Imagine yourself, laying on the beach, checking out the beautiful… water, when you spot the girl of your dreams walking toward you.  So you whip it out and pull on it, making it longer. Then your wife steps up beside you as you hit the camera button and wait for the picture to be taken.

With the XShot Camera Extender, you can be in the picture too.  Instead of reminiscing about vacation days long gone, looking at all of the photos where you seem to be missing, you can now have proof that you were actually the guy your wife was hanging around with on the beach that day.

The XShot doesn’t just work with digital cameras either, you can also put a small video camera on it, like the Flip or Canon FS200, to take those awesome videos of the conference you finally scraped up enough money to attend.

This thing is awesome and surprisingly I use it way more than I thought I would.  It does attract a lot of attention and helps start conversations as well.  So for all of you that are shy, it is a great way to talk to others at a conference or networking event.  And with a price-tag of only $30, it’s a steal.

With the XShot, you become the life of the party!

Click here to get your XShot now!

Here’s some specifics about the XShot straight from the website:

This is a sponsored post.  I recieved the product to test and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information regarding my disclosure policy as well as other terms of service, please click here.

If you’re interested in sponsoring next weeks “Gadget of the Week”, please contact me here.

I see it everyday.  Literally hundreds of people on Twitter asking if anyone will sponsor them to attend a blog or social media conference.

Everyone would like to have their trips paid for, so what makes you special?  Why would a company pick you over everyone else asking for sponsorship?

The Wrong Way To Get A Sponsor

There is a reason only a handful of people actually ever get sponsors to pay their way to conferences.  Because most bloggers are doing it wrong.

You can’t send out a Twitter message asking (in general) if anyone would like to sponsor you.  Companies get proposed to all the time, so they will quickly look over your cries for help.

If you want to be noticed and truly considered for sponsorship to a conference, you have to prove to the companies you’re targeting why you are the best candidate.

Don’t assume anyone else knows how great you are, just because you think it. If you do, you’ll never be looked at for a sponsorship.

The Right Way To Get A Sponsor

There are many things involved in increasing your chances of landing that perfect sponsor, but with determination and the right guidance, you’ll be suprised at how simple it really is.

1. Create A Sponsor Me Page

The first thing you should do, before anything else, is to create a page that contains the following:

• The reasons bloggers should be sponsored.
• The reasons you should be the blogger to be sponsored.
• What you’ll offer the sponsor.
• What you want from the sponsor.
• What conferences you would like to be sponsored for.
• How to get in touch with you.

2. Create A Letter That Sells You

Once your page is created, you need to focus on writing a letter, that is short and concise that includes all of the same points included in your sponsor me page.

Not every company wants to spend the time scouring your blog trying to find out why they should sponsor you, so sending them a letter by email (or even better, by snail mail) containing the same information, not only makes you look professional and sophisticated, but it also makes sure you’re key points of interest don’t go un-noticed.

3. Contact Companies Through Social Media

The companies more likely to sponsor your conference trip are those that are already into social media and blogging.  Those that know where the future is going and want to be in the front of the pack.

They understand already why sponsoring bloggers is so important, so half of your work in selling yourself to them is done.

When you contact the companies using social media, make sure to provide a link back to your sponsor me page.

In Summary

Companies don’t just give money to anybody that asks them.  If they did, they’d be out of business within a week.  They have to have a great reason to sponsor you and justify it with some kind of return on investment (ROI).

If a company doesn’t see a return on investing in you, they will move on to the next person.  And first impressions are still everything.

Have you been sponsored for a conference?  What process did you go through?  I would love to hear your feedback on your experiences.

According to the Wordpress development team:

“Yesterday a vulnerability was discovered: a specially crafted URL could be requested that would allow an attacker to bypass a security check to verify a user requested a password reset. As a result, the first account without a key in the database (usually the admin account) would have its password reset and a new password would be emailed to the account owner. This doesn’t allow remote access, but it is very annoying.”

The Wordpress team fixed this problem last night and have been testing the fixes and looking for other problems since then.

Download The Specific Files

If you’re running Wordpress 2.7 or later, then you can simply use your automatic upgrade function built right into your version to make the upgrade, but if you’re running an earlier version or like me you sometimes have problems with the automatic upgrade utility, there is a separate file you can download and install manually that contains only the modified wordpress files.

You can download only the files modified straight from Wordpress.org by clicking here.

What are your thoughts on how often Wordpress releases upgrades? Security releases are unquestionable, but what about release that simply change look and functionality? Do you think they release new version too often?

Every year the church my wife grew up in holds a picnic during which, they give away a lump sum cash prize to one lucky winner, and this year is no different.

But the entries to win the $10,000 in cold hard cash are always local.  Why only give locals the chance to win?  This is the age of the internet and connecting with others from all over the world, so I want to offer all of you the chance to win $10,000 as well.

Enter To Win $10,000

The giveaway is a fundraiser to help out the church and proceeds also help out those in the community in need of help and support from the church.

Each entry into the giveaway is $5.00 and there is no limit to how many entries you can purchase. I’ve bought 5 entries myself.

In addition to one $10,000 winner, there is a second place prize of $2,000, so your chances of winning money is actually double what it would be with only one prize.

How To Enter

To enter, simply use the “Chip In” widget below to pay for your entries.  Once you enter, tweet the following message on Twitter:

I just entered to win $10,000 from @steven_sanders ! You can enter too http://bit.ly/1ohOGF #winbig

Announcement Of Winners

The winners will be drawn on September 12, 2009 at 9:00 pm CST, so you have until September 11, 2009 at 11:59 pm CST to enter.

Winners will be notified via email as well as announced on this blog on September 13, 2009.

No refunds on entry purchases will be given.

Good luck and let the entries begin!