Archive: Featured
Chances are that you know someone that has been affected by Alzheimer's Disease. This devastating illness is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. Someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's every 71 seconds. Most of the time, the people dealing with the disease feel helpless in fighting it.
Well, now you CAN do something about it. You can join the over 200,000 people that will be participating in the Memory Walk this year. The walks are scheduled at different times this fall throughout the country. It's not a marathon, but rather a 2-3 mile walk held on a weekend morning. You can also help us promote the walk by taking the Opp in SocialSpark about this event.
My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2002. Shortly after this diagnosis, it became apparent that one of us in the family would need to move into her house to help take care of her. I immediately volunteered because my Nana had always been there for me and I felt it was my duty to be there for her in her time of need.
We managed her care at home for another two years before we had to move her into an assisted living facility. During that time, I watched as my Nana slowly slipped away. That was the hardest two years of my life, but also the most rewarding. I feel privileged that I was able to be the one to help my Nana and to give back to the person who had taken care of me my entire life.
My grandmother is still alive today but my Nana is only with us every so often. She is well taken care of and I couldn't ask for much more. I know I will be participating in my local Memory Walk this fall and I hope you feel inspired to the same in your community.
Together, we can MOVE a nation. Take this Opp and blog about this now!
We're thrilled to announce the addition of two new partners to our social media conference, IZEAFest. They are both great sites that offer resources to bloggers and social media enthusiasts. Please take a few moments to visit their websites to learn more about the services they offer, and welcome them to our Community.
DotSauce.com is an exclusive web based magazine for domainers, web developers, designers and of course bloggers! Featuring almost daily updates on innovative web applications, sales and marketing, SEO, blogging resources, domain name industry news and more. You can join their private discussion forum community for the best free resources, video tutorials, available domain lists, coupons, discounts and more.
Pijoo is a blog directory, a social network, and a social voting site all rolled into one. By adding your blog to Pijoo, you can get more hits, more readers, and a whole bunch of new contacts from the blogosphere, as well as being able to track your visitors, build a community around your blog and keep up with the latest posts from other blogs.
Not yet registered for IZEAFest? Click here to sign-up today.
Technorati Tags: blog events, blogging, IZEAFest, social media, social media conference
IZEA is the featured company today at OfficeSnapshots.com:
Office Snapshots shows their readers the inside of cool offices from around the world. They typically feature Web 2.0 and tech companies, and perhaps larger companies that people are familiar with. Our feature puts us in the company of Bebo, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr and more!
Technorati Tags: Cubico Loco, IZEA, IZEA Team, OfficeSnapshots.com
Last night we had a fantastic birthday celebration at Wall Street Plaza in downtown Orlando. We thought we'd share some photos of the festivities here on the blog; individual photos are located on our Flickr profile.
If you missed the posts on the Community Blog last week, you may not know that tomorrow is a big day for the IZEA team and the IZEA Community. (We certainly wouldn't be where we are today without the support of our Blogger & Advertiser Community.) Even if you don't live in the Central Florida area there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the festivities.
Here's the skinny:
IZEA Loco
For newbies: IZEA Loco is our monthly employee get together, and we don't mess around at these things: lots of food, cakeplows, and awards for "RockStars of the Month." It's loads of fun, and if you want to take part you can follow the whole thing as we Twitter it. Here are some photos from previous IZEA Locos this year:
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
Cubico Loco
Last week Ted challenged the entire IZEA Team to pimp out our cubes with any theme we'd like, and boy have we ever! Don't worry -- you'll be in on the action. Starting at noon tomorrow (12pm EST) we'll start taking pictures of all the decked-out cubes, and post them here on the blog. Then you guys will vote on your favorites. There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes so get your voting skills polished! Stay tuned for additional details.
Devasaurus
This is the first of many meet-ups of local developers and technology enthusiasts. It's being hosted at the IZEA offices from 6:30-8:00pm. You might have an opportunity to win $5,000, so you don't want to miss this. A map to IZEA and registration information can be found at http://devasaurus.eventbrite.com/.
