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I was recently told about an interesting website designed to help bloggers promote their blogs – its called RSS Hugger.
Along with increasing the visibility of your own blog, it appears to be a worthy place to discover new ones as well (a dangerous thing for me, as my blog reader is already nearing 100+ feeds).
RSS Hugger - worth checking out.
I’m often asked by my clients for wedding industry referrals – most often for videographers. I’ve worked with many great professionals, and I’m always thrilled to recommend my favorites.
In addition, I’ve just discovered a new wedding planning site that helps couples connect with local wedding vendors in their area — Viddia. I’m in the process of creating a listing for Scott Anderson Photography on Viddia, and am looking forward to partnering with them.
In addition to ratings and reviews of local professionals, Viddia has some innovative applications for such areas as video sharing and local planning guides.
Regarding wedding videography specifically, here’s some worthwhile information from the Viddia crew.
+ Viddia aims to be the best source of videography information on the net, providing a videography guide, listings of over 13,000 wedding videographers and the web’s only video sharing service designed specifically for real wedding videos.
+ Viddia’s sharing tools allow professional videographers to upload ultra-high quality widescreen Flash video so wedding films can be viewed with the quality they deserve.
+ Couples can then use Viddia’s email tools to send out viewing invitations to friends and loved ones that include a snapshot of the video and a link to the viewing page. Additionally, newlyweds can password protect their video to keep their privacy if they so choose.
Congratulations to Dane Sanders on the launch his new book, Fast Track Photographer. Every so often a book comes along that is “important”…and Fast Track Photographer clearly falls into this category. Dane is one of the most inspiring people I’ve met - and a role model for the wedding/portrait photography industry. With Fast Track Photographer Dane shares his wisdom in an eloquent and engaging style. Check it out.
“The workaholic lives on fear…the passionate worker shows up because it’s a hobby that pays.”
-Seth Godin
I like that…a hobby that pays. I also dig Seth’s observations regarding people who work on passion and curiosity, not fear.
Check out his blog post here.
I’m always intrigued with a discussion of copyright issues, especially as the topic relates to photography within the digital realm (blogs, websites, flickr, MySpace, etc). Along with my work for clients (wedding and lifestyle photography), I also sell stock and fine art images (and have been compensated fairly). However, I’ve also had these images “stolen” (via digital channels) and used without compensation.
Some in the industry say this is a risk of having an online portfolio (i.e., just part of doing business in this day and age)…and others have even claimed that I should be proud that my images were chosen to be “borrowed” (citing the creative commons model, etc.). The conversation is interesting, and I’ve heard compelling arguments on both sides (for the record I hold the opinion that photography should only be used with full permission of the copyright owner/photographer and/or legally licensed).
I especially dig Robert Haggart’s eloquence on the subject…”I think it’s cool that people want to create material and give it away because that’s exactly the value of the material they’re creating.”…”High quality photography is still very expensive.”
His recent blog post is worth checking out.
Lately I’ve been on the look-out for well organized and resource-filled online business communities. One that recently captured my attention is “Open Forum” by American Express. Currently, the top feature is a video clip featuring Seth Godin leading a discussion on how “your most marketable asset is your unique talent” (along with a full section of archived videos featuring a handful of interesting entrepreneurs). In addition to a robust forum (including discussions marketing, technology, finance and others), there’s a sizable library of articles and resources ideal for business owners and entrepreneurs.
I don’t currently own an American Express card (former corporate card holder). None-the-less, I’ve spent a significant amount of time within their “Open Forum” and have garnered plenty of useful information (and continue to have an affinity for the brand). Definitely worth taking a look.
