The Casual Blogger Conference Recap: Live. Laugh. Blog.

The last weekend in May I attended my first blogging conference, as a speaker at the Casual Blogger Conference. Held in Salt Lake City Utah, the conference was conceived by Eliza Scharton, co-founder of Mormon Mommy Blogs. Taking cues from the theme Live. Laugh. Blog., the conference was an all-female event that focused on storytelling, taking great photos, and writing as a way to catalog and process life’s events. Eliza said:

“This conference is for the person who posts about their kids, their garden, their favorite books or amazing food; the person that has other things that take up their time, but understands the value of connecting socially.”

This value in social connection was apparent from the first night, a Girl’s Night Out dedicated to socializing and being pampered, with waxing, massages, and manicures for attendees.

Heather King of Extraordinary Ordinary, Kristen Howerton of Rage Against the Minivan, and Shannon Johnson of Seagull Fountain.

The casual blogger description led me to expect that the conference would stick with some of the more rudimentary aspects of blogging, but the schedule for Friday jumped right into many of the technical skills that even seasoned bloggers could benefit from improving. Rustin Banks, creator of Blog Frog, spoke about utilizing online communities within blogs. There was instructional information on SEO, conducting product reviews, following FTC disclosure guidelines, and monetizing. “I loved the variety of classes, workshops and panels,” said Marty of Travelin’ Oma. From legal issues to photography to time management to writing, and everything in between.”

While Friday’s classes focused on the more technical aspects of blogging, Saturday’s break-out sessions allowed bloggers to chose from topics that focused on more specific blog content. With nearly twenty options from digital scrapbooking to taking better photographs, it was difficult to chose. Allyson Olfelt of OMyFamily describes:  

“I loved the setup of the break-out sessions that consisted of panels and had intimate audiences, such as the “Grief in Blogging” and “Finding Your Voice” panels. Often these panels turned into discussions that included attendees, which seemed natural for that kind of dynamic. It was a fabulous way to hear the expertise of the panel members while attendees could feel involved and were able to tailor the session with their questions and input.”

 Caroline Bingham, Loralee Choate, Jo Overton, Kim Borchert, April Atwater, and Natasha Parker – speakers for the Blogging Through Grief panel.

 Saturday’s keynote ended the conference, with readings from several bloggers in attendance. Courtney Kendirck of CJane brought both laughter and tears in her address, beginning with a rousing sing-a-long, and chronicling her journey through infertility and her sister Stephanie Nielson’s near-fatal accident with poignancy and humor. The night concluded with an inspiring presentation on green living by Sophie Uliano, author of Gorgeously Green. 

I found the conference to be informative, professional, and relatively devoid of the competitiveness and social posturing I’ve heard can be present at other blog conferences. Natalie from NattheFatRat expressed similar feelings:

 “I especially enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and the lack of ego among conference attendees. The conference was just the right size that I never felt overwhelmed, and I loved feeling like meeting everyone was entirely possible.”

 Lolli from Better In Bulk said: 

“Some friendships started online are just as strong as those begun at home. Some bonds seem even stronger.”

 One of the challenges the organizers faced was insuring that the conference, held in Utah and with a preponderance of Mormon attendees, was not a religiously affiliated event. They took care to bring in speakers from a wide variety of religious persuasions (or lack thereof).

However, during a panel about faith and blogging,  a video produced by the LDS Church was prominently featured, prompting some to ask whether or not the conference was skewed to a Mormon agenda.  The issue was further muddled when a local paper, the Desert News, entitled an article about the conference Mormon moms connect through blogs, and described attendees as “bloggers, specifically the Mormon mommy variety.”  

Despite some ambiguity in regards to religious affiliation, the conference seemed like a success. The agenda offered something for bloggers at every stage, but overwhelmingly attendees reported that the sense of community was their favorite aspect of the weekend. There was a fierce sense of female community and support.  As Jennie of Formerly Phread describes:

“Blogging is community. It is the beginning, continuation, and growth of friendships, of relationships, and it establishes a forum that combines our need to connect with the speed at which the digital is taking place in our lives. It is not The New Scrapbooking. Well, for some it might be, but not for me, and not for the crowd with whom I was hanging out this weekend.”

Does it sound like the Casual Blogger Conference was a virtual lovefest? It was. 

{photo credits: Shelle Blok – BlokThoughts}