Last weekend I spent the week in Philadelphia for Bloggy Boot Camp 2012 with the SITS girls.
It occurred to me only after I was halfway back to Maryland that this foodie forgot something very critical on her trip to Philly.
I {gasp!} forgot to find and devour an authentic Philly cheesesteak while I was there! How does that happen?
THIS….
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| Photo courtesy of the sitsgirls’ Flickr photostream |
….is how it happens.
For the second straight year I’ve found myself at Bloggy Boot Camp in May, and for the second straight year I’ve also managed to meet wonderful bloggers, network with said wonderful bloggers and glean insightful and useful information from well-intentioned, inspiring and intelligent speakers.
So, aside from the fact that my life is still missing the allure of a juicy, cheesy, artery-clogging, authentic cheesesteak, I’d say last weekend was a wild success.
Especially since I was able to sip lovely Mirassou wine and eat the outrageously addictive King’s Hawaiian bread pudding which I may or may not have had two giant helpings of.
Which brings me to my 5 takeaways from this year’s Bloggy Boot Camp:
1. Never underestimate how fun it is to make new friends and connect with old ones. I’m not sure what I love most, chatting with attendees or listening to the speaker sessions. It’s a toss up!
2. SEO, SEO, SEO! Dali Burgado {@DaliBurgado} gave her SEO 101 presentation in the afternoon, sandwiched by Laurie Turk {@TipJunkie} and Sharon Rowley {@sharonmomof6}. Between the three of them, I took away perhaps the most meaty info ever about SEO and how to my my blog more Google-friendly. Which, friends, means for one, playing nice with G+…. Just a few quick changes based on their recommendations and I’ve already seen an increase in traffic. Funny how that works!
3. Swag is a very good thing, especially when it includes a fancy new WaterPik shower head! Behold the shower head that really and truly, just like the package says, takes less than five minutes to install. My husband said, “It took longer to get it out of the package than it took to install it!” Here it is in all its glory:
4. A writer’s workshop that included discussion around books that every writer should read, including Stephen King’s “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” among others. Did I mention a goal of mine this year is to start writing the novel that’s been percolating in the back of my mind for a couple of years? Um, that.
5. Google+ is here to stay, and you better get on the G+ train. Sigh. I’ve had my G+ personal and (a)Musing Foodie pages for a while now, but just can’t seem to get there. It feels like I’m repeating steps that I’m already doing elsewhere on the interwebs. But, it was made clear by almost every social media maven at the conference that Google+ is gaining strength, and you better be there and be active.
All of this goodness was crammed into a very full day and a half, which helps to explain why I never made it out into the city in search of the coveted authentic Philly cheesesteak. Excuse? Nah. I suppose there’s always next time!
PS: Yes my blog is still on Blogger, not WordPress. And yes, they and by “they” I mean Tiffany, Fran and Erica continue to make fun of that at Bloggy Boot Camp. 
I went to BBC Boston last year, and it was wonderful.
I had (mistakenly) thought G+ was fading out…guess I need to look into that stuff again. SIGH. Hopefully they explain it all to me at BlogHer this summer.
Hope you had a great time!
LOVED seeing you!
Thank you so much for supporting us.
I’ll be talking to you soon…
It sounds like I missed another good boot camp. I would have loved to chat with you in person again. Maybe next year. I just can not get excited about G+. I feel like I already spend too much time on too many sites. Oh, what am I to do? BTW, I’m on Blogger still. I tried WordPress with another blog…gave it up in frustration.
@Kim – I thought so too, but the “big guns” at BBC said otherwise….
@Tiffany – Of course! Had a blast, again!
@Donna – Agree about G+, and while I may not be using all of its functionality, I am posting content there. That’s what SEO likes.
Next time you are in Philly – let a gal know and we’ll get some Philly Phoodies together for a cheesesteak
Some seriously great takeaways on this post!
Aly – it’s a deal! And thank you!
I will try cheesesteak when I visit PA and Philadelphia this spring. I’m bound for Chester, PA where my grand-parents are currently living.