Matt Weeden, who presented at the Denver WordPress Meetup on September 25, warmed up the crowd by giving us an overview of WordPress’s free themes: how to find, install and activate them.  If you don’t have WordPress.org yet, you can see the selection on their theme page.  With more than 1200 themes to choose from, the hard part is narrowing it down.  This can done by searching by keyword, author or tag.  By selecting any of 38 variables in five categories, you can further narrow the search.

Matt demonstrated some of the features on the WordPress dashboard, using two free themes as examples:  Twenty Ten (default) and Atahualpa.  Free themes can be customized to varying degrees, using options that are built into them.  The consensus among this group was that Twenty Ten is one of the most adaptable of the free themes. (more…)

Networking is an important part of growing a small business, and I believe strongly in blending social networking with traditional face-to-face networking. But, I often joke that I have a love/hate relationship with networking, overall. It comes down to one’s ability to manage all the contacts made, no matter what the forum or medium.

For the past nine months or so I have been a member of MeetUp — an online site for organizing, finding, and participating in networking groups not confined to online interaction. If social media is word-of-mouth on steroids, MeetUp is networking, turbo-charged.

What surprises me is that many MeetUp members don’t take advantage of the features that MeetUp has designed to allow you to get the most out of networking. Here are a few tips for using MeetUp to help you network like a pro:

• Fill out your profile as completely as possible, including links to your other social profiles. This is a great way for you to let people you’ve met at a MeetUp know more about who you are and what you do.
• Check out the ‘Members’ tab in each of your groups and review the profiles — particularly profiles of people you met face-to-face at a MeetUp. This is a great way to get to know each other better, connect online, and continue the conversation.
• Be sure to check out the sponsor’s links down the left side of your groups’ MeetUp pages. Sponsors have much to do with the success of your group, and are relevant to the interests of every member. Show your appreciation for their support by getting to know them better. It’s easy to do when you follow, friend and “like” their social sites. When it’s appropriate, promote and mention them in your own posts.
• Set Privacy and E-mail Notification rules. One concern I’ve heard about MeetUp is that once you join, you seem to get bombarded with e-mail. This, however, doesn’t need to be the case. Simply go to your ‘Account’ and in the ‘Membership & Communication’ section you can choose privacy and e-mail notification settings for each of your MeetUp Groups and for general MeetUp messages.
• For those wanting to start your own MeetUp Group – MeetUp walks you through, step-by-step, how to start and grow your group. A link to get started is right at the top of their site. They offer everything from suggestions on venues to templates for name tags. They even promote your group once it’s started. Check out all the links on the site. You’re sure to find everything you need to run a successful MeetUp.

These tips just scratch the surface. With all its features, MeetUp nicely closes the gap between social media and socializing – social networking and networking. If you have a favorite use for MeetUp, or a tip you can share, please click the blue ‘comment’ link at the top of this blog and tell us about it.