The Visual Lounge lets you find out about TechSmith behind-the-scenes. Watch screencasts and videos from other customers, meet up with your fellow TechSmith users and staff, and get more tips and tricks!

On the road again... just can't wait to get on the road again! I always find myself humming that old Willie Nelson tune when I'm packing my suitcase.

And, this week is no different! On Monday (March 30), I'm heading San Francisco with Dirk Frazier, the Screencast.com Product Manager, and Justin Welsch, from R&D, for the Web 2.0 Expo.

It's my first year attending the Web 2.0 Expo so I'm excited to see what the conference is like. If you're in the Bay Area or attending the conference, we'd love to meet up. First round of a beverage of your choice is on me! Just email, call or text (cell: +1.517.410.0030) or tweet me!

"The stars at night, are big and bright... Deep in the heart of Texas!!!" I always think of that song when I'm in Texas. I'll spare you my singing (you can thank me later). Next week, the TechSmith crew is heading down to Austin, Texas for the SXSW Interactive Festival! Tony Dunckel - the Snagit and Jing Product Manager, Mike Kujansuu - the Camtasia Studio and Morae Marketing Manager, Brooks Andrus - Senior Flash Developer, and I are headed south to the event.

I have 10 One-Day Tickets to the SXSW Interactive Festival to give away! First come, first serve! The ticket is good for one of the following days:

• Saturday, March 14, Noon - 6pm
• Sunday, March 15, Noon - 6pm
• Monday, March 16, Noon - 4pm

If you'd like a ticket, email me or contact me on Twitter (@betsyweber or @techsmith).

If you're in the area or attending SXSW, we'd love to meet up with you, hear your feedback about the products, do a screencast, or just hang out! Beverage of your choice is on me!

After SXSW wraps up, I'll be headed to Microsoft Mix09 in Las Vegas. Same rule there. Email or tweet me if you'd like to meet-up! I'd love to see you there!

One of my favorite sayings is, "A picture is worth a 1,000 words." We are visual beings. Evidence supports that people learn more from words plus visuals than from just words alone (see this post from the brilliant Kathy Sierra for more info). With that in mind, I'm headed to San Jose, on February 21, for the VizThink Conference which is all about Visual Thinking. If you're attending the show or are in the area, I'd love to meet-up!

One of the facilitators at the VizThink Conference is Dave Gray from XPLANE. He made a great Camtasia Studio video about to express yourself visually. Part of expressing yourself visually is to draw simple objects. His screencast shows how to draw a car using simple shapes. Follow along and draw some cars with Dave!

You can read Dave's blog post here about the video.

We're also having a Twitter 'tweet-up' before VizThink starts. If you're interested in meeting up on Saturday night, February 21, here are the details! See you there...

I was thinking about the last time I visited London. I was a senior at Michigan State University on spring break. I had a great time seeing the city, trying a full English breakfast (complete with baked beans!), riding the tube, visiting Piccadilly Circus and other landmarks. I even had a brush with royalty! I saw Prince Charles at a movie premier (OK, so I was in a crowd of people with a gate between him and the fans, but I did see him!).

On that note, I'm very excited to head across the pond for several fantastic events in September. And, I have no doubt this trip will be just as exciting if not more so! And, I'd love to meet-up with you along the way!

My first stop is on September 3rd at the London Geek Dinner (big thanks to Ian Smith and Cristiano Betta for organizing) - The London Geek dinner is a social evening for geeks and geek-friends. Come on out. I'll buy you a beverage of your choice!

After that, I'm headed down to Brighton, UK for dConstruct. dConstruct is a conference for "people designing and building the latest generation of social web applications".

I'm also visiting with Stewart Milton of BlueOrange (Remember he does the Morae Boot Camps?) I'll be doing some videos with him. Do you have any questions I should ask him?

I am attending the VizThink London event, "Why the Vision thing is a Visual thing". I'm a big believer in Visual Thinking so I'm excited to attend this event.

I'd love to meet-up! If you're in England or Scotland and would like to talk shop, drop me an e-mail, call or text me (+1.517.410.0030), or contact me via Twitter! I'll be roaming around September 3 - 12.

Or, if you can't meet-up, do you have any travel advice for me? Where should I go, what should I see, where should I eat in Brighton, London, Glasgow and Edinburgh? I'll be posting pictures along the way here and hope to get some great video as well.

"Just can't wait to get on the road again..." I'm sitting in a hotel room in Las Vegas, humming that old Willy Nelson tune... And, that can only mean one thing. Tradeshow season is heating up again! And, I do mean 'heating' up!

This week, I'm in hot and sunny Las Vegas for the New Media Expo. TechSmith will have a booth there. If you're attending the show or in the area, stop by! We'd love to chat with you.

Next week I'm off to Gnomedex in Seattle. I'm excited to see many of the speakers including screencaster extraordinaire Beth Kanter (I hope to get a quick video interview with Beth - any questions?) and community expert Tara Hunt. Chris Pirillo puts on a great event! If you're in the Seattle area, I'd love to meet up for coffee, beer or whatever your beverage of choice is.

