Enjoyed my third BlogOrlando this past weekend. This “unconference” is the brainchild of Josh Hallett, an uber-talented and seemingly indefatigable gentleman. While Josh is a local boy, his work seems to have him always on a plane to somewhere. Take a peek at some of his photo collections to get a glimpse of his globetrotting ways (and see some of his 16,000+ great pics).
In last year’s closing comments Josh shared that he had no certainty about whether there would even be a BlogOrlando3. It wasn’t long after that he announced that he’d accepted a full-time gig with Voce Communications on the west coast. Happily for all of us Josh managed to pull off another great event with help from a few local folks and supportive sponsors, not to mention a supportive employer.
Once again Josh closed with some uncertainty about whether there will be a BlogOrlando4. There’s obviously a big time commitment and mucho stress involved, but he also wondered aloud about the ability to keep things fresh without too much repetition from year-to-year.
The first BlogOrlando came along just as I was feeling the urge to start “discovering” the community in Orlando. It seems that BlogOrlando was a catalyst that started connecting folks, and helped create some of the momentum that has helped spawn and/or propel other community groups and events like BarCampOrlando, Florida Creatives, LikeMind, Doterati, IZEAFest and numerous user groups. We even have a promising new adventure, IgniteOrlando, which is being launched this week!
That said, in the Twitter and FriendFeed buzz, and in numerous blog wrap-ups, there’s much testimony to the unique qualities of BlogOrlando.
Much of it is due to the unconference format, Josh Hallett style, combined with a pleasant venue, convenient parking, plenty of lunch choices within 2-3 blocks, a day of high-quality multi-track sessions sandwiched between two awesome networking events. And oh… did I mention it’s FREE?
Part of the uniqueness of BlogOrlando that distinguishes it from other events is the eclectic mix of folks it attracts – code geeks and developers, journalists, hyperlocal bloggers, PR pros, social media and WOM pioneers, designers, mommy bloggers, interactive agencies, entrepreneurs and fascinating combinations of these and other flavors. Within that we see a mix of experience levels from total newbies to thought leaders.
The content itself ranges from beginner to advanced, technical to creative, strategic to tactical, serious to fun – lead by local talent and community-minded enthusiasts who fly in from around the country (in Joe Thornley’s case, Canada!) on their own nickel!
The “unconference” session formats, in combination with the networking events – create an interactive brew in which all feel included and enriched by the shared experience.
So… let’s have another one! Hopefully we can find ways to relieve Josh of some of the nuts and bolts logistical headaches. But beyond that I see this as Josh’s canvas. He just seems to have the vision and the flair for blending all of the right ingredients.
Plenty of folks have done BlogOrlando3 wrap-ups. Here are the ones I’m aware of, plus some other links of interest. If I missed yours, let me know and I’ll add it!
Leave it to Alex and Alex to get silly with the silly putty!
Some of the sessions were captured on UStream .
Blogger wrap-ups:
Tim Welch did a wrap-up plus blogged the morning and afternoon sessions.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the link! Hope you don’t mind that I just used (with attribution) a great photo that you took of Geno Church in another article that was inspired by BlogOrlando: The Genius of Fiskateers
Don’t mind at all Nancy. They’re meant to be shared. Great Fiskasteers article. You lessened my disappointment at having missed that session!
I, too, hope we do it again. Good to connect with you again, albeit brief.
Heh Rob, yeah I think I spent more time snapping photos and chatting with folks from out of town. I figure we’ll seen each other often enough in the long stretches between these events! ;)