The Past, Present, and Future of Blogging and BlogWorld Expo:
In 2007, the first
BlogWorld Expo was held as a conference that brought bloggers from around the world together to learn, network, and have some fun. Rick Calvert is the CEO and co-founder of BlogWorld, and in the days leading up to the November 2011 conference in Los Angeles, California, he shared his thoughts on the past, present, and future of both BlogWorld Expo and blogging in general.
The Evolution of BlogWorld Expo:
When asked how BlogWorld Expo has changed since its debut in 2007, Calvert explains that BlogWorld Expo has evolved as a reflection of the maturing industry overall. For example, at the first BlogWorld Expo, there was no mention of
Twitter at all. Today, it's an important part of the overall BlogWorld Expo experience. Twitter impacts everything from the conference content to how attendees interact and share information from the conferences with their own audiences in real-time. 4,000 people will attend the 2011 event, which is significantly higher than the 1,500 attendees at the first conference four years earlier.
Keeping BlogWorld Expo Fresh and Interesting for New and Repeat Attendees:
Each year, Calvert and his team make sure that the speakers' list includes "rock stars" who are well known in the blogging industry. At the same time, they bring in new speakers (they get thousands of speaker pitches for each BlogWorld Expo event) to discuss hot topics. Since the industry is always changing, there is never a shortage of fresh and interesting topics. In 2011, Calvert says the hot topics that attendees want to learn about are making money (which is always the most popular topic), creating content, engaging an audience, building traffic, and using tools. However, there is also new interest in mobile and global topics.
Making BlogWorld Expo Virtual:
BlogWorld Expo is definitely one of the biggest and best conferences for bloggers to attend, but for those bloggers who can't make it to the event in person, Calvert describes various efforts that his team is pursuing to make BlogWorld Expo more accessible to a virtual audience. For example, 20 concurrent sessions will be going on at the 2011 BlogWorld Expo event in Los Angeles for three full days. Even attendees can't see all of the sessions they'd like to. Calvert explains that a virtual ticket is available to help people get access to approximately 90% of the content and sessions held during BlogWorld Expo two week after the show. This content will be available in a combination of audio synched with PowerPoint presentations and some with video synched with presentations.
In the future, Calvert hopes that all BlogWorld Expo sessions will be streamed so people can watch different channels and get content in real-time both virtually and from different rooms at the actual show.
BlogWorld Expo 2011 Focus:
When asked what he was most excited for at the 2011 conference, Calvert said he is most excited about, "getting people to think about content more like traditional media, and to take the next step they need to learn best practices from traditional media." For example, he explains, "tools allow people to create content, but it's like American Idol. Most people think they're great, but they're really not. It's the same in new media. We all have these tools, but many people create poor quality content. Bloggers need to have a plan and more people are starting to come into the blogging space thinking with a plan. You have to take strategic steps to use your passion, talent, discipline, and skills to create quality content."