IZEA Turns 2!
Two whole years! It's hard to believe we're celebrating our second birthday. And we want you to join-in on the fun. For those in the Orlando area, feel free to join us at Wall Street Cantina immediately following Devasaurus. We'll have food, drink, and make lots of memories. Click here to register so we can know you're coming.
If you're not in the Orlando area and can't make the party, don't worry -- we'll take plenty of photos and share them with you after the party.
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow...and for two more successful years!
Technorati Tags: cakeplows, IZEA, IZEA Team, social media, Ted Murphy
SocialSpark is really catching on, so much so that IZEA had to hire another inside sales manager to help manage all the advertiser interest. So here I am! My name is Erin Fox and I was attracted to IZEA's unique marketing platform almost six months ago. Since then I began hanging around the office in hopes that they would break down and let me in already!!! Some might call it "stalking" but I think of it more like being tactfully aggressive :) Well it paid off and here I am. I truly love my position at the company since I get to help our advertisers maximize their social media exposure. What could be better for a UCF marketing major? Being at IZEA truly is a dream job, especially since I get to be a part of something that is creative, unique and cutting edge.
Now for the personal stuff. I worked in new home sales for the past three years and I really became interested in the green movement. The amount of waste that a newly constructed home produces is staggering ( 2 tons!) So that really inspired me to reduce my impact on the world. I have been doing my research and learning about all the new and old ways to reduce, reuse and .....(come on you know it).....recycle!!! I am hoping to get some more advertisers who are a part of that industry to become a part of Social Spark. We only have a few green bloggers right now, so I can't wait for more to join. My hope is that we get a whole channel dedicated to going green. Then all of us "tree-huggers" can find out about the latest and greatest green products and services.
I truly believe that the blogging community has so much insight to offer our advertisers and are becoming a major influence in the marketplace. My future at IZEA looks very bright and I can't wait to see what happens next. Look forward to future posts and your feedback.
The June "Blogger for a Cause" is Biscuit's Blog. This blog is actually the official blog for the British Columbia SPCA, and its goal is to raise awareness of and provide treatment for injured homeless and wild animals. They do this primarily through the BC SPCA Biscuit Fund. And it all started with...well, Biscuit. That's him over there on the right. Cute, huh?!
Here's a little history about how the blog got started:
“Biscuit” was a stray, wandering the streets when he was repeatedly stabbed by an unknown person and left for dead. The small dog managed to pull himself half-dead into a nearby garage, where he was found by a family and rushed to a veterinarian.
Biscuit was transferred to the BCSPCA, where he was nursed back to health in a safe, nurturing environment. Despite his ordeal, Biscuit harbours no grudges. He is friendly and gentle, and thriving in the care of his new loving family!
We created the Biscuit Fund to help care for many other sick and injured homeless animals like Biscuit.
Almost everyone can identify with the love of animals, even if one doesn't have a pet. So when I recently ran across this "Best Charity Blog" at BloggersChoiceAwards.com (like how I found last month's blog) I knew I'd found my June feature.
The blog posts on "Biscuit's Blog" are told from the perspective(s) of the animals in need, and this is one of the reasons the blog was selected to be featured this month. It's a very creative, touching way to position a sensitive subject.
Here's a screenshot of the current homepage of the site. To see more click here.
Don't forget that if you know of a blogger who uses their blog as a platform to raise awareness about a certain topic or issue, you can share it with us. Simply send us the url of the blog and why you think they should be featured to charity[at]izea[dot]com. While you're at it, why not nominate them for a Blogger's Choice Award?
Previous features:
- May 2008 Blogger with a Cause
Technorati Tags: Blogger with a Cause, bloggers, blogging, charity
IZEA has been recognized by the 7th annual Horizon Interactive Awards. The Horizon Interactive Awards is a prestigious international competition spotlighting outstanding achievement among interactive media producers; IZEA was awarded in two distinct categories, for two different products:
- RockStartUp:
"RockStartup" was awarded "Best of Category" in the Video-Documentary/Short Film category, ranking higher than even three properties owned by USA Networks. If you've never watched RockStartUp or need to catch-up on the most recent episodes, simply visit RockStartUp.com.
