Virtual Event Success

I had the pleasure of speaking at Blog World & New Media Expo this past week. It was the first time I was excited to go to Las Vegas because I knew that ALOT of my friends would be there.

Blog World & New Media Expo is the merging of two shows – Blog World Expo which started in 2007 and Podcast & New Media Expo which started in 2005. I’ve been involved with the latter as a speaker since the 2006 show. The founders of the Podcast & New Media Expo (PNME), Tim & Emile Bourquin, put on a fine event. Every year, it was top notch. So, I had high expectations for Rick Calvart and Blog World & New Media Expo. About 90% of my expectation were met.

Why I Liked Blog World

But first, let me speak about the show itself. Blog World & New Media Expo (BWE) was fabulous. I was surprised at the

number of people who showed up. Given that most shows are experiencing a decline in attendees, it was nice to see that the exhibitors floor and each of the session rooms were FULL of people.

Quality of Exhibitors

The quality of the exhibitors was also top notch. One of the problems with the PNME is that the lower notch exhibitors started to take over. The exhibitor floor at the 2008 PNME looked shabby. I remember some of the exhibitors either didn’t bother to show up (hence empty booths) or if they did, they put up a cloth banner with their logo finger painted on (I’m not kidding) and gave out nick knacks that had NOTHING to do with their business.

BWE was vastly different. Every exhibitor put alot of work into their booths. Shiny lights, colorful backdrops and well staffed booths with amazing people. It was beautiful to see a mixture of big name companies, such as Ford who had a gorgeous Taurus on the floor to other companies I had never heard of.

Quality of People

And the people I met? Wow! I chatted at length with Coach Carter’s son, caught a glimpse of Jalen Rose & Don Lemon from CNN and met a fiery PR lady from New York whom I’m chatted with (something in the works).

And of course, everyone I’ve been networking with FOREVER online who I finally met in person. People like Warren Whitlock, Denise Wakeman (she and I spoke for an hour on a coach at the Tweetup I was co-hosting – whoops), Mari Smith (yes, she stands at least 2-inches taller than me), Jeff MacArthur (Amber’s brother), Andy Walker, Christina Hills, Connie Bennett, Sean Carruthers, Jason Van Orden, Paul Colligan, Mignon Forgarty (finally!), Paolo (and I can’t remember his last name), Mark Joyner, Bryan Person, Elizabeth PW, Sarah Robinson, Carla Young, Allison N, Jeff Hecht, Tee Morris, Brian Solis, CC Chapman, Shel Holtz, Maggie Fox, Coach Deb (sporting a gorgeous pink & white jacket, remember to send it to me), Rob Walch, Chris Brogan, Tim Street, Mark Evans, Adria Richards, Tracy C, and others whose names I’ll add as I remember them.

Why I Believe the Podcasting Community Should Support BWE

To my podcasting colleagues, those who were part of Tim & Emile’s show since 2005, you MUST support BWE. Why?

1. Podcasting can only have a strong presence if we’re there. Out of all the social media tools, podcasting
   

   Mignon Forgarty, the Grammar Girl & me

   was the only one that received its own track. If we’re not there, podcasting will be forgotten and all that we’ve done as a community to make podcasting sexy will disappear.

2. The community is still there, just with lots of lights and plastic surgery. When PNME moved from the tiny community of Ontario, CA to Las Vegas, NV, many podcasters complained that the distractions along the Las Vegas strip took away from their ability to foster the relationships formed in this tight knit community. I have to admit, I too was nervous about the lack of community. The podcasting community is small and we all know each other. We may not be friends with everyone, but we know each other’s names. However, BWE encouraged and fostered the podcasting track. And now that podcasting is folded into the larger new media, it just means we get to know more people.
3. Rick Calvert is passionate about new media, social media and whatever we’ll call this thing in 10-years. I talked with him briefly before he took off to compete in a hamburger eating contest and he loves this industry. He’s passionate about seeing it grow. And he’s equally passionate about helping podcasters see the value in attending BWE in 2010.

Some Areas for Improvement for BWE

Of course, there are some things that could be improved, namely:

• Have food and water in the speaker’s room. Tim & Emile spoiled me. Every day at PNME, they provided both catered lunch and breakfast in the speakers room. There are many reasons why this is a good move for BWE to adopt for future shows. I actually had to resort to flirting just to get water in the speaker’s room on the first day. Not good for an elegant women such as myself.
• The 30 minute lightning session sucked. I don’t know what other word to use, so I’ll stick with that adjective. I felt rushed going thru 60-minutes of material in 30-minutes (my fault). Then, I had to move to the exhibitor floor to answer questions. Of the 40 or so people in my room, only 3 made it to the exhibitors hall to ask me anything. Too many distractions between the session room I spoke in and the exhibitor’s hall.
• Label which topics are for beginners and which ones are for advanced. I would much prefer to see tracks that were created for beginners and ones for advanced, rather than separated based on niche eg. mommy track, military track, real estate track. Or, maybe there’s a way to do all this at one show. Some of the feedback I heard in the hallways was that people wanted to be in a room with other advanced social media users so they can tackle more advanced issues. I mean, if you’ve been blogging for 10-years (like me), I don’t want to hear “What’s a plug-in?” from a beginner.
• Some tools were missing. Two sessions on Facebook and none on LinkedIn. One session on iPhone Apps, but none on social bookmarking. For next year’s show, I’d like to see more of a diversity of social media tools explored.
  

  Amber MacArthur (middle), Leo Laporte (right) and me

• Recordings of sessions must be better monetized. I found out that attendees and speakers could buy sessions for $14.95. I would instead suggest giving those who chose the most expensive package to get 10 sessions on CD at no cost. Speakers should get their own session at no cost. Then, offer the recordings for sale after the show is over and everyone is home. If you attended, you get them on CD for $9.99 each. If you didn’t, it’s $19.99. The digital download should be made available in iTunes for 99-cents or via a premium RSS feed for $99 for the all the sessions in a need little bundle. Whatever. Just have a monetization strategy that doesn’t penalize those who already paid for hotel, the registration fee and travel.

So, that’s my take on the BWE. I enjoyed it for many reasons and aside from my 5 areas to improve above, I would strongly encourage you to attend BWE in 2010.

If you attended BWE, what did you enjoy and what would you improve? If you didn’t attend, why not?

photos courtesy of edmorita, grammargirl, dansmath