Hey, hey! If you’re looking for liveblogging coverage, well…you’re late. Affiliate Summit East is over. However, do feel free to check out our full event coverage to hear what you missed and or go read about Rae’s first time. If you’re looking for blogging coverage of Search Engine Strategies, then go head to Bruce Clay for that. But, um, wait til after you finish this post, okay? I have some news and introductions to get through first.
Next week, I’m going on vacation. To Ireland. For a week. HUZZAH! And while I’m gone, we’re gonna spice things up here on Outspoken. Since you’re going to be Lisa-free, I have begged, bribed and outright extorted some of my favorite people in search (and out of it!) to come share some knowledge in my absence. And to be honest, they’re so freakin’ smart you’re gonna wish I took vacations more often.
Want to know who’s going to blogging on Outspoken all next week? Well, let me introduce you to some friends of mine.
Rebecca Kelley: You know her, you adore her and you’re stoked to see her blogging again. I know; I feel the same way. You know Becs as the new Director of Social Media at 10e20 and a mediocre athlete. I know her as one of my closest friends in the industry and one of the few peeps who blogs with just as much snark and zing as I do. In fact, if you start to miss me, just close your eyes and have someone read Becs’ post to you out loud. You won’t be able to tell the difference. I have no idea what she’ll be tackling next week but I do know you’ll probably wince a few times.
Jamie Varon: Who the hell is Jamie Varon? She’s Lead Designer and Founder of Shatterboxx Media, a blogger on fire at Intersected, and she’s the girl who went viral when she declared that Twitter should hire her. Basically, Jamie Varon is someone with a whole lot more balls than you. She’s also one of my favorite people on the Web and I’m actually jealous you’ll get to read her post before I do. I mean, not too jealous, though. I’m gonna be IN IRELAND.
John Andrews: John is a Seattle SEO consultant and unquestionably one of the smartest people in the space. He’s someone who teaches me something every time I’m smart enough to listen and I can often physically feel the head smack he leaves for me in blog comments. He’s like Michael Gray; but a dude. ;) John is also one of the few people in this space who still slightly terrifies me to the point where I STFU in his presence. Maybe the only person. I’m stoked to have him. Make sure you take notes.
Gwenbell: Gwen kicks ass. She’s an entrepreneur, a solid voice in social media and she’s 6’3 in stilettos. I mean, seriously, I’m in awe of this chick. I sat in her session at BlogHer 2008 and became an instant fan and quiet supporter of everything she does. Because timing is funny, she’ll actually be unleashing an exciting new project the week of her guest post and I’ll be first in line to check it out once I get back. She also found her true love on Twitter which, in itself, is pretty bad ass.
Kenny Hyder: Speaking of bad ass, Kenny is someone you should know. He’s an Internet marketing consultant, a kickass photographer and can throw a bottle over his head and shoot it. Kenny Hyder is Sexy. I’m also pretty sure he hates me, or at least that’s what I’ve gathered from all our Web interaction. If true, at least we know he has taste. ;) If you don’t know Kenny, go read about him. And if you do, let him know that if he doesn’t cause trouble next Friday I’ve given you all express permission to beat him with his own weapon.
Stuart Foster: Stuart is the Founder of The Lost Jacket and also serves as a Social Media Strategist at Mullen. More importantly, he lives in Boston, kicks ass, and is a seriously scary guy in the social space. I got the chance to meet Stuart a few months back when he was speaking alongside Rhea and Mike Germano at Social Media Breakfast. He “introduced” himself to me by yelling out my name as soon as I walked into the room and scaring me half to death. Turns out he’s not a stalker, just excitable. :p I’ve been a huge fan of Stuart and his blog ever since.
I really want to thank Becs, Jamie, John, Gwen, Kenny and Stuart for stepping up and helping me out. The thought of leaving the blog for over a week is difficult, but knowing it’s going to be in such good hands makes it a little easier. Oh yeah, and so will all the Guinness!