TechSmith participates in several Tradeshows and Conferences every month. You can check out our Event Calendar here. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like to meet-up. We usually have several people ranging from Product Managers to Developers to Marketing and Sales attend each show. And, we'd love to meet-up to get your feedback. Maybe we can even meet to sing a round of Willie Nelson songs on Karaoke!?!

It's almost June and that means that tradeshow season is in full swing! Several TechSmithies will be spending some quality time at airports, hotels and tradeshow booths. That's where you come in! If you're attending ASTD, STC or Microsoft TechEd, we'd love to meet-up with you! I will be working the booth at ASTD and TechED. Feel free to e-mail or call (517.410.0030 - cell) if you'd like to meet-up. Details are below! Hope to see you on the road!

• ASTD
• When: June 1-4
• Where: San Diego, CA - San Diego Convention Center
• Booth #304

• STC
• When: June 1-4
• Where: Philadelphia, PA - Pennsylvania Convention Center
• Booth # - 430/432

• Microsoft TechEd
• When: June 10-13
• Where: Orlando, FL - Orange County Convention Center
• Booth # - 324/326

Break out the ziplock bags, suitcase and mini bottles of shampoo that are less than 3 ounces...It's time to head out to some tradeshows!

Up first is Microsoft Mix in Las Vegas! I'll be there March 4 - 7. I'm excited to hear what's going on with Microsoft technologies like Silverlight and there is a great User Experience Track. I'm excited to see the keynote from one of the first tech Evangelists - Guy Kawasaki! And, I'm looking forward to meeting new friends as well as seeing old friends like David Crow, Josh Holmes, Nicole Simon, Jay Goldman and more.

TechSmith will have a booth at the SXSW Interactive Festival. I'll be there March 7 - 12. Have questions about Camtasia or SnagIt? Want to see Jing in action? Stop by! We'd love to meet you and give you a demo.

If you're attending either show or are in the area, drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell, +1.517.410.0030. I'd love to chat with you about future projects, screencasting, product feedback, twitter, hockey, or whatever topic you choose! And, if you can't attend the shows, I'd love to be your roving reporter. Any sessions you'd like me to attend?

And, if you're traveling around that time, look for me in the airport. I'll be the one wearing a SnagIt t-shirt clutching a zip lock bag full of tiny 3 ounces bottles, :-)

Have you ever heard the saying, '"We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."? Well, I'll definitely be following that rule this week and sitting on the edge of my chair listening!

I was honored to be invited to the the DLD-Conference this week in Munich. There are so many great speakers and attendees like Nicole Simon, Tom Rafferty, Niklas Zennstrom, Marissa Mayer, Esther Dyson and even Martha Stewart and Naomi Campbell (do you think I could get Martha or Naomi to start screencasting?!)

If you could ask any of the speakers one question what would it be?

If you're in the Munich area and would like to meet up for beer or your beverage of choice, let me know! My cell phone is +1.517.410.0030.

It's a new year and that means tradeshows are starting up again!

Tomorrow I head to San Francisco for my very first Macworld. TechSmith will have a booth there. Stop by booth #4329 - we'd love to chat with you.

The SnagIt and Jing Product Manager, Tony Dunckel, and the Camtasia Studio Product Manager, Troy Stein will be there to hear your feedback too!

For more information about TechSmith and Macworld, please visit here. You can also sign up to be put on a list for more information about our Mac development efforts on this webpage.

Hope to see you there! Drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell at 517.410.0030 if you'd like to meet-up.

And, if you can't make it to Macworld, check out our calendar of events here and maybe we can meet-up at another event. We're adding new events to our calendar all the time.

I've never been to Macworld before. Any advice?

Our products are better because of you. Yes, you! Your feedback and input help shape our products. With that in mind, I'm heading out on the road to several conferences in the next few weeks. I'd love to meet-up with you to get your feedback first hand and to grab a beverage of your choice or meal.

Up first is PowerPoint Live in New Orleans on October 28 - 31. I need someone to get into trouble with on Bourbon Street! :-)

On November 3, I head over the pond onto Berlin for BarCamp and PodCamp Berlin. I'll also be attending O'Reilly Web 2.0 Expo and the Girl Geek Dinner too. I'm very excited to meet with Dieter Schiecke and Axel Becker from PowerPoint-TV and Nicole Simon from blognation Germany.

On November 9 - 11, I am going to Copenhagen to meet up with Raymond Kristiansen. Remember him from some of these previous posts? He makes great screencasts.

And, then it's off to Barcelona for Microsoft TechEd on November 11 - 18.

I'll also be headed to Calgary and Banff on November 23 - 27 to meet with Paul Pival and to attend CanUX - the Canadian User Experience Workshop. I went to this event last year and learned so much. The event was very hands-on and interactive. Never a dull moment with David Crow and Jess McMullin around!

My cell phone number in Europe will be +1.517.974.2528 if you need to reach me. Otherwise my cell phone number is +1.517.410.0030. I should be available on e-mail as well.

I'll be posting pics all along the way here on Flickr.

