It was a little like being in a room full of celebrities...I did lots of people spotting. I didn't work up the courage to say hi to everyone but I did get to meet a few bloggers that I really admire and so it was totally worth it. I'm not going to mention everyone I met in this post because I'm sure I'll leave someone out and I would hate to offend!
I will give a shout out to Katrina from The Block and Lou of Louwink because they were the very first people I spoke to. It will come as no surprise to anybody that knows me that I bumbled my way into this being the case. You see, upon arrival in the conference foyer and overtaken by the buzz in the room, I thought there was a queue stretching sideways from the registration table. I did ask a few people if they were in the queue but they said no and stepped aside...so up I went and stood right next to Katrina and Lou, who in hindsight, were having a private conversation. Imagine a stranger comes up and stands right next to you while you're having a conversation with someone. "Weirdo" alarm bells must have been going off in their heads! Lucky for me, they were totally, totally lovely people and just turned and said "hello". I then introduced myself and Katrina, who is a reader of my blog, gave me a welcoming hug and Lou proceeded to tell me that she left a comment on my blog that very morning. I was blown away! Thank you girls!
Following this embarrassing start, and after I actually registered and got my little name tag, I just walked to the middle of the room and stood there. Suddenly, it dawned on me that I knew not a single soul there and whilst everyone was chatting away to somebody, I was self-consciously standing alone in the middle of the room. So, I tried to fake it...I walked around pretending I had some purpose...and desperately searching for someone I recognised from a blog! Lo and behold, as fate would have it, someone else was standing alone too (she was actuallly waiting for friends) and I just said hi. This person was Anorina from Samelia's Mum - a very successful blogger and super friendly to boot! We ended up sitting at the same table and found we had a bit in common. Thank you Anorina for saving me from being a loner!! Anorina, along with my other table buddies, Eleise from What's on in Wollongong, Tania from My Kitchen Stories and Carolyn from Desire Empire made for a fun-filled day with lots of laughs! Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos with anyone...maybe next time?!
So, what did I learn? Heaps! I'm not going to regurgitate my notes from each session as I'm sure many other bloggers will have already done it and the presenters themselves may be posting recaps this week. Instead, I'm going to list 5 Light Bulb Moments that I had whilst listening to the various speakers:
1. I really, really need to make time and fix up the way my blog looks. So much to do in this regard - the list is a mile long! But a good place to start is with a photo of myself on the home page so people know what I actually look like. I realised how important this was for building relationships. Will be attending to that very soon.
2. Branding is not just about a logo. It is about creating an overall experience or mood. It's about giving The Camera Chronicles a strong personality so that it can poke its head out from the crowded blogosphere.
3. If I really want my blog to go in a certain direction, I should be proactive and chase opportunities. But at the same time, I have to realise that some opportunities just happen...and they often happen when you least expect them to. A bit like falling in love I suppose. Set goals and be happy with small steps.
4. I should really be utilising various social media platforms to increase my readership. I use Twitter a fair bit and my Facebook page, but have let things like Pinterest slip by the wayside. YouTube and podcasts are other avenues for reaching an audience. By the same token, I must also prioritise - there aren't enough hours in the day to be across all social media all the time!
5. The realisation or confirmation that blogging is an industry. It may be a little unconventional and made up of some very weird characters, but it's also totally awesome. We should embrace it and treat it like the industry that it is. We should support one another and help to strengthen it.
Did you attend Blogopolis?
What were your light bulb moments?
Aww thanks for the mention! Lovely to meet you too! XO
ReplyDeleteI met you very early on in the piece! Lovely to meet you. My light bulb moment was that I have to move to Wordpress asap. Katrina has been nagging me forever... but if I want all the fabulous plug ins and page formatting, I have to do it... so after leaving this comment, I am sorting out my hosting! Glad you had a great time. A-M xx
ReplyDeleteThat is something at the back of my mind too, moreso because of my fear of losing the blog! For now I'm going to stick with blogger (have to make some use of all these business cards I had printed!) but definitely thinking about the move. In the meantime, I've taken steps to back up my blog as best I can (see Katrina's previous post on this)
DeleteSorry I didn't get to meet you! My lightbulb moment was moving to my own domain and possibly wordpress - will get onto that later in the week
ReplyDeleteI will make a concerted effort to meet you next time! The whole Wordpress thing is at the back of my mind too.... see previous comment and my reply :)
DeleteI am sorry I'd dint get to go and meet you. Anorina is lovely have met her at a few events.
ReplyDeleteWe shall meet one day Trish! I was blessed to have bumped into Anorina!
