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BlogWorld Flickr Photo of the Week: Chris Brogan and Charnell Lucich

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We’re starting a new feature – BlogWorld Flickr Photo of the Week! If you have a photo and story you’d like to share, please email me with a link to the photo and your story. Don’t forget to join our BlogWorld Flickr Group too!

Chris Brogan, Charnell Lucich

This week’s photo is from Kevin Blalock:

Social media was a little unfamiliar to me and I never really got a good grasp of it until I attended the BlogWorld Expo in 2008 for the first time. I had heard about social media here and there, and had seen the buzz online. I even registered an account on Twitter, yet I still couldn’t figure it out.

This first trip to BlogWorld was a great experience for me as I wandered around the floor. I watched people connecting, learning about each others business, and hearing tips and tricks about social media in general and how it can be used in a positive way.

The key piece of knowledge for me was learning about blogging. Blogging was another buzz term that I figured only artists and poets used to document their daily life or something. To my excitement, asking many silly questions resulted in many very helpful answers from the other attendees and exhibitors. I quickly learned what exactly all this social media and blogging stuff was all about!

The experience this first year made me want to learn more and get involved myself. Now, I will be the first to say I am not the best at keeping my blog up to date on a regular basis, but I am working on it. I have a new project/business that gives me a reason to blog now, other than just the things I have been up to in my personal life.

Because of what I have learned by attending BlogWorld Expo, not only do I know how to leverage the tools of social media such as blogging; I can now share what I have learned and hopefully teach others as the wonderful people of BlogWorld have done for me.

Part of the BlogWorld experience is getting to meet many great people. One such person is the man who took the time to allow me to take a photo of himself and Charnell Lucich, Chris Brogan. Since leaving BlogWorld 2008, I started following him on Twitter and keeping up with his social media presence.

To my delight, Chris was once again at BlogWorld 2009 and was signing his then new book release titled “Trust Agents”. One minute, I was with Charnell Lucich who keeps up with Chris religiously, and is one of his biggest fans. The next minute she was in front of his table talking with him. So, I ran over to say hi as well since it is very rare that you do not see him surrounded by fans!

This brings me to the greatest part about BlogWorld. We all know who Chris Brogan is; and to be honest with you, I was expecting a better than thou attitude. Let me tell you, Chris is one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. He sat there looking us in the eyes talking to us, focused on the conversation and really made me feel that he was truly interested in our conversation.

I am really looking forward to attending BlogWorld 2010 in October. I look forward to seeing the friends I have made over the past two years as well as making new ones. To me, this is what BlogWorld is all about.

Kevin Blalock
Blalock Photography
Email: kevin@blalockphotography.com
Twitter: @kevinblalock

Speaking Submissions Deadline Came and Went – Now The Hard Part – Choosing

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keynote1 Now the real work for me begins.  I am getting inundated with questions from everyone that has submitted speaking submissions as to whether their submission was chosen.  To be frank, I am not done reading the more than, enter large number here, submissions that were submitted and I have yet to complete the tracks that we are having this year.  I wanted to let everyone know that I am meeting this week with Rick Calvert and the rest of the team to get the draft of the final speakers and sessions completed.

Let me say this I thought that the submissions were all good for what we expect the conference to be this year and I am having a hard time deciding on the speakers that I must say “No” to and that also makes the decision making process tough.  I can assure the attendees that they are going to get the best possible lineup of experts, gurus, leaders in the field, or however we can possible label them.  No, that does not include Oprah (Sorry Oprah you didn’t make the cut.).

If any of you have any questions please feel free to email me at jim at blogworldexpo.com and I will get a response to you.

Has Blogging Jumped the Shark?

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDthMGtZKa4[/youtube]

I live to blog. If I’m not blogging, I’m forming posts in my head. Everything is an idea. I suppose you can call me an old school blogger, but I’m not close minded. I like to consider new ideas and technologies, even if I don’t always get them. That’s why I was kind of taken aback the other day when I was asked if I felt blogging has jumped the shark.

