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.
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| Arlee Bird of Tossing It Out with Blogger support staff rep Lisa Ding |
Cover via AmazonNext 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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