social media conference

One of the early presenters at the NEPA BlogCon asked, for a show of hands, of how many people there were introverts.

I would gather that at least 60 percent of the people — if not more — raised their hands at the question. I actually raised mine about half as I feel I’m about 50-50, so I’m somewhat in the boat.

On one hand, this was a shocking thing — that’s a lot of people who feel that way. An introvert isn’t always somebody who is withdrawn and such, so there are different levels. Some have bigger thresholds when it comes to comfort zones.

On the flip side, it didn’t shock me so much because that describes society as a whole now. There’s not a lot of face-to-face contact. We do a lot of communicating through computers or tablets or phones, which takes a somewhat personal touch away. Eye contact isn’t always there anymore, either.

This is where our society tends to go with the rapid growth of technology and social media. But is it good? To be blunt — probably not.

I realized going to this conference that there would be quite the mix of people there — from people in the tech world to personal bloggers to professionals to other types of bloggers etc. Everybody was likely looking to get something different out of the event.

When I go to any conference, my goal is to leave with a few things I feel I can use. I left here with a lot of ideas and thoughts. I enjoyed the speakers and presentations, even if some of it doesn’t really go with how I do my blog.

Still, after really thinking about things a bit, I walked away satisfied, but wanting a lot more interaction and such.

For example, I made up business cards for this conference with my social media and blog address etc. I thought that would be good for networking. In the end, I gave away three. I expected to give away a lot more and to have a lot more interaction. Toward the end of the day when I talked to a few people, I didn’t hand a card off to each of them and I should have. That’s my fault, without a doubt. Before that, though, I had hoped to have more opportunities to network, not just hand off a card.

How it worked

Registration went for an hour, with the conference starting at 10 a.m. Presentations followed, running until 12:30 p.m. Then there was an hour break for lunch, though for part of it, people were understandably eating. The second half went from about 1:30-4:30 p.m., give or take. People then cleared out to head home, somewhere else, or to the after party.

Your main options to network were during the registration hour, or during lunch. Though some people drifted outside during the conference and some decided they’d talk during the presentations (and some were not-so-quiet), the opportunities were somewhat limited. When you did have that chance to talk, you might be waiting to chat with somebody or feel rushed etc.

One other thing is this — the conference celebrated its fifth year. There were obvious people who had been to multiple as they kind of went into their groups. Though I don’t mind talking to pretty much anybody, I do have a hard time just walking up to a group and trying to interject myself. It’s awkward, at least to me.

Looking forward

As long as the date works with my calendar next year, I’m hoping to return to this conference. As noted, I took some good ideas away from it and feel I can branch out a little more and kind of get more out of the experience. Sometimes it takes going to something to get a feel for how things work.

That being said, it wouldn’t be me without coming up with ideas that I think could be beneficial for the greater good. Blame that on my journalism and PR background where I don’t necessarily think of things in a normal fashion!

So if this was a “perfect” world, what kind of things would I like to see added to this already excellent conference? I have a few thoughts — though I do realize that not everybody thinks the same way I do, some of these items might not be good financially, and these might be things long considered and not done for reasons unknown to me. This isn’t a slight at the committee or volunteers in any way — it’s just my thoughts on some things I think would be cool to have. There’s a wide range of people and bloggers — from personal to professional — that attend this conference, so these items may work for some and not others.

Ice-breakers

As a geocacher, I’ve dealt with many people who consider themselves introverts. It’s an outdoors game where people can do their own thing and enjoy being outside. Events, though, are spots where people do mingle. With that, we often have games that force people outside of their comfort zones.

Remember the conference has been around for a few years, so some people may have their “group” and others might have a hard time just talking to a full group. Networking is fine, but it’s a little daunting to walk up to a group of 4-6 people who are already in mid-conversation and just try and chat with them — especially if you identify as an introvert. I saw many people by themselves or with one other who kept to themselves for the majority of the conference. Though I talked to several people, there were times I felt like … what should I say?

That’s on me as much as anybody else, that’s for sure.

I would love to see something that forces people outside of their comfort zones. Maybe one of those bingo-style game where you have to try and get people to sign a certain thing (owns a tech blog; has won a NEPA BOTY award etc.) that makes people get out and talk to others. Have people fill out the card, put their name on it and submit it for a prize at the end of the conference (a random draw).

Break it up

Let me say I loved the presentations. I took something from each one, which is awesome. I’ve made some connections via Twitter and Instagram since the conference, which is great, but I also wanted people to maybe check out my blog — not just social media.

I noticed the crowd was smaller in the afternoon. I wonder if registration went an hour earlier and things started earlier if there would be a way to maybe do like three sessions, then take a 30-minute break for people to chat; followed by three more sessions and lunch; followed by three more sessions and a small break … you get the idea.

It’s just a thought to get people out of their seats more and talking and learning about one another as much as they are getting lessons from the presenters.

A directory/program

This could be the financial aspect of things — but what about a printed directory? First, somebody would have to be willing to undertake this (I’ve been known to volunteer my time for projects like this …) and then people would have to register/submit info by a certain date to make the cut (based on who was doing the printing), but how cool would it be to have a program of sorts that listed everybody coming with links to their website and social media?

