Setting aside the budget to go to a conference like BlogWorld and New Media Expo can be a big decision for a solo brand, a small business or a department head. Itās important to get a sense of where your moneyās going, and more importantly, where the return on investment is.
I was tasked to write about this mega social media conference. Here are 6 specific things that I took away from BlogWorld 2010.
#1: I discovered geocaching
At one point or another weāre all victims of complacency, if weāre being honest. BlogWorld is where I discovered geocaching, via Julie Henning.
Geocaching is where people all over the world hide things (caches) and use a GPS app that lets searchers find them. Yes, you heard me right; itās a WORLDWIDE never-ending scavenger hunt. And I uncovered a geocache in Las Vegas while attending the event. Had I not attended, I would have never even known about this craze that has 4 million participants. Watch this video for more info:
Quick and dirty Geocaching lessonā¦on the house!
#2: The sessions are great, but the networking is GOLD
Scott āThe NameTag Guyā was my personal favorite session, and not because he let me videotape him pretending to be a pro-wrestler either (or that he gave me a free book).
Lewis Howes delivered in his panel discussion, as usual. Adria Richards gave great tips on how to use social media for your next job search, and the keynote by Scott Stratten was awesome.
With all that being said, Iāll never forget the post-BlogWorld party at Darren Rowseās place, where Allison Boyer, Shannon Smith and Chris Ducker discussed the nuances of pronouncing the word āapricot.ā
Or the lunch with Mike Stenger, Jordan Cooper, Allison Boyer, Jamie Tardy and Oleg MokHov, where we discussed the definition of viral and what true engagement is.
The first night with Amy Schmittauer, Sammy Hammons and Scott Robinson is going down in the history books as the most walking done by any human being ever, and Amy Schmittauerās awkward introduction to both Scott Stratten and Jay Baer wonāt be forgotten anytime soon.
Social media will never replace the human experience. I got really close to about 6 people in the span of 72 hours and I donāt think any of us will forget each other. This is what we strive for when weāre tweeting back and forth. These are the conversations that we want to have when we comment on each otherās blogs. BlogWorld reminds us of the true purpose of social media, and thatās to eventually advance the conversation offline and build relationships.
#3: Connecting with people, not profiles
Scott Robinson and I might have spent 10 hours together over the course of the conference. We spent maybe 15 minutes actually talking about what we doāand that was at the closing party. Too often, we get caught in the act of engaging for a business purpose and forget that what we really want is to create āknow, like and trust.ā

Sitting at the Social Media Examiner breakfast, I got to have an amazing conversation about power and influence with Mike Stelzner that encouraged me to accelerate a project Iām working on. I had one of the most reckless conversations with Amy Porterfield, Gina Onativia, Katherine Salt and Rich Brooks about everything from stealing great ideas to the concept of a āplay cousin.ā No business, just people.
Again and again I got to learn about people, not business representatives, and for that reason I felt like I had the time of my life nonstop for 3 days straight. In the process of that I may have made some nice business contacts, but I definitely made some new friends, and thatāll take me much farther than business info in a CRM will ever do.
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I met people who hailed from Gainesville, Florida, to local folks right from Las Vegas itself. I met Katherine Salt, an awesome lingerie store owner from Jersey (a small island off the coast of England) and Chris Ducker, a man who disagrees with my pronunciation of the word āapricot,ā who was about to travel to Columbia via a brand-newāand possibly dangerousāairline at 3 am.

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FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOLIt didnāt really hit me until I got back to my room on Monday morning. I just went global.
Forget the Internet; BlogWorld is a literal phrase. I was amazed at the range of people, countries and especially accents that I encountered. Iām pretty sure I now have a lunch date if Iām ever in 20 or so countries around the world. Something like this could take years to build, but one conference in Vegas created that in a weekend.
#5: Scott Stratten

Yes, his keynote speech was amazing. His banter was consistently hilarious. And he made the phrase, āWhat happens in Vegas, stays on Twitterā a top tweet for 3 straight days on the #bwe10 hashtag. But my calling Scott āSteveā twice to his face within 5 minutes of each other was one of my best memories.
The ācool kidsā of social media are regular people just like us. BlogWorld gives us a chance to make an impression on them the way they make an impression on us daily. You donāt get to just āmeet peopleā at a place like BlogWorld. You get to have experiences and collect stories.
Imagine how much fun Amy Schmittauer is going to have telling the story of her Scott Stratten book cover, signed by āScott Steve Strattenā over the next few weeks. Better than any blog post comment could ever do.
#6: Content avalanche
Iāve written down about 20 blog post ideas in 24 hours.
The conversations at BlogWorld donāt just build relationships, they build content. Discussing Jamie Tardyās goals led to a blog idea about the evolution of a millionaire mindset. Debating the definition of viral with Jordan Cooper led to another post, as did our discussion about what engagement works and what doesnāt.
Amy Schmittauer and I shot videos of me having a complete #fail test-driving a new 2011 Ford Mustang (I hadnāt driven stickshift in a whileā¦just imagine it). This led to a blog post about committing to learn something new and doing something that may scare you.
If you donāt have an editorial calendar before BlogWorld, you will afterwards. Discussing the lives, dreams, experiences and businesses of the top thought leaders can only lead to ingenuity and growth.
Like I posted recently, our content doesnāt only come from us. If you have writerās block, then you havenāt talked to enough people; you havenāt read enough posts (thanks, Scott āThe NameTag Guyā).

For me, BlogWorld started as a reckless spur-of-the-moment decision (Woo, Vegas!) and ended up being one of the turning points of my business. From Lucy Thompson validating the name of our new blog, āSuper Villain Strategyā, to walking for a full fortnight on the floor of the Luxor and Mandalay Bay, to some of the most unexpectedly talented karaoke singers Iāve ever heard, BlogWorld is more than a conference, itās an experience that can change everything.
In addition to those I mentioned, I want to thank Tanya Chadha (I know you rigged that contest for me), Michael Vallez (Crazy Mike!), the BlackBerry Team (People stared at my t-shirt all night longāI felt like a victim. New rule: no shirts with paragraphs on your chest⦠not one person looked me in the eye).
Naomi Trower and Kristi Hines (Thank you for having lunch with me, those playing cards are awesome!), Bill Rice (The smarter half of my discussion with Mike), Lori M. (One of the first quotes on my stream, thank you), Tiffany James (For making me get an IPad⦠eventually), Amber Osborne (Sorry I couldnāt be your back-up rapper, but you got your karaoke on; maybe next time).
Matt Simpson (Great pitch, even with all of the noise!), the Kodak Team (Youāre awesome, next time weāll do lunch on your break. Iād still love to win a Zi8ā¦HINT!), Jason, AKA āBlog Luvrā (weāll have to connect another time), and finally Cindy King (You are truly a sweetheart. I smile every time we speak). You all MADE BlogWorld no matter who put the event on. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.
Anybody up for a trip to South By Southwest? I wonder if Steve will be there.
Every person highlighted in this article was a delight to be around. In my opinion, you should connect with as many of them as possible. I promise you wonāt be sorry.
What was your favorite BlogWorld moment? I know I wasnāt the only one who had fun! Share your comments in the box below.
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