BlogSavannah UnCon 08

On Friday, I attended the second annual BlogSavannah UnConference. I was very critical of the event last year, mostly due to the cold building and one person who refused to let a presenter present. This year, we were at the very plush AASU Center on Abercorn. Wow, what a facility. It's hard to believe that used to be a Publix. Even the bathrooms were phenomenal.

It was nice to see familiar faces and catch up with people I mostly talk to online. Josh Hallett joined us again from Orlando, and the infamous Drew made an appearance later in the morning. I attended a session on "Blogging and Life," though I got pretty much nothing out of it that I expected. I was even surprised that the session leader didn't know who the opening speaker (Josh) was or even his name. Little details that I would have thought someone might have picked up on, especially since his name was on the big screen in the auditorium during the opening session and the discussion leader is a producer in radio. Oh well. I took a small hiatus and walked in late to Joe Steffan's discussion on legal issues in blogging. Pretty good stuff considering some folks' opinions of my work that had been posted in a local forum earlier in the week. I made sure to get Joe's card at the end, in case I might need him in the future.

Lunchtime gave me a chance for fellowship with the Crees and Dr. Judy. Having missed the last eWomenNetwork meeting, I enjoyed the time to catch up and get my monthly dose of coaching. I was really surprised to learn just how much alike Chris and I are, and how we use the Internet as a primary means of connecting to others. Unlike most female stereotypes, I don't like to talk on the phone. It is not uncommon for me to send a caller to voicemail so I can formulate an answer to return later. I can write an entire novel in an email or MySpace message, but I have such a limited vocabulary on the phone. My parents wouldn't believe it though, primarily because I loved being on the phone in middle school, but now that I have to be on it so much for the rescue, it just gets draining.

So, back to the topic...

As a big fan of the PR Super Woman, I attended Marjorie Young's session on Internet PR. Not much information was new as Marjorie has been coaching me in PR for several years to help the rescue, and I've been a very intent student. But it was nice to be able to listen to other people and what they are doing and make sure I'm following some of the tips that were presented.

All in all, not a bad conference. I thought there'd be more folks like last year, but perhaps the Southside location wasn't as convenient as the downtown freezing SCAD building last year. But I was so thankful to not have to set the alarm on my cell phone to repeatedly run out and feed the meters in the cold. I know a lot of effort went into this event, and I hope they decide to do it a little more frequently than just once a year, especially considering how much online technology changes daily.