Bootcamp Pittsburgh Rocked!

This weekend I attended Bootcamp Pittsburgh at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I volunteered to be part of the setup crew which was cool because I got to start meeting people before the event got rolling. Food was provided by WearLocal.

The keynote was by Chris Brogan, Cindy Closkey, Mike Woycheck, and Justin Kownacki.

My first session was on how to do a podcast – seems simple really, but I’ll need to learn Audacity and/or MovieMaker.

Second was a Branding session by Kimberly Reed, Lindsey Patross of Spreadshirt (and I heart PGH, and various others!), iJustine, and Rachel Arnold. It was good stuff and I learned:

• People are loyal to people, not brands
• Be yourself and let that show through
• People want to do business with people they like
• Branding is a process and takes time
• Choosing the right name is critical
• Get a professional to do your logo – it will pay off in the long run
• Everyone should have a logo

Lunch was generously provided by Guru.com!

After lunch, I went to a panel on how to find your voice. It was interesting and the panel consisted of the cast of STBD and also iJustine. Things I learned:

• Be yourself, flaws and all
• Be energetic but not forced
• Get feedback from family / friends
• Authenticity is Key!
• Be Consistent
• Take care of your voice
• 2 people are more interesting than one (conversation)
• You can’t please everyone – pick your audience
• Don’t take feedback personally
• Be honest
• Know when to stop talking!
• Have a plan but don’t be restricted by it

The last session I attended focused on Monetization, and was hosted by Lindsey Patross and Gene Bromberg. Good stuff! Spreadshirt has a great model, and Gene showed how to take something you care about and blog about it, and an opportunity might just come along! They also reviewed things like Google AdSense and reviewing blogs.

We had lots of food left over so we donated it to a homeless shelter at 3rd and Wood, and then walked over the Smithfield Street Bridge to Station Square where we had the afterparty at Bar Louie’s

Cindy Closkey and Norm from AIP

iJustine chugs one down

Mike Woycheck learns a little about wrestling

I met a lot of neat people, too, like Dawn Papuga and Alex Landefeld, Sportsocracy, John Carman, the Wrestling Guys, and Brian (check out his new blog!)

All in all, it was fun, I learned a lot, and did some good networking! I’m looking forward to Podcamp Pittsburgh in the fall…

Scott