My SoFabU On The Road - Seattle Recap

This grant was  provided to me by Collective Bias, Inc. All opinions are mine alone. #SoFabUOTR #CollectiveBias

It has only been a week since the SoFabU On The Road event in Seattle, but my mind has been going a million miles a minutes since them. So much to take in, so many new ideas to incorporate here on the blog and so many new goals were formed on that beautiful day in sunny Seattle.

Yes, I said sunny. I think my little blogging mind was blown on so many levels .... in a really good way!

photo courtesy of Danielle from http://www.simmworksfamily.com/

The blogging world is always changing and one of my favorite parts of Social Fabric has always been the supportive community. It was the first place where I found great discussions, help and mentoring. The conference day up in Seattle was all about feeling the support from my fellow bloggers, fellow CLs and all the amazing resources this community has to offer.

From hearing from the Campaign Managers to brands and speaker Andy Hayes, there was a lot to learn and a great forum where everyone was able to ask questions. Yes, there were some great advantages to a smaller venue like this.

Andy Hayes put together a great presentation that gave each of us a chance to think about our blogging goals, focus and strategies and a place to share new ideas. I want to give a special shout out to the "Photography" table, a great bunch of bloggers from Fashion, DIY to a Margarita Review focus who I had a chance to chat with during discussions.

It was really helpful to sit down and be asked the hard questions about my blog. Who are my readers? What is working for me? What do I want to change. Sometimes I keep moving forward, writing post after post and I don't stop to think about the bigger picture. Chatting with my table mates, we shared what was working for us as well as our own unique ideas to encourage interaction and give incentives to  own community.

There were some fabulous sponsors like Kind Bars, which are delicious! And we were able to keep up our energy with #Kindawesome bars on breaks.

Then for lunch we were treated to Johnny Rockets milkshakes, fries, onion rings and signature entrees. It took a lot of discipline to remember to snap pics instead of diving right in!  You can find all the fun from our lunch by searching for the hashtags #johnnyrocketsseattle and #SoFabUOTR .

I loved meeting the representative from Johnny Rockets and hearing how they like to work with bloggers. Now, we just need to get a Johnny Rockets to open up down here in Oregon.

Then we were off on our adventure! 

This is the portion I had really been looking forward to. You know, it is all about video right now. We had the chance to meet Josh Hicks and his crew to learn more about the ins- and outs of video. Then we were off to shoot some footage as we strolled down to Pike's Market and through downtown Seattle.

Geek Alert - I caught Jared Padalecki with my GoPro walking past us on the streets of Seattle. It was rather comical since our gaggle of bloggers already had cameras out and going. 

Overall, it was amazing! Just one day and there was so much information crammed in there. I have new goals and ideas just swimming around my head and I can't wait to spend some quality time with my video camera and editing software.

There are still upcoming stops on this 11 city SoFabU On The Road experience. Be sure to check to see where the next one's will be. I know I already have plans to branch out and try to attend at least 2 SoFabUOTR conferences next year. Just like the cities they are stopping in, each day is a unique experience! 

And I have to give a shout-out to SoFab, who helped me with a grant so I was able to make it up to Seattle for the weekend. There is so much I was able to take away from the day.

Are any SoFabOTR conferences coming to your area?