CBC Notes and Poll

My event filled weekend was a blast! Little Anne had a beautiful reception. Crew was blessed and given the appropriate name. I was able to visit with Twinner and her boy Zack (so stinkin' cute, and grown so much since I saw him last) at lunch with Maura on Monday. And then of course there was the Casual Bloggers Conference.

Jandee and I went up to Sandy on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning for casual blogger workshops. It was educational, though I'm not sure that anything that was said really surprised me. Whether that is my marketing degree talking or the quality of the conference, is hard to tell. Day one I attended sessions on "The FTC and You" and "E:Commerce." I was surprised to see that the majority of the information covered was not really for casual bloggers, but information about how to monetize your blog... or "monotonize" as some moderators would say. After thinking about it, this really did make sense, because if you're paying $175 to attend (which we luckily didn't, thank heavens for giveaways) you are probably more serious about your blog and wanting to turn it into a money maker. So Day One was how to advertise and use the internet to make money with your blog.

Day Two I attended the panel discussion "Blogging Zen: Balancing Your Online Life," part of a panel discussion "Niche Blogging: What it is and are you in one?" a panel discussion on Blogging and Faith, and "Make Your Blog a Work of Art" with designers April and Julie. This information was definitely more applicable than Day One, but still focused on the serious bloggers. I was hoping for more advanced information in design with April and Julie, since that is how the workshop was advertised. Instead we talked more about how to upload your header (a question from non-design oriented audience member) or how to be a professional non-graphic arts major designer.

It was fun. It was educational. I got a swag bag, that while not as exciting as Jandee's winner bag, was full of trinkets, discounts, and chocolate. I intruded on the world of semi-pro bloggers for a few hours, which made for some awkwardness and great people watching. Speaking of which, I plan on a post purely dedicated to Jandee and my favorite quotes from the conference. Priceless! There wasn't too much though, as the most casual of bloggers, that I felt I could currently apply.

However, I have considered that some of you may be interested in my notes. It seems only worth the $175 that I didn't spend to share some of this information with you. And as I really don't have time to write down all of my random information, I propose a poll. I'll post the poll on my blog for two days. The category with the most votes will receive my time and effort. Options are: Day One: The Monotony of Monetizing, Day Two: Deep Thoughts from Panels, or Swag Bag Discounts (a list of codes you can use from my swag bag).

Void where prohibited. (haha, had to throw that in after the FTC Lawyer workshop, just for fun).

P.S. For some detailed fun, read Jandee's review of the CBC. I ditto what she said.