I know I go through business cards like water goes through a sieve at conferences, so make sure you’re well stocked and they’re current. If you wait too long, you’ll either end up with craptastic cards that look like you had them printed at the Kwik-E-Mart, or you’ll pay out the nose for shipping. Or possibly both if you’re exceptionally unlucky.

So consider this my little PSA reminder :)

Designed it myself ;)

The reason I thought to issue the reminder is because the mailman *just* brought me a big heavy box full of print collateral! (I know… the strangest things make me happy. What can I say?)

My box of goodies contained my new Lafayette Online business cards, my new BeFoundLocal.com cards, and my new (pictured to the right) cshel cards. Oh, and a couple thousand rack cards for Lafayette Online (rack cards go in the visitor information stands at hotels, the Chamber of Commerce, restaurants by the interstate, etc.)

I was worried that the new cshel cards were going to come out a little weird because I decided to put an enormous blue seashell on the left side of the card and it literally occupies a third of the printable space. The worry, however, was for naught because the color looks great and I’m really, really pleased with the way they turned out. These definitely sparkle with me.

Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but the seashell is the exact same image I’m using as the favicon for cshel.com. Yay for consistent branding :)

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

T-17 days from SES San Jose. Order your business cards NOW.

No related posts.

My flight lands at LAS on Wednesday at 8:30p-ish….which should put me on the Strip just in time to be fashionably late for the SEOMoz party at the conference center. I’m seriously considering doing the whole change clothes/put make-up on/get ready thing in the limo after leaving the airport to minimize the amount of time it takes me to dump my luggage in the room and jet over to the conference center. If I could easily fly in my boots, I could just get dressed in Chicago and freshen up in Vegas, but it’s a pain in the butt to get my boots on and off when I go through airport security… much easier in slip-on flats. Less cute, but oh well. Anyway, I digress…

So here’s my schedule as it stands right this second…

• Saturday, December 1: Attending Toys for Tots 2007 party in Chicago
• Sunday, December 2: Pre-SES Chicago “networking” at Kitty O’Shea’s at the Hilton (on Congress)
• Monday, December 3: Remembering to call my dad to wish him a happy birthday; Working at the office; Playing it by ear in the evening… if there are any parties, let me know!
• Tuesday, December 4: Working at the office; No plans for the evening yet. May cry myself to sleep because I’m missing the fun in Vegas.
• Wednesday, December 5: At the office until 4:30p; Land in Vegas about 8:30p; Heading to SEOMoz party; Then ??
• Thursday, December 6: I’m covering the following sessions for Search Engine Roundtable:
  • 10:15-11:30AM Brand Management
  • 11:35AM-12:50PM Responsible Web Design
  • 1:30-2:45PM Ecommerce and Shopping Cart Optimization
  • 2:45-4:00PM Competitive Intelligence
  • 4:00-5:30PM Organic Keyword Research and Selection

  And then, after marathon liveblogging all day (and probably whilst hungover), I’m going to play in the Purpose, Inc. SEO Poker Tournament at the Venetian with a bunch of SEO high rollers (including, but not limited to: the spousal unit of one Rhea Drysdale, Brent Csutoras, Pat Sexton, Frank Watson, David Mihm, Marcus Tandler [Hallo meinem deutschen Freund!] and the adorable BOTW boys) any one of whom could no doubt clean my clock in no time flat because I completely suck at poker… I’m practicing, but I doubt it will help much.

• Friday, December 7: PubCon! Then I have no clue… playing it by ear.
• Saturday, December 8: Flying home; Office xmas party in the evening.

And of course, because I’m a twitter-addict, I’ll be updating via twitter a bunch so please feel free to follow me. Also, I’m thinking there isn’t going to be a live SEO 101 on Thursday because Neo and I will be at PubCon, I’ll be live blogging sessions (I’m not sure what Neo’s plans are) and poor Brian is stuck in Omaha because… well… I’m sure you’ve heard us complain about that on the past few episodes.