I'd love to meet up in New Orleans, Berlin, Copenhagen, Barcelona or Calgary and Banff to get your feedback first-hand. E-mail or call me if you'd like to meet-up. If you can't meet at any of those events or cities, TechSmith will be at several tradeshows. Check out our calendar here. Look for me around town - I'll be the one wearing the SnagIt t-shirt. :-)

I'm off to PodCamp SoCal and the Podcast and New Media Expo next week in Ontario, California.

I'm really looking forward to seeing friends like Sean Carruthers and Andy Walker from the LabRats, Dan York, Jason Van Orden, Chris Brogan, Leesa Barnes, Paul Colligan and more plus meeting new friends!

And, I'd love to be your roving reporter at the show. Anything you'd like me to ask or find out for you?

If you're in the area or attending the show, I'd love to meet-up with you. My cell is 517.410.0030 or you can find me hanging out in the TechSmith booth. Stop by and do a screencast with me. :-)

August is around that corner and that means tradeshow season heats up again! I'm hitting the road and would love to meet-up with you!

First stop is Vancouver from August 6 - 8 to see the infamous Sean Carruthers from the LabRats and meet-up with some Morae and Camtasia Studio users. I've never been to Vancouver before! Any travel tips for me?

After that, I'm off to Seattle from August 8 - 12 for IgniteSeattle and Gnomedex! I look forward to Gnomedex all year long. Chris and Ponzi Pirillo are great hosts. The attendees are amazing too - I always find myself sitting in the audience thinking that I'm surrounded by greatness with the likes of Marc Orchant, Jeff Barr, Eric Rice, Dave Schappell, Josh Hallett, and so many more!

Then, I'll be in Dallas August 12 - 16 for a few events. I need someone to show me how to do the Texas Two-Step...I promise not to step on your toes!

I'll be posting pics from the trips on here Flickr. And, I would love to do some screencasts with anyone who's willing too.

If you're in any of the areas, I'd love to meet-up! We can talk about our products, technology in general, screencasting, Texas BBQ, or even just go photo walking for fun. I'm open! Feel free to call me on my cell (517.410.0030), Skype (betsyweber) or e-mail me! Hope to see you on the road!

A couple TechSmithies are headed to the NECC tradeshow next week. If you're in the Atlanta area or attending the event, we'd love to meet-up with you! A few members from our Training Department will also be attending the show. This is the perfect time to get some tips and tricks from them.

Also, the Detroit Tigers will be in Atlanta playing the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night. If you're interested in heading out to the game with the TechSmith crew, let me know. It'd be fun to get a big group together to see the game. Maybe we could even screencast at the ballpark?! Any volunteers?

Drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell (517.410.0030) if you'd like to meet-up.

And, to get you into the baseball mood, check out this neat Camtasia Studio screencast I found at Baseball-Reference.com. This site has all sorts of baseball history and stats from 1871 to now! Click the screenshot below to watch the video. The video runs about 5 minutes.

The Morae and UserVue Product Manager, Shane Lovellette, Video Production Specialist, Kelly Rush, and I are in New York City and New Haven, Connecticut to visit the Usability Professional Association (UPA) local chapters. If you're in the area, we'd love to meet-up. Call me on my cell if you're around - 517.410.0030.

We're also meeting with Todd Follansbee from Web Marketing Resources tomorrow. I'm excited. He's going to take us on his boat. Todd sometimes runs usability tests, using Morae, on his boat! We'll be recording an interview with him so we can show you how he does this. Todd is in the pic below. Todd's dog, Otis, goes along with him when he travels to customers and conducts usability testing.

And, on a side note, I'm happy to support and visit your organization or user group as well. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like us to attend your event. As much as I'd love to attend every event, that's not always possible due to schedules. We can also schedule a webinar to present remotely. But even if we can't attend, I'm always happy to support you. You can download stock presentations and order materials here for your event such as eval CDs, literature and even swag.

I'm hitting the road again this week. This time AJ Morris from Tech Support will be going with me. You remember him, right? You can read this old blog post and watch a screencast with him here.

We're are headed up to Toronto on Thursday night for the Microsoft EnergizeIT event on Saturday, June 16. We'll have a table there to demo SnagIt, Camtasia Studio, Screencast.com, Morae and UserVue.

EnergizeIT is a free event. We'd love to meet-up with you there or even outside of the event. The sessions look great. I'm really looking forward to seeing David Crow and Mark Relph talk about Community.

If you'd like to meet-up for coffee, beer, food, or general geekiness, we'd love to see you...our treat too! Drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell phone (517.410.0030).

And, I'm sure AJ and I will find some time to do a screencast. Any questions you'd like us to answer? AJ does tech support for Camtasia Studio and Screencast.com so he's an expert at both.

Hope to see you there!

Several of us from TechSmith will be in Orlando, Florida next week for Microsoft TechEd.

If you're going to TechEd or are in the Orlando area, I'd love to meet-up! Our President, Bill Hamilton, and the SnagIt Product Manager, Tony Dunckel, will be attending too. This is the perfect chance to give them your direct feedback!

I have a few free passes to the expo hall. If you'd like one, e-mail me.

I'll be in Orlando, June 2 - 8. Drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell, 517.410.0030, if you'd like to meet-up. I've also been adding some events I'll be attending at Upcoming.org here. You can also see all the shows that TechSmith is exhibiting at here.

