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BLOGALICIOUS WEEKEND – Building Our Own Empires in Baltimore

September 21, 2015 By Elaine Gray

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!

 

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Filed Under: Blog News Tagged With: Blogalicious, blogging

NaBloPoMo #6 After 1 Week of Daily Blogging, I’ve Learned…….

November 8, 2013 By Elaine Gray

NaBloPoMo November 2013Women Having Coffee

Before my friend and fellow writer/blogger asked me to join her in BlogHer NaBloPoMo for November 2013, I never considered daily blogging because I thought it would be difficult.    Now, I am glad I did not hesitate because I have learned some things about myself while writing the first 5 blog posts.   What I have learned is presented as follows in order of importance:

  1.  I have learned there are people interested in my writing because I have acquired many new followers here and on Twitter in the last 5 days.  I want to say THANK YOU to all of them for dropping by and reading my thoughts.
  1. I have learned if I am presented a topic I can write about it pretty quickly.   (Now, what that really means is I have an opinion about everything!)   This month the topics are being provided by BlogHer and that is helpful.  So, I realize that, with some pre-planning, I can determine some topics and increase the frequency of my blog posts in the upcoming months.
  1. Daily blogging engages the writer more with the blog readers because of the frequency of new content.    It is more interactive.
  1. With some discipline, time management and the use of scheduling tools, I can do this!

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Filed Under: Blog News, Uncategorized Tagged With: blogging, BlogHer, BlogHer NaBloPoMo, Writing

NaBloPoMo #3– The Place Where I Create…..My Writing Space

November 5, 2013 By Elaine Gray

NaBloPoMo November 2013Women Having Coffee
I have a nice large writing space in my home.   It is actually a home office that is open and bright.  The walls of my office are a beige color and I have dark mahogany wood blinds on the window to block the evening sunset.   The floor is mahogany hardwood with a large blue multi-colored Persian rug.   On one wall is a large white built-in bookcase and it is home to hard copies of my favorite books and some of my writing books that pre-date Kindle.   Also, on my bookcase is a television with cable/DVR hookup (which I really need to remove) and an IHOME to dock my IPOD to listen to Native American flute music or smooth jazz while I am writing.

In one corner of the office, I have a medium-sized computer stand with a desktop computer/printer setup and pullout keyboard.   This computer is used for all of my non-writing life needs.   My office desk is glass-topped on a wrought-iron base with a wrought iron/leather chair.   I love this desk and purchased it before I started on my writer’s journey but now I realize it is no longer functional.  I desperately need storage and my beautiful desk does not have drawers.    Also, the desk is too high ergonomically for me to use my designated writing laptop so I have to use it on a plastic tablemate stand which I keep near my desk.    I know at some point I will need to replace this desk as the only purpose it serves now is to hold all of my notebooks and writing class notes.

Overall, I am content with my writing space but it is in need of some mission organization and a makeover.   Sometimes when I take a short break from my writing sessions I jot down ideas so I do have the start of plans for a makeover.   However, at the moment, I am productive in my writing space and working to a self-imposed deadline to finish my novel.    Perhaps when that is done I will take a break and enhance my writing space.

I would love to share a picture of my writing space but today it is just a little too cluttered to show.

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Filed Under: Blog News, Cultural Tagged With: blogging, Creativity, The Writing Life, Writing

Girlfriends on the Road – BlogHer ’13 Conference

August 4, 2013 By Elaine Gray

Woman with travel cases.

Last week, from July 25 -27, I had the pleasure of joining one of my writing friends/colleagues in Chicago for the BlogHer ’13 conference.  This conference is the meeting place for 5,000+ female bloggers who, cumulatively, have a connection to 93 million blog readers globally.   The power of the female voice is awesome!

BlogHer 13

It was the first time I attended this conference and I was amazed at the women I met there.    Dynamic, opinionated, confident and fearless, these women shared the experience of the blogging life with one another in a collaborative effort.    We gained invaluable insight on striving to be successful women from our keynote speakers:

Ree Drummond – The Pioneer Woman – Food Network Star

http://www.thepioneerwoman.com

Guy Kawasaki – (the first male keynote speaker in the history of BlogHer)   http://www.guykawasaki.com

Sheryl Sandberg –  COO of Facebook and author of Lean In     http://www.leanin.org

Marjora Carter – New York Urban Revitalization Strategist

http://www.majoracartergroup.com

Lisa Donovan – Actress

http://www.lisadonovan.com

Brit Morin – CEO of Brit & Co.  – DIY online community

http://www.britmorin.com

Randi Zuckerberg – CEO of Zuckerberg Media, former Marketing Director of Facebook and sister of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg

http://zuckerbergmedia.com

Gale Anne Hurd – Film Producer – (currently “The Walking Dead)

http://www.valhallamotionpictures.com

One of the most memorable events was the “The Voices of the Year Reception” in which Queen Latifah was the Mistress of Ceremonies.  This event showcased several bloggers and their contest-winning blog post.   Each one read to us and the power of their words moved us to laughter, joy, triumphant, and tears.  Another event I enjoyed was the “Speed Dating” Ice Breaker exercise where we did introductions with one another to make connections with other bloggers.

Queen Latifah

I learned new information to enhance my blog in the panel sessions, presentations offered, and interacting with the other attendees.   Overall, this conference was a great experience.

Here are some of the blogs that had interesting titles:

http://www.baddestmotherever.com

http://www.bigcurvylove.com

http://www.partiesforpennies.com

http://www.sunbonnetsmart.com

http://www.robynshealthyliving.com

http://www.muchneededcoaching.com

http://www.thestir.com

http://www.cafemom.com

http://thebitchinwivesclub.com

http://www.creatingmotherhood.com

http://www.blackdiabeticinfo.com

http://www.teachgoodstuff.com

http://www.elephantsoap.com

http://www.slowcookeradventures.com

http://www.mahoganymommy.com

http://www.eatflowsweat.com

http://www.happyhoureffect.com

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Filed Under: Blog News Tagged With: blogging, BlogHer, female bloggers, female networking

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