Word Camp Miami – @Genuine

- What are the best blog designs and software?

- Look at who is getting awards for blogging. Who had the best following? Who had the best blog traffic?

- What sites are the bloggers blogging from. What sites are they commenting on? What sites do they follow?

- Mommy blogger: Duece

• Story of rag to riches, to riches, to riches!

- www.genuineblog.com (Personal Site)

- Traffic Number = 7000 people ever 10 minutes at the highest peak. Live blogged two births!

- Update regularly. Be funny. Get involved with your community and target.

- Daddy Blogging and What You Get Back

• Search Engine Optimization
• Spent no budget on marketing or SEO.
• Wordpress is more efficient and more affordable.
• A lot of negative feedback, but also will receive instant and positive customer service./feedback.
• Build a brand.
• Be seen as an expert in whatever you blog about. What is your target field?
• Engage in conversation.
• Everybody has an opinion, and they all want to leave it on your blog.
• Build an army of blog evangelists.
• Metric/Analytics and Data
• You don’t feel like a blogger, until you receive that first comment from someone who isn’t your mom.

- Like Daddy’s tool box, a blog is nothing more than a tool we use.

• If you’re a blogger, you have the potential to be a business owner

- Tips for Business Blogger

• Identify your assets. What is your passion? What is your knowledge?
• Identify who the cool kids are. Businesses always want to know who is in their cool kid group.
• If you’re a yarn manufacturer, who is your biggest yarn blogger?
• Who influences blogs relevant to your category/area of blogging.
• Go out and participate in the community. Become a member of the cool kid’s club. One you’re in that club, you’re in for good.
• Add value to your community.
• Lead by example. Start trends in blogging and in your own community.
• Don’t push me. Don’t push or buy your way into the cool kids club. If you don’t push your way in, you’ll be accepted. If THEY invite you to the cool kid’s party, you’ll always be on the list.
• Have fun! When you talk about what you love, your passion will come out, and you will have fun!

- Q and A Session

• FTC regulations.
• Believe in complete disclosure for companies that use bloggers.
• Great to hire bloggers for your business, because they will bring traffic and leads.
• Encourage your clients to be bloggers as well. They are the ones who are in the mix, and their voice cannot be lost. They are the ones who are actually passionate about what they love and what they do!
• The difficulty of finding a blogger, is finding a blogger who believes in your business.
• Don’t become a professional blogger, about something you don’t really like. Match up bloggers with like-minded businesses.

This past week, Flamingo Road Church did their first Laundry Love outreach in Miami. We had a team of about 6 people, who took over a local laundromat near Hallandale Beach. We were armed with coffee, donuts, detergent, coins, and most importantly… hope. We were able to pay for the loads of many families in the area, some underpriviliged, some were just on vacation from the cold in Canada. However, they all needed to be shown Christ’s love just the same. It was so awesome to just sense the community that was being created there in a laundromat, on a cold Saturday morning! When we first arrived, the laundromat was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Then, as we started to talk to some of the people washing their clothes, it started creating a nice buzz. When people would get the coffee and donuts from us, they would start to strike up conversations with whoever else was getting coffee or donuts. It really was an amazing success, and it was a fantastic experience to have gotten to be a part of.

This is from my interview with Zak White of Revolution Church:

Ileana, share who you are, what you love, what you do, age, etc in a few sentences.

My name is Ileana (aka @CountryCuban), I’m 17, and what I love are Jesus, and people. What am I most passionate about in life? Loving Jesus, loving people, and making sure the latter can tell I love the former. It really is that simple, the rest of my life is just details.

What ministries do you serve in at your church?

Currently, I serve at Flamingo Road Church in Cooper City, FL. Flamingo Road is a multi-site Church, and I serve at the Internet Campus as the Director of Online Communities. I also serve on our outreach team called Seats2Streets. My heartbeat has to do with mass communications, social justice, and intertwining the two.

Honestly, my love for Jesus and people is what ultimately motivates me to serve my heart out. I love people way too much to just sit in a chair, and not try to impact their lives. Miami is the second most unchurched city in the United States, and I firmly believe it’s because many people here see Miami as a lost cause. It’s not a lost cause…it’s a city that God loves, Christ died for, and an amazing plan for it. If I can do anything to contribute to that plan, I’m going to do it.

The first thing that the pastors can do, is tell them that they need help! Us teens aren’t usually the ones who are going to make the first move. Tell us about the need, so that we can fill it.

Don’t assume that we’re going to say no…give us a chance. If you need help in the tech area, say it! If you need help in the children’s ministry, say it! Don’t only say it, but take time to actually know the youth in the youth group. Obviously it might be hard for the youth pastor to get to know everyone, especially if it’s a larger church. Get a core group of 5 young leaders (which is what Flamingo has) to really get to know the students. When the students feel that they belong, they will want to serve. We have to feel like we belong to something before we would want to contribute to that something.

Really, it’s the way that Flamingo chooses to partner with people to reach their God-potential. It’s not just a cheesy motto, it really is what they do. I’ve been a part of many churches, but none have invested so much into me, despite my age.