Hope to see you there!

Growing up in Michigan, we'd head over toward Lake Michigan and stop off in Holland, Michigan. Next week, I'm off to Europe and my first stop is in Holland! I'm sure my visit to Holland next week will be 100% different than my visits to the little city in Michigan. For starters, when I booked my hotel room in Amsterdam, I had the option to add breakfast and a bike rental to my room!

First stop on my trip is a meet-up with Hans Mestrum from Tulip Computers. That's him pictured below. You might know him by his blog, Hans on Experience. Hans is an expert at screencasting. We're having a blogger and screencaster meet-up. More details are here. We'd love to see you! Anything you'd like us to screencast about?

Next up after that is a quick talk at Ad:Tech Hamburg. I'll be talking about blogging, forums, screencasting and working with all of you!

If you'd like to meet-up, I'd love to hear from you. E-mail or call me, 517.410.0030, although this phone number will not work in Europe. I'll post a new phone number next week. I'll even take travel tips for Amsterdam and Hamburg. Anywhere I should see or restaurants to visit?

I will be posting pics to Flickr here and hopefully making some screencasts too. The long flight should give me that time I need to edit the backlog of screencasts I have. ;-)

I'm headed up to Toronto next week for Flash in the Can with Troy Stein, the Camtasia Studio Product Manager, and our Senior Flash Developer, Brooks Andrus.

We're driving up. I'll be armed with a computer and video camera so maybe we'll make some screencasts on the drive. Any suggestions for topics or questions you'd like answered? It's a 5 hour drive from Lansing, Michigan to Toronto so we'll have plenty of time to make some screencasts. I promise not to screencast while I drive.

Anyone interested in meeting-up? We'll be in-town April 21 - 27. Want some tips and tricks about how to use SnagIt, Camtasia Studio, Screencast.com, Morae or UserVue? Have some feedback you'd like to share with us about the products? We'd love to hear it from you in person! Drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell (517.410.0030) if you'd like to meet-up.

We're also participating in DemoCamp on April 24. I'll be showing off Morae and maybe Camtasia Studio if there's time.

Hope to see you there!

The SnagIt Product Manager, Tony Dunckel, and I are heading south to Orlando, Florida next week. We'll be in town April 10 - 13.

If you're in the Orlando area and want to meet-up let me know. Tell Tony what you like about SnagIt and what you'd like changed. I'm sure he'll give you tips and tricks about SnagIt as well. Beer, coffee...orange juice (hey, it's Florida) are on me!

Twist our arms and we'll even meet you at Disney World! :-)

Remember Terry Brock from this screencast we did last year about public speaking? I know Terry Brock will be meeting-up with us on Wednesday in Orlando. I'm sure he'll give you some points on public speaking if you'd like to meet-up with us.

On Friday, we're driving over to Tampa for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Convention. So, if you'd like to meet in Tampa, we'll be there April 13 - 16.

To meet-up with us, drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell: 517.410.0030. Hope to see you there!

On a side note, do you think they'd let us screencast in the Magic Kingdom? Although the thought of lugging a laptop, camera and microphones to Disney World is not overly appealing to me.

Anyone interested in meeting up later this month? I'll be in San Diego for O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference March 25 - 30.

If you can't attend O'Reilly ETech, let me be your roving reporter. What would you like me to investigate for you?

I'm also attending DemoCampETech...in a Vault! Yes, a vault! See the pic below (Pic from the Marriott website)!

More details about DemoCampETech on David Crow's fab blog here.

Call me on my cell (517.410.0030) or e-mail me if you're in the area and want to meet-up! And, I'm looking for people to screencast with, although it's certainly not a requirement to meet-up.

Anyone interested in meeting up next week in Chicago? Maybe for dinner on Wednesday, February 28, or Thursday, March 1? Whether you're new to SnagIt, Camtasia Studio, Screencast.com, Morae or UserVue or you're a seasoned veteran, I'd love to meet-up.

Looks like the Detroit Red Wings are playing the Chicago Blackhawks in hockey on Tuesday. You could twist my arm to come in a day earlier to meet-up at the game. ;-)

Drop me an e-mail or call me on my cell, 517.410.0030, if you'd like to meet-up in Chicago next week.

Ever heard the metaphor standing on the shoulders of giants? Well, that will definitely be the case next week. I have the honor of attending the DLD (Digital, Life, Design) Conference in Munich, Germany. This is the conference for digital innovation!

Check out the list of speakers and guests. I can't wait to hear insight from speakers like Esther Dyson, Marissa Mayer, Walt Mossberg, David Sifry and more...If you could ask them one question, what would you ask?

I'll also be at Robert Basic and Klaus Eck's blogger meet-up.

I'd love to meet-up if anyone is available. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like to get together.

If you're not lucky enough to score an invite, you can follow proceedings online at the DLD website.

Any travel tips for me? Any must see locales?

I'm thrilled to be attending the DLD Conference and to see Germany.

Anyone headed out to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January?

If so, I'd love to meet-up! E-mail or call me on my cell phone (517.410.0030) if you'd like to meet-up at CES or in Las Vegas.

