The Best Birthday Gift For A Cancer Survivor

I recently received a tweet on twitter from Chris Brogan about Alicia Staley. Now you probably don't know who Alicia is, but she is one amazing woman. Just check out her blog and you will see! She is a 3 time cancer survivor - talk about some odds! Well, Alicia started a foundation - The Staley Foundation - to support cancer patients and their families undergoing treatment at Tufts Medical Center through education, advocacy, and immediate financial assistance.

Alicia is trying to raise $5.000 by December 31, 2008. If you have ever had a family member, or have known anyone who has battled cancer, you understand the challenges faced each and every day. Today is her birthday and she is unselfishly ask for your donation for the foundation. Won't you take me up on my challenge to donate just $5 to the Staley Foundation?!? You can do so by visiting her blog or right here from this entry.

Pod Camp Pittsburgh 3 - PCPGH3

WOW! I think that word sums up how I feel today. Pod Camp Pittsburgh 3 (PCPGH3) is now over and I am quite sad. It was a weekend of meeting new people, collaborating on ideas, making new friends, learning about social media and just having fun! Thank you to Jason Cable for the invite to PCPGH3. Prior to attending I thought it was going to just be people sitting around talking about their podcasts and teach those who attend how-to do the same. I could not have been more wrong!

Attending the Meet N' Greet Friday night at Alpha Lab was a bit intimidated at first, but I quickly realized I was in a room with some of the most talented in social media people. So many were sharing their successes with their blogs and podcasts. I was simply in awe over the number of people. After the meet n' greet some of us went over to the Double Wide Grille for a few more drinks and discussion.

Saturday morning, day 1, started off with a bang at 9am. It was very impressive to see the number of people at the opening. Never did I ever think there would be that many people attending. A few of my first new friends were met in the breakfast food line. The day continued on with meeting more people and learning so much about social media from all of the talented presenters.

Sunday started out a bit slower than Saturday. A lot of people had a few to many drinks Saturday night I suspect. The first session which I attended Sunday was impromptu and was led by Chris Brogan He challenged everyone to come up with a blog, but not just any blog. This blog was going to be about Pittsburgh and how to put a focus on what makes are neighborhoods unique and how to attract people to the area. After a great group discussion on what the name should be, it was decided to use OMG Pittsburgh - OMGPittsburgh.com I was challenged to design a logo and a layout for the site. We are still in the organizational area of development right now, but this will be taking off very quickly over the next few days.

PCPGH3 was a huge success for me. I am now full of ideas and slowly starting to decompress all of them. Due to the success, the organizers be meeting each month to discuss social media further. The first meet-up will be November 19th at 7PM at the Firehouse Lounge in the Strip District.