Today I'm hoping you'll all allow me to indulge in a bit of a pity party. Many of my pet blogging friends are currently at BlogPaws 2015 in Nashville and once again Truffles and I must watch from the sidelines. As the sole caregiver for both of my parents who have had major health issues in the past year, travel just is not an option for me right now. This is the third year I have wanted to attend the BlogPaws conference, but for some reason it's hitting me a little harder this year.
5) Nashville. As a lifelong country music lover, Nashville has always been on my bucket list of places to visit. The opportunity to see Nashville while getting to meet my blogger pals (and their pets all dressed up in their adorable cowboy duds!) would have been priceless.
4) Education. I've been blogging for almost 4 years now but still have so, so much that I want to learn. SEO, photography, monetizing...the list is endless. Two panels/workshops that I would have been first in line for were titled, "CWA Writing Track - Bridging Journalistic Excellence and Blogging" and "Branded Content Workshop: How to Create Authentic Sponsored Posts".
3) Swag. I'm not going to lie...I love free stuff. Truffles loves free stuff. Who doesn't???
2) Meeting with brands. The chance to meet face-to-face with the brands I would love to work with would be a great opportunity. I feel like not attending blogging conferences makes it look like I'm not a serious blogger, and nothing could be further from the truth.
1) Meeting online friends "in the fur". This one tops the list for me. The friends I have met through pet blogging are "my people"...people who view their pet as family. In many ways I feel a greater kinship with them than people I see everyday in my "real life". Even better, many of them are bringing their famous pets!!! I wish there was someplace online to stream Katie and Waffles' Kitty Cocktail Hour.
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And today we're starting a campaign: in 2017 the conference will be back on the east coast, and we have our fingers, toes, and paws crossed for a northeast conference! We want BlogPaws to know that Burlington, Vermont has some really great pet-friendly conference centers, and the weather is just purr-fect this time of year too!!!
Just sayin'...
21 comments:
I could get behind Vermont.. Boston is nice..Maine is super pretty friendly.. ;)
I'm rooting for east coast. Phoenix in June next year will be hot. It's Hades humid here. Some things you aren't missing. Frizzy hair, confusing hotel corridors, bone-numbing exhaustion, deafening exhibition area, hyperstimulation, too many choices ( I had to go for a swim to clear my head!) high school cliquey cattiness and way more dogs than cats. I've only see one cat! That said, I'd do again in a heart beat but I'm doing way less and getting to bed early not drinking with the others. It a great place to know who your friends are. i.e. who left comments of congratulation and who didnt ;-)
I agree with everything you wrote, I wish I was there.
You'll get there. In the meantime, keep being Vermont's ambassador! :)
Wish you were here! I would have loved to have met you! This is my first conference and I won't be able to come back until 2018.
Jenny
Free stuff is the best
Lily & Edward
We sure hope in 2017 you will be able to attend. I have caregiving duties that so I am landlocked. Maybe one day.
I would love to watch the streaming of the famous Cocktail Hour, too! Wouldn't that be something??
I don't think you should immediately put 2016 on the back burner. I know your parents are a huge concern.....but no one knows what one year will bring.
I have been to three of the BlogPaws conferences and they were all fabulous. That being said, the brands I am connected with did NOT happen from face-to-face contact at all. None of them. While face-to-face is great, you can make valuable connections online as well, without ever having met face to face. It just takes initiative, and creativity and the ability/confidence to sell YOURSELF. Selling yourself is much more important than even the statistics of your blog.
If you ever want more tips just reach out I will gladly share. I don't offer unsolicited advice (usually, except for now lol)
Our Mom LUFFS the free stuff too. Hopefully you will get to go next year.
This may not be any consolation but... yours is one of my FAVORITE blogs out there! I open it before all the others. You do amazing work without ever having been to Blog Paws. You two are naturals at it! And, yes, I do hope it comes to the east coast soon. ;-)
I'm on the East Coast too, New England,a new blogger, but have met some wonderful people online and share your pain!
Something in the Northeast WOULD be great, wouldn't it? :)
We, too, are sad we are not at BlogPaws this year.
Hugs!
Yous and my Mommy should gets together! She has wanted to goes to BlogPaws for 5 years, Nashville is on her bucket list! The workshops, well wes won't talks about those, they makes Mommy cry, Swag, nuf said Brands, Mes would gets a Tattoo for Fancy Feast and piece de resistance .... furrends! Wes would LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to meets them in person!!!!
Purrhaps wes should has a pity pawty this week.
Alls of us who is NOT going should has a pitty pawwty this week!!! and collects green papers and sends it to a good cause!!!
Kisses
Nellie
(who is traveling zillions of Kilometers tomorrow from Calgary to Midway)
If Blogpaws was in Vermont, even my human might consider going!!!! It would be so good to meet everyone! I hope you get to go :) xx
Mommy wishes you could have gone so she could meet you. Our paws are crossed, too, for a north east conference. She says if she can drive she might take me. Oh! And she said when she gets her notes in order she will share them with you n
Mommy wishes you could have gone so she could meet you. Our paws are crossed, too, for a north east conference. She says if she can drive she might take me. Oh! And she said when she gets her notes in order she will share them with you n
I agree on all these points! This was my first conference and one thing I learned for next year - plan ahead and have all then numbers of bloggers you want to meet ahead of time. I missed several people I really wanted to meet.
I am eager to attend next year so that I can meet more friends "in the fur". All of those highlights were quite wonderful!
I didn't attend last year because of my mom's health condition. I didn't attend again this year because of personal reasons. I can relate to your post 100% Keep smiling, our year is coming!
Aw, I didn't go this year either (new blogger). Hope to meet up with you soon.
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