Anyway, feel free to text message me or call — especially if you’ve got a line on a good party — if you’ve got one of my business cards, you’ve got my cell and I always have it with me. I finally remembered to upgrade to unlimited text messaging and free incoming, so it’s all good. See everybody next week!

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

Cshel’s SES Chicago and PubCon plans

No related posts.

We spent a little big of time on the differences between SES, SMX and PubCon, and which conference we felt would be best to attend based on your knowledge level, overall responsibilities and business goals. Oh, and there’s a coupon code mentioned at the end of the show to get 10% off your registration for SES Chicago.

I should warn you that we encountered some technical glitches during the show (Brian’s office lost power and he got knocked off, and I was doing the show from a “borrowed” wireless connection that was a little flaky (I eventually just called in on a landline). All in all though, it was a good show :)

The important things to take away from this are:

1. Search conferences are definitely worth the price of admission (and airfare/hotel/food/bar) because the value of the knowledge you gain in that one week far surpasses what you can learn on your own through self-study in the same amount of time;
2. When pitching conference attendance to your boss, anticipating objections and questions and then having prepared answers, backed up by case studies and facts, goes most of the way toward getting his/her blessing and funding.

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

SEO 101: Why search conferences are worth the time and money

No related posts.

Our guests included Dave Davies from Beanstalk Search Positioning, Curtis Dueck from Epiar, Michael Gray, Mike McDonald, and just some random guy that was walking past the booth.

I have to say, despite only having 3 microphones for 4-5 people (which was our own fault for dragging so many people over to talk), I completely LOVE being able to do the show when Brian, Dave and I are all in the same room. Normally, we do the show via Skype and I’m in Chicago, NeO is near Seattle someplace and Brian is in Nebraska. The live show was just a ton and a half of fun and I can’t wait til the next conference so we can do another one.

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

SEO 101 from SES San Jose

No related posts.

The sessions so far have been good. I’ve covered “Domaining and Address Bar-Driven Traffic“, “What is a Brand Vehicle? Integrated Marketing Together Forever“, and “Searcher Behavior Research Update” for Search Engine Roundtable. (I’m covering 6 more before the week is out, so keep an eye out for more coverage…)

The SEO Ladies Lunch was Day 1, at “The Grill” in the Fairmont. The lunch was 3 courses (which were fantastic), but it ended up being a long meal and a good number of the ladies had to dash before dessert to make the next session.

The parties last night included the SEMPO reception, a couple private parties (including the Ask.com party, which I heard was a really good time, but unfortunately I had a conflicting committment and couldn’t make it… Rhea was there though and she’ll fill me in later). After the private parties ended, everyone (well it seemed like everyone anyway) ended up at the lobby bar of the Fairmont.

The after party in the Fairmont was rocking… there was a smaller sub-party up in a suite that got broken up by hotel security (that’s how you know it’s gonna be a good week right there, kids) and the lobby bar was hopping until 2 or 3am.

There are pictures starting to surface on Flickr… check for “SES San Jose 2007“

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

SES San Jose Day 1 Recap

No related posts.

My cats, btw, are beside themselves with joy to have a human in the house again on a regular basis… I think they started to think they’d been abandoned — My children on the other hand, are probably slightly upset that I’m home again because when I’m gone they’re with grandma and, I mean really, what’s not to like about being with grandma for an extended period of time?

SEO 101 Broadcasts and Podcasts
In the middle of all the work craziness, I’ve also been recording podcasts with David (NeO) Brown and Brian Mark for SEO 101: The Beginning SEO Podcast, and doing a live SEO 101 show on Thursdays from 12:00p-12:30p CST on WebmasterRadio.fm. I’m in the chatroom during the live show, and we’re posting recaps of the shows on the show website.

I’m probably going to stop posting my recaps on cshel.com, but I plan to figure out a way to keep a running list of which archives are posted and links to the recaps.

