photo credit: Mads Boedker

Don’t get it twisted. The propaganda, scare tactics and fear mongering going on, in regards to SOPA, are no better than anything that the RIAA or any creative rights organization has done. Much of it is marketing, meant to sway people with convincing language.

There are people with bad agendas on both sides of the table.

I’m not pro-SOPA or anti-SOPA. I’m anti-nonsense propaganda, pro-internet and anti-copyright infringement. When I saw all of the noise, I was thinking I would be anti-SOPA, but when you put those three together, I’m not compatible with (seemingly) most of the anti-SOPA efforts that are going on. I just don’t fit in with that crowd.

I have been watching the whole AirBnB thing with interest. There have been some thoughts running through my mind, but I didn’t want to share them prematurely, so I have held off, until now. Here they are:

1. AirBnB is something people want to use. So, even if a large percentage of people think the idea itself is unsafe and would never open their home or stay at a stranger’s home, it doesn’t matter. Plenty of people want this and there is risk involved and the responsibility for that risk falls on the participants as much as AirBnB. Because of that, there is room for AirBnB (and like sites) in the market.

2. I think AirBnB will be alright long term with regard to this issue. The sooner they can get in front of this issue, the better for those chances, though. But, other issues may hurt them.

3. AirBnB is popular and the fact that we have only heard of a few of these instances speaks well of the service. Of course, when the host who had her house trashed suggests that AirBnB asked her to keep quiet, that doesn’t inspire confidence.

photo credit: hapticflapjack

For those who don’t know, I was homeschooled for grades K-12. I think that homeschooling is a wonderful thing and, with some infrequency, when I speak at conferences and events, I encounter people who don’t really understand it, which is cool. Like everything, homeschooling isn’t for everyone and public and private schools can be great, as well.

I help explain it to them and, in those cases, I am an unintentional ambassador of homeschooling. That comes from my mom, who always taught me and my brothers that because we were different from a majority, in regard to education, some people would already have a negative view of us and would be looking for a reason to think poorly of us. We’d have to be on our best behavior to make a good impression, if it was even possible.

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of appearing on David Garland’s awesome web video show for entrepreneurs, The Rise To The Top. We chatted about my background, the power of online community and how to pick a niche and be successful. We also talked about how I built my brand and how I market my sites without a marketing budget.

You can watch the video below and he also has an audio only version available on his website. A big thank you to David for having me. It was a lot of fun.

I am definitely excited about what is about to take place at BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas. Not just about what I am doing individually, but what I am doing in collaboration with others, as part of a team.

Not only my fellow panelists, but also The A Team (Brandon Eley, Wayne Sutton and me – we’re featured on 5 panels in all, with 2 book signings) and the SitePoint Podcast crew (Brad Williams, Kevin Yank, Stephan Segraves and me). This will mark the first time that the entire podcast team has been in one place at the same time, with Kevin coming all the way from Australia.

I’m happy to announce that I have booked my first keynote presentation. It’ll be at Podcamp Topeka in Topeka, Kansas on November 6. The event will be held at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. It’s an “unconference” where everyone is welcome to lead a breakout session – in essence, a discussion on a particular topic. I’ll be leading at least one myself, following the keynote.

The event is being organized by a team led by David Lee King, an acquaintance of mine, that also includes Brandon Sheley, Alissa Sheley, Lisa Coble-Krings, Bill Ludwig and Joe Cheray. I have been so impressed by the organization of the event and David’s leadership. I believe it will be a great unconference and it is a tremendous value, as well. For the day, including lunch and perhaps even a small breakfast, the cost is only $6.11. You can register online.

BlogWorld & New Media Expo is less than a month away. For the third consecutive year (read my 2008 and 2009 recaps), I’ll be speaking at the event, but I will have more going on at the conference than ever before.

I’ll be speaking on three panels, two of which I developed and will moderate (note: it’s not the typical moderator format, I will contribute equally). So, that’s pretty crazy.

In May, I spoke at WordCamp Raleigh, held at the Sheraton Raleigh in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now that I have my SXSW Interactive recap out of the way, I wanted to sit down and share my experience at this event.

It was actually my first time in Raleigh, beyond just driving through, and a bunch of friends and people I already knew were attending the event.

I have been busy booking speaking engagements for the late summer, fall and early winter and as some of them are coming up, I thought that I would share all of them with you, in case you have any opportunity to attend. I hope to have even more to announce soon.

Modern Media Man Summit (Atlanta, September 9-11)

I’ll be delivering a solo presentation, “Jack Bauer’s Guide to Managing Online Communities,” at Modern Media Man Summit at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia on September 10. The conference runs from September 9-11.