My thought process is this — if there’s a directory with a story or two in it about the conference/history, as well as showing all the presenters (such as what is on the website), a tentative schedule and then info about attendees — it would be a popular item.

A spot for business cards

OK, so as I noted before — I handed out a whopping three cards. To that point, I almost wonder why I even had them made. So I wonder — could there be a table where people put their cards? Or, maybe if people are willing to send down — when swag bags are being put together, could people submit enough to have them in there? That might be a major pain, though, and it wouldn’t be fair to put more work in the hands of volunteers. So I’m not sure with this, but I know I was hoping to walk away with many cards this day so I could investigate other blogs and social media profiles. Maybe there’s connections via LinkedIn (which, honestly, I forgot and left off my card), or whatever else.

End result

I can’t complain about the experience. I thought it was well worth giving up a Saturday to go to the event and see what there was to offer. I definitely would like to go back again next year and, hopefully, actually attend the after-party at that point. I’m sure there were more chances to network there as well.

The event is extremely well-run and is highly affordable. Though the things mentioned above would possibly enhance certain aspects of the conference, it might not be what everybody is looking for. Hopefully in future years, though, I’ll have to chance to chat with people a tad more.

For those of you who attended NEPA BlogCon, what are your thoughts? And if you haven’t been there, but have attended other blog conferences, how do they run? Let me know as I’m curious and would like to get a feel for this aspect of the blogging/social media world.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

There are times in life when you plan on one thing — and get something so much more from it.

That happened this weekend when I attended the NEPA BlogCon for the first time. This is an event I had been wanting to attend for a few years and it never worked out. This year it did. Though it wasn’t everything I had expected, I left after having a tremendous experience.

Let me get one thing out of the way, though. Though I loved the day and all it had to offer, it still left me feeling slightly short on what I was hoping/expecting when it came to networking/talking to other bloggers. I came with cards and all for my blog and gave away … three. Part of that is on me, for sure … but at the same time, I don’t know, it just felt hard to “network.”

But that’s for another post later in the week. I’ll tackle that with my thoughts on that end of things in a few days. For now, let me talk about the conference as a whole.

With a one-day conference featuring 11 speakers, it’s a lot to absorb. I’m still trying to get everything straight in my mind. Whether it’s something about social media or branding or marketing or video — there’s a lot to think about and wonder how it can work within the confines of my blog.

Remember this — my blog is a personal one. There’s no true niche, so I don’t reach a certain group of people. One day I can write about baseball, the next could be photos, the next could be something in my mind etc. Other people who I spoke with at the conference had that focus — a niche or something along those lines.

That’s fine, too. Not everybody has a focused blog. I’m obviously one of them.

Through the years, I’ve seen people go to other blog conferences and such. They all seem to be different. Some are more based on fun and gathering. Others are more serious. Some are in the middle. While I won’t say the NEPA BlogCon was “serious,” it leaned more toward an educational sort of setting, which was OK.

The topics were excellent. The people who presented were excellent. They had amazing raffle prizes (I won on two of my tickets and each winning ticket had multiple things. In one of those packages, I received a pair of virtual glasses, gaming headphones and a laptop cooling pad … that’s solid), and they offered some amazing bagels for breakfast and lunch was by Panera. The swag bag everybody received had some excellent things, including a custom Rubik’s Cube, which is really cool. 

All for $15 (well, raffle tickets cost you some cash when you got there).

Anyway, back to my initial thought about getting a little more from something than planned. Though there were certain things I didn’t get that I was hoping for, I left with a whole heap more than I had planned.

Some of the ideas offered were great in terms of blogging, but they are ones I might never touch because of how I do my blog (such as advertising etc.), but there were things I might look into (more video etc.) and seeing what I can do for engagement.

But there were a lot of things that hit a little harder in that some of the advice went well beyond blogging or my social media or even as things I can use professionally, rather they spoke to life as a whole.

The reality is I saw a lot of people who had goals and knew how to follow through. There were people who were planners and made sure they got things done. There were high-energy people who had thoughts and who built themselves up. Yes, it was a tech-heavy crowd (not shocking), but those who presented gave lessons that can be used in your everyday life, which made things even better for me.

I realized through the day that there are changes I can make in my blog process, but also many I can make over the course of my everyday life. I do like my job and I like doing other things, but I need to continue down the path to improve not only my blog, but life as a whole.

The NEPA BlogCon was a great experience for me. I found a lot of people to follow and watch on social media and hopefully I’ll eventually find their blogs and see what they have to offer on that point. Though I didn’t get to experience everything I had hoped for, it worked out well. Later this week, I’ll have another post about looking forward and what I hope to get out of future editions of the NEPA BlogCon as I hope to attend again in the future.

A big thank you to all those who put the conference together and all the volunteers. It was a top-notch event and I’m extremely happy I attended!

For any others who attended and want to connect, feel free to follow me on Twitter (@softball29) and Instagram (@HooHaa29). Also, drop a comment below and let me know your blog address, so I can check it out!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Over the years I’ve been a blogger, I’ve seen many others go to BlogCons.

