More Things This Weekend Has Taught Me - a Problogger Training Event debrief

One of the common tips you read a lot in the blogosphere is to use popular past content to guide your future posts. Well, as one of my all-time most read posts is titled "Things This Weekend Has Taught Me", I thought I'd do a sequel.

That post was about a stormy weekend with a blackout. This post is about an awesome weekend away at the Gold Coast for Problogger Training Event, an annual blogging conference. This year it was held at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. 

To say the weekend was great would be an understatement. This was my second time attending the event and once again I was impressed by the quality of speakers, the networking opportunities, the venue and mostly the value for money. 

What was I taught? That blogging isn't always about monetization (though I did know that already). That for a lot of people, reader engagement and community-building is more important. Sharing stories, solving problems, bringing joy or comfort or happiness are worthy goals too. 

I met so many people that I have known online for many years, and everyone was so kind and encouraging. I cannot describe to you what it's like to connect meaningfully with people of your "tribe", who GET what you're passionate about. I hope you have experienced this before because it is the greatest thing!

After two days of sessions and excellent company, I was exhausted but reinvigorated about blogging. I have lots of strategies to implement and ideas rolling around in my head. 

But the greatest thing of all was experiencing the event with my mum, who has just started a travel blog. She had a fabulous time too, and it was extra cool to see how wonderful the blogging community treats it's newbies. 

Did you go to PBEvent, or follow along on social media? What's the most important thing a conference has taught you?

Conference Jitters

Tomorrow I'm off to a two-day conference. Yep. Like some puffed up self-important businessman. Except it's more of an "event" I guess. It's Problogger Event, the biggest thing in an Aussie blogger's calendar. 

I'm mostly prepped. I'm down to thinking of last-minute things. This is my second time and I think I'm less nervous because of that. 

I'm not great in large gatherings. But as I get older (and wiser?) I've realised that other people are mostly blundering their way through social interactions too so that's ok. And this time I will know two whole people in real life! Doesn't matter if one of them is my mum!

I'm also more connected with other bloggers in the online space this time around. There are people who I feel I will be able to go up to and say hi because we've interacted on social media, rather than me just being familiar with them from reading their writing. 

And I'm staying overnight this year, so it's kind of like a mini-holiday on the Gold Coast! It's even at a resort. 

But most of all I'm looking forward to hanging out with my "tribe" - a mob of people that just GET blogging, love blogging, live blogging. If you're going, maybe I'll see you there!

Do you ever go to conferences or industry events? Do you get a lot out of them?