This past weekend, I attended the first I_Blog Conference, a conference for midwest bloggers that was held in Perry, Iowa.  The conference was planned and put on by Jody Halsted of Iowa Geek and Have Kid Will Travel.

These are my thoughts on the conference.

Size: This was a small conference; everything was held in one room.  Because there were not a lot of attendees (perhaps 30?), we each had the opportunity to meet each of the others, as well as to interact with the speakers and have all of our questions answered.  The meeting room was just the right size for the conference needs, with room to move between tables, but not so large that it was difficult to see or hear presentations.  Working wifi and power strips on each table made it easy to use our computers during the conference.

Location:  I_Blog was held at the historic Hotel Pattee in Perry, IA, the conference was about 30 miles from Des Moines.  The hotel was lovely and well-suited to the conference needs.  Food was provided by the hotel and was timely, well-presented, and delicious.

Schedule:  The schedule was well-planned, with appropriate breaks and downtime, and speakers kept on schedule quite well.  If necessary, there was some flexibility, which was possible because all of the attendees were hearing the same speakers, rather than shuffling from room to room as at a larger conference.

Speakers and Topics:  This was definitely the best part of the conference.  Topics were relevant to blogging issues, both for beginning bloggers and for those who are already established.  Presentations were given on blogging basics, tax implications of blogging, using and improving photography in blogs, the FTC rulings and their effect on bloggers, using time well, and building community.  The keynote speaker, Jennic Law of Kangaroo Boo, had a heartwarming and motivational story to tell.  Professional headshots were taken of each attendee.  (I wrote a previous post on taxes and bloggers.)

Social Activities:  Time to bowl in the hotel’s bowling alley and a scrapbooking party sponsored by Creative Memories allowed time to mingle with other attendees or participate in the activities.

Attendees:  Attendees were primarily from Iowa, but some came from neighboring states.  Some were still considering starting a blog, some were new bloggers, and some were quite established.  One of the things that struck me the most was the professional feel to the conference.  There were no “blogging celebrities” in attendance, and the gift bags, while nice, were not the highlight of the conference.  While some bloggers’ families were at the hotel, there were no young children in the sessions as at other blog conferences.  Perhaps most notably, this was not billed or implied to be a “mommy-blogger” conference.  This was a conference for Midwestern bloggers, and both men and women, of a wide age range, were in attendance.

Sponsors: Conference sponsors, such as Creative Memories, Dexter PC, Land O’ Lakes, and Franklin County Tourism were mentioned at several points during the conference, and representatives from each were in attendance.

Suggestions for Improvement:  Quite honestly, I’m having a hard time thinking of anything that should have been done differently.  I think this inaugural conference is going to be a hard act to follow.

Future Plans:  The second I_Blog conference is planned for the first weekend in November 2010.  It will be in