On Saturday I attended my first blogging “conference” in Baltimore. (Ironic, isn’t it? Same day as my blogaversary.) “Bloggy Boot Camp” was put on by the Secret is in the Sauce or more affectionately known in the blog world as SITS.

I’m gonna be honest with you, I had no idea what to expect.

The conference had a nice blend of topics and some truly engaging speakers.  And I learned a lot. But in the end, I didn’t really care much about all that.

You know what I liked most of all?  Hanging with MY PEOPLE.  You see, in my real EVERY DAY life, I am the odd ball.  Having a blog isn’t as common as say, owning a car. Or a blender. My friends appreciate my blog, don’t get me wrong.  They just don’t have a PASSION for blogging like I do.  They don’t exactly “get it.”

I’m the odd ball.

But at Boot Camp, the bloggy passion was literally oozing out of these ladies very pores and it was simply AWESOME.

I confess that I even found myself a little nervous around ladies that I admired.  And I was all yammering on like that middle school girl who just REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wants you to like her.  Which was amusing and slightly pathetic at the same time.  Thank goodness I have ADD and quickly moved on to the next shiny object or I might not have emerged from under the proverbial blanket ever again.

So if you are a blogger and have not had a chance to attend a conference or a seminar or something of that nature, I say to you “GET THEE TO ONE, AND QUICK!”

You will love it.

And because I am feeling all generous and stuff, I put together some tidbits I gleaned from the sessions:

Good overall advice: Be clear on who you are and what you do. You don’t HAVE to categorize yourself as a “mom blogger.” Once you decide what it is that you do… DO IT WELL!  Develop a tagline. USE IT.  And whatever you do: BE SWITZERLAND!  Stay neutral and out of the drama.

On social media: Everything you do in social media has to be thoughtful.  Who you follow and who you interact with makes up your online reputation.  Even your comments can be traced back to you.  Don’t forget that even Twitter is searchable by Google.  Above all else, be professional!  You are your own brand.  Consider every part of your online presence and act accordingly.

If you would like to see a Whrrl story on Bloggy Boot Camp, click here. For more pictures, you can check out Scary Mommy’s photo stream on the event here OR for tons of posts on the event, head over to In The Trenches of Mommyhood for a link up of the posts on this event.

DON’T FORGET: I’m hosting a Blogher2010 cash sponsorship giveaway from SEED!  Find out more here!

Tags: Baltimore Bloggy Boot Camp, blogging conference review, Bloggy Boot Camp, passion for blogging, SITS

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 6:25 AM and is filed under Blogging, Stuff You've Just Gotta Do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.