Where Will I_Blog 10 Be?
That’s a great question! While I have a couple of great Iowa hotels in mind I am open to suggestions. I have only a few requirements:
1) I would like to stay away from a “typical chain” hotel. I know Iowa has amazing hotels that are gems waiting to be discovered. A great example: the Hotel Pattee, where I_Blog ‘09 was held.
2) The hotel must have wi-fi- and be able to handle the bandwidth of 100+ bloggers.
3) We will need at least 3 conference rooms, each able to hold 30-50 people.
4) While it’s not completely necessary I would like to have the option of using the hotel for some of the meals so an enticing catering menu is a plus.
5) The hotel must be in Iowa.
If you have a suggestion please let me know in the comments or via email. All suggestions will be considered. If you are a hotel and would like more information be sure to email me the following information: contact name and number, name and location of hotel, and amenities offered.
Mark Your Calendar for I_Blog 2010!
The dates have been chosen… Mark your calendars for November 5-7, 2010. My current plans are to begin the conference on Friday afternoon and end around noon on Sunday. (Though that may change- nothing is set in stone, yet!)
I’ve got some ideas for great topics and am planning to grow I_Blog to include topics that cover a wide spectrum. Right now, though, I need a few “planning partners”. What is a “planning partner”? Well, these are the people who are going to assist me with putting together another great Iowa blog conference. Last year I did it all myself and while it wasn’t a large enough event to be overwhelming it was a lot of work.
If you’re interested in learning more about being a “planning partner” click here to take survey.
Tax Issues of Blogging Session by BJ Weber at I_Blog Conference 2009
One of the most useful speakers at I_Blog was BJ Weber (@BJ_Weber) from Ankeny Tax and Accounting. He gave lots of great info about what “counts” as income and how to really figure out if your blog is a hobby (which you don’t claim) or a business (which you do claim). This is a long video (57 minutes) but it’s full of great info. If you have questions I invite you to contact BJ at either of the above links.
Do download the entire video CLICK HERE. It is 57 minutes and may take a while to load, depending on your connection.
I’ve also broken the video into 7 parts to more easily digest:
Thoughts from I_Blog Conference
Well… It’s done. The inaugural I_Blog Conference has ended and I can breathe again. I’ll be quite honest… I thought I was going to fail. I was terrified that it would be too small, there wouldn’t be enough useful information, that people wouldn’t venture to a small town in the middle of Iowa.
Thankfully I was proved wrong. Oh, it was small, don’t get me wrong. But I know that everyone met everyone else and that no one left feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. Friendships were made this weekend- which accomplished my main goal: to form a community.
The speakers were amazing. All were relevant, all were involved with the audience and questions were asked and answered easily.
I had only a few sponsors for this event.
Creative Memories took a big chance with me and I think it worked out well. We were shown how to utilize the digital scrapbooking software personally and I know that created more fans than just handing out software for the attendees to take home. HUGE thanks to Jenny, Creative Memories media guru, and Amber Gustafson, CM consultant in central Iowa, for their expertise and a fun evening.
Land O’ Lakes Milk, a Dean Foods brand, was a huge supporter of the conference. Land O’ Lakes milk is available in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota & South Dakota. Land O’ Lakes milk recently began a program to benefit your schools. Each cap from their milk is worth 5 cents if redeemed by your school.
Dexter PC in Dexter, Iowa provides computer repairs and can creat the computer of your dreams. They brought in a few for us to play with and I know the pink netbook was added to a few Christmas wish lists.
BJ Weber spoke at the conference as well as sponsored it. He was able to take the very dull information that is taxes and make it not only understandable but interesting. If you are a blogger with tax questions BJ has an “Ask an Accountant” program that could benefit your business.
So, if you are wondering about I_Blog ‘10… Yes, there will be one. Tentative date: first weekend of November. Location: Iowa. I’ll begin planning after the new year. For now I’m just going to breathe… Until then, why not read what others had to say about I_Blog ‘09.
Please link your I_Blog posts below so we can all visit & see what your “take aways” were! One post, multiple posts… List them all here.
Keynote Speaker: Jennic Law from KangarooBoo
Just A Girl. That may be how Jennic Law was seen as a second child in China, or by those that don’t know her. After you hear Jennic’s inspirational story I’m sure you’ll see her as I do: strong as steel and a shining example of the American Dream.
Despite a rough start in life in extremely poor rural China and against all odds, Jennic’s life story is one of triumph and human resilience. Her struggles began even before she was born – Jennic is the second child in the family – and was almost aborted at 5 months gestation because of the One Child Policy that just started few months prior. Thanks to her parents’ determination to keep their second child, they flee their meager home (and leaving their toddler son to an elder family member) and went into hiding until she was born.
The hardship didn’t end there. Indoor plumbing, water, and electricity were just some of the things that were lacking. Her parents had to work very long hours, every single day of the week just to put enough food on the table for the family of 5 — Great-Grandmother was living under the same roof and took care of Jennic and her brother in her parents absence. She was very much loved and wanted even though she was a girl born into a society where boys are typically much more valued than girls. Lacking materialistically is not to be mistaken with lack of love and happiness.
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. And other times, no so much.