A Whole New Blogosphere

The blogosphere is a lot different than it was five years ago. It even feels different. It’s not the different bloggers, but rather the different ways folks use blogs. I remember when I started out, blogging was more about sharing than it was making money. Now, it’s the other way around. Still that doesn’t constitute shark-jumping, does it?

Let’s examine some of the evidence presented to me…

Blogging is now an entry level writing position

Blogging jobs for very little or no money abound. Many people are seeing blogging as a low cost way to stock a website with content. It’s one of my pet peeves, as blogging is a skill deserving of a lot more pay.

Shark Jump Factor: 5. Now that social media is the big job for 2009, bloggers are treated with a lot more respect. Sure, there are plenty of low payers but smart bloggers know where the money is and how to get the blogging jobs that pay.

Everyone Has a Blog Now

Blogging isn’t relegated to a select few. There are millions of bloggers blogging about this and that. Everyone is an expert and everyone has to weigh in. Even celebrities have blogs now.

Shark Jump Factor: 2 The more the merrier. The blogosphere is a big space and there’s room for everyone, so what if there are more people blogging. We were all “new bloggers” at one time or another. The good news is that bloggers are still helpful and supportive and newbies benefit from the wisdom that comes from the old school.

There are A Lot of Spam Bloggers Out There

More unsavory bloggers are using their blogs to sell products or  steal another bloggers content in order to earn advertising revenue. While it’s not as bad as it used to be, there’s plenty of splogging going on still.  Since there’s really no way to regulate this sort of thing, spam blogging will happen for years to come.

Shark Jump Factor: 8. Spam is like cockroaches. We can fight it using various methods, but we can’t get rid of them for good.

Blogging Has Become More Mainstream

News agencies have blogs. Businesses have blogs. Celebrities have blogs. Teachers have blogs. Doctors have blogs. People who know nothing about blogging have blogs. Where does it all end? For many, blogging has lost its appeal now that everyone is doing it.

Shark Jump Factor: 4. Get over it, son. Blogging is a terrific form of expression. Visit the blogs you enjoy and stay away from the blogs that don’t appeal to you.

Has Blogging Jumped the Shark?

No. Not even close. Blogging has changed. It’s evolved, but there’s no jumpage here. I liken it to a band that did well locally for a couple of years before having a breakout album with several top ten hits. The purists will always say, “I liked the old stuff better.” Things change, it’s a way of life. We can gripe or we can embrace. I choose the latter.

Community Isn’t Only Online

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community-outreach

One of the reasons I enjoy attending blog and social media conferences so much is because I love meeting with the folks I interact with online. I’ll even go as far as to say I use my online communities only as a tool for making personal connections. I think a mistake many folks make is believing community management is only for online, but that isn’t the case at all.

It’s great to have 20,000 followers on Twitter or 750 Friends on Facebook, but what do they really do for you – and what can you really do for them in 140 characters or less? I find I better learn the wants and needs of the folks in the communities I manage over a cup of coffee or chit chatting in the hallway of a conference center. It’s easier for me to explain how something works, or the benefits of a particular service face to face or while using the telephone.

It’s great that we’re now realizing it’s all about pesonal connections and conversations, but those connections shouldn’t be tied down to one’s laptop. Use your online connections to reach out to make a more personal connection, you –and your community – will be happy you did.

Community Isn't Only Online

Author:

community-outreach

One of the reasons I enjoy attending blog and social media conferences so much is because I love meeting with the folks I interact with online. I’ll even go as far as to say I use my online communities only as a tool for making personal connections. I think a mistake many folks make is believing community management is only for online, but that isn’t the case at all.

It’s great to have 20,000 followers on Twitter or 750 Friends on Facebook, but what do they really do for you – and what can you really do for them in 140 characters or less? I find I better learn the wants and needs of the folks in the communities I manage over a cup of coffee or chit chatting in the hallway of a conference center. It’s easier for me to explain how something works, or the benefits of a particular service face to face or while using the telephone.

