I need to state from the outset that I have a vested interest in the Australian Blogging Conference as my daughter Veronica is one of the organisers. I am also speaking on a panel, so maybe that makes my perspective a bit skewed.
But, I have never let vested interests or skewed perspectives stop me before, so onward and upward.
The overwhelming response to the inaugural Australian Bloggers Conference has been positive and if the ticket sales are anything to go by there will be a lot of personal bloggers gathered in Sydney next March.
Sadly,along with the positive responses there are always the inevitable knockers and naysayers. The bitter bunnies who are so choked up with bile that all they can do is throw verbal stones and barbs at those bloggers who have dared to actually stand up and do some hard work and organise a conference.
The naysayers are loudly complaining that the Australian Blogging Conference is all about Mummy blogging and that the attendees will be a very narrow clicky group.
I call bullshit.
I pulled this straight from the Aussie Bloggers, website
Aussie Bloggers Conference is a conference ‘by bloggers for bloggers.’
It is the first ever blogging conference focusing on the mum, parenting and personal blogging communities of Australia. We’ve long wanted to see a blogging conference in Australia and now, sick of waiting for ‘someone else’ to do it, we’ve created one ourselves.
Organising a conference in a city like Sydney is quite expensive and there is a considerable financial committment required from the five organisers. So as to keep things manageable the organisers had to choose a blogging niche and theme for the conference. I think that they chose a niche which is quite broad in its appeal.
I think that the title “personal blogger” encompasses us all out here in the blogosphere. Aren’t we all writing from a personal perspective? Whether our blog is about politics, photography sustainable living, art, craft, food, family, fashion, Human rights or a combination of some or all of these topics. Surely our blogs can all comfortably fit within the umbrella of personal blog. Unless of course your blog is written by a robotic ninja then you are in a design class all of your own.
I would like to remind the knockers that as the conference is only a day long event there were only so many topics that could be covered on the day. In order to find out what people were interested in there was a questionnaire circulating before the conference programme was announced, with nearly two hundred respondants.
There are still places open on the panels, so instead of whingeing that you aren’t included, get your submissions in and be a part of this exciting conference celebrating Australian bloggers and blogging.
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I’m blown away that anyone would be writing anything negative about it at all. I think the ABC is a fabulous idea.
Thank you so much Kim for writing this! Thank you.xxxx
I would love to be attending but family commitments and the distinct lack of moolah prevent me lol.
Those snarky sooky la-las bitching about the conference probably have little to contribute, anyway (meow) 😛
Naysayers indeed. Gotta run to submit the last two chapters of the book now, but I’ll be signing up for the conference this afternoon. And I’m on Mummy (thanks for linking to the human rights site.) X
Fuck’em Kim, just fuck’em! Not worth the bandwidth they inhabit. Let them get off their bums and organise their own conference if they think they are excluded from this one.
Why do people find it necessary to pick faults all the time. Life’s too bloody short for that attitude.
You call BS while I call sexism. Motherhood is a BIG PART of womanhood. It’s not the whole thing, and I’m not knocking anyone here… but motherhood is pretty important to most ladies. It’s rather like calling a female novelist a chick writer, to pass off the writings of women as simple Mummy blogging because one includes snippets of family life here and there.
JMO.
I hope you have a lovely time at the conference and meet many Aussie writers, artists and plain old interesting people.
Boy, you just opened up a whole new world for me. I’m so stupid about this blogging stuff I had no idea about conferences. I read this post and just started Googling away. Thanks.
There are some poeple in this world that will never be happy unless they have something to complain about. Good for you for writing this and bloody well done to the organisers of what is going to be an amazing day.
Now, how am I going to get my husband to agree that I can go to Sydney for a day?
I think this is just wonderful and I hope you guys have a wonderful time planning and attending!! To the naysayers: screw ’em. Yeah – I’m in that kinda mood 😉
Hey, it won’t be just Mummies. For one, I am not a parent AND the GOFA (not a mummy and a man!) is coming. A chance for us both to pick everyone else’s brains!
There was a questionnaire? Huh. I missed it…
Never mind.
As for the whingers…meh.
Blog conferences are wonderful! I was the very first speaker at Eat.Drink.Blog(the inaugural Australian Food Bloggers Conference) and it was a fantastic experience. I hope you have as much fun as we did. For what its worth, I’d love to share the experience and have put my hand up as a blogger who’s not a parent, if you’d like to broaden your range of speakers.
I’m looking forward to meeting all you lovely ladies and gents! 🙂
Do what you have to do K. I think it would be awesome to attend, but I’m not a native .. and I have no bling, bling to pawn for the plane ticket. 😉
Screw the naysayers. Everyone is a critic. The rest of us are just human; enjoy yourselves!
Can’t wait to her all about it.
Take pics!!
Aha. Have been wondering if there’s a blogosphere in Oz. Am member of a big group British Mummy Bloggers which is a fantastic network, organised its own CyberMummy conference this year which made page two of the Financial Times, gets in the papers frequently, puts mums in touch with each other, is a fantastic networking place for writers and parents, and sent a group of four parents to Bangladesh on a fund and awareness raising trip last month… underestimate the power of the Blog at your peril!
Nice to be in touch, Kim – will be looking at your daughter’s site too for more about the conference, and about Aussie Bloggers… of which I am one – despite being a Pom, I live in Tasmania!
Yes, other people live here besides Peter Cundall.
Best,
AIW.
Seriously? People are complaining? Gawd! From what I hear there’s people coming all the way from Kansas (maybe) to attend. I think it’s amazing what Brenda and Veronica and the others have put together. They should be nothing but proud.