Not sure of my schedule yet, but I will be in and out of the Bloghaus and the Tablet PC and UMPC Dinner as well as meeting up with Camtasia users like the LabRats, GottaBeMobile, Neo-Fight, Long Zheng and more.

Let me be your roving reporter at the show. Is there anything you'd like me to check out? I'll be posting a lot of pics to Flickr throughout the show. And, if I'm feeling daring, maybe I'll even shoot some video although I'm debating dragging equipment around the crowded show floor. I'm clumsy enough without having to juggle a video camera and computer.

Your lucky day - I couldn't decide which videos I liked better, so this week you get multiple 'Screencasts of the Week'.

Today's Screencasts of the Week come from two of my fave people, Tom Green and Jim Babbage. They both contribute to CommunityMX which is a great resource if you use Dreamweaver, ColdFusion, Flash, Fireworks or Freehand.

Up first is Jim's video. He put together a tutorial for creating a digital photo frame in Photoshop. Jim demo'd the tutorial live in one of his labs and was asked by several student if it was included in their hand-out. So, he made a Camtaisa Studio for them. Jim told me that the tutorial is based on a tutorial from Scott Kelby's book, 'Photoshop CS2 for Digital Photographers'.

I like the video because Jim also took advantage of some new features in Camtasia Studio 4 - not only did he make the video, but he also made a MP3 and iPod version.

Click here to watch Jim's video.

You can read more about Jim here. I love Jim's motto,"Walk softly and wear a loud shirt."

Up next are some videos from all around nice guy, Tom Green (see his pic below from Flash in the Can). Tom teaches interactive multimedia at Humber College. I often see him speaking at Flash shows and he's written several great books on Flash.

I was e-mailing Jim and Tom, and I mentioned I that I was that I was going to blog Jim's video. Tom replied back that he could "Out Camtasia" Jim with his eyes closed! Those are fighting words!

Tom sent me some great videos too. Even I might be able to use Flash after watching Tom's videos. He makes it seem easy!

Check out Tom's videos:

• Create Weather in Flash
• Warping Video in a Flash
• Doing an iPod ad using After Effects 7 and Flash

What do Jim and Tom have in common outside of CommunityMX? They're both located in the Toronto area! I'll be up in Toronto next week visiting them and watching the LabRats shoot some new episodes. If you'd like to meet up in Toronto next week, let me know. I'll be in town Monday through Thursday. Please don't make me go to the Hockey Hall of Fame alone - drop me a line (517.410.0030 - cell)

In a past life, I designed jewelry on a CAD based system. I loved working on the computer to design the jewelry. It was thrilling to see the piece of jewelry go from a design on the computer to a wearable piece of art. I miss working on CAD sometimes. I've been chatting with Shaan Hurley over at Autodesk lately and he's been telling me all about the cool ways they've been using Camtasia Studio at Autodesk lately.

Unfortunately with our 30 videos in 30 days series, the 'Screencast of the Week' went on hiatus. It's time for me to get that going again. So, with that in mind, here are some great CAD screencasts.

I love Autodesk's 'Ask Amy' screencasts. I think we need to have something like this for our products, don't you? You'd use them, right? Click the screenshot below to view them.

Autodesk also used Camtasia videos in the launch of a new product, Impression. Click here to see a Camtasia screencast for Impression.

Also, check out Lynn Allen's amazing AutoCAD Tips and Tricks screencast here. It is one of the best screencasts I've seen lately - really high quality.

Have you seen any great screencasts you'd like to nominate as the 'Screencast of the Week?

Also, I'll be attending Autodesk University in Las Vegas November 28 - December 1. So, if you're attending the event or are in the area and want to meet-up, drop me an e-mail or give me a call on my cell, 517.410.0030. Click the screenshot below if you'd like more info on Autodesk University.

I have the honor of speaking at Ad:Tech in New York City next week on this fab panel about blogs, podcasting (for me screencasting) and wikis.

The panel has a great line-up of people like Scott Wilder from Intuit, Martin Green at CNET, Michelle Adams from Frito Lay, and Ross Ozer at Fidelity. It's an honor to share the stage with them and I know I will learn a lot.

So, if you're in town and want to meet up, drop me a line - 517.410.0030.

Rich Boys, the Camtasia Studio Associate Product Manager, will be at T+L next week in Dallas. If you'd like to meet-up with Rich, drop him an e-mail or leave a comment.

Hope to see you on the road!

There will be a large crew of people from TechSmith going to the League of Innovation Conference on Information Technology (CIT ) and we'd love to meet-up with you! We'll be in Charlotte this Sunday through Tuesday (October 22 - 24).

Troy Stein, Camtasia Studio Product Manager, Rich Boys, Associate Camtasia Studio Product Manager, Jennifer Middlin, Corporate Communications Manager and Carla Wardin, Marketing Writer (and she writes the awesome newsletters) will be there. Oh, and I will be there too.

So, drop me an e-mail or call me (517.410.0030) if you'd like to meet-up!

I'm off to the Canadian Rockies today for CanUX, the Canadian User Experience Workshop, to learn from User Experience (UX) experts and to show off Morae and UserVue!