SES San Jose
I am definitely going to SES San Jose. Have flight and hotel arranged, have time off from work (at the worst possible time imaginable) arranged, and I’ve almost got grandma convinced to take the kids for yet another week. I suppose if that falls through I can try to have the kids boarded with the cats at the kennel. (I’m KIDDING… it’s a JOKE. Really. I’d never do that. That would be wrong.) Anyway… definitely going.

I’ll be blogging at least 8 sessions for Search Engine Roundtable, so you’ll be able to keep up vicariously with all the assorted SES happenings.

I still don’t have a replacement cable for my camera, so I’m not making any promises about posting pictures, though I will be taking them. I just don’t know when I’ll be able to get them online.

Also, please someone remind me on like the 16th or 17th to freaking pack my stupid power cord for my laptop.

Other Projects and Things I’m Supposed to Be Working On
I’m looking for an unpaid minion helper to give me a hand keeping Lafayette Online updated with local news and community events, etc. It’s pretty easy work, it just takes 30 minutes a day or so.

If you or anyone you know is interested in helping me out, and you (or the person you know):

• Has a more than firm grasp of the English language (proper spelling and grammar, etc.)
• Has a some basic understanding of journalism
• Is reliable (and that is super important!)
• and sincerely wants to be my minion helper for a link and a credit on the staff page (with a photo even!), but for no money.

…then by all means, email me at carolyn[at]cshel.com and give me a run down of your qualifications, why you want to be my helper-monkey, and how much time you can devote to me the project. Preference will be given to residents of Lafayette or West Lafayette, Indiana, residents of the Chicago area (specifically the far-far South Suburbs), and Purdue University students.

I have several other projects I will be needing help with, but I’m just not in a position to worry about them right at this second. Also, please don’t email me to pitch me on rebuilding Lafayette Online, because that is outside the scope of the current project plan — and I won’t save your email for when I am ready to think about redesigning/rebuilding the site; I’ll delete it.

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

Work, Conference and Podcast Schedule

No related posts.

Dave Brown (Neo) also mentions that we’ll have our first live broadcast of “Beginning SEO” on WebmasterRadio.fm on Thursday, July 19th (1pm Eastern, Noon Central, 10am Pacific)… so hop into the chatroom and/or tune in for the live show!

Read the full SES Latino Wrap-Up Post, or just download the mp3.

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

SES Latino Wrap-Up on Beginning SEO Podcast

No related posts.

Beginning SEO Podcast SMX Wrap-Up — Download the MP3

Brent Csutoras, Lisa Barone, Carolyn Shelby at MSN Party at SMX Advanced 2007

In the interest of keeping the topic focused on issues relevant to beginners, we discuss the tone and subject matter of SMX Advanced, and at what point in your learning curve you should consider attending. If you’re not to the point where you think you could hang with the big dogs of search, we also recommend some alternative conferences where you can catch more basic sessions and get up to speed.

For other stuff on SMX Advanced 2007, see:

• Long Overdue SMX Wrap-Up – moi
• Live Blogged Sessions from SMX Advanced – Search Engine Roundtable
• You’re all bright people… go do a search :P

[Photo: Brent Csutoras, Weird Asia News; Lisa "The Lisa" Barone, Bruce Clay; Carolyn "cshel" Shelby; Hanging out at the MSN sponsored SMX party on Sunday night]

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

SMX Wrap-Up on Beginning SEO Podcast

No related posts.

The other really nice thing about this conference was that I never got that feeling that I was missing out on twelve other things I also really wanted to attend but just couldn’t because I couldn’t be in multiple rooms at once. There were just the two tracks… Fundamentals and Landscape & Tactics. The Fundamentals being… obviously… a little more focused on fundamentals, and then the Landscape & Tactics track was more advanced topics, case studies, speculation on the state of the industry and where it might be headed, etc.

Everyone gave their talks in English (which was good for me because I’m very much not multi-lingual) and translations were available in Spanish and I believe Portuguese via a live translator in each room. For all the coverage of the SES Latino 2007 sessions, see Search Engine Roundtable.

