BlogPhiladelphia: Wrap-up w/links

The first annual BlogPhiladelphia has come to a close and overall I thought it went well. As I noted in my first day wrap-up (and session postings), this felt like a meetup rather than a conference. I don't care for the term "unconference" as it just feels made up to be different. I also noticed that only about half of the attendees from day 1 made it back to day 2.

The Viddler guys have lots of videos, check them out and you can feel like you were here.

Hats off to Alex Hillman and Annie Heckenberger for their great organization and very positive attitudes. I know Alex was a bit nervous but the word I heard is that he is a good faciliator.

I met a bunch of very smart and interesting folks. One suggestion to all bloggers: get a business card made. Doesn't have to be fancy but when you hand it to someone it helps to keep your blog top of mind. Here are a couple of people I met whose blogs are worth checking out:

• Chris Conley - Startup or Bust - writes about his efforts to create a startup
• Valeria Maltoni - Conversation Agent - writes about marketing and communications
• Whitney Hoffman - LD Podcasts - podcasts for parents of kids with learning disabilities

 Lastly, here are my suggestions for improvement for the next BlogPhiladelphia:

• Initial panel discussion should feel more like a panel rather than 5 individual interviews
• More panel discussions, perhaps one each morning and after lunch
• More than just name on badge; company name, blog url, etc could have easily been added
• Let people sign up for open grid sections ahead of time so they can prepare

In summary, I think BlogPhiladelphia is a needed event here and will certainly grow as the locals start to talk to each other more. I look forward to covering the event in the future.

Local food note: The picture below appears to be the pizza of Philadelphia. It looks like the ugly stepchild of NY and Chicago. Weird.