An Animated Announcement.

Boy was I surprised when my friend Jasmine Banks phoned me up, sweet-talking like a pro...


...and asked me to be the KEYNOTE SPEAKER at the very first, long awaited #SoFabCon.

It's the inaugural conference of Collective Bias to bring their community of bloggers, their Social Fabric, together to learn, hone their skills, connect and party. Obviously.

I'm tremendously honoured.

Who's coming to this? I hope to meet some of you in person in Bentonville Arkansas, during the May 3 - 5 weekend. I may do some toonswag while I'm there, if any attendees hold still long enough for me to draw them. My keynote is on the Saturday afternoon and it'll be animated. Obviously.

And for the record, the video was Jasmine's idea. That girl is spectacular.

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Dare to DREAM.

It was an honour to do the Opening Keynote at the first ever Aiming Low Non-Conference...and I wasn't nervous at all. I actually got everyone to sing the original Star Trek theme whilst The Huz sorted out the audio-visual. That was kinda epic.

And then there was this:

1. Sit on your good hand.

2. Shut one eye.

3. Using your other hand, tweet:  "I can. #NonCon"

And then we used both our hands to give the incredibly feisty Anissa Mayhew a round of applause for getting us together at the NonCon. She made her dream come true.

If she can, you can too.

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The First NonCon.

"Any questions...?"

I dunno about you, but I'm always terrified to ask my question at the end of a conference panel. My heart starts pounding, my mouth gets dry and I feel kinda dizzy.

And the questions that do get answered never have a chance to evolve into stimulating discussion. The three panels I attended at BlogHer12 all felt like they ended too soon.

Whelp. The very first ever Aiming Low NonCon is being launched October 12-13.
Their concept for panels is truly inclusive - they're calling them Roundtables*.
*Tables may not be perfectly round.

A session will have three tables running simultaneously on the same topic, each with its own leader. The Roundtable leader guides the discussion with the smaller group. You don't have to wait until the end to ask your question and the discussion can evolve organically.

Then they switch tables.

So you get to talk with each of the leaders and it gives you a more rounded spectrum of info on the topic.

Big, big conferences can be intimidating. But not the NonCon - here's the typical Aiming Low personality profile:

The NonCon has been thoughtfully programmed with the attendee in mind. Go to the NonCon and you'll get maximum take-away in blogging know-how, and hanging out with top bloggers who truly know their stuff. Chances are you'll also make friends for life.

The first NonCon is free; it's taking place in freaking paradise - seriously, check out the Callaway Gardens in Georgia. There's special rates for the NonCon, and The Huz is coming with me cuz it's so pretty. Well that, and the fact that James Brown was from around there.

I'll be the Opening Keynote...at 8 AM. Don't let my pyjamas fool you - I'll be wide awake.

The Closing Keynote is none other than Ree Drummond, AKA The Pioneer Woman.

I hear Friday night will have a super-hero themed costume party (my idea, naturellement). No promises but FUQMAN may make an appearance with the Maid of AWsum.

Space is limited! Register here.

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Katie Couric is TOON swag - part 3.

Continued from Part 2.

Katie Couric gets her own post in my BlogHer recaps.

When I think of Katie Couric, I think of intelligence and warmth, humour, curiosity, honesty and critical thinking...perhaps it's because I have teenage daughters, but the words "role" and "model" gravitate towards each other when I hear her name. Interviewed by BlogHer co-founder Lisa Stone in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton NY, in front of 5000 breathless women, she did not disappoint. Katie Couric was undeniably animated.

She was talking about how the internet has unleashed good things and bad things, citing the "anonymous vitriole" on Twitter and saying "I spend a lot of time blocking them." And then she turned to one side and made stabbing gestures at an invisible smartphone, and actually said this:

And I fell in love.

The Katie Show premieres September 10th, 2012. I may just have to get cable for this.

More toon swag HERE!

I drew this toon swag on my iPad with my Wacom Bamboo stylus, using Adobe Ideas.

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How To Make TV.

Sometimes you just get an idea, you know? This is the story of how I was inspired...and a TV series was born.

It took two years to make the show. At the end of the production I was asked to give a speech to the animation team. I like to illustrate my presentations with funny drawings cuz it's more fun for everyone. Afterwards I turned it into this little film.



It takes a lot to make something like this happen. Sharing and collaborating and team-building; my best friends tell me it takes leadership. Whew. About time I owned that. And about time I shared it on this here blog.

More about My Life ME, the TV series here and here. Oh and there's also MyLifeME.com.

Oh gee, uh...what pretty share buttons...!

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