Behind the Screen: Central Florida Bloggers Conference

Ok.... I’m about to get all blogger-nerdy on you and I feel that I should warn you that I’m on a bit of a high after spending Saturday in Orlando at the Central Florida Bloggers Conference. I don’t usually talk blog ON the blog, so I hope you’ll give me a pass just this once to geek out on you and talk shop because I have far too much excitement to contain myself at this moment.

Are we good, then? Ok, great! ;)

The conference was held at the Orlando Science Center, which happened to be a pretty cool {and HUGE} venue. {Um, when was the last time you had a conference in a place with a mini-forest sprouting from the center of the building??}

I couldn’t help but notice that this conference might be just a tiny bit different than others I’ve attended for work when a flash mob popped out of their seats and began to dance to Michael Jackson’s "Man in the Mirror" within the first few minutes of the beginning {in a planetarium-type theater, no less}…

{Well, we were in Orlando… land of magical mice… what did you expect?}

The day was broken up into 8 thirty minute sessions covering topics from getting the most out of your social media, to working with brands, to piracy and plagiarism.It was a whirlwind of information with some exceptional speakers.

The "J" of J's Everyday Fashion

All of the presenters did a fantastic job at sharing their experiences, tips and tricks, and excitement for blogging. No lie. They found a super talented bunch to spread the blog-love! My favorite speaker highlights were:

Rachelle Lucas’ {The Travel Bite} session on all things Twitter. She is adorable and so knowledgeable!

Kyle Menard’s {Brink Magazine} palpable enthusiasm and humor about turning content into print. {Not to mention his outfit, which, as we all know is key in capturing my attention. Ha!}

Julie Deily’s {The Little Kitchen} useful info about working with brands. The girl knows her stuff and is so sweet!

Jeanette Scott’s {J’s Everyday Fashion} presentation on using Facebook as an important tool to success. I'm not even going to pretend I wasn't just a little bit starstruck to be sitting in front of the girl whose fabulous fashions are all over my Pinterest!

Mark Baratelli's {The Daily City} irreverent and slightly R-Rated {yet hilarious} talk on his personal tips to blogging success. If you have not heard the man speak somewhere, do yourself a favor and change that today!

I could go on and on about all the fabulousness I encountered, but I'll stop here since I am grateful that those of you who are not bloggers are still awake.

But seriously, if you didn't already gather this from all my spouting, it was a great first conference to attend.

From left to right: Inspiration by Lou Mongello, Steel drum tunes to eat by,
 Lunch by Bahama Breeze, Wrap up party prehistoric style.

 

One of the best parts was getting to meet other bloggers in person and not just tweeting at them or looking them in their avatar's eyes. Such a treat!

 

Because I'm not stingy with my friends and want you to be exposed to their awesomeness {even though you won't get to meet them in person like I did}, I'm listing the sites belonging to some of these fabulous people and hope that you'll hop over and visit!

Food Bloggers

Amanda at Amanda's Apron
Carroll at Vanilla Lemonade
Catrell at The Wandering Coconut
Christine at Cook the Story
Julia at Live Pretty
Julius at Droolius
Katie at Katie's Cucina
Kristina at Love and Zest
Lacey at The Traveling Foodie
Robin at Simply Southern Baking

Miscellaneous Bloggers & Company Representatives

Adrianna at Military Money Chica
Amy at Better Sleep Coach
Beka at Rebecca Roams
Carol from Z 88.3FM {who might just have her own food blog soon!}
Dwight from Z88.3FM
Elizabeth from elizabethrissman.tumblr.com
Kimbra from Bitner Hennessy {who will be blogging at Detour Orlando}
Lauren from The Social Life
Leah from Trusted Source
Nick from Time Dog

It was a pleasure meeting all of you and I wish you each great success with your projects!

 

As for me, it's back to the kitchen!