Blogapalooza: blogging conferences in May and July 2007

There are two terrific conferences for bloggers in the upcoming months, and I just want to take a moment to tell you about them in case you’d like to attend.  Both are in Chicago (I’m flying to one and driving to the other, and I’m in Texas; call me a glutton for travel punishment.)

First, SOBCon 07, for SOBs — no, no, silly, that’s “Successful and Outstanding Bloggers!”  Readers who know how much I like Liz Strauss and her Successful Blog have heard about SOBs before, and now a bunch of us are getting together May 11-12 at the Chicago O’Hare Sofiel, to take our blogging to the next level.  In the words of Liz Strauss: 

“Conversation Means YOU Talk Too.

A conversation involves more than one person talking. A conversation means you get to talk, too. The best ideas come when we mash up the knowledge and approaches from different fields and when we look at ideas from all points of view.

Imagine SOBCon — a room filled with web publishers, many you have met on your blog or blogs like this one.

See the SOBCon presenters. They’re leading conversations.

Can you see it? It’s an audience of people engaged in swapping strategies, offering top-notch thinking from which you get to choose . . . Here’s just a few of the folks who will be adding value.

  • Brad, Sheila, and Marcus, who know how words make connections with readers
  • Lisa, who brings the soul of an actress and the mind of a teacher
  • Jesse, who can see how a gamer might get over a wall
  • Tony, who can diagnose a problem inside a plan
  • Dr. Wolcott, who is at the top in the field of business innovation
  • Ashley, who brings a painter’s vision and delicate hand
  • Sandra, who knows tools and techniques of visual thinking
  • Joe, who brings those grounding questions and computer expertise
  • Jeff, who understands good to great and will get there
  • Tammy, who knows the people in every part of our job and the dynamics of conversation
  • Steve, who is the extreme leadership that lifts us to try
  • Dawud, who brings those goals he wrote that prove we express ourselves in our business
  • Vernun, who knows how to celebrate others as part of our dream
  • Muhammed, who can’t help but provide energy and new ideas
  • Robert, who will be there with a practical eye toward what is real
  • Franke and Timothy, who know the “group think” of the situation
  • Easton, who knows how to organize and monetize without killing the grace of an idea
  • Ann and Kent, who are leaders that know presentation is as important as content
  • Troy, who thinks big and challenges everyone to take permission to do so

And add to that list people from every walk of business life — corporate innovators, public relations communicators, and the hippest new media contributors — no kidding really. I’ve seen who’s coming and they’re all on it.”

BlogHer '07 I'm GoingThe second event is BlogHer 07, July 27-29 at the Chicago Navy Pier conference area.  Yes, guys, men are most welcome at this conference for bloggers!

Conference organizers are still pulling together all of the threads, panels and speakers, but given the previous info from BlogHer 06 in San Jose, I think they will put on a wonderful program, with something for every level of blogger and every interest.

As you know from my South by Southwest Interactive guest posts on Successful Blog, I think that it’s very important for writers and bloggers (often a solitary bunch) to get together at conferences like these.  Not only do you learn an incredible amount about the craft of blogging and the topics that we talk about, you also get to meet and exchange ideas with people just like you, who write and read on the Web.

Hope to see you there!

Technorati tags:  travel, family travel, Chicago, blogging, BlogHer, SOBCon 07