- IZEA Company Blog(s):
The IZEA blog(s) won a Silver award in the "BLOG" category. We strive to make the blogs valuable resources for advertisers & clients, bloggers, and those simply interested in learning more about IZEA as a company. Current blogs are we maintain are:
- Advertiser blog
- Community blog
- Developer blog
- Postie blog
Thanks to all of the RockStartUp fans and blog readers who allow us to do what we do everyday. And extra special thanks to the IZEA Team for being committed to the IZEA brand, showing up with energy everyday, and giving us rich content to feature throughout our various products.
If you would like to read the full press release about winning these awards click here.
Technorati Tags: award sites, awards, Horizon Interactive Awards, IZEA Blog, RockStartUp
It's official: IZEAFest is here! And quite frankly, it's shaping-up to be a bomb-diggity blog conference. How could it not be with these folks already confirmed to speak:
- Alexander Schek <> Fayerwayer.com
- Brian Clark <> Copyblogger.com
- Christopher Schmitt <> ChristopherSchmitt.com
- Eric Hersman <> WhiteAfrican.com
- Etan Horowitz <> Orlando Sentinel
- Jeremy Schoemaker <> Shoemoney.com
- John Chow <> JohnChow.com
- Katia Adams <>1800-flowers.com
- Lea Alcantara <> Lealea.net
- Lena West <> xynoMedia.com
- Loren Feldman <> 1938Media.com
- Matt Blancarte <> Unique Blog Designs
- Merlin Mann <> 43Folders.com
- Michael Brito <> Britopian.com
- Peter Shankman <> Shankman.com
- Scott Allen <> MindComet.com
- Sean Bonner <> SeanBonner.com
- Sean Jackson <> LeadMaverick.com
- Steve Spalding <> HowToSplitAnAtom.com
- Susie Gardner <> Hop Studios, "Blogging for Dummies"
- Ted Murphy <> IZEA
- Zach Coelius <> Triggit.com
Each of these speakers are bringing invaluable knowledge to the event, as well as tons of energy and passion about the Internet! Visit IZEAFest.com/speakers for extensive profiles on each individual.
If you're planning on attending--or are already registered--make sure and grab a badge (that fancy little thing over to the right) so you can promote the event to your readers. And don't forget about the community we created at Eventful -- you can establish a profile and interact with other attendees, and even engage with the conference speakers.
On the site you'll also find helpful information on travel, accommodations, and restaurants here in the Orlando area! TAKE NOTE: There are group rates available at the Grand Bohemian Hotel and the Courtyard Marriott (just down the street from the conference). To learn more make sure and visit the "Lodging" page under the "Travel Info" tab.
If you'd like to receive event updates simply enter your e-mail address under "Newsletter Signup" on the homepage -- there will be more information coming within the next few months.
See you at IZEAFest!
We're so close to launching the official IZEAFest website. Once it goes live I'm certain you'll find it to be filled with tons of useful information about IZEAFest, including profile pages for each of the speakers, and links to all the social networks and communities they're active on.
Though the site isn't live yet we've had one significant session change, that you might be interested in. We've dissolved the "Fab Four" Postie panel, and are replacing it with a panel session titled "Big Money Bloggers." And you're not going to want to miss this one! Several powerhouse personalities will show attendees how they can make mucho money with their blog! Check-out who we've already got confirmed:
- Stephanie Agresta (Internetgeekgirl.com)
- John Chow (JohnChow.com)
- Neil Patel (Pronet Advertising)
And guess who's going to be moderating the panel? None other than our very own Postie BenSpark. Yup, he took the time to create and submit a video for the "Fab Four" panel, and his reward is to moderate. Check-out his video submission:
Be on the lookout for the IZEAFest website soon. In the meantime, feel free to join-up with the community we've started over on Eventful.com. You can interact and engage with other bloggers who are attending, and get more information on our confirmed speakers.