The Venue and the Parties…
There was no big soirée sponsored by any of the major engines, or any soirée sponsored by a non-major engine for that matter; however, there was a networking reception in the expo area after the Monday sessions with an open bar and tons of great looking food (I didn’t actually have any of the food though because it all had seafood in it… well, except for the cheese display and the roasted pigs that were actually whole little piggies… but I don’t eat seafood, I’m lactose intolerant and I can’t eat anything that looks like it’s looking at me. So… oh well, that’s my hang up. Everyone else said the food was fantastic).

It is really too bad that there wasn’t a Google/Yahoo/MSN type party or event. People who normally attend these conferences expect to see a huge presence from at least one of the majors, so you would think that would be reason enough to just make a small showing. Plus, there were a number of new faces there. It was a great opportunity to reach out to the newcomers and schmooze them without having to shell out tons of money to entertain huge throngs of people (like at the larger events).

After the networking reception, there was a somewhat impromptu gathering at the poolside bar. Drinks were flowing. The bartender was doing his best Tom-Cruise-in-Cocktail impression. People were chatting and watching the storm roll in… it was a good time. When the rains came… and boy did it rain there for a bit… everyone hid in the pool house area. It was very cozy… there was a door directly into the bar, so the drinks kept coming and everyone was just hanging out and mingling. Because of the small size of the event overall, it was very easy to find people you knew, or wanted to talk to, or wanted to meet, and actually talk. Plus, since there was no private party where all the VIPs and rock stars were swept off to… *everyone* was in one place. It helps to make *all* the attendees feel included and welcome.

Speaking of the pool, I hear from certain people who claim to be connoisseurs of these things, that the scenery at the pool during lunchtime was “quality”. (You can extrapolate the meaning of scenery and quality in that context. I’m sure I don’t need to spell it out.)

[Side note: The hotel had NO MINT. How does a hotel/restaurant/bar in MIAMI have no MINT for MOJITOS? I mean seriously. I watch TV. I've seen the Bacardi commercials. You go to Miami, you have a mojito, you do the little twisty mojito dance while the bartender mushes the mint for the drinks.... someone needs to have a little come-to-jesus chat with hotel manglement about that. This "Oh we just use mojito flavored syrup" is BS. I can get the mojito flavored mix at the Target in Joliet. When I'm in Miami, I want a real. fricking. mojito. Period.]

The venue itself was lovely. The hotel restaurant had an awesome, albeit tad pricey buffet. There was a brand new full service Starbucks in the lobby (not one of those lame little kiosks). The only major complaint I have (aside from the mint thing which I’m still miffed about) is that the connectivity sucked major rhino rump. The cell phone issues I can probably blame on Nextel, but the inability to get a wifi signal on the conference level was beyond irritating. Sadly, this seems to be an issue at most conferences. While I get that it’s probably best for keeping people paying attention during the sessions and not sitting and reading email or something, it makes it difficult to check mail or blog between sessions and during lunch. If people aren’t having to rush around to find a good signal, they have more time to spend perusing the expo area, you know?

Summary
I really enjoyed this conference. Not just because of the small size, but also because it wasn’t the “usual” crowd with the same “usual” presentations. While my company is still half a year away from the phase of our big overhaul project that has us redoing our international sites, it was really fascinating to hear case studies about how the cultural differences in different countries affect marketing copy, branding efforts, e-commerce, ppc campaigns, etc. It provided a fresh perspective on things in general and I left with outlines for some new projects at work.

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

SES Latino 2007 Wrap-Up

No related posts.

The Play-By-Play

Friday, June 15th: Our launch has been pushed back *again*, but we were supposed to be getting a large portion of the new site for testing. I was waiting until 5:30p on Friday to find out if I was going to be grounded or get to go to Miami as planned. By the way, by “planned” I mean it is my intention to go… not that I actually had plane tickets or anything, because I didn’t buy those until 11:30p on Friday night.