Some seem to be about socializing, some seem to be more professional for networking, and some seem to be in between.

I’ve always said I would go to one and then never end up going.

That will change this weekend.

On Saturday, I’m going to head off to the NEPA BlogCon, based in Northeast Pennsylvania. It’s a short haul from me, so it should be an easy trip. I’m not a Northeast Pennsylvania resident, but I live close enough and I spend enough time there that I feel I could be honorary!

I’ve been looking to go to this event for a few years, but it just never worked out. I actually won a free ticket a few years back, but couldn’t end up going. Always something getting in the way, isn’t it?

A lot of these conferences, though, tend to slant toward blogs that earn income or are more professional. I have a personal blog and the only money I’ve ever made off of it are from the rare sponsored posts I get. I think I’ve only had a handful of them and, sometimes, they are nothing more than a pain.

This conference is a blogging and social media conference, so I’m excited to see what I can pick up at it. Some of the sessions look quite interesting and I have a feeling I might be able to utilize some of the items for work, as well as my personal blog.

All-day affair

This is going to be an all-day conference, beginning at 9 a.m. (ish) with registration, and ending around 5 p.m. There’s an after-conference gathering, too, but I’m not sure if I’ll be attending that. After a full day, I might be ready just to head home.

What’s nice is they have the sessions set up in 20-minute increments. I’m assuming if there are one or two that you aren’t interested in, you can kind of just wander out and take a stretch break etc.

Though all the sessions seem interesting, the morning ones have drawn my eye a bit more. I like some of the themes and I’m hoping to take some items away from these. The afternoon ones should be good, too, and hopefully there are items to learn.

The conference definitely seems like it is packing a lot of “bang for your buck” with the $15 ticket price. There are a lot of good presenters, lunch, as well as a swag bag when you register during the morning. Then, during the lunch hour, there are also vendors and such, so I’ll be excited to see what’s out there.

Networking

I know life is full of networking opportunities, but it’s not always my cup of tea at times. Though I’m looking forward to meeting people on Saturday and learning about their blogs, I’m not always looking for that next step, sort of thing. As I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed a change in that I’ve become a bit more of an introvert over an extrovert. I like to kind of do my own thing and not stray far from certain boundaries.

That needs to change some, so it’s nice to go outside the comfort zone at times.

It’s not that I dislike speaking with people, it’s more I like to be in a certain setting. This weekend will be slightly outside the comfort zone as it’ll be a way to see and experience other people’s creative work, learn things and, hopefully, see how I can grow my blog some, even if it’s only a personal blog.

With that in mind, I took a tip of some people I know who’ve gone to conferences and created some business cards. Of course, where I ordered them from seem to be going slow and I’m still holding out hope that I have them by Friday (the day I am scheduling this post), but it’s possible they won’t arrive. In that case, I’ll be highly disappointed because I know they are pretty good to have in these situations.

We’ll see what happens tonight because it appears Staples offers same-day printing, so if things get screwed up and I can order by 2 p.m. tomorrow, then maybe I’ll be able to do those — though I’ll be extremely ticked off that I ordered from a company that didn’t deliver and had to pay for more.

But enough of the negative — let’s focus elsewhere. I look forward to meeting other people and seeing what they have done with blogs and social media, be it on a massive site or personal. It should be fun and interesting either way.

Learning

Whenever I go to conferences — be it professional or personal — I am always looking to learn. If you can take one or two things away from every conference you go to, then it was worth attending.

I know I can grow in each aspect when it comes to social media and blogging — in the professional world as well as personal. Maybe there are some strategies I can use on both ends. I’m all about hearing about video and podcasting and things like that. Will I ever do a podcast? Who knows. But it never hurts to hear about these things. I would definitely like to add more video to my blog, so it’s nice to see there are topics about that. I’d love to find a way to do more giveaways and there’s something about that.

This conference will cover a lot of ground and I look forward to that.

Being ready

I truly believe there are different ways to look at a conference like this. You could show up in a shirt and tie or a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Honestly, I’ll be more of the latter. I’m going to be casual, chat with people, and learn some new things. Though I’m always open to possible career opportunities, I want to be relaxed and feel like I am in a comfortable setting. If it’s more of a dress-up thing, then I’m a little more tense — and who wants that on a Saturday?

NEPA BlogCon offers a great page for first-time attendees, and I’ve taken that to heart. The event is set up through the Yapp app, so I’ve downloaded that and have it on my phone. I also plan on bringing the things they say would be good, including my camera as I figure there will be some good options for photos. I’ll also have my iPad Mini, but I still haven’t found the best app for note taking, though I am hoping to sit down before leaving to find one I like and that I can use this weekend.

The business cards will be with me, if they arrive on time, and I hope to gather many others and follow some new people on social media and blogs as it will only help with growth all around.

I feel I am ready to hit up an event like this and take something out of it, which is highly important to me. I’m sure I’ll be blogging a bit about it in the coming weeks and, hopefully, I’ll even have a little on social media the day of the event. So feel free to follow me to see what the conference has to offer — at least from my eyes!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!