Hit and Miss at Blogworld 09 – Who Rocked It & Who Dropped It

As a newcomer to Blogworld I had a few preconceived ideas of what the event might be like and what I would like to take away from the event.  I’m not totally new to live events, just new to the blogging community events.  Here’s my own rundown on what I felt was a hit or miss at Blogworld 09:

HIT: Without a doubt, Jim Kukral did an outstanding job at moderating & running the monetization track at the event.  People come to a session based on the title and what they think they are going to get out of it.  Jim did an excellent job of keeping the panelists on point and wasn’t bashful about asking the panelisst, “yeah, that’s great…but what does that have to do with ___?  Our audience want to know about ____“.  I know I appreciated the effort and the expert input Jim put in to make sure our expectations were exceeded.  Thank you Jim!

MISS: There were points of the Closing Keynote that were funny, but we should have walked away feeling inspired, confident and ready to take on the world. I was totally shocked at hearing the f-bomb dropped by Guy Kawasaki several times.  I always looked at him as so professional that it was funny the first time… then just seemed like he was trying to fit in with the crowd. I agree with Darren Rowse & David Risley that it should have been done at a different point in the expo & a little less raunchy for this type of event.     I was sadly disappointed with the Chad Vader interview/performance.  I love Chad Vader and was looking forward to it, but there was nothing more than a few words.  I had heard how funny the Bloggess is and knew she relies on her shock value to get laughs, but the reference to drug & alcohol dependency was a bit too far even for me.

Darren Rowse & Brian Clark Blogworld 09

HIT: Brian Clark & Darren Rowse were so very impressive during the Super Panel Site Review.  Brian was always prepared within seconds with insightful tips for each of the bloggers that came up asking for a review of their site.  Both he and Darren were quick to point out creative ideas and strategies for monetizing blogs -  from where to look for niche leads or how to tweak what was already being done to perfect a strategy – They both offered real help that could be implemented right away.  It seems even the already successful bloggers  wanted the advice from this panel as Michael Martine of Remarkablogger & Timothy Sykes both stepped up to the mic.  It was cute when Darren was quick to share with Michael that bald men with glasses tend to do well.

HIT: Micah Baldwin was another hit in my books.  As the Moderator for the session “Measuring and Building Online Influence”, Micah let everyone know upfront that there was a hashtag for that session that he would be watching.  Through tweets he was able to gauge how the audience was feeling about the flow of the session and keep things on course.  I loved his cut through the crap statements that hit you square between the eyes, like “If you’re a jerk, social media will make you look like a bigger jerk” and “Trust is consistency of action. If you’re a dick all the time, I can trust that you’re a dick”

MISS: The video session “Work With Whatcha Got” was a miss in my books only because the title was a bit misleading. One of my goals this weekend was to pick up tips on how to start using video more, but I am coming in with no experience.  This title sounded like it would show me how to use the equipment & know-how I already have to be successful.  Lee & Sara O’Donnel ran the session and Sara admitted up front that she had been drinking too much and had just woke up only mintues before the session. (See my note below about the party scene).  The session wasn’t what I expected but covered more advanced topics like audio/visual filters, costumes, and specific cameras recommended. This was definitely not for beginners.  A little more detail in the description of the session would have been ideal.

Dave Taylor Blogworld 09

HIT: Dave Taylor & Chris Pirillo did a great job in their session “Are You Getting The Most Money Out Of Your Blog”, as did Tim Jones.   Chloe Spencer didn’t say much for the entire session other than a few words about AdSense…a slight miss, but I know it’s tough to jump in when someone else is totally rocking it with their answers already.  Loved Dave’s input on diversifying income streams on your blog and appreciating even the $5/day streams.  ($5/day will buy a new laptop per year…but I doubt he’s working on one that cheap)  Chris Pirillo always adds his energy & that makes the session more engaging.   His tips like “Be a content DJ & remix your content into new products” and how You Tube sky-rocketed his online success were great.

MISS: These are just a general misses that hopefully Blogworld organizers will pick up.  A few suggestions would be

• MORE POWER STRIPS! This is a blogging event.  Everyone comes with laptops that run on electricity.  We should have had strips running taped down under at least the first couple rows of tables for charging.  No one wants to miss a session to charge up in the New Media Lounge.
• Better panelist bios including websites and Twitter names! We are a twittering society, but we can’t acknowledge the speaker if we don’t know their user name.  Keep them posted on the screen or at least in the online or event program guides.
• More female panelists! There are plenty of professional female bloggers that can speak at events to give a woman’s leadership perspective.  There were very few at this event  that were in sessions other than mommy blogging or social media.  If you were a woman that is not part of the mommy blogger group and you did not have the social media pass you were SOL.  How about Yvonne DiVita, Valeria Maltoni, Lena West, Lynn Terry or Michelle Miller? All successful bloggers that provide excellent content that have nothing to do with mommy blogging. I respect mommy bloggers.  I’m a mom.  I love my kids.  But, I don’t blog about them… I blog FOR them so we can maintain a quality of life,  as do many other women bloggers.
• Less club scenes for networking at night.  Not all of us want to hit the Vegas clubs and get off on that scene.  The Hilton BBQ on the last night would have been nice, but many people (myself included) were heading out of town right after the closing keynote and had to miss it.  Why not save the clubbing for the final night for all the die hards?  Vegas can be about class & luxury, not just night clubs and partying.  Just sayin…

All in all, the networking was the hardest for me to tackle, and the most important part of the conference I took away with me.  Sure, there were great panels and expert tips being shared…but honestly, you can get all that online.  The face to face is what this is all about, and I get that now. Going it alone was a good experience for me, forcing me to step out of my comfort zone.    So, if you’re nervous about going to big events or feel like you won’t fit in, come talk to me and work through it.  I can honestly say that this event will be a life changing one for me.

If you attended Blogworld this year what are your thoughts?  If you didn’t attend this year, is it something you plan to do in the future or how do you feel about live events?

To Your Success,

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Tagged as:  Blogging · blogworld · social networking