GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

BLOGALICIOUS WEEKEND – Building Our Own Empires in Baltimore

By

IMG_2712Last weekend, I communed with one of my blogging tribes at the Blogalicious Weekend in Baltimore, Maryland.    The theme for the conference was BUILD YOUR OWN EMPIRE and we all were excited for weeks before the conference on the promise of the conference offerings.   The speakers and session leaders delivered all that we expected and so much more in sharing information that would help each blogger present to take their blogging business to the next level.    We all departed the conference with a tremendous amount on our “to-do” lists for implementation once we returned home.

This was my second Blogalicious Conference and it validated the commitment I made last year to attend each year.  I met some dynamic and brilliant multi-cultural women who have built “empires” with surprising innovation as bloggers.    There were several opportunities to share and collaborate at this conference and I left there with some genuine contacts to continue sharing with throughout the year.

This was my first visit to Baltimore and I know I shall return because I did not get a chance to visit any of the historical sites there.   I wanted to visit the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.  This was where the Battle of Baltimore was fought in September 1814 which was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner” – our national anthem.   As a writer, I wanted to visit the site of such an inspiration but there was not enough time.   So, I must return.  I did eat the wonderful Maryland crab cakes and I must admit that none others can compare.   I also had a crab soup that was so scrumptious that it is worth a trip back just to have another bowl of it.

One of the memorable and validating moments for me occurred when a woman sat next to me in one of the sessions.   She was actually one of the assistants of one of the VIP speakers.   However, she had been bitten by the “blogging” bug and was attending some sessions to learn more about it.    She told me that before coming to the conference she did not understand exactly what bloggers really did and how could a business be developed from blogging.   Now, due to the conference, she was full of knowledge and excitement because she realized “Bloggers are REAL!”

Yes, we are!

 

Blogalicious 2014 – Adding to My Creative Tribe

By

IPHONE 20141109 062

Sometimes the thing that pops into your life unexpectedly is the one thing that you soon realize had been missing.    This was the case with my attendance at the Blogalicious 2014 Conference in San Antonio, Texas this past weekend.

This conference had not been on my radar.  I heard about it a couple of years ago and made a note but did not pursue it.   Then this past July, 2014, I was in San Jose at the BlogHer conference and I met the Co-Founder and Chief Curator, Stacey Ferguson, along with several other bloggers who were past attendees of Blogalicious.   In discussions with them I discovered that the 2014 conference city was in my backyard in San Antonio.  So, this past week, I packed up my bags and headed west to The Alamo City along with my good friend and fellow writer/blogger, Anne Boyd, of Am I Vintage Yet (www.amivintageyet.com)

We arrived and the first thing we noticed was that the pace ramped up quickly.   My first impression was this conference was not for the faint at heart.   If you were afraid to dream and think BIG then you were in the wrong place.   There were so many progressive speakers from the blogging world who were sharing their knowledge and energy in helping attendees identify their needs and a path to progress their blog/brand.  I walked away from that conference with so much homework and so many ideas for my blog site.   I made some new connections with brilliant, smart, positive, and beautiful women from all over the country.  Also, I acquired some great blog topics to post so I will be sharing some great information with you over the next few weeks.

It wasn’t all work at the conference.   We did have some fun.   We had a private film screening of the movie “Beyond the Lights” presented by Relativity Media at the AMC Rivercenter Theatre.   The movie is a wonderful love story and you should plan to see it.   After the movie, we had a Q&A session with writer and director Gina Prince-Bythewood.  During the conference days, we also had the opportunity to chat with producer, writer, director Issa Rae (www.issarae.com) and actor Lamann Rucker (www.lamannrucker.com).    One evening we relaxed with a really funny comedienne, Aida Rodriguez (www.funnyaida.com), who gave me some good belly laughs and I thank her for that because I really needed it.    Plus, the sponsors treated us really good with hospitality suites and events that involved food and cocktails.

Overall, it was a fabulous high-energy conference and Blogalicious is now definitely on my path to success.