This Lil Piglet

The Blur of BlogWest

The announcement of BlogWest had me chomping at the bit. What began with a thought in the mind of Felicia Delwar of Single Mom of Two, BlogWest was planned and executed within 8 weeks. Naturally I wasn’t the only one excited, there was a yearning vibe from many bloggers in attendance for a Western conference, almost a sigh of relief. The BlogWest agenda was planned out well, with a few minor hiccups, offering several sessions brimming with information not only to better your blog but to better yourself.

 

BlogWest kicked off to an excellent start with Keynote speakers Angela Saclamacis of Disney Parks at the Travel Alberta reception where we had the pleasure of learning what brands like Disney look for when selecting people to build a relationship.  An example of great branding was revealed to us by Travel Alberta where it was clear how one branding video could be so effective, a video that even earned them an award. The video of mention was one of Travel Alberta’s Remember to Breathe videos; I encourage you to head over to the Travel Alberta YouTube page to take a look through some of their breathtaking videos.  Most of all it was the first chance to meet some familiar and not so familiar bloggers in real life and have to opportunity to get a taste for what brands are really looking for.

 

Friday and Saturday were packed full of great sessions, all which had the general theme of image, leaving you with the question who am I really? Ask yourself, why did you start blogging in the first place? Who are you trying to portray through your blog, keeping in mind if that represents who you really are.  What is YOUR brand? There is such a thing. You don’t have to operate a business to have a brand; your brand is you and your blog. Every day we put ourselves out there with an image we have built up of ourselves, through our blog is only one small way; your presentation or voice is equally as important. Think of it from a brand perspective, based on the image you have branded yourself with would you want to build a relationship with yourself? Consider whether or not that brand is a good fit for you, not everything will fit with the theme of your blog; considering your readership and why they started reading you in the first place should be at the top of your deciding factors.

 

Ask yourself, what your goals are and set them. No more procrastinating; the time is now! Where do you want your blog to be in a months time, in 6 months time; in a years time? Be true to yourself when setting these goals; are they realistic? Setting goals that are unrealistic will only set yourself for failure. Start by setting smaller goals; once you conquer those small goals, set bigger, but still achievable, goals.

 

BlogWest was a refreshing and mindful experience sending me away with the warm and fuzzy feeling of information overload. There were many things talked about that gave me a different perspective encouraging me to make a few changes around here, for the good. I personally took with me a lot of technical information that I will be implementing on the back end of my blog for the purpose of targeting my niche. I think what everyone attending could appreciate was that the first ever BlogWest western Canada blogging conference was organized with all walks of bloggers in mind, beginner and seasoned bloggers alike, each taking their own learnings away from it; I call that a success.

 

To see my BlogWest photos, head over to my Google+ Album. You’ll see some fabulous bloggers like @MommyKatandKids, @SoberJulie, @FronteSentre , @myrealreview (rather baby @myrealreview), @naturalurbanmom, @kimpagegluckie, a lovely dinner with friends and @AdultEssentials and a few others you might recognize. Will I see you at the next BlogWest?

17 comments on “The Blur of BlogWest”

  1. What a great recap! That was exactly how I felt after too…who am I? What is my blog’s purpose? Loved meeting you, beautiful, we’re SO going to have to make it a regular thing! 🙂

  2. This is a fabulous representation of the beautiful event that was BlogWest! I really loved spending time with you Stacey and plan on doing it again soon!

    • Thanks Julie. 🙂 I was so happy to get to know you better Julie IRL; you are more fabulous than I thought and I thought you were amazing before. It struggled a bit over this post, mainly because there was so much to process and how do you some that up in one blog post?! I figured a generalized theme was the best way to go, breaking it down in other posts over the next couple weeks, time allowing. Kim Gluckie definitely inspired me, one of many. Here’s to the next conference!

  3. I so wanted to be there with everyone. The tweets coming from blogwest were great and I really appreciate your blog post on the defining moments. It’s definately important to know who you are and where you are going. It’s easy to get lost and lose sight of objectives!

    • You are very welcome and thanks for saying so. 🙂 I agree, sometimes we get lost from our vision or needs some redirection and that’s okay. The conference sessions really put that into perspective for me; whats important to me will have more of a focus. I’m still a R & G blogger at heart but my main focus has always been DIY and sustainable living which I haven’t focused nearly enough on. It’s great to have goals that I can actually achieve. I hope to see you at the next conference.

  4. it sounds great- I really wish I could have been there!! Hopefully next year 🙂

    • I wish you could have too Tara but we will get the chance at the next one and I cannot wait to meet you IRL; I love reading your blog and learning about your family. PS Your Hubs takes fantastic pictures; the northern lights always give me a sigh kind of feeling, kwim?

  5. Sounds like the conference was a success. I haven’t even been, but reading all you ladies that have post about it, it’s making me want to go next year for sure. I’d love to get better at being a blogger, there’s always need for improvement.

  6. Sounds like a fantastic conference and reminds everyone that we need to speak our true voice at all times. Can’t wait to see what changes you were inspired to make.

  7. I was on my way and then I went into pre term labor. I had my little guy on the 8th 🙂 He was born at 33w 6 days.

    • Oh my goodness Randa, I was wondering…congrats to you and your family! He was a preemie; how is he doing hun? How are YOU holding up? Having a preemie is tough and very emotional; I remember how emotional I was having my DD in NICCU when she was born at 34 weeks…heart-wrenching to see your LO like that.

  8. Love your recap. It sounded like it was a fabulous conference and I enjoyed following the hashtag. I wish I could have been there in person, so there’s always next time.

  9. Ack! We never met! (at least I don’t think we did) How does that happen???

    • I do not know how I missed you; I don’t think we met either. That’s too bad. I felt like it was a bit of a whirlwind with a lot to process. Are you heading out to Blissdom or BlogHer? If so, we can make a point to meet up. 🙂

  10. I followed the twitter stream and thought it was sounding fantastic. So glad you had a good time and came away with a good feeling about the conference.

  11. It was so great to meet you at dinner! I wish we could have chatted more. Hopefully we’ll bump into each other again soon. We don’t live *that* far away right? 🙂

    • Great to meet you too Merry! 🙂 I left the conference wishing there was more time to chat with you and many others; I suppose I should be thankful I was lucky enough to meet in real life at all. You are not that far away so I’m sure we will get the chance again soon. I will be attending conference(s) out east in October, maybe I’ll see you there?

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