What we learned at the SOBCon07 Conference in Chicago.

What didn't we learn? GOSH, we came back with so much knowledge, so many notes and so many new friends. Over the next couple weeks we'll be sharing new tools we discovered like VIDEO STICKY and THE Z LIST and THE GOOD BLOGS, as well as interesting blogs and bloggers we spent time with like Phil Gerbyshak of Make It Great, Terry Starbuckers Ramblings and Connie Reece and her wild Blogabillies - Scribblin stories and Livin Large!

We will be talking about ALL of the blogs and bloggers we got to spend time with, in the coming months. Hats off to Jason Alba who blogged the ENTIRE EVENT!

A discussion was held around the word blogger and the fact that it can have a negative meaning to some people. I think of a blogger as someone who decides to launch a weblog, and its true, ANYONE can do that, maybe we do need to separate ourselves somehow. Are they successful? Do they tire out? Is their blog interesting? Are they someone who blogs with no real direction or mission or passion about what they are doing?  Are they blogging in a vacuum?

As a blog starts to take shape, you begin to have a good idea about what you can offer the blogosphere. Is this something you can stick with and are passionate about? Can you keep things interesting and attract readers. Do you have a desire to grow your blog, share your blog, connect with others and learn?  At SOBCon07, David Armano suggested perhaps PERSONAL PUBLISHER or even PRODUCER is a better, more fitting term for us. As a personal publisher, we treat our blogs with respect. We handle them with great care. We put a lot of time, energy, and thought into every post. It's a business. It's a resume. It's about relationships. It's actually a lot like a pizza! We could be compared to chef's or pizza makers.

  

Think about the streets of New York City. Pizza by the slice everywhere! But who has the best pizza in New York City? Ask 10 New Yorkers, you'll probably get 10 different answers. It's all good, it's a subjective question. Some people like it with a lot of cheese. Some like more sauce. Some like sweet sauce, some like a more salty sauce. But the point is, every pizza maker tries to deliver the "best" pizza possible. They research their ingredients and experiment until they feel they have the right combination. The point is, as a producer, and as a personal publisher, we try to create something special people will like. A lot of love, energy, sweat and tears go into a serious blog. By comparison, beginner bloggers don't always do that.

We are so thankful and glad we attended the event and can't wait till next year! But most of all, we are thankful for destiny bringing us together with Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blogs, for without meeting her, our life of personal producing would not be going down this road it's currently on now. THANK YOU Liz!

More SOBCon07 info in the coming weeks!