There are so many great speakers at the workshop - including John Morkes of Expero and Free Usability Advice, David Crow, Jess McMullin from Business+Design, Kevin Cheng from OK/Cancel, Liz Danzico from the UX Magazine, Boxes and Arrows. I'll be constantly learning from experts.

So, if you're in the Calgary or Banff area, or attending CanUX and want to meet up, e-mail or call me (517.410.0030)!

And, you gotta love that name, CanUX (pronounced 'Canucks')! That's the best name I've heard for a conference in a long time!

Fall is just around the corner so that means I'm looking forward to living out of a suitcase, drinking overpriced airport coffee (I'm addicted to the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks!), and spending hours in an aluminum tube otherwise known as an airplane. That's right - tradeshow season is starting up again!

Check out the TechSmith calendar of events here. If you live in the area or if you're attending any of the shows listed and want to meet up, drop me a line! If I'm not attending, I'll hook you up with the TechSmith person who is going.

If you want to meet up, I'll even spring for an overpriced espresso for you, too. We're going to need all the caffeine we can get.

The PowerPoint Live Conference is less than a month away. I'm excited to see old friends and meet new ones at the San Diego show. I plan on doing a lot of screencasts with these PowerPoint, graphics and presentation experts.

So, on that note, I thought I'd see what questions you had that I could ask the speakers! Post them in the comments and I'll see who I can find to answer them via a Camtasia Studio screencast. Want to learn more about animation, graphics or design? Let me know...We can all learn together!

And, if you'll be in San Diego September 16 - 21, let me know. I'd love to meet up with you! Looks like the Padres are in town...maybe we can take screencasting to the park!

I've purchased more tiny bottles of travel shampoo this year than I can count. Needless to say, I've been to a lot of conferences and presentations this year.

I started noticing a shift in conferences and presentations over the years. I wrote an article for Presenters University that you can read here about the shift in presentation styles.

I'm lucky that I've had a chance to attend a wide variety of shows ranging from Chris Pirillo's high tech Gnomedex (you'll read more about that in the article above) to shows for K-12 Educators and everything in between.

Let me know what you think about the article. Am I off base or on track? What have you noticed in presentations and conference lately?

On a side note, I'll be back on the road August 20 - 24 for a conference in Dallas. Anyone want to meet-up? Come on, we can learn to do the Texas Two-Step together...I'll try not to step on your toes!

First up, the Windy City! Next week, I'm off to Chicago for Ad:tech. I'll be there July 24-26. Anyone want to meet up? Looks like the White Sox are playing in town. It'd be fun to screencast at the Sox game! Any volunteers?

Then, I'm off to Mad Town...Madison, Wisconsin for the Annual Conference on Distance Training and Learning, August 2-5. If you're going to the show or are in the Madison area, let me know.

Come meet up with other SnagIt, Camtasia Studio and Morae users in addition to other TechSmithies. Drop me an e-mail.

Next up...NECC (National Education Computing Convention) in lovely San Diego.

I will have some free passes with me if you'd like to go to the Expo Hall. Call me (517.410.0030) and I'll meet you outside the Expo Hall to hand off the pass.

We'll be giving demos on SnagIt and Camtasia Studio at the booth. And, we'll be giving away a Tablet PC - stop by the booth and sign up!

NECC runs over July 4. A couple of us will be heading over to the San Diego zoo to celebrate the holiday. Let me know if you're interested in going too! We could have a TechSmith meet-up at the zoo by the gorilla habitat! Who's in?

The Michigan UPA is having their meeting at TechSmith on Tuesday. And - you're invited!

The topic of discussion is SnagIt 8. Even though we just celebrated SnagIt's 15th anniversary, we still have a lot to learn about how you use it. So, for SnagIt 8, we stepped into your shoes to discover your experience and redesigned the product.

Full details of the meeting can be found here.

See you there!

I'm excited to go to Gnomedex 6 in Seattle next week. This is the second one I've attended. The first one proved to be excellent - I saw Wil Wheaton, Steve Wozniak and more...Chris Pirillo puts on a great event! This one looks interesting because it doesn't have the typical conference format. Instead of having lectures, they're have discussion leaders for the 'sessions'. It's an 'Unconference'. It should be more interactive and engaging.

I love this show because it's a great time to catch up with passionate techies. They were blogging and talking about RSS long before it made it mainstream. I hear Jeff Barr from Amazon will be there too! He's done some screencasting, so I looking forward to seeing him.

I thought I'd see if anyone wanted to meet up at the show or in Seattle. Anyone want to screencast? I see Robert Scoble will be there. Maybe I can convince him, Chris or Jeff to do a screencast with me. Anyone have any questions you want me to ask them?

If you haven't checked out Chris' Lockergnome newsletter and blog, check them out. They're a great balance of techie and not-so-techie info, plus Chris has a great sense of humor.

And, let's see if the "Pirillo Effect" works. Rumor has it that if mention Chris Pirillo's name in your blog post, he'll pop by and maybe even post a comment! So, let's do a little experiment. Chris Pirillo, Chris Pirillo, Chris Pirillo!

In addition to TechEd, TechSmith is also exhibiting at the UPA show in Colorado this week!

While I'm not attending, I hear they'll be giving sneak peeks of The Astoria Project as well as what's new with Morae. There's still time to sign up for beta if you're interested.

