One of the seminars I was looking forward to the most at Blog Expo was Building an Online Community presented by Wendy from eMoms At Home.
No offense, but the seminar wasn’t at all what I expected. I was under the impression it would be instructional, but it ended up being a Q&A session. It didn’t seem like the panel had a clear cut plan as to what they were going to talk about, so they decided to wing it at the last minute.
There I was, ready to take notes and absorb the pearls of wisdom I was about to receive, expecting to hear secrets of the trade on building a community around our blog.
Turns out, I had the secrets in the palm of my hand already. The past year of in-depth research James and I have carried out had paid off. I actually learned something – maybe too much, because I wasn’t learning anything new at Blog Expo.
I came to Blog Expo thinking the speakers were people with far more experience and knowledge than I or Jamie had. But the speakers were no different than we are. Not to sound cocky, but I could have given a seminar.
Wendy and the others spoke about many of the techniques and strategies Jamie and I implement right here at JCME. We strive to be informative, entertaining, and keep a touch of the human element to keep our readers coming back for more. We’re not afraid to laugh at ourselves, and we try not to take ourselves too seriously. We don’t claim to know everything, either.
I guess I should say thank you to the panelists for showing me that I’m on the right track and doing a good job with the blog. Thank you.
I know I’ve said it before, but I’m constantly amazed at this thought. It’s as mind boggling as contemplating the universe when you take in the enormity of the concept.
Bloggers are making history and shaping our culture. That’s a hell of a responsibility, people, but one we’ve been given nonetheless. Wield this power wisely.
