Last 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!