It’s great that we’re now realizing it’s all about pesonal connections and conversations, but those connections shouldn’t be tied down to one’s laptop. Use your online connections to reach out to make a more personal connection, you –and your community – will be happy you did.

Bloggers Blog Because. . . Well, Because!

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Why in the world would someone like me want to go to Blog World Expo, or any other blogging conference?  Would would someone like me NEED to go?

Aren’t bloggers twenty and thirty-somethings?  Don’t they write about diapers and projectile vomit and daycare and breastfeeding at the workplace?  Bloggers are also techies, right?  Bloggers are always comparing/contrasting various computer anatomies and social media widgets, and arguing about the merits of Vista over Linux.  Bloggers like the jargon, and don’t know how to spell out “you” or “anyway.”  Well, u know, NEway.

HAH, absoLUTELY wrong!

Bloggers are people like ME.  They are also people like you, and people like her, and him, and that guy over there, and that really old lady by the window, and that high school kid, and those young mothers on the park bench, and that bunch of middle-aged teachers in the CostCo lot, and those businesspeople, and that airline pilot, and those doctors, those lawyers, those Indian chiefs, those accountants, those Daddies, those Mommies, those grandparents, those convicts, those veterans, those soldiers, those nurses, those factory workers, those unemployed people, those college students, and everybody else in the universe.

Bloggers can’t be categorized.  Sometimes their types of writing can be, but not the bloggers themselves.  New parents aren’t always in their twenties.  Not all familes are conventional, nor do they wish to be.  Not all primary breadwinners leave the house to go to work,  and not all stay-at-home parents watch Days of our Lives when the kids are napping.  That’s when some of them do their blogging!

Some of us blog for fun, for self-improvement, for nostalgia purposes, for reasons so varied and diverse it would take an eight-volume series to properly describe them all.  Some of us blog for money, and get it.  Some of us blog for fame, and get it.  Some of us use blogging as a stepping-stone, and use it.  Some of us blog because we like to blog.

No matter who or what you are, or what you do or wish you did. . . no matter if you are conventional or non-conventional or somewhere in -between. . . . no matter if you’re a parent or if you’re not. . . . no matter if you’ve been blogging for eight years or eight days. . . . there is something for you at a blogging conference.  Whether it’s BlogWorld Expo, in Vegas this coming October, or BlogHer,  in Chicago in July, or any other blogging convention, there is something for you there.  There is something for you to learn, and something for you to share, and something for you to discover, and, BEST OF ALL, there are PEOPLE there with whom you will something in common.

I can’t wait – I’m going to both BlogWorld Expo AND BlogHer.  Why would I do that?  I’m not young or perky, and my kids are grown and gone.  I don’t use much jargon, and my tech skills are laughable.

I’m going because these conferences are loads of fun.  I’m going because there is always something to learn and something to share.  I’m going because the world of blogging and social media have shown me that many things that matter so much in some aspects of our lives, don’t matter at ALL to bloggers.

Bloggers find each other because we are bloggers.  Minor things like age, looks, health, kids (or not), social standing, popularity. . . none of these things is important to a blogger.  We care about these things, yes, of course we do, but ultimately, when we seek out someone to talk to in a crowd, if we can find another blogger, we’ve found what we’ve been looking for.

Come to BlogWorld Expo, and come to BlogHer.  You’ll find what you’ve been looking for, too.

Seriously.  You will.

The Pricelessness of Blogging

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I live out in the country, several miles from the nearest small town.  I know only one other adult who blogs, living in this area.  We met and became friends because of our blogs.  We have little in common besides our passion for blogging, but a passion for blogging is a big enough passion to suffice.

One reason – and there are many others – that I love to go to blogging conventions is to meet other bloggers.  There are all kinds of conventions for all kinds of interests, of course.  I’ve been going to writing conferences and education conferences for years, and I love them.  I love meeting people who share these interests with me, exchanging ideas, learning new things, teaching new things, and just generally hanging out with congenial people who have similar interests in addition to their individual quirks and qualities.

