From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

Earlier this week we launched the new Digital Media Seminar portal. The concept has been in the works for a while and through lots of hard work we are finally live.

What is Digital Media Seminar?

Digital Media Seminar is a series of seminars, training, conventions, meetings, and general gatherings about the digital media world. See more about what Digital Media Seminar is here.

See a list of all digital media upcoming events that may interest you here. Included in the events list are our Coffee with the CEO sessions.

See videos, slidedecks, agendas, etc. from 2009 digital media events here.

See videos, slidedecks, agendas, etc. from past 2010 digital media events here.

For a sample list of topics that we’ve discussed in past Digital Media Seminar events, click here. I think you’ll like these.

And of course, if you would like to request a new digital media event or would like to host an event, let me know here.

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Fire and Rain by James Taylor.

I will be leading a class on the WordPress blogging platform next week. Feel free to join us if you have not yet begun blogging and don’t know where to start, or if you’re stalled near the starting line, or if you just want to know more about blogging with WordPress.

In the class, we will talk about many topics but a few of them are:

1. Why use WordPress as your blogging platform?
2. Where to host your WordPress blog.
3. How to setup your WordPress blog.
4. How to choose, install, and activate a WordPress theme.
5. How to choose, install, and activate a WordPress plugin.
6. How to configure your WordPress blog.
7. Creating content:
   1. Blog posts.
   2. Blog pages.
   3. Adding images.
   4. Adding video.
8. What are categories?
9. What are tags?
10. How and why to setup comment approval.
11. Fighting spam with Akismet.

Register for the Using WordPress as a Business Tool, How To Get Started on Blogging class here.

Photo credit: Eric M Martin

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Little Village by John Hiatt & Ry Cooder.

Below is the video from today’s video blogging talk with the team at Realty Executives. Thanks Wes and Chris for hosting a great lunch event. And many thanks to my sponsor, Melissa and Tidewater Mortgage.

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to view and enter comments.

On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix.

Below is the slidedeck from today’s video blogging talk with the team at Realty Executives. Thanks Wes and Chris for hosting a great lunch event. And many thanks to my sponsor, Melissa and Tidewater Mortgage.

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to view and enter comments.

On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix.

I will be speaking next week to a group of Hampton Roads professionals, hosted by Realty Executives, on the use of video for their business. Of the many topics we will touch on are:

• Should video be used as a part of your toolset.
• How video should and can be used in your daily activities.
• How video can be used effectively for lead generation.
• How video can be used efficiently during your busy day.
• Where you should store your video and using storage as part of your social network.
• When you should quick produce your own video and when you should hire a professional.
• What type of video camera should you use.
• Live streaming video, when and why.

Join us at the Realty Executives office at 316 Office Square Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Register for the event on Facebook here. I look forward to our conversations!

Please help support my speaking sponsors for this event: Tidewater Mortgage Services, Inc and JASE Digital Media.

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Deliver Me by Sarah Brightman on Pandora Radio.

Below is the slidedeck from my presentation to the Williamsburg Internet Marketing group yesterday. We had a great couple of hours discussing blogging for business on many different levels.

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Caldonia by Albert Collins.

Williamsburg/ Peninsula Internet Marketing Group

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 4:00 PM!

What: February IMG Session : Blogging for Business

When: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 4:00 PM

Who: 42 Yes / 1 Maybe

Where: Liz Moore & Associates Building in New Town, 5350 Discovery Park Blvd, Williamsburg VA 23188

Meetup Description
Keith Parnell, CEO of JASE Digital Media, CLO of NeedLocalHelp.com, and Co-Principal of New Media Conventions will be speaking at our next Meetup on Thursday Feb 3, 2010. Our Topic will be Blogging for Business - The How’s and Why’s.

Of the many topics we will cover, will be -

• Why you should blog.
• How and where to setup a new blog.
• How often to blog.
• When to blog - on a schedule?
• Who to blog to.
• Inbound marketing concepts.
• Lead generation.
• How to blog efficiently.
• How to tie your blog to other social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
• How to measure the results of blogging.
• How to encourage audience interaction on your blog.
• How to syndicate your blog.
• Is blogging all you need to do?

Please bring your laptops with you to enjoy the hands-on portion of the session.

About Keith Parnell
Keith is the Founder & CEO of JASE Digital Media, a marketing and new media agency based in Norfolk, VA.

Keith is Co-Founder & CLO of NeedLocalHelp.com, an Internet start-up that specializes in local business services, local small business advertising, and providing the most comprehensive local search directories across the United States.

Keith is also Co-Founder and Co-Principal of New Media Conventions.

Keith is a speaker, writer and blogger at keithparnell.com. He frequently performs interactive talks and how-to sessions for companies, non-profit organizations, conferences and seminars. He is a knowledgeable and passionate speaker on a variety of topics including new media, online marketing, social media, inbound marketing strategies, brand management solutions, and successful advertising techniques.

Technology, marketing and social media are among Keith’s daily passions. He has a vast presence and personal network in the social media world with c. 25,000 followers and subscribers from his blogs, Twitter, JASEzone, Facebook, LinkedIn and FriendFeed networks.