Saturday, June 16th: Uneventful day making sure all the laundry and stuff is done. Packing, etc.

8:30am, Sunday, June 17th: Arrived at ORD. Printer broken on the self-check in kiosk I picked so I don’t have a “real” boarding pass. I have a reprint (and no checked baggage… with a ticket I bought on short notice… and tons of computer equipment… can you say security red flags? Body cavity search, anyone?)

While waiting for my flight to Nashville, the ticket agent announces the flight is overbooked and asks for volunteers to give up their seats. I know I have a couple hour wait ahead of me in Nashville, and then another couple hours on the ground in Miami waiting for Dave’s flight to land, so I volunteer. Ticket Agent says I can’t volunteer because they wouldn’t be able to get me to Nashville in time for my connecting flight. Oh well, I tried.

And yet, that’s not the end of the story… Keep in mind, I’m sitting RIGHT next to the ticket counter, so I can hear everything they’re saying… turns out that when there’s no volunteers to give up seats, they start bumping people based on LAST TO PURCHASE. So… Ticket Agent calls me up to the counter.

Ticket Agent: We need to bump you because there were no volunteers to give up their seats.
Me: Um. *I* volunteered to give up my seat. *You* told me no because you couldn’t get me to Nashville in time for my connecting flight to Miami.
Ticket Agent: Well, we have 2 too many passengers and we go by last to purchase.
Me: But… what you’re telling me is… I can’t volunteer to give up my seat (and get the free RT ticket for my trouble) but you can take my seat away from me *involuntarily*, *STILL* not be able to get me to my connecting flight in time, *AND* give me a grand total of bubkis for my trouble?
Ticket Agent: Pfft. You’re making it sound *bad*.
Me: It. IS. BAD.

Luckily, the other girl they were trying to bump was way meaner and bitchier than I could ever dream of being to a complete stranger, and somehow they miraculously made sure both of us (Bitchy and Bitchier) were on the plane.

So, crisis averted, right? I’m on the flight to Nashville. Have a nice seat by myself. Gonna go get some Elvis souvenirs, etc. Maybe have some sweet tea, cuz you can’t get that north of the Mason-Dixon. Just want to catch my connecting flight and get to MIA in time for a nice dinner.

Oh… but the day is not over, and it gets SO much more interesting.

About lunchtime on Sunday, June 17th:
Alright, so I’m in Nashville now. There’s no Elvis paraphernalia in the gift shop (wth?). I can’t get a signal on my cell. My Boingo account is locked up and I can neither get online, nor call support to get the account unlocked because of aforementioned cell signal issues. Oh, and they don’t have iced tea at the bar. *Super*

It does get a little better here. I was very nice to the ticket agent, because it’s not his fault that I’m having a rough day and the printer was broken and the Ticket Agent from O’Hare was surly. I guess he felt sorry for me because he moved my seat from the back of the plane to the window seat in row 7 (right behind the divider between first class and the “rest of us”). There was an empty seat between me and the other guy in my row, and he’s a business traveler, so he wasn’t annoying or anything at all. This flight was gonna be okay, and things were totally looking up.

The flight is all nice and wonderful. I found an interesting article in this month’s issue of W about the interactive agency that designs the sites for all the couture fashion people. Managed to ignore the little boy playing the drums on his tray table right behind me and kicking my seat. It’s only a 3 hour flight. No reason to let a small child ruin an otherwise pleasant flight. I have a 3.5 year old… little boys have a hard time sitting still. So it’s all good.

3:00p, Sitting on the tarmac, still Sunday, June 17th:
Mmmkay. So apparently, there’s been a thunderstorm in Miami. While the storm wasn’t actually right at the airport, there was lightning in the area. Lightning doesn’t prevent the planes from landing or taking off; however, lightning prevents the ground crews from being out and about doing… their jobs… so the airport closed the “ramps”. This means that planes are still landing, but they can’t taxi to the gates (because no one is allowed outside to do the ground crew stuff). So 40 planes (maybe more) are all parked on the tarmac at MIA, waiting for the ramps to re-open so they can go to a gate and let all the people off.