DeleteI was completely lost too. I am so social awkward, I think I must over think things. I escaped to my room at lunch to recharge my phone and try to get over my shyness. I ended up having an awesome time and meeting some wonderful people. I ended up going out to dinner with the lovely Lou. Rachel x
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to inject yourself into a group when that group is already familiar with each other! Glad you ended up meeting Lou and having a great time! Maybe they should go back to allocated seating next year (for the whole group sessions) and sit some of the newbies together?
DeleteGlad to see you had a great day! I have to ask... did you hand out business cards or keep them in your pocket?
ReplyDeleteTracy, I DID give out some of my cards! It wasn't so hard as everyone was doing it. Just wish there had been more time for mingling and meeting people - and I would have handed out more! You actually possess my first one :) I assume this is the Tracy I know in RL? We have a habit of doing embarrassing things in front of Block stars lol. I had another airhead moment with another blogger too ;)
Deletehaha too funny!! I look forward to hearing all about it ;o)
DeleteGreat summary! It was such a shame we didn't get a chance to meet. I wish there had been more time to mingle!
ReplyDeleteI know, wish we had been able to meet! There's a long list of bloggers I just didn't get time to find and say hello! I was lucky though to meet people like Tina Grey, Denyse Whelan and Lauren from Surprise Beginnings who have always been so supportive :) Maybe next time I need a list with Twitter handles at the ready and make it a goal to meet everyone on the list.
DeleteIt was my first conference too. I would've been happy to say hello if I'd seen you. :-) I love your highlights. I wasn't going to write a Blogopolis post but you've inspired me to think about my highlights and document them. Thanks for sharing point 2 about branding. I wasn't at the session because I was tag-teaming with a friend at the other session. Not possible to be in places at the same time! I would also love to to be more across social media, but you're right; there just aren't enough hours in the day. I guess it also depends on what your blog goals are. I just pick and choose what suits me.
ReplyDeleteI think Nicole Avery who did the presentation on branding has done a recap post on her blog if you want to check it out :)
DeleteI'm new at this and I appreciate you sharing your light bulb moments, quite helpful, thank you :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries Kelly. Many others have done recaps of the actual sessions and some of these are contained on the Nuffnang page if you want to access them :)
DeleteHey Cathy. I only met you briefly, but I'm glad I did so I could find your blog. I felt the same as you when I first walked into that room where everyone seemed to be with people they knew. Going by the comments above there were a few of us feeling the same. Great recap. Look forward to following your posts! V.
ReplyDeleteI sort of met you by accident but so glad I did. You and Lisa were both so friendly and welcoming! Will be checking out your blog as soon as I get 5 minutes to myself in this place!
DeleteI like how you said you faked it and made it look like you had a purpose. I use that trick all the time in all different scenarios.
ReplyDeleteFake it till you make it
It was either fake it or drown in a sea of bloggers :)
DeleteI'm sorry we didn't meet it is hard to match real people to avatars so despite knowing what table you were at I couldn't even wave in case it wasn't you! Hilarious. Next time I hope, glad you enjoyed your first. Nx
ReplyDeleteOh I know & I became thoroughly confused because so many people had the same first name as well lol. The name tags should have had the blog name in big upper case letters at the top ;)
DeleteFantastic post Cathy and it was great to meet you and sit with you. Thanks also for the link.
ReplyDeleteI've been working on my pinterest after what I learned at blogopolis. It's amazing that as I was posting pictures people started coming over. I guess you can't dismiss 18,000,000 sets of eyeballs per month right?
Carolyn
Your pictures lend themselves to Pinterest. It's excellent that you've seen results straight up. Not sure how I will incorporate Pinterest but am definitely going to try. I have an account, but like you, I have a legal background so I abandoned it a while ago because of the uncertainty of copyright. Will tread carefully and hope that I don't get sued!
DeleteIt was great to meet you Cathy, I was so chuffed that you recognised me and introduced yourself. You were way braver than me. I wrote a post-blogopolis post too... but it's quite different from yours. I'd say my light bulb moment was "sit out of view of the twitter feed!"
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Such a shame we didn't get to meet, Cathy! So bummed! Next time for sure!
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot to take in that day, wasn't there? But looks like a lot of it soaked in :)
I am so gutted i didnt get to go and cath up with you again hun, it sounds like you had a fabulous time and took a lot away from it. I have so much stuff I need to do with my blog and I am getting so much from reading everyones posts from Blogopolis, so its kind of like I was there in some ways. Sounds like you had an awesome table of gals xxx
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