Tuesday, September 6, 2011

BlogPaws Lite - An Introvert's Recap, Part 2

I read an article yesterday at Christopher S. Penn's Awaken Your Superhero that addressed a common question his readers have about how to decide whether attending a particular conference is going to be worth their while. Not coincidentally, I had the same question about attending BlogPaws. Anyway, according to Penn, the one question one should ask oneself when determining whether to spend time and money on a conference is: Do I have burning questions I need answers to?

And in my case - even though I had no idea at the time that this was the question I was supposed to be asking myself - the resounding answer was YES!

Which brings me to where I left you hanging from Recap, Part 1:
The best thing that happened in the "Widget" session. See unlike some other BlogPaws attendees, whose burning questions might have (rightly) involved specifics about social media, including monetizing or reach, for example, my #1 smouldering question was:
Who in blazes is the blogger who calls herself Pup Fan?

Guess who was in the "Widget" session with me?

Uh huh. The Pup Fan herself (click link for a visual) of I Still Want More Puppies, and as an added super bonus, she was with another blog friend (who was on my must-see list), Pamela of Something Wagging This Way Comes (she's in the visual, too). They even got to meet the dogs. :)

(Sidebar note: The #1 reason I attended BlogPaws--despite being an introvert--was to have the chance to meet and interact with other pet bloggers who I have gotten to know online. The other stuff that I got to experience was icing.)

So are you ready to move on to the next stop (since by now, it's only 2:45 p.m. conference time on Friday)? Okay then!

Second Stop

[After a brief outdoor (dog) potty break.] The dogs and I arrived (a few minutes late) to my second breakout session: StumbleUpon: How to Create, Share and Discover Great Content, with Vijay Vachani, Business Development Manager for StumbleUpon.com

In retrospect, I should not have taken the dogs because they were slightly MORE restless than in my first session. However, at the time, it seemed best not to leave them at the Dog Park (a play room set up with experienced petsitters) because the unfamiliar environment, people and dogs might have been overstimulating. 

Random fact learned: StumbleUpon is the second largest source of social media referrals, behind Facebook. You can, on average, increase traffic from the StumbleUpon community, to your blog/website, between 20% to 25% upon installing StumbleUpon badges. I recently installed badges to my own blog (you will find them directly below each post, above the recommended other reading).

Sadly, this is the only thing I took away about StumbleUpon. If you want more details, there are a few at Something Wagging here.

And, this is why I learned next to nothing from the session:

It was time for bitey-face!

[At the top of his lungs] Dewi: You're ugly and your mama dresses you funny!

Hey, mama, this is even better than Chuck E. Cheese's (if I was ever allowed to go there)!

We abruptly left the session with about 30 minutes to go. 

But, we didn't stray far from the door. That's because the boys and I had spotted something doggedly familiar in that room, and there was no way on earth we were gonna leave without a proper greeting.

Come back Thursday for Part 3 and the big (or short, depending on your perspective) reveal!


(I'll also recap - on Thursday- the dogs' first - and possibly last - experience screening a soon-to-be-released Disney DVD movie, complete with snacks and talking puppies!)

Up tomorrow: A punny BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday


6 comments:

  1. I am so happy I got to meet you! (Funny that you blogged about it today, actually... I recapped this on my blog today too.)

    And tomorrow will be punny? I cannot wait. The suspense is killing me... you know I love a good pun. :)

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  2. Thanks for the StumbleUpon tip! Nice of you folks who made it to share your experiences with those of us who were unable to attend.

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  3. Boy oh boy, the cult of the Pup Fan is really amazing. I'd heard that a little mystery was captivating but this is unbelievable. Especially if it caused you to drive two dogs to a conference with a coming hurricane just to meet her!

    I'm so sorry that I didn't realize there was a full-blown game of bitey face going on in the back of the StumbleUpon workshop. If I had, I would have wanted to join in and then you could have listened in peace.

    Sorry.

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  4. Bitey face huh? Bad timing, but cute. LOL

    Interesting that you mention StumbleUpon. I recently asked my 17 year old nephew to explain it to me because I noticed a lot of shares from that. (When trying to understand internet stuffs, I have found that asking a kid can be helpful to me. :))

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  5. @Pup Fan - By now you might have seen the punny WW. Hope you didn't hold your breath!

    @Leslie - Thanks for stopping by! I don't know how helpful my tip really is, but I figure if someone wants to Stumble over me, I might as well give them a chance. :)

    @Pamela - You know it's the whole mystery thing. :) But since you put it that way, what was I thinking?!? (Kidding, PF!!)

    Not only were they playing bitey face, but JF drank a couple glasses of water (belonging to humans). It was quite the scene.

    @2BD - You are so right! But even my teenage child doesn't know StumbleUpon. :( You must have some younger 20-30 somethings reading your blog to be getting the Stumbles. That's great!

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