Blog World Expo 2008
[ 7 October 2008 ]
Hanging out with three men who have really inspired me — Darren Rowse (top), Steve Pavlina (left) & Timothy Ferriss (right).
The Blog World Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada was an amazing event. When I first heard about it I was really curious as to what it might be like, & I was delighted that the stars aligned so that I was able to attend with my dream girl, Nubby Twiglet!
Arriving in Las Vegas in the early evening was pretty fabulous, too, & totally the way to do it. I had never been to Vegas before, & wasn’t sure what to expect, but as my taxi made its way down the Strip, I started to get really excited. Bright lights! Shimmering signs! Hotels in all kinds of ludicrous shapes! It truly is like Disneyland for adults — an amazing, gargantuan, ridiculously fabulous sprawl.
The expo itself was very impressive. It was really well organised, with free wifi, lots of areas to sit down & a convenient location (you can catch the monorail to the Las Vegas Convention Center from almost any hotel on the Strip). The ticket prices were quite substantial (ranging from about $400 to $900), which probably helped to maintain its appeal as an event for “serious bloggers”! I’d say that pretty much everyone there was either making a living off their blog or well on their way, so there were plenty of sessions on monetization (which, after you gather an audience & create some valuable content, is really the next big thing to tick off for anyone wanting to do it full-time).
The best panel I saw was the very first one on Saturday morning, called Making Money With A Blog, featuring John Chow, Jeremy Schoemaker, Brian Clark, Zac Johnson, Jim Kukral & Darren Rowse (my Melbourne BFF!). I made some great notes from listening to what they had to say on the subject of monetising blogs — & all the speakers were worth listening to. One of the panelists revealed that he had made $140,000 in the previous month from his blog alone. Pretty incredible stuff!
The other stand-out event for me (& for Nubby too) was the keynote speech on Sunday, featuring Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Work Week fame, & Mike Shinoda, MC for Linkin Park & Fort Minor, as well as a blogger. I knew that Tim would be great, & he was, but I was very pleasantly surprised by what Mike had to say as well. Even though a lot of his experience was more based in the music industry, plenty of it related back to blogging & the idea of personal branding. Both men had amazing things to say about brand extension, giving your customer (that’d be you guys!) an amazing experience, & even talked a bit about “karmic marketing” — otherwise known as getting back what you give.
It was brilliant to go with Nubby, because as well as her super-popular personal blog, she also works on a professional blog for her employers, Nemo Design. A lot of what was spoken about at BWE was really relevant to her industry, & when we split up to go to different sessions, we would regroup & discuss what had been said. It was great to be able to mull & chew over all the new information we had, especially with someone who is doing something similar to me (which could almost be called “personality blogging”).
My only complaints about the event are thus (& they are few & far between):
I think there could have been more women on panels. I only went to one panel with a woman on it, which I thought was kind of strange. I know that there were a couple of other blogging conventions going on at the same time, so maybe that’s where all the women were, but there are plenty of girls kicking blogniverse booty, & I’d like to hear more from them & their unique perspectives next year! (I’d also like to speak next time — hint hint!)
I didn’t get to meet Guy Kawasaki. I saw him a bunch of times — he was wearing a bright orange shirt, he looked kind of like a traffic cone & was hard to miss! — but I was too shy to go up to him, & then he left the convention early! Talk about kicking myself!
$8.77 sandwiches. Enough said.
I came away from the conference bursting with ideas & inspiration, & feeling really good about the people I’d met & what I was doing personally. It was great to meet a whole lot of people in the same industry as me, too — I talk to bloggers online all the time but not so much in real life!
Before we left Las Vegas, Nubby & I were already discussing coming back for BWE09, which happens in October. We had such a fantastic time & are intending on making it into an annual pilgrimage! Vegas was the perfect place to hold it, because after an entire day of cramming your head full of information, it was wonderful to escape into the warm desert air & have a good time!
I think that anyone who is looking at blogging as a source of income would be silly to miss this event. It is definitely worth the money — if not from what you learn, then from a networking standpoint alone!