Flamingo didn’t see my age as a disadvantage like most did, they saw it as an advantage. I think that’s where the real problem lies in many churches. There are many kids like me, and not all of us are called to serve in the youth ministry, contrary to what many may believe. I started off serving in the youth ministry and it was great, but I wanted to do something different. Flamingo didn’t make me stay serving there just because I was a teen. They let me take on an extremely vital position in the Internet Campus, and it was a perfect fit, because it was a passion of mine. That’s the cool thing at Flamingo. Of course we have teens serving in the youth ministry, but we also have them serving in parking, children’s, the internet campus, doing tech, making food, and so much more. Flamingo firmly believes in building up people, not just ministries… no matter their age.

Really, I would just continue harping on not limiting teens because of their age. 1 Timothy 4:12 has a pretty big thing to say about that. I am grateful that they chose to not clip my wings.

The last big thing I would say would help is mentoring. I know mentoring can sound like a scary and intimidating thing, but us teens need more than you can imagine. The world we live in is a crazy, peer pressure filled environment, and we need to be able to turn to adults other than our parents sometimes for advice. Invest in a teen… you won’t regret it.

This Christmas, I didn’t go on vacation.

Instead, I got to be a part of one of the most amazing things I’ve ever gotten to be a part of. I got to be a part of the Flamingo Road Church Christmas services. Those three days were absolutely incredible, and I can’t even describe properly the life-change that happened. I saw thousands literally come to Christ, and saw four of my friends get baptized. God worked in crazy ways this past Christmas, and I know He’s not done yet. 2010 is going to be another year of watching lives change, and I can’t wait!

This is me, a little over a year ago, at Harvard. A lot can happen over a year… a lot can change.

Little did I know a year ago…

- How many amazing people would walk into my life.

- How many people would walk right out of it.

- How many friendships would turn into something beautiful.

- How many friendships would drift further apart.

- How many times I’d say too much.

- How many times I wouldn’t say enough.

- How many walls I’d let down.

- How many walls I’d still keep up.

- How many times God would close doors.

- How many times God busted Heaven’s doors open.

- How many times I’d doubt my faith.

- How many times I couldn’t be more sure of it.

- How many times I made people proud.

- How many times I let people down.

- How many times I’d get out of my comfort zones.

- How many times I’d change my mind about my future.

- How many tears I’d cry.

- How many laughs I’d share.

- How many smiles I’d flash.

- How many hugs I’d give.

- How many lives I’d impact.

- How many lives would impact me.

A couple of months ago in class, we were having a conversation about some different Indie bands that had recently gone mainstream. One of the bands that came up, was Death Cab for Cutie. However, a classmate who butted his way into the conversation halfway in and wasn’t paying attention ended up sticking his foot in his mouth rather quickly. He said, “Deaf Cats for Cutie?! What a stupid band name!” Yeah… not quite.

Now, this is exactly what happens to us as a leader sometimes. We can’t expect to come half way into a conversation or in the middle of someone explaining an idea, and fully understand/grasp what they are talking about. As a leader, you have to be able to be intentional, and you have to be able to listen. When someone is talking, listen. Listen to every word they say, pay attention, and give them your undivided attention. If you don’t, you just might end up saying something about some cats who are deaf for cutie.

Yep! Frclive.tv was one of the internet campuses shown in a video montage this past weekend on Headline News on CNN!  Our very own Pastor Ricky is on at around the 14-second mark. Go God. : )

“Your greatest regret at the end of your life, will be those lions you didn’t chase. You will look back longingly on risk not taken, opportunities not seized, and dreams not pursued. Stop running away from what scares you the most, and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.”

- Mark Batterson, “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”

Last night, I stayed up till 2am watching the U2 LIVE concert webcast. It started at 12am EST and although I would’ve loved to have snuck in some sleep, I could NOT miss out on history in the making. I’m not sure if people really understand just how crazy this live global webcast was. It was the 1st of its kind. Surely, it won’t be the last of its kind. Over 100,000 were live at the Rose Bowl, but MILLIONS more watched online, and felt the magic that is U2. Now, although it was a crazy huge step for the music/entertainment industry, I feel as though it was a huge step for internet campuses all over the world.

Millions watched, and felt as though they were right there experiencing it live. Millions grasped what was going on live and were able to attend the concert. Millions were able to come together, with millions from around the globe. It was legit. Internet campuses also provide a legit experience. U2 did a global LIVE concert for the first time, but we do several LIVE experiences every week at Flamingo Road Church. Check out www.frclive.tv this weekend if you get a chance. It’s got legit fellowship. It’s a legit experience. It’s a legit campus.

It could just change your perspective on a few things…

As I sat in a studio taking my Senior portraits this weekend, there was a mother looking through some photos with her son. She was in her mid-40’s and while looking at the photos said, “I would love this job. You know, I have a knack for taking photos… I should’ve done that as a career and followed my dream.” She then quickly closed the book, and sighed heavily as though regretting the path that her life ended up taking.

I don’t want that. I don’t want to live my life in a manner that 30 yrs. down the road, I wish I would’ve done my passion or followed my dream. I want to live my life doing what I love, and I want to live my life knowing that when God called me to something (no matter how crazy it was), I did it. I want to leave a legacy that when God called me to move or to jump, I responded by, “How high?!”

Don’t live your life in regret. It’s not too late to turn around, and follow that dream that you’ve always dreamt. The crazy big passion you have for something, use it! God put it in you for a reason, and it’s not to wish you would’ve acted upon it!