On Blogging: The Hive (pt 2)

If you gather a group of people who share a common interest, it's almost certain they will talk about that interest. You can also be fairly certain all will leave that gathering with more thoughts and ideas and will (hopefully) feel encouraged to keep interacting with said interest. They might also make a few new friends in the process. I think this is why -if you like blogging- periodic blogger meet-ups are a good thing. The internet is great, but there's something about a human conversation in real life that can just never be replicated online -even via Skype.

At The Hive I had the chance to both talk face-to-face with the people writing blogs I've enjoyed, and meet people writing blogs I'd never heard of. I 'clicked' with people writing about topics that don't fit the profile of what I typically read, and yet I found myself inspired, challenged, encouraged -and befriended- by these people. Horizons were broadened, connections made, old friendships deepened and new friendships blossomed.

While the community aspect was great, it would be amiss to say nothing about the workshops. I've highlighted two of my favorite quotes from Gabrielle of Design Mom and Jeanette Lunde of Fryd + Design. The Design Mom presentation was very professional and inspiring; you can tell she has years of corporate America under her belt. Even though I have no ambitions of internet-domination, it was refreshing and challenging to hear from somebody who plays and works so hard.

Jeanette Lunde was another fantastic keynote speaker and I just loved her presentation (and her fabulous orange skirt)! She was talking primarily about her experience as a designer, with a focus on her beautiful online magazine. She has such a calm and focused personality and Tina, Anya and I enjoyed hanging with her over the weekend. She had several great things to say and while I've highlighted my favorite, I also jotted these down in my notebook: "Choose 1 good picture rather than 3 so-so shots" and "Bloggers: choose just 2-3 images per post as it looks more pro". Definitely something for me to work on, but I loved this advice as it really ties into my creative goal to take better pictures this year.

Later I shared my frustration at the limitations I felt having only a point-and-shoot camera and she had a good challenge. She told me that when she was in school her instructors made them use the simplest cameras saying that modern cameras all had the ability to take decent photos, it was just that people needed to know how to use them. One of my biggest problems is getting enough light (cough, German weather, cough) and she admitted the fancier cameras certainly can help with that, but to keep working with what I have. So back to my user's manual I go! I think I'll have an easier time justifying a DSLR purchase if I can confidently say I have totally maxed out my point-and-shoot first.

ps- Jeanette will be one of the guest instructors for Holly Becker's Blogging Your Way 2.0 e-course next month. I'm sure she will be amazing there and, as a BYW 1.0 alum, I can say the course is definitely worth taking! If I weren't so busy/traveling next month I would definitely be signing up.

There was definitely an information-overload going on at the conference, but I tried to condense it down to the bits that really stuck out to me. If you're a blogger, I highly recommend meeting up with other bloggers from time-to-time, even if it's a smaller, local meet-up. I think it's easy to think that exchanging emails cuts it, but -at least for me- meeting face-to-face has always been an incredible encouragement to keep my blogging dynamic and not get stuck in a static rut.

What about you? If you're a blogger, have you benefited from meeting up with other bloggers? Anybody out there been to a blogging conference? If you were with me at The Hive, what were some of your take-homes?