Not all writers are bloggers, however.  Bloggers are writers who put an extention of themselves down on a public blog for the world to see, and judge, and comment on.  Bloggers experience exultation from this, and occasionally heartbreak.  It’s worth it.  I have to get a bank loan in order to go to these conferences.  It’s worth it.

And to meet others who understand this?

PRICELESS.

Blog World Expo Radio – Episode 1 From SXSW in Austin Texas

Author:

SXSW Interactive

Our show comes to you live from last Saturday at SXSW Interactive at the Techset Blogger Lounge presented by Windows Mobile.

Our guests on this show live from SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas:

Ewan Spence and his Twitter is @ewanspence
Wendy Piersall and her Twitter is @emom
Justin Levy and his Twitter is @justinlevy
Patti Serrano a caller and her Twitter is @iGrandma
Aaron Brazell who we all know as @technosailor

I want to definitely thank the folks at Windows Mobile and the Techset group for letting us have our show.  Special thanks to Stephanie Agresta and Brian Solis for allowing us to have the fun we had there.

Hopefully at Blog World and New Media Expo we can have as much fun!

BlogWorld & New Media Expo Now One Super Huge Event!

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If you are a traditional media type then you will see this press release today. That’s right as of today BlogWorld & New Media Expo and New Media Expo are merging into one MEGA NEW MEDIA EVENT! This is a great thing for attendees and exhibitors, from both events, who will get more value than ever from participating in one true industry-wide event. The next BlogWorld & New Media Expo will take place October 15 – 17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

But there is more to this story, so let me start at the beginning. Back in 2003, I met Tim Bourquin (the founder of New Media Expo) at a networking event for tradeshow organizers. I liked him right away. He was just launching a new event and I thought his idea was brilliant. It was called Small World Expo and it would be about Nano Technology.

In fact, if my wife and I hadn’t just picked up our lives and moved north from San Diego for a new job in Los Angeles, I would have taken him up on his offer to come lead his sales efforts for Small World Expo. Instead, I called a friend of mine who was looking for a new opportunity and told him about this great idea. He agreed with me, this was a very cool idea for a show and the timing seemed great. I introduced my friend to Tim, they hit it off, and worked together for nearly a year. Unfortunately, as it happens so often with new tradeshows, the event didn’t pan out.

Fast forward to 2006. I was hopelessly hooked on blogging (I’d been blogging about politics for a few years) and really wanted to attend the blogging tradeshow to learn all there was to know about becoming a better blogger, interviewer, podcaster, etc. Problem  was, it didn’t exist (read more about that here). Long story short, it is September of 2006, my partners Libby Durfee, Dave Cynkin and I are set to announce the launch of BlogWorld & New Media Expo in November. It will be the only event in the world for blogging, podcasting, Internet radio and TV, social networking and all forms of new media. I am doing some research and come across another event that I had not found before. It’s called the Podcast and Portable Media Expo. This is a potential competitor, so I do some more digging. This is their second event, the first one was called Podcast Expo. Then I come across something weird. The founder is a guy named Tim Bourquin. Is this the same Tim Bourquin I had met three years earlier? Yes, it sure is.

Little did I know Tim and I had been living parallel lives for the last couple of years. He had been podcasting, fell in love with the medium, wanted to go to the industry event, it didn’t exist and so he launched the podcasting event. It sounded exactly like my story, if you just substituted blogging for podcasting.
So we all head up to Tim’s show in Ontario, CA. The show is fantastic! I couldn’t believe the energy; people are excited, having fun and are doing business. Other than being faced with the challenge of possibly having to compete with Tim, we see this as a very good sign for us.

I find Tim, congratulate him on the event, tell him how great it is, and then tell him about our idea, hand him my card and mention we would be adding “& New Media Expo” to the title of of the event when we announce the launch in November. Tim tells me he is changing the name of his event to Podcast & New Media Expo for 2007.

It was a little uncomfortable for both of us (that we were going to have this name confusion), but all in all, it was good to see Tim and I was happy for his success. I mentioned to him in that first meeting that maybe we could figure out a way to work together. Tim agreed.

