I have to admit that I am clueless and oblivious about a lot of things online. I don't participate in Tweeter (wouldn't know what to do with it anyway, and I hate using my tablet or my smartphone to type anything). I don't visit a ton of blogs either. This means that being up to speed regarding things like conferences and conventions is not exactly my forte.
Today I found out, courtesy of one of the few blogs I visit, that there was a "blogger convention". It was organized by bloggers for bloggers, literally. Recently, said Con was bought by the people that manage the Book Expo of America (BEA). By "bought" I am assuming it means the "concept"? Again, not a clue. Anyway, it seems like in their attempt to change the nature/tone (from non commercial to commercial it does mean CHANGE, people) they haven't been forthcoming about what is it exactly that they are offering attendees. They have also hit quite a few "snags" and there is still quite some room for improvement on their part, so to speak. (This is my source).
One thing that has become blatantly obvious from what I have been reading, however, and of course, to be expected, is that this event is now a marketing tool or rather a "networking" tool, networking because it looks like it serves the purpose of bringing together publishers and authors with bloggers... mega bloggers that is. I understand that certain bloggers would certainly be interested in this particular convention, but for the truly teeny blogs like mine, it's pretty much useless, unless all you want to do is socialize and maybe learn how the big guys do things? From what I am looking at if you are are not a "big name/big traffic" blogger it does look like there would be little interest in what you have to offer. Publishers and authors want the attention of big blogs, the blogs with tons of traffic that can bring them business.
Personally speaking, I would be interested in a non-commercialized type of blogger convention. I would still be a nobody, but I feel I would be able to learn more from such an event and find topics more relevant to my interests or more useful to me, than I would in a 100% commercial type of convention. I don't get any "freebies" from any author or publishing company, so networking with them is not something that I care about, at least not at this point. Add to that that (to use a gaming term) I am a "casual" blogger, meaning that I blog when I feel like it and upload reviews when I feel like it. Topics of use to me would involve networking with other bloggers or listening to those bloggers who, mostly through their very hard work, can provide me tips on how to make mine a semi-successful one (again, operative words being "hard work", but still, I'd be interested to hear how they got there).
I am one of the "little people" among hundreds if not thousands of reviewer blogs out there. I even removed myself from Netgalley because as it grew, I pretty much became part of the non-desirables and didn't qualify to ask for any ARCs/books there any longer, not that I asked for a lot to begin with. so, at this point in time a marketing/networking former convention and now conference (the Bloggers Con is now going to take place during BEA, so sorry, but it can't be called a Bloggers Con any longer the way I am reading it) is of little to no use to me. Of course, leave it to me to find out that such a thing as a Blogger Con existed when it pretty much no longer exists as it was intended or I would have been interested in.
C'est la vie...
Mireya
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