Utah Bloggers' Conference

Tuesday Night, I had the opportunity to attend the 1st Semiannual Utah Bloggers COnvention that was put together by UtahBloggers.com.

While the focus was on business blogs and blogging, there was good information for all of us. It was also an example of the power of blogs filling their own niche.

much of the information that I gleaned is stuff I'm still looking over. Look for my "advice to bloggers" soon. That isn't what this post is about.

However, I thought I would share some info that other bloggers that were there shared with their readers. Special thanks to Utah Policy Daily and a few other sources for the links.

The State of the Beehive was liveblogging during the event. What was really scary was that Rob Miller showed me a picture from the blog on his BlackBerry (or whatever that device was). Click here for his picture of Rob and I.

Phil Windley (panel member): "The Utah Blogger Conference started out a lot like a blog: informal, slow, and a little disorganized, but once it got going, there was a lot of energy."

Gary Thornock has a great review of the questions asked and a rundown of the answers.

Dees Dotes: "I asked the question of the panelists if the gender balance on the panel was representative of the percentage of women bloggers in Utah. This evoked a series of responses from panelists and audience memberes alike - women and men - with no clear cut answer being offered"

Kalyn's Kitchen: "They won't win any awards for their food styling, but then, this was not a FOOD BLOGGERS conference."

the.Inevitable.Org/anism: "Ryan wrapped things up talking about how we really do have a good blogging community. Utah is continuing to grow rapidly, and the growth from people moving to Utah is fueling the tech industry here. We are slowly gaining some real momentum. There are going to be some future events ..."

Newspapergrl: "Most people focus on making money from their blog. Adsense is UGLY and ads can clutter (see my last blog). I want to make money because of my blog mostly."

Picklewagon: "The panel had some awesome and unique ideas. I especially enjoyed when they talked about how your blog is your identity. It’s your way to put a voice behind your name. It’s your way of providing an expert voice."

Know More Media (annother pannelist): "Looking around at the gathering, I saw people who were part of different online communities such as people that like food or others that like legal research. Others were part of communities that care about the Green Party, or technology, or TabletPCs. Others were Paul Allen groupies!"

Out of Context: "Republican state Reps. Craig Franks and Greg Hughes sat way in the back trying to learn how to blog, while state Democratic Party Vice Chairman Rob Miller and Democratic 3rd Congressional District candidate Christian Burridge (both bloggers) sat front and center.But it was Pete Ashdown, the Democrat challenging Orrin Hatch, who stole the show." Also at that table: myself, Pete Ashdown's campaign manager Brett Garner, and a gentleman who was interested in starting a business blog.

Newspapermom: "Last night I met Pete Ashdown. I'd seen him before but I didn't realize who he was (he's the very skinny guy so use that contribute button on his campaign page so he can eat)....My definition of a blog: my mind made searchable."

blog.josephhall.com: "Then again, I think there's just something about eating pizza with my fellow geeks, with notebooks at hand, that just makes the world feel right." He also rips on "salad on pizza" which was actually taco pizza (and surprisingly good), but it was closer to Taco Bell's version of a taco than an actual taco.

-Bob