It’s been and now it has gone. Bloggers converged and we learn blogging from bloggers. One of my favourite things to do. Probably in all time at the moment. Big, big fan. Blogopolis was a raging success in my books. I came, I learnt some great stuff, I did some representing for my fabtastic sponsors and caught up with some old and new friends. My favourite part was the notes about SEO and the always fabulous Lady Melbourne. And boy oh boy do I love a good panel. And there were some good ones.
The thing that echoes in my head now more than ever at home is the conversational crossover that was the media kit session and the branding sessions. Similar but so difference {if the Twitter feed is anything to go by}. I felt Lady Melbourne really hit home on the will this opportunity, this sponsor, this event or photo further my brand. Sometimes a perfectly wonderful opportunity just won’t. Full stop. Nicole summed this up perfectly in her section {via twitter for me, but it was hard to decide}.
And seriously, do you have any idea how many times I have heard, used or read the word opportunity in the past few days…? It’s lots, by the way. It seems we need a new word. A word that captures that blogging is an industry {Thanks Woogs}. A world of commerce as much as it is a world of sharing and communication. A new word to define the forward motion, excitement and wonderment. Get on that would you.
When you come up with that new word for opportunity I will use it to describe the successful way that we {as bloggers} go about representing brands and products. We do it responsibly, with the reader in mind, bringing forth things we love, so we know you will to. Anything from, hey Melissa {that’s my name, by the way, did we all remember that?} I popped in and grabbed some of those coloured tights, thanks for that. To hey, I’m looking at smaller car options and the Honda you bought is now on my radar. New media apparently. Wow.
This weekend I stayed with new friends. Internet friends. Something that makes non-bloggers cringe and worry I will run away to a foreign land as a mail order bride of sorts. But it always goes well for me. I never used to be this comfortable sharing my space with people. I would often pay the full rate because I was shy about all sorts of room sharing type things and wanted to hide them from the world. Now. Not so much.
My roomies were the entirely wonderful Lauren, Kylie and Natalie. We were a fearsome foursome with a nice balance of personalities. Highlights? Kylie packing a power board for the room as she KNEW power points would be at a premium. That’s thinking, my friend. And Lauren is just as charming and delightful as her daughter. While Nat was a hot pink ball of friendliness and local knowledge.
Each of us is at different stages in our blogging journey {ugh, cue the theme music of some cheesy reality show now} but we had similar questions. How do I go to the next level, how do I stay reasonable and respectful with my pricing and requests to brands, how do I make sure the most amount of people read my blog. you know, so that I’m not just hanging around with myself. Questions I believe we answered not just by listening to the speakers, but by talking to other bloggers. Asking and answering openly in the spirit of the event. I loved that.
I just feel like I could stay writing this post all day gushing with praise for bloggers and how much I adore speaking with them about this thing I love. But I won’t. This will be it, for now. Though I do feel as though there is an event photo collage in my future. But really, did you check out my sponsors? I was only there because of them. Bless their little cotton socks.
Chief Blogger at Suger Coat It; An Australian lifestyle blog for women who work for themselves. Melissa is a social media consultant & lover of stripes. Most weekends you’ll find her at the beach or home on the veranda kicking back. Around here, they call her Suger. Feel free to do the same.