They're even giving away a video iPod in the booth. So if you're in the area...and you're one of the last few people who doesn't have one...

And, if you haven't seen it, there's a newer white paper on our Morae Web site about the future of usability which you can read here. The white paper suggests a new paradigm for user experience (UX) research in a Web 2.0 world...UX 2.0

What topics would you like to see future white papers on?

We'll be at Microsoft's TechEd Conference in Boston next month, and we'll be celebrating SnagIt's 15th anniversary! Bring your party hat - or we'll even provide you with one.

There's lots going on:

• I'd love to meet up with you at the show (or outside the show)! Lunch, June 13? Drop me an e-mail if you think you'd like to go, since I need an idea of reservation numbers. If you want to get ahold of me, my cell phone number is 517.410.0030.
• I've got five - count 'em, five - expo hall-only passes. First five people to e-mail me win!
• Calling all webcam lovers! I'd love to do a screencast with you. Who's up for it?

If you're not going to show, let me be your roving tech reporter. Anything you want me to scout out...besides the Sam Adams brewery tour?

Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch didn't know about us!

You're invited to lunch with the TechSmith gang in Las Vegas or New York City - or wherever else we can schedule.

I'll be at the STC conference (Society for Technical Communication) in Las Vegas May 6 - 11.

Then I'll be in New York City for the Syndicate conference May 15 - 19.

Drop me an e-mail if you can meet up for coffee, lunch, dinner, drinks, indoor skydiving, or Elvis impersonator hunting. (This would be harder in NYC than in Las Vegas, I bet...)

If you'd like to do a screencast with me, that'd be fun too, but certainly not required.

What shows are you going to? What shows should TechSmith attend? Why?

Where TechSmith is located in Michigan, we're only about an hour and a half away from Canada. We even get the Canadian Broadcast Channel (CBC), so many of us grew up watching Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada. We also have Canadian coins intermingling with our change - which people here have no problem taking. I didn't think anything of it until merchants looked at me funny when I tried to use them out of state.

On that note, I was really happy to hear we have two tradeshows coming up in Canada. I'll be at Flash in the Can in Toronto, Ontario April 21 - 23 and CHI in Montreal, Quebec April 22 - 30. If you'd like to meet up while we're at the show, leave me a comment or e-mail me. We'd love to get together with you!

Or, if you're not going to be able to meet up, do you have any sightseeing or restaurant tips? It's been a long time since I've been to Toronto, and this is my first time to Montreal. I heard from Carla Wardin, our newsletter writer that a big thing in Montreal is poutine - fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. What's the best place for that?

If you're not going to be at either of those shows or cities, check our calendar of events here. Are we coming to your city or the same show you're going to? Drop me a line and we'll meet up!

I'm so excited! Next week I'll be attending the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conferencein San Diego, and the lineup of speakers and topics looks amazing!

I'm really looking forward to see people like Jon Udell, whom I (and many others) consider the father of screencasting, and Joel Spolsky, whom I have the distinct honor of co-presenting on usability. See a pic below with Joel from my visit to Fog Creek Software's office last year.

If you're attending the show or out in the San Diego area and want to meet up, drop me a line on my cell phone - 517.410.0030 or catch me on MSN IM - b.weber@techsmith.com.

The Space Needle...coffee...the birthplace of grunge! That's right - we're going to Seattle this month for the FlashForward show.

How about a little meet-up? Here's your chance to tell the Camtasia Studio Product Manager, Troy Stein, exactly what's on your mind and what you'd like to see added or changed in the product. Or, we can just geek out over technology, blogs, screencasting or whatever.

Flash Developer Brooks Andrus, Training Manager Dan Kazup, and I will be there too. Pictured below, left to right, is Brooks Andrus, Troy Stein and Betsy Weber.

Even Camtasia Studio user and whiteboard movie maker Tim Fahlberg is coming - I'm sure he'll demonstrate how he makes his great whiteboard movies to anyone who needs some help!

So, we'll be hanging out the Fox Sports Grill in downtown Seattle. I'm told it's a cool place complete with couches and plasma TVs. We'll be there on Tuesday, February 28 around 8:30pm until ???.

Interested? Send me an e-mail, since I need to give Fox Sports Grill an idea of how many people are coming. Hope to see you there - you won't be able to miss us. We'll be the angst-ridden, flannel-wearing, coffee-swilling table in the back. You know, just to fit into the Seattle scene. We might even throw a fish or two...

Troy Stein, the Camtasia Studio Product Manager, recently visited some Camtasia Studio users at the University of Minnesota to get feedback about how we can improve our software.

So, a few of us from TechSmith are heading out to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas tomorrow, and the same offer stands for you! (And while I like Minnesota, I must admit that this is an even better forum for discussions of any kind. We can meet by the buffet, the roulette tables, the Elvis impersonator...it's up to you.)

We'd love to hear how you're using SnagIt, Camtasia Studio or Morae, how you're using the products, and how we can improve them. Not only do we want to know what you like and don't - we need to know in order to update our software with the features that are important to you.

So, if you'd like to meet up at CES, give me a call on my cell phone, 517.410.0030, or e-mail!

