Blog Conference Revives Old Blogger

one of the panel discussions

Yes, it is true. Old Bloggers learn new tricks, and find refreshing new inspiration from meeting together.  After being at this Garden Bloggers Conference I am convinced of that.

It is always fun to meet with a group of like-minded people, but I think it is less usual to have that plus lots of really helpful information, useful guidance, and entertaining speakers all together in one package. That is what I’ve experienced (along with delicious lunches and occasional glasses of wine). I think you should be jealous right about now, and maybe thinking of how to meet up in the same way the next time an opportunity arises. I feel I waited much too long to join with the different people who make up the garden blogging community. So glad that I can now say I met (name-dropping opportunity) Seasonal Wisdom‘s author, Teresa O’Connor and Red Dirt Rambling‘s Dee Nash … along with others who I think will be names to know not too long in the future.

I hope to write about a few to introduce you to, through some future posts.

Sometimes the number of garden blogs has been an overwhelming blur of names and urls, but when taking time to talk to people about their blogs, or in some cases their blog dreams, there are new places and people to visit and get to know. It isn’t always just about the information. Sometimes it is about the dreams, inspirations, and lives of the people who make the gardens and write the blogs.

That is what revives me in the experience of attending this conference. It was just that good.

What Did I Learn?

• I learned about photography tips from Matt Mattus, as well as branding tips and ideas of how to use the look of my different online activities to pull together an identifiable sense of who is behind this screen.
• I learned about traditional media and what they deem important as well as their efforts to use social media, etc
• I learned how people like Studio G’s blogger Rochelle has built her beautiful and interesting blog.
• I laughed with Amy Stewart who is a vastly entertaining speaker as she essentially disclaimer-ed everything: no plan, no strategy, serendipitous meetings, slightly drunken talks and public speaking political faux pas. But her deep curiosity-driven writing and piercing sense of what would be interesting about the plant world shone through, and that was really instructive for me, as she shared about telling a story.

Those are just a few of the things that were instructive … there were also personal blog clinics. I was especially helped by Lauren Thomas, who gave me tips, ideas for improvement and a general pep talk! Digital Sherpa did a great job putting this together and their people are top notch. What do I wish was different? That I had been more prepared with questions. There was more than just listening to speakers, but maybe knowing more of what questions to ask is all part of the process of growing and improving.

Anyway -that is all for now, but there is more to share when I have time to let it all sink in and look at my notes, and visit the sites of the new friends I made.

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© 2013 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.