Blog World Expo

“Blogging has gone beyond pastime and into prime time.
How else to explain the hundreds of participants, speakers and exhibitors willing to pay top dollar to hob-nob with their fellow bloggerati? How else to explain the star-studded line-up? A few years ago, who would have thought that A-listers like radio talk show hosts Hugh Hewitt and Michael Medved, or Dallas Mavericks owner and dot-com billionaire Mark Cuban, would have lined up to schmooze with a bunch of “little bloggers” like us? Well, it appears that the long tail is finally beginning to wag the dog.”

“It’s been interesting to see the huge number of inbound meeting/call requests that have come in post-BWE. Not just from BWE folk, but from folk who heard about b5 through BWE coverage. We’re now getting about a half-dozen per day (just for me). I used to take all of these myself, no questions asked, because I enjoy chatting to folk, and even if there wasn’t a match for b5 I could probably think of someone else who it would be a match for. Now, though, I’m having to cut meeting timeslots from 1 hour to 30 minutes, having to ask for details in advance so I can simply have the “right” person (sales for ad stuff, tech for platform stuff, etc) take the first call.”
–Jeremy Wright, CEO of b5 media

“Now that I've actually recuperated from my trip to Vegas for the BlogWorld Expo, I'm able to step back and see all the great relationships I formed during those two very short days that I was there.  It's one thing to communicate with bloggers via email and through comments on your blog or their blog, but nothing beats actually sitting with a blogger face to face and just sipping cocoa in a cafe (like I did with Liz Strauss) or playing Wii at a trade show booth with people who feel like long-time friends although it's the first time you've met them in person.”
– Maria Palma, Customersarealways.com

“The bloggers at the show who weren’t podcasting were the people most interested in the podcast track. They primarily wanted to know if they should start podcasting and how to do it. ...Most of the podcasting thought leaders were in attendance giving everyone a great chance to network ...My final conclusion is simple. It was worth the effort to attend. My company had a booth which was also worth the effort. And my sessions were fairly well-attended, again making it worth the effort.”

“For a first year expo, I’d have to say BlogWorldExpo did a great job! Every session I went to started on time (give or take 3 minutes), none of the sessions felt over crowded, the registration price was quite reasonable and the information gathered was invaluable. Not to mention the amazing amount of networking that gets done on the expo hall floor, at lunch and dinner and in the halls between sessions. I’m already looking forward to next year’s expo. I hope to see you there!”