For all her years she had been a healthy person, and everyone in her family lived healthy lives (or maybe it was because they didn’t have access to doctors and didn’t know any better). Until she turned 24. That year, everything changed again drastically. Jennic went through many major life changing situations in the span of 6 short months: college graduation, first professional job, marriage, first home, and also experienced her first major health problem. Ten weeks after their wedding, Jennic was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and endured long months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Thankfully the toxic treatments put the cancer in remission and she was able to have two healthy children.
So how does a poverty stricken Chinese girl go from living in rural China to starting/running a successful toy company and living in Des Moines, Iowa? Come to the conference and learn some heart warming and sometimes heart wrenching stories of a simple girl.
Jennic Law lives in West Des Moines, Iowa with her husband Justin, a web developer, and their two children. All four of them work – actually play is a better word – at KangarooBoo (the kids have important jobs as Toy Testers!). KangarooBoo is an online shopping destination as well as a storefront for unique toys and gifts. The flagship store is in North Valley Junction, West Des Moines, Iowa.
Simply Smashing…
OK, so you know that you will be well fed at I_Blog. The Hotel Pattee is catering all 4 meals- including the Creative Memories pizza party.
But you may not know that I’ve got you covered for Sunday’s lunch, as well. Well, not me… Smashburger. You’ll want to check your swag bags and make your plans for lunch at either the West Des Moines or Ankeny location on your way home.
Want to hear my thoughts on Smashburger? Here’s what I said the first time we visited and here’s my write up from last night when we took my cousin for her first visit. You’re gonna love it!
Speaker Bio: Claire Celsi the PR Princess
I received an email the other night. Due to unforeseen circumstances Becky Mollenkamp is unable to speak at the I_Blog Conference. She did, however, line up a replacement- and a princess, at that. I’m please to introduce:
Claire Celsi
Owner, The Public Relations Project
Claire Celsi is a public relations professional and Des Moines native. Her consulting firm, The Public Relations Project, assists businesses, government agencies and educational institutions in developing and implementing social media and public relations programs.
A Drake University alum, she is an lecturer and adjunct professor at her alma mater, and has taught Internet Marketing in the business school at Drake and PR Writing in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s also teaching a graduate seminar class this spring on social media.
Claire has spoken to groups of communicators all over the country who are learning to implement social media strategies and helps them weave social media strategies with traditional marketing.
Claire’s consulting services include Twitter and blog coaching, educational presentations and helping businesses integrate social media into their strategic communication plans. An avid blogger, she’s been writing about public relations and social media for four years on her publicrelationsprincess.com blog. Claire also hosts a weekly radio show by the same name, and features guests from all over Iowa.
During the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, she was the author of a political blog and in the past she’s worked for presidential candidate Al Gore and the Iowa Democratic Party.
Claire is married to Jim Walczyk, a computer programmer at Farm Bureau, is the mother of two college-aged daughters, two step children, and has a dog named Trixie who hangs on her every word.
The Schedule
I_Blog is an intimate conference. Yes, that is a nice term for small. But if you start small there is no where to go but up. If you start too big you can fail miserably.
I have 6 speakers lined up and an inspirational keynote.
Saturday, November 14
8:30- 10 am Registration and breakfast (pastries, muffins, coffee, juice) Some rooms may be available for check in at this time.
10- 10:15 am Welcome & Introduction
10:30- 11:15 am Speaker: Claire Celsi; The PR Princess
11:30am- 12:15pm Speaker: BJ Weber; Ankeny Tax & Accounting
12:15- 1pm Lunch
1:15- 2 pm Speaker: Darcy; Graphically Designing
2:15- 3 pm Speaker: Melanie Nelson; Blogging Basics 101
3 pm Hotel check in (until this time the hotel will hold bags in a secure area) Get in your room, relax a bit and prepare for an evening of fun!
3-5 pm Get your headshots from His and Hers Photo! We plan to host this in the gorgeous Hotel Pattee library. These headshots will be FREE to attendees! They will be emailed to you and you can purchase prints if you choose to do so.
The I_Blogini
4-6 pm Social Try the I_Blogini, bowl on the classic 2 lane alley in the Pattee, mix and mingle with other attendees
7-11pm Digi-scrap party with Creative Memories! Food, fun and tips to do great things with the new Creative Memories StoryBook Creator plus 3.0 (which all attendees receive free – a $65 value!)
Sunday, November 15
7:30- 9 am Breakfast buffet
8:45-9:30 am Speaker: Jody Halsted ; Have Kid Will Travel, Iowa Geek & I_Blog Conference
9:45- 10:30 am Speaker: Deb Brown; DebWorks.com
10:45 – 11:45 am Keynote speaker: Jennic Law; Kangaroo Boo
After the keynote I have a few giveaways for the attendees and Jennic will be bringing some of the great toys from Kangaroo Boo for us to play with.
Conference ends
Register now! Only $75!
Who Will You Meet at I_Blog?
I’ve had several people ask for a list of I_Blog attendees. So, what I’ve done is created a Twitter list. If you’re not on it let me know your Twitter id and I’ll get you added. Not on Twitter? Leave your blog info in the comments.
Of course you could always introduce yourself in the forums, too!
For the Twitter list click here.
