Topic: Visually Speaking: conveying your brand message with design, layout and visuals.
Clever url, great content but something just doesn’t feel right. We will take a look at maximizing your website real estate, and discuss the power of photos, logos and yes, even the dreaded color story. Think these things don’t matter? They do! Visuals make the difference between an okay site- and an awesome one. Let’s find ways to put your over the top!

Based in Orange County, California, Marcy Massura is a Digital Community Manager at Weber Shandwick.  In addition to developing social strategies for numerous high-profile clients this award-winning international agency represents, Marcy serves as the digital voice for Oscar Mayer and Lunchables within the social media space.  Her love of writing inspired her to create Smartly, a network of regional websites showcasing essays from a national collective of writers. Additionally, Marcy is Co-Founder and President of the largest North American regional blogging organization, BlogCrush.  She is also heavily involved in several other websites, where she contributes essays, photography and video on a weekly basis.  She maintains her own popular humor website The Glamorous Life Association, and speaks as often as possible spreading her passion and joy for all things social. Her second book “How to Play with Words and Make Them Do (great) Things” is expected for Spring 2012.

Topic: Social Media for Social Change
Taking authenticity online to create a committed following for your cause.  Learn how Krochet Kids intl. has leveraged the free tools of social media to drive awareness and new followers in support of their work and their products.  Using a WordPress powered site to drive social change on a bootstrapped budget.

Kohl Crecelius is the CEO & Co-founder of Krochet Kids intl.  Kohl and his team of close friends are on a journey to revolutionize what it means to do business and do good.  In 2007 they foundedKrochet Kids intl. (KKi) – a non-profit lifestyle brand focused on empowering communities and engaging customers to make a sustainable impact on global poverty.  KKi is a leader in producing and selling products made in Africa.  They employ over 100 people in Northern Uganda through the production of their handmade headwear and fashion accessories, and have recently started a new program in Peru.  Now spanning three continents, their work connects the producer with the customer through a hand-signed label that accompanies every product.

Yes, Kohl does crochet.  He also has a variety of other interests that keep him grounded, including surfing, skateboarding, and blogging. You can normally find him wearing a KKi beanie and occasionally sporting a mustache.

Topic: Content Development for your Blog
Blogging is a topic that can scare away even the most outgoing person or brand – the idea of writing on a regular schedule is not only intimidating but can be very frustrating to accomplish. In this session, we will delve into creating categories (both conceptually and within WordPress), planning out blog posts (how to create drafts & schedule in advance) and uncover some great plugins and tools that can take your writing to the next level once you get started. If you’ve been wanting to take your blog to the next level…or maybe just get one started, this session will give you all the ammo you need to create a strong blog calendar that will propel you into the blogging world with force – and help bring you business!

Kirsten Wright received a degree in Rhetorical Communications from California State University, Long Beach in 2006 and soon after, found the world of social media and blogging. She launched her first WordPress site in 2007 and currently runs Wright Creativity, a successful web design and social strategy firm in Orange County. Her business is dedicated to taking the small business to the next level through individualized social strategies, custom WordPress designs and a complete understanding of communication marketing. She and has a passion for writing and helping others find their inner voice. In her free time, she lives in south Orange County with her husband, enjoys good food and wine, and loves taking their greyhound, Badger, for runs.

Topic: Optimizing WordPress – Speed Matters

By itself, WordPress is fast and snappy application but over time your site may become slugish and laggy. A slow site is not good for your readers, or your search engine rankings. In a one hour presentation, Josh Highland will show you some practicle ways to optimize your WordPress sites content and configuration. The presentation will cover best practices, helpful plugins and real life optimization examples.

Josh Highland is an internet aficionado entrepreneur, developer, community builder, and lover of all things tech. With a strong background in Computer Science, he believes in the power of WordPress and the community surrounding it. For several years he has been helping his clients make the switch to WordPress. Along with his WordPress, and social media obsession, Josh creates iPhone/iPad applications, and is the founder of NewLeaf Labs.