BlogWorld Expo 2011 Los Angeles: Day 2

           On Saturday November 5th I decided to forego the networking breakfast so I could sleep in a bit and take my time.  Taking the Metro Rail to the Convention Center, I arrived shortly after the Expo Hall doors opened at 10 AM.  As I neared the venue I noticed a throng entering the hall opposite where I was going.  Since many of these folks were in costumes I had to investigate.  The Comicaze Expo--the L.A. version of the Comicon show--was taking place and drawing a considerable crowd of comics fans.

          In fact in the huge Convention center there was also an event featuring Tony Robbins the self-help and motivational guru and the West Coast Franchise Expo, which looked pretty interesting.  It was a busy week-end for sure, but I was on my mission to finish visiting the BlogWorld booths that I had missed the previous day.

          My first stop once again was the Blogger booth.  I had a few more questions and wanted to see what kind of promo we could get for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.   Blogger support rep Lisa Ding said she thought they could probably give us a plug or two in the Blogger blog in the months before the 2012 A to Z event.  Then Lisa kindly posed for a photo with me.

Arlee Bird of Tossing It Out with Blogger support staff rep Lisa Ding

Cover via Amazon
        Next I visited the booth for the Yahoo! Contributor Network where I was told about their program for accepting content for their website--something I will want to explore further.  Before leaving their booth I was showered with some wonderful parting gifts including a purple Yahoo! t-shirt and tote bag, as well as a thick hardbound copy of the Yahoo! Style Guide, which is a resource book that should prove highly useful in the future.




       Then I began stepping things up lest the day get away from me and I miss visiting all the booths I wanted to stop by.  I saw some fabulous video and computer equipment that I certainly can't afford now, but would love to own one day.  I picked up brochures for my daughter and a musician friend of mine who are both interested in video technology.

          I made sure to get a card from Anthony Adams from Izea.com, a company that I will be contacting later to get more information.  It was at the Izea.com booth that I spoke briefly with Roland, the owner of CouponProBlog.com, and realized he was the guy that I'd asked to take my picture at the Blogger booth.  If you're into coupons and bargains you might want to check out Roland's blog.

         At midday my cell phone rang.  It was blogger and author Beverly Diehl--the winner of the BlogWorld pass that I had given away on my blog.  We met in the lounge meeting area in Expo Hall entrance and had a very nice chat about blogging, writing, and the A to Z Challenge.  Watch for Beverly's report about BlogWorld this Thursday on her blog Writing in Flow.   It was great meeting Beverly--such a delightful young lady.

         Time was running out and we both had some stops to make at the booths we hadn't visited yet.  We parted ways and I made some last visits to a few booths that I had not had been to yet.  Frankly I was still tired from my full Friday at Expo and even though my Saturday had been much shorter I was ready to go by two o'clock.   I had been to the booths that I had wanted to see and the Expo floor would be closing at 3:30.  I did not see much point in hanging around until 5 PM for the closing program.  It was time for the train home.

         I hope I've given you a good overview of things at a BlogWorld Expo event.  There's way too much to be contained in two relatively short blog posts.  And this is only what I saw from the Expo floor.  Added to this were three days worth of speakers and seminars and three nights worth of parties.  Anyone who was attending BlogWorld and staying in a nearby hotel had to have had a blast.

          Should you attend one of the BlogWorld events?   If you are serious about blogging and social media then it's a big yes.  Even if you are just a blogger hobbyist this event is truly eye opening and might change the way you blog.   I'd love to attend next year for the full BlogWorld experience.  It's a bit of a pricey undertaking, but if you can afford it you might want to consider attending one of the Expos.  Next year the events will be in New York City in June and will be returning to Los Angeles in the Fall.  Check the BlogWorld website for complete details.

          Any questions about BlogWorld?  Ask away and I'll try to answer.   Did anyone else reading this attend either BlogWorld event?   If so, what were your thoughts?