A couple of us from TechSmith are heading over to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 5 - 8. If you'd like to meet-up with us, make a screencast with me or just hang out, we'd love to get together! Just drop me an e-mail.

We need suggestions on where to meet up, so if you have any, please e-mail me or leave them in the comments.

Hope to see you there!

Calling all SnagIt, Camtasia Studio and Morae users! Let's meet up at 28°32'1" North, 81°22'33" West . . . otherwise known as Orlando, Florida.

I'll be in Orlando this week for the Sloan-C conference, which is the International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks. Their site tells us that ALNs are helping to turn education and training into "anytime-anywhere online learning environments," which is right in line with TechSmith's goals.

While I'm in Orlando, I'll also see Camtasia Studio user and professional speaker, Terry Brock, and see if I can convince him to do a screencast with me! If you have a question you'd like me ask him in our screencast, feel free to leave it in the comments.

If you're interested in meeting up to talk more about our products or had questions about your current projects, drop me an e-mail!

On a different note - I hear there are a few places to go indoor skydiving in Orlando. I really enjoyed real skydiving in the past, so indoor skydiving should be fun too. So, if anyone wants to take the plunge with me, send me an e-mail!

Only people passionate enough about a cause get an entire day designated to celebrate it. Who fits that description? Usability experts.

As a result, the UPA (Usability Professionals' Association) is celebrating the first annual World Usability Day on November 3, 2005, and they're inviting one and all to the party.

The goal of World Usability Day is to promote the fields of usability engineering and user-centered design. At TechSmith, we're excited to be a part of the event.

We partnered with Human Factors International (HFI) and my alma mater, Michigan State University, to conduct a usability study using Morae on booking online travel. Michigan State donated the use of their state-of-the-art lab. In addition to donating copies of Morae to the study, TechSmith and HFI both donated their usability staff to conduct each test and analyze the results of the study. Results will be published in the Morae Newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter and see the results, along with other World Usability Day information, sign up here.

What does World Usability Day mean to you? If you're a webmaster or software developer, you want your Web site and software to be easy to use and accessible to everyone. Plus, you want anyone who visits your site or uses your software to be successful. We share those goals at TechSmith, and that's why we're so heavily involved in the day of recognition.

If you're ever interested in hearing more about how TechSmith conducts usability testing, or you're in the area and would like to participate, comment to let me know.

Planning to attend Michigan's UPA event at Michigan State University on November 3, 2005? Please comment here or e-mail us - we'd love to meet up at the event.

...deep in the heart of Texas! I would love to meet up with anyone in Dallas area. I'll be in town Saturday, October 22 through Wednesday, October 26 for the League for Innovation's annual Conference on Information Technology (CIT).

So, if you'd like to get together to with me and the rest of the TechSmith crew to give us feedback about using our products, learn tips and tricks, or to teach me how to do the Texas Two Step, send me an e-mail! I promise I won't step on your toes.

TechSmith will be at PowerPoint Live 2005 next week in San Diego. I'll be in San Diego September 25 - 28 to participate in the PowerPoint Live Expo.

If you're attending the show or are in the area, I'd love to meet-up with you! E-mail Betsy Weber or post in the comments if you'd like to get together!

The show is a lot of fun and I learn so much every year. Here are some snapshots of the fun last year:

Mary Waldera with one of the original Camtasia CDs.

PowerPoint MVP Glenna Shaw

PowerPoint MVP Echo Swinford with Bruce Jacobs, Computer Gladiator.

Hope to see you there!

An open invite: If you are from Michiganor just visiting our lovely state, I'd like to invite you to visitTechSmith! Come see what happens behind the scenes at TechSmith.

I'll gladly give you a tour of where we work and introduce you to our staff.

And, if you happen to stop by on aFriday, you are welcome to eat lunch with the whole staff ofTechSmith! One of the great things about working atTechSmith is that we have lunch catered every Friday so we can eattogether as a group. Eating lunch together is nice because youget to know everyone better and catch-up with people you might nothave seen earlier in the week.

We had a visitor yesterday for a tour - Charlie Arehart, from New Atlanta, stopped by on his way to talk to a local user group about Blue Dragon.

I hope to see you soon...in Okemos, Michigan!

Email Betsy Weber if you're interested in a tour.

If you're interested in meeting up with TechSmith staff at the upcoming Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005, held from September 13-16 in Los Angeles, please e-mail Betsy Weber or post in the comments

We'd love to talk to you one-on-one to get your feedback, hear how you're using SnagIt, Camtasia Studio and Morae, and learn how we can improve our products to meet your needs.

Did you know that TechSmith software helps crime fighters? That's right - police officers use SnagIt and Camtasia Studio to gather evidence from hard drives, sites and chat rooms.

I'll be in the Monterey, California area August 28-31 to speak at the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) Annual Conference about using SnagIt and Camtasia Studio to capture digital evidence for forensics and law enforcement. I'll be presenting with Duane Hopkins from Innovative Corporate Solutions.

I'd love to meet up with you if you're in the area --- whether you're a crime fighter or not. We can talk shop and grab a bite to eat.

Post in the comments or email me at: visuallounge@techsmith.com if you're interested.