I also want to give a shout out (hee!) to Darren Rowse! His generosity & general awesomeness is unparalleled, & I really appreciate it. You’re a champ, I love ya!
Extra For Experts:
You can read Nubby’s write-up on the expo here.
Love letters & feather headdresses,
Tags: gala,
life,
productivity Add Gala on Twitter!
Thanks for sharing, Gala! I didn’t get to go this year but might go next fall. We need more ladies ‘kicking the blogniverse booty’, as you put it! :)
xoxo
Xenia aka Doe
Interesting! I tried to read “The 4-Hour Workweek” & actually had to return it to my local library – I found his writing tone a bit abrasive & condescending. I wonder if I would lean more towards his public speaking! Sounds like a wonderful experience (even with overpriced sandwiches) ;]
Wow! Sounds amazing, glad you had a great time.
It’s incredible how some people can make so much money from blogging alone.
Your write-up was so well worth the wait! I love how you covered all the little bits and pieces that I left out / forgot about! Our trip could easily be summed up as “On the Hunt for Guy Kawasaki”...which is quite funny since he was within 10 feet of us at one point!
You’re the ideal blogging convention sidekick. Here’s to next year!!
Wooow! I wish I could have gone! It sounds like so much fun! And kudos to raising the issue of the lack of women on the panels! Girl power all the way!
xox
i hope you kept the gold filling from those sandwiches!
It would have been nice to go! Listening and visiting with all of these experts (including you, gala) would have been super valuable.
Maybe next year!
Oh man, I wish I could have gone :-( Darren is one of the co-creators for the blogging company that I write for (okay, one of them) and it would have been so cool to meet him in person…
Time to start saving those pennies for next year!
i’m so jealous!!
except for the almost nine dollar sandwiches…? what in the world.
Wow! I would love to go to BWE09 not only to try & meet you & Nubby (I hope that wouldn’t turn out to be a ‘finding Guy Kawasaki’ experience!!)but also for the info – I love information (geek!!)!!
I am writing a blog for an education business I am a partner in & also will be starting one for the teenagers I work with sooooo I need to learn lots & what better place than Las Vegas! Thanks for the article Gala!
Also it sounds as though Darren Rowse, Steve Pavlina and co are very approachable which is awesome! (compared to the sometimes diva behaviour of other ppl at the top of their game!!) :)
Thanks for the great review, Gala – and I agree, Darren Rowse is awesome! I’m so excited for the Blog World Expo next year – I absolutely, completely 100% intend on going! :D
Wow, I wish I could go to something like that. Why doesn’t Nubby ever smile?
What a fantastic experience! I´d like this event in Spain…
aw it looks like you guys had a fantastic time!! You and Nubby both have fantastic skin btw
Hey Gala,
Thanks for attending the session! I look forward to meeting up with you and talking a bit at the next blog world!
Doe Deere Blogazine — Totally! I hope that next year there will be some panels focussed on blogging for women!
Allison — Oh wow, that’s interesting! I didn’t get that from his book at all. But it’s funny how we read into things, I know that a while ago I got kind of annoyed by the tone Steve Pavlina uses on his site sometimes, but he actually only does it to provoke a reaction. He wants to jolt people out of their everyday reality & using that certain tone does that! Both of them were great in person though, really friendly & open.
Nubby — Oh Guy, the one that got away! ;> xxx
sarah — I remember tweeting something like, “Sandwich was $8.77. It better taste like an orgasm.” One moment later: “Surprise: it didn’t.” Haha!
Chloe — Darren is a great guy, we hung out a few times when I lived in Melbourne. I think very highly of him! You should definitely come next year!
Nelly! — I think blogging is such a new “industry” that the people in it tend to be forward thinkers. If you have two braincells to rub together, it’s obvious that in an industry where word spreads like wildfire, you have to be nice to people! Come along next year, yes yes!
x Miss Corrine x — Yay, hope to see you there!
Caitlin Marie — She smiles all the time! Just not in photos ;>
Zac Johnson — Me too! Thanks for stopping by!