5:00p, still sitting on the tarmac, still Sunday, June 17th:
At some point, I got tired of staring out the window and decided to turn around and get a look at the little annoying cretin who has now been kicking my chair and playing the drums (poorly) on the tray table for 6 hours. Oh and whining to his dad that he wants a blanket.

He’s not 4, as I originally assumed. He’s like freaking 8 years old. If I had realized 6 hours ago that the spoiled hellspawn sitting in 8F was *8* years old, I would have said something to him and/or his father. Seriously. I wouldn’t let Max act like that and he’s 3 and genuinely can’t be expected to control himself for extended periods of time.

6:00p, still sitting on the tarmac, still Sunday, June 17th:
I really don’t want to be the evil woman who yells at someone else’s kid, but omg.

Hellspawn: Dad, I want a blanket.
Dad: There aren’t anymore and you don’t need one. You’re fine.
Hellspawn: I *want* a blanket. (tone of voice — Clearly you didn’t hear me the first time, Dummy)
Dad: I told you, there aren’t anymore and you don’t need one.
Hellspawn: I. WANT. A. BLANKET.
Dad: I told you, there aren’t anymore and you don’t need one.
Hellspawn: I. WANT. A. BLANKET.
[This actually goes on for like 20 minutes...]
Me: You know what? People in hell want ice water. There are no more blankets and your father said you don’t need one anyway. Please sit DOWN and QUIT KICKING MY SEAT.

Okay. I didn’t *actually* say that. But I was thinking it *really* hard in their direction. By the way, by this time, we’d been sitting on the ground for a couple hours now. The flight crew hasn’t offered us drinks or anything so much as once, I haven’t eaten for more than 12 hours and I’m sitting right behind first class where they’ve just been given FRESH BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to launch into a homicidal rage, commit suicide or just sob.

7:30p, FINALLY off the plane, still Sunday, June 17th:
Cell phone nearly dead. Laptop dead. Dave’s plane still on the tarmac, no gate assigned, no time estimate for when he might deplane so we can finally go to the Intercontinental and get some dinner because omg I’m STARVING.

Airport bar’s kitchen is closed. It’s already last call. Bartender was nice enough to pour me a couple drinks (@ $11.25 per) because apparently I looked like I needed it.

9:30p, still at the airport, still Sunday, June 17th:
Dave’s flight finally got a gate assignment. I’m pretty tipsy… which is good because his gate is literally 10 miles from the one I was sitting at and I had to walk through a bunch of twisty tunnels with my 500 pound carry-on bag that was making my shoulder feel like separating. Finally found his gate. Stood in line for awhile to confirm that I’m in the right place. Sat down to wait for his plane to pull up to the gate and let everyone out.

10 something pm, still at the airport, still Sunday, June 17th:
Sitting on the floor, falling asleep. Now I’m not tipsy happy, I’m tipsy about to fall asleep. At some point, the flight from Chicago finally pulls up to the gate, Dave finds me (half asleep on the floor) and we wander off to collect the luggage. YAY! Maybe we can get some food before midnight.

11 something pm, finally at the hotel, still Sunday, June 17th:
Got checked in, made it to the hotel bar in time to order sandwiches. YAY! Very happy to have food.

In summary…
Really, life looked much better once we actually got to the hotel and got some food. Like I said earlier… while I was pretty annoyed at the time, it really is sort of a funny story looking back at it. I’ll start working on the SES Latino Wrap-Up next… the conference really was great and aside from the hellish adventure getting to Miami… the rest of the trip was nice.

PS
May God have mercy on that little brat’s soul if I ever get trapped on a plane with him again. *UGH*

Post from: Cshel Chicago SEO, Web Development

Miami: Getting there was not half the fun

No related posts.