation, I'm delighted to say that the video of my talk on Big Numbers from Ignite Phoenix #4 is online!



Ignite Phoenix continues to be the very best event in the Valley. And I'm not making that up. It. Is. The. Best. If you don't have one in your community, start one.

I was a lot happier with my presentation this time than last. Why? Because this time, I pushed my arrogance aside (try and picture that) and actually rehearsed. I was prepped. I knew the material. I know what I was going to say and when I was going to say it. I could do the whole 5 minutes without the slides. Yet I left enough breathing room for the crowed to react. And they did, in all the right spots.

Could I improve? Sure. I need to stop moving around so much. Maybe I should only move during the transition. Or maybe it's fine. But if I'm going to do more talks professionally -- no, I wasn't paid to speak at Ignite Phoenix -- then I need to get my body motion as prepped as my ability to nail the slides and the words. Not that I'm not happy. I'm friggin' thrilled with how I did!

Wanna do this? Go ahead. Ignite Phoenix is taking submissions for their 5th event coming up in November. And yes, you know I'm submitting again. What? Not sure... I have time.

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Ignite Phoenix - Big Numbers dry run

I had a fabulous idea recently. Since timing and rehearsal are more important at Ignite Phoenix than other presentations (your 20 slides auto-rotate every 15 seconds without any input from you), I thought I'd do my night-before run in front of the microphone.

And thanks again to the magic o SlideCast by SlideShare, here is the dry-run of my Ignite Phoenix presentation, Big Numbers.

Big Numbers - Ignite Phoenix

View more Microsoft Word documents from Evo Terra.

The actual video of the event will be posted in the coming days. I'm really hoping that turned out well, and that it captured the audiences reaction to my presentation. Which went really, really well. More on that when I can see the video and get it posted.

Oh, and if you live in the Phoenix metro area and are inspired by what you see here, submissions for Ignite Phoenix #5 are open. And yes, I'll be submitting again. How can I not!

Mixing it up at Social Media Club Phoenix

Image by chuck-reynolds via Flickr

I've had a love/like relationship with SMC Phoenix for the last year. On one hand, I love the idea of getting social media enthusiasts together for the purpose of discussing social media. There are plenty of informal gatherings (e.g. #evfn, Gangplank, various Tweetups ...) happening all over the valley all the time. But those are more social gatherings that use social media rather than social media gatherings. The difference is subtle, but there.

In my experience, SMC aimed to do just that, but meetings all too quickly devolved into just another social gathering. A gathering of "usual suspects" who -- without actively trying -- created a nearly impenetrable wall for anyone who was new to the group. I blame no one for this. And I fully recognize that this may be my own misperception of reality. So there's no need to fill the comments with a bunch of "I disagree, Evo" statements.

Because this post is about the future. An unsure future, but a testable future.

Tonight, SMC Phoenix is trying a new direction. It may not be the direction from now on. Hence my use of the word testable. Current-coordinator Jeff Moriarty is tweaking the format and clarifying the scope. Enough to entice me back tonight for what I hope will be the first of many happy returns.

So if you've not been to SMC for a while, give it another shot. And if you're sitting on the sidelines wondering if it's for you, now is a great time to try. I hope to see you there.

Social Media Club Phoenix
Meets the 2nd Thursday of each month
from 6:30p - 8:00p
at Jobing.com headquarters (not the Arena)
4747 N. 22nd Street (between Indian School and Camelback)
Phoenix, Arizona

Trying not to get punched in the face

Hugh MacLeod is very smart. I don't know the man in any way other than reading his blog or looking at his back-of-business-card art, but the smarts shine through.

Today, in this photo, he's accurately represented how I've been feeling for some time now:



And in a strange twist of fate, I'm once again getting more involved in the evil world of marketing and advertising. Hopefully, with less face-punching. More on that in a future post.

If you like Hugh's art, you'll soon be able to get it and more. That one is part of the IGNORE EVERYBODY: Cube Grenades series. Going on sale soon.