One of the best things about blogging is finding and building communities. When I first started blogging, I used to make it a point not to talk about my cats too much, but I've since overcome my crazy cat lady shame. It's a good thing, too, because it turns out that the BlogPaws community suits me very well, despite the fact that I still blog about plenty of other stuff besides my pets.
Communities are about friends and finding new blogs to read, yes, but they're also about learning. BlogPaws does an excellent job in that regard. Their annual conference features top social media professionals teaching the ins and outs of multiple social outlets and mediums. There are beginner, intermediate and pro tracks for any blogger, as well as some specialty tracks aimed at the pet health and welfare professions.
The speakers are top-notch. Last year Laurie Ruettimann spoke on monetizing your blog. This year Susan Getgood is presenting on monetization and Toby Bloomberg is speaking about Twitter for business. Triberr founder Dino Dogan will be presenting again this year on the future of blogging.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, but I think it's a great representation of how seriously BlogPaws handles core social media topics. There might be eight dogs, a cat and a ferret in the room during any given session, but all of the humans are learning useful information to advance their blogging goals.
Now you may be asking, "But is it fun?" Yes, it's fun! There are social activities built into every mealtime, receptions each night, a red carpet walk the last evening leading to a blog awards ceremony, and lots more. That doesn't count the expo hall, Catification Lounge, dog parks, craft projects and other BlogPaws-specific activities. There will even be BlogPaws Karaoke this year. I don't know exactly what that will entail, but it sounds intriguing.
Want to know more and see some photos? Check out my recaps from 2011 and 2012.
The 2013 conference starts a week from tomorrow in Tyson's Corner, Virginia. It's not too late to register! Use my discount code BlogPaws2013-POPS-Lindell-20 and you'll get 20% off. Hope to see you there!
Disclosure: My opinions are my own. As a member of the BlogPaws Paws on Patrol team, I attend the conference at no charge and am compensated for helping to promote it.
Comments