Keith is a member of the Entrepreneurs Forum of Hampton Roads, the Hampton Roads Internet Marketing & Technology Group, the Williamsburg / Peninsula Internet Marketing Group, and the Virginia Opera Guild. Keith video blogs at CoffeeWithTheCEO.com.

On Twitter? Follow Keith at @parnellk63.

Kim Tahey with Atlantic Bay Mortgage has graciously offered to provide refreshments for afterwards.

Please RSVP here. If this gets much large we may have to change venues.

Share this with others you know who might benefit. There are powers in numbers. Our hope is to develop this into a learning/ sharing experience ,where all can learn/ share and become proficient!

I will be speaking to the Williamsburg / Peninsula Internet Marketing Group in February on Blogging for Business - The How’s and Why’s. Thanks John for the invite.

Of the many topics we will cover, will be -

• Why you should blog.
• How and where to setup a new blog.
• How often to blog.
• When to blog - on a schedule?
• Who to blog to.
• Inbound marketing concepts.
• Lead generation.
• How to blog efficiently.
• How to tie your blog to other social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
• How to measure the results of blogging.
• How to encourage audience interaction on your blog.
• How to syndicate your blog.
• Is blogging all you need to do?

Keep an eye out here for more information and registration details.

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to view and enter comments.

On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.

I’ll be teaching a how-to class on Twitter in a few weeks. The idea behind the session is to get non-profits and museums across Virginia onboard with the powerful networking aspects of Twitter.

I’ve come up with this course description and bullet conversation points. If this looks like something that would benefit your organization, feel free to contact me to setup a date. I’d be more than happy to talk with your action officers, decision makers and executives on the true power of social media and new media marketing.

Twitter for Your Organization - The Why and How

Building and maintaining your organization’s brand and reputation is a crucial aspect of the success you achieve. Twitter, one of the power players in this era of social networking, has proven to be an efficient tool to help with brand management.

But why tweet? Here are some of the topics we will cover in this session on tweeting to help you understand how Twitter can help your organization.

- What is Twitter and how does it work?
- Why should we tweet?
- The Twitter lingo.
- How to get started tweeting, creating an account, setting up a profile.
- What software programs can I use to tweet?
- How to post tweets.
- How to manage multiple Twitter accounts.
- How to @reply to others and retweet (RT) other tweets.
- The right way to interact with other twitterers.
- How to add Twitter to your blog.
- How to add Twitter to your Facebook page.
- Twitter marketing with your mobile phone.

Teacher: Keith Parnell, JASE Group Marketing & New Media

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Truth Serum by Dishwalla.

I will be speaking on Wednesday (10/28/2009)  next week in Chesapeake (VA) for the team at Real Estate-XChange. Real Estate-XChange is an exciting company that is just beginning their ventures into the social media marketing world.

During the presentation, Social Media Business Strategies, we will discuss social media as part of an online marketing plan falling under the umbrella of a comprehensive marketing plan for the real estate industry, and our (JASE) experiences in using social media initiatives with our clients.

Other points of interest that will be covered are blogging for business, inbound marketing, internet marketing, lead generation, online marketing, search engine marketing and SEO.

2009 Oct 28: Social Media Business Strategies

Location:
The Real Estate-XChange
517 Baylor Court
Chesapeake, VA 23320

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“Social Media Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow” delivered to New Media Conventions on September 18, 2009 at the Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club in Virginia Beach, VA.

Feel free to extract from, copy or talk about any slides in the slidedeck. Enjoy!

I will be speaking on Wednesday this week in Norfolk (VA) for the South Hampton Roads Museums Forum (SHRMF). SHRMF is a regional group of public relations and marketing professionals with our area’s museums and historic sites.

During the presentation, Social Media’s Role in the Marketing Plan, we will discuss social media as part of a comprehensive marketing plan for the SHRMF institutions, and our (JASE) experiences in using social media initiatives with our clients.

The event is hosted by our friends at Keep Norfolk Beautiful.

2009 May 06: Social Media’s Role in the Marketing Plan

Location:
Ernie Morgan Center
3500-A Granby Street
Norfolk, VA 23504

Reprint as a reminder -

I have a great honor and privilege of being included in a presentation panel of Twitter users that live in (electronic) social media. Be sure to visit the group’s website to register for the event before it fills up. You won’t want to miss the fun.

Twitter For Beginners

April 2, 2009, Thu 6:30 PM
Location:
New American Mortgage
575 Lynnhaven Pkwy #101
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
757-971-2876

What is Twitter and Why Do People Care What I am Doing?

Twitter has many uses for both personal and business. It is a micro-blog that you can use to interact with customer, broadcast news and blogs and easily communicate with friends and family.

At this meetup we will learn
-Why Twitter is Useful
-Networking with Twitter
-Twitter Tips

We will have @parnellk63, @sonnygill, @naomadoriguzzi who will assist you with ALL your twitter FAQ’s. With a combined 10,048 followers and 18,688 tweets(updates) as of 3/13/09 they have shown they have definitely learned how to use twitter effectively.

Afterwards you will be able to ask them your questions on making it successful tool for your business in our open Q&A.