My first blog conference

This weekend I made the drive north to Vancouver for Northern Voice 2006, my first blog conference. For me it was one day and five blog related sessions on journalism, education, the law and just plain old story telling. The fact that the conference's 250 spots sold out with demand for another 100 tells me there are more people out there craving blog knowledge than I ever thought. What is probably going to happen is a bifurcation of Northern Voice into a business and user conference or at least two different major tracks. As someone who attended with more of an interest in the business of blogging than in the technique, I would have appreciated a focus on the business models being used to support blogging.

While I am promoting a split of the conference I should also say that the most powerful feeling I am left with from this year's conference is a renewed commitment to develop my written voice. Blogging is a power vehicle if not excuse for me to work on learning to write in a style other than business professional.

Speaking of the business of blogging, I did pick up a card at Northern Voice promoting a business blogging conference this October. Its called the Blogonomics Blog Cruise and unbelievably it appears to put blog business people together on a boat from Ft. Lauderdale to Cozumel for four days. Sounds surreal, but it also might be just what I am looking for.