“I left Blogalicious feeling really inspired and empowered…especially after seeing Brandi Carlile in concert with The Indigo Girls!”

In recent weeks, I made some awesomesauce new friends from the Blogalicious09 conference here in Atlanta. Woman of all races, sizes, backgrounds, and age came out seeking help and support from other women with the same goal in mind: taking your blog, as a business, to the next level.

Changing The Landscape

These women started blogging as a hobby, a way expressing themselves, and to voice their powerful thoughts and feelings. Now they’re treating their blogs less as a hobby and more as a business. They are stumbling upon doors that blogging can open. They are connecting with communities that share their common goals and interests. They’re making companies feel not only their power, but the power of their networks. Once a minority, NOW they’re very influential within their network of online and offline friends.

There are a ton of ways to connect with all of us. When we meet, we share compliments, praises, and advice. They let me know what I’m doing right, and where I can improve. They asked for my advice and insights on what they should do. Some of these women I could never connect with on Twitter in the same manner. There’s just too much noise and not enough time.

Hashtags Help

That’s not to disregard Twitter in any way. Tracking the twitter hashtag #blogalicious09, I was able to get recommendations on people I should meet, products I should look into, panels I might enjoy. I watched camaraderie between the ladies play out in person and in their digital worlds. I could see other sides of them even when we weren’t speaking.

These connections helped make my panel with Angela Benton and Leticia Barr, a powerful success for these women. We were able to inspire them, but only through keeping the lines of communication open and sharing our knowledge. By taking advantage of the multitude of connections available, were we able to not only make a connection in the physical, but continue to strengthen it without physical contact. It was an incredibly humbling experience.

Don’t disregard the multitude of connections you can have to your audience. Pay attention!