We both went forward with our 2007 events. Tim’s show was again a big success, and the launch of BlogWorld was a huge hit! We set up a meeting shortly after BlogWorld ‘07 and talked about how we might work together for 2008.

Unfortunately, we both already had our dates for 2008, Tim had signed contracts with the LVCC and his host hotel. In some manner, we were going to have to compete for another year. Tim’s show changed names again, shortened to be “New Media Expo”, and would be moving to Las Vegas and take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center in August 2008. BlogWorld & New Media Expo would take place the following month in September also in Las Vegas at the LVCC.

Finally, fast forward to two months ago. I get a call from Tim. It goes something like this “Congrats on a great event Rick, I have an idea……” and the rest, as they say, is history.

BlogWorld & New Media Expo 2009 will truly be the comprehensive, industry-wide event that Tim and I had both searched for, envisioned, and it’s such a wonderful thing to be able to announce it’s become a reality.

Let me end this post by acknowledging what a pioneer Tim is and has been. He saw the future of New Media. I won’t say before anyone else, because lots of people believed in these tools very early on, but Tim did something about it and gave podcasting and online video content creators an industry event when there was a desperate need for it. We have so much in common, and I’m honored to call Tim a friend. Two combined visions have led to creating a single comprehensive (and convenient) event which is truly a launchpad for our industry’s growth, education and evolution.

BlogWorld Expo Acquires New Media Expo

Author:

here is the official press release:  

BlogWorld Expo Acquires New Media Expo

Largest industry-wide conference and tradeshow dedicated to new media, blogging, podcasting, online video and social media is formed

SAN DIEGO – Dec. 8, 2008 – BlogWorld Expo today announced that it has acquired New Media Expo; the new combined entity will be called BlogWorld & New Media Expo. The next event, featuring a comprehensive conference and tradeshow, will take place in Las Vegas on October 15-17, 2009. The financial terms of the agreement were undisclosed.

New Media Expo was founded in 2005 to serve the educational and networking needs of podcasters and online video creators. Its 4th annual convention was held in August 2008 in Las Vegas, which drew 1800+ attendees and 50 exhibitors. BlogWorld Expo had its 2nd annual convention in September 2008 in Las Vegas, drawing similar attendance numbers and nearly 100 exhibiting companies, and featured keynote addresses by Guy Kawasaki, Anil Dash, Richard Jalichandra, Tim Ferris, Mike Shinoda and other new media thought leaders.

“The lines between blogs, podcasts and videos are blurring in that content creators are using all of these tools to communicate and share information online – the message is more important than the medium,” said Tim Bourquin, founder of New Media Expo. “Given that people are mixing podcasts, video and blogs to deliver their message, it became obvious that our two events should come together and provide a single all-encompassing conference where attendees can learn all of the latest and best content creation techniques in one place.”

“As more content is being created and shared online, the market for an event like this is growing at a rapid pace,” said Rick Calvert, founder and CEO of BlogWorld Expo. “Bringing together the world’s largest podcasting event and the world’s largest blogging event creates a unique learning, networking and business environment for everyone involved in new media. Our attendees include individual and corporate content creators, new media as well as tradional media companies, entrepreneurs and enterprise-level marketing professionals.”

BlogWorld & New Media Expo 2009 will feature conference tracks on everything from creating better audio content to using social networking tools to grow your brand, blog audience and nurture the relationship between content creators and their audiences, as well as companies and their customers. As in previous years, after-hours networking receptions, special events and parties will combine to make it the gathering of the year for the new media industry.

About BlogWorld & New Media Expo

BlogWorld & New Media Expo is the first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media. Designed to give participants the strategies, tools and technologies they need to leverage new media communication in business, editorial and entertainment environments, the conference features dozens of seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on the leading-edge of online technology and Internet-savvy business. BlogWorld & New Media Expo will place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, October 15-17, 2009. More information on BlogWorld & New Media Expo can be found at www.blogworldexpo.com.

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