SITS Bloggy Boot Camp Like an Oscar Event for Bloggers
It had all the celebrity and drama of Oscar night. Gaping mouths as the “stars” entered the room, fans standing next to their favorite artist for pictures, tweets of what the VIPs said flying out as fast as they spoke. Of course there were swag bags distributed with gifts from sponsors and a national newspaper reporter and photographer covered the event while a party crasher slipped in and out, initially without being noticed. Not too shabby for a blogger conference.
The SITS Bloggy Boot Camp unfolded this weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first time I had attended any kind of conference for blogging and it was an eye-opening experience.
SITS (The Secret’s In The Sauce) is a blog created approximately two years ago for the purpose of networking women bloggers, this, according to Tiffany Romero, co-founder of SITS. The Blogging Boot Camps are held throughout the United States to make the benefits of blogging conferences more accessible and affordable to women bloggers.
Although it was not part of the official conference, SITS arranged a dinner room in the hotel for those who came in the night prior to the conference. Tiffany used the gathering as another opportunity for the women to network. About 25 women attended the dinner, with more ladies arriving later, who filled in around the crowded table. The hotel’s sangrias quickly became the signature drink of the conference.
A reporter and photographer from the New York Times covered the daylong event shooting more photographs and talking to more bloggers than will ever be used in a single article. Some male Twit-terer slipped into the conference, took a picture and posted it on Twitter without anyone's foreknowledge.
The conference itself had about four plenaries, although the relaxed structure caused topics to mix and mingle. The speakers were all among the top bloggers within the SITS network, or at least had expertise in professional fields. I appreciated the “homegrown” feel of the event.
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