Dunno about you, blogging readers, but lately, I find myself with questions. How do I get advertisers? Should I try to go to that trade show? Can I really spin the little vanity that is Nerd’s Eye View into an income earning proposition? Why, if everybody knows who I am and wants me to write for them, is my site traffic so tiny? And do I use too much hyperbole? (Okay, okay, never mind that last one, or the hyperbole in the one before.) For a person with their head full of such questions, it is handy to live in a city full of people grappling with similar questions. And it is even better when they are social types who will share their information with you.
We had a smallish gathering of travelbloggers at C&P Coffee last night to talk about these kinds of issues. Here’s the roll call:
- Beth of Wanderlust and Lipstick – she’s hosting the writing contest that I’m helping judge, you could win a trip to Peru.
- Mary Jo of Fly Away Cafe, The Seattle Traveler, and the travel and culture editors for b5 Networks.
- Bloggie nonimees (!!!) Kelly and Austin of Travellious.
- Debbie of Delicious Baby and cofounder of TBEX, the Travel Blog Exchange.
- Peter of the Carey Adventures and Digital Photography School – also a b5 blog.
- Scott of Virtuouso, a luxury travel network – Scott’s a long term travel industry guy.
- Mark, a web marketing consultant from McBuzz – he’s the one who can answer my question about traffic.
- Oh yeah, me. Nerd’s Eye View, the travel editor for Blogher, and recent addition to World Hum on Hawaii.
I could recap the conversation here, but really, it was a rambling tangle of trade shows and packing tips and tourism business talks and wow, how did you guys get so far in the Bloggies and my client doesn’t get blogging and and and. My advice to you, if you’d like to know more about what goes on at these very freindly sorts of gatherings, is to have your own. Your local coffee shopped is pscyhed for you to bring a handful of people in to buy lattes, just ask them and they’ll even set aside a space for you – thanks SO much, C&P! And hey, if you’re in Seattle, come to our next one. Date, location, TBD, but you’ll hear about it, I promise.
Oops. Sorry I could not join in the blog-fest. That’s because we’re planning our own (great idea!) at the Presidential Suite of the Renaissance Hotel this eve. Look fwd to meeting you and your travel cohorts. In addition to the blog-o-rama, this will be a certified tweet-up! I’m not exactly sure WHO has certified it so…only that I’m CERTIFIABLE! HA!
Sorry I couldn’t make it – I would have LOVED to meet all of you (and C&P is just down the street from my house!) – but my four-month old wasn’t cooperating. Next time!
In the meanwhile, I hope to keep in touch. I follow most of the bloggers who attended. And my blog, Northwest Cheapsleeps (http://www.nwcheapsleeps.org), is where you can find me.
Oh, and thanks to Debbie for letting me know about the meetup!
Sounds like so much fun, really looking forward to Chicago!
Thanks so much for organizing everything, Pam. I know that it’s hard to get everyone together, but it’s so darned much fun when we do!
Looking forward to the next time!
I was watching this develop and would have loved to have been there, but you know, that whole geography thing. Maybe you guys could do a podcast sometime? I’d listen!
Wait…blog met ups in Seattle? I had no idea!!
If I lived close I would have happily attended – but Sarasota, Florida is almost as far away from Seattle as you can get and still be in the good ole’ USA. So….I really wish you would consider sharing a bit about some of those fascinating subjects you mentioned.
@Barbara: I’d be doing you a disservice (and the folks who were there) by trying to reproduce the conversation. Plus, the funniest thing, the thing that keeps sticking with me is Debbie’s story about a family carrying with seven bags! Seven! Debbie’s advice to them? “Maybe shoot for traveling with six next time?” I can’t quite stop cracking up over that. Also interesting? Scott’s remark about luxury travelers still spending, but in less showy and/or more philanthropic ways.
A podcast would imply an organized agenda. Maybe next time, at least a video taped howdy from everyone?