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BlogWorld Los Angeles 2011: A Report and Analysis Day 1

           The BlogWorld Expo and New Media Conference 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center is now a pleasant memory for those who attended this great event.   Talk about information overload.  My brain will be sorting out information gathered from exhibitors for the next several days.  I had some excellent tips given to me by other bloggers as well.

            Taking the Metro train was the ideal way to go.  My schedule went according to plan.  The ride was pleasant and I was at the Convention center at about 7:30 Friday morning just as I had hoped.  There's a Metro Rail station just a block away from the Convention Center so it's an easy walk once you're off the train.

          Registration was efficiently handled by a group of friendly folks hired for the event.  Some of those with whom I spoke were also bloggers and authors.   One of them was Adrienne Van Houten who has a blog called Adrienne's House.  Once I got my I.D. badge and my information package I was ready to go.

          The BlogWorld staff started the day off with an excellent networking breakfast that was free to attendees.  Here I met Jeffrey Powers of geekazine.com.   He was assisting in the booth for a podcast company called Stitcher where every time I passed their booth Jeff was interviewing one person or another.  He gave me some great tips during our conversation.

            The Expo doors opened at 10 AM and except for a brief lunch break, I was visiting booths and talking to people non-stop throughout the day.   There were nearly 100 booths to visit and I made it to almost half of them the first day.

  

         My first stop was the Blogger booth where I was assisted by a fine fellow whose name I unfortunately do not find in my notes at present.  He was of great help to me in answering some questions I had and showing me how to fix some problems with my blogs.  The entire Blogger staff was an energetic bunch and they seemed to be quite busy throughout the day.

          There are too many highlights to mention in this post without making it go on too long, but there are a few that absolutely stand out.   One is Zemanta--a content suggestion engine which offers links, tags, photos, and other helpful things that can be easily added to posts without having to do the research yourself.  This is my first post to use Zemanta and I can see I will have to get used to it, but after I do I think it will be a tremendous time saver.  

          Another cool thing was all of the swag I brought home with me.  There were all kinds of t-shirts, tote bags, pens, mousepads, and other useful items.  I also got free signed copies of hardback books:  The Hidden Power of Your Customers by Becky Carroll and No Bullshit Social Media by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers.   Looks like I'm going to have some more books to review in the future.  Add to that Chris Camillo's Laughing at Wall Street which the folks at his booth said they'd be sending me to review.

         At the end of the day I recalled someone in a booth inviting me to a product demonstration at 4:00 in room 404.  I remembered this as I was wearily trudging out of the hall to head home, but I couldn't remember what it was.  So I decided to check it out.  Pagelines, a drag and drop themes plug in for WordPress blogs, was demonstrating their product.  What a spread they had there!  They offered an excellent buffet and an open bar for the few who managed to make it.  Founder and product developer Andrew Powers and his associates were congenial hosts and they explained the product which I can't use on my Blogger blog, but I enjoyed my self anyway.

          At this demonstration I met a very nice fellow who is practically one of my neighbors.  Gregory McDonald is a video producer and president of Latter Rain Entertainment.  We had an excellent discussion and will be hopefully meeting in the near future to discuss some potential collaborations.

          After the Pagelines demonstration I was ready to call it a day at about 5:30.  It had been a long day with a lot of time on my feet and I was tired.  A bit achy but quite happy I returned home and shared my day with my wife as we sifted through my bag of goodies that I'd gotten at BlogWorld.    I only spent a few minutes on the computer before I turned in for a much needed night's sleep.   I still had another day at BlogWorld which I'll continue on Wednesday.

         Do any of you use Zemanta?   If so, what has been your experience with it?

         Tomorrow on Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Blog I will also be talking about some other aspects of my BlogWorld experience.

          On Thursday Yvonne Lewis from Welcome to My World of Poetry will be offering a special treat on my dream blog A Faraway View.

          Ann Carbine Best will be my guest on Wrote By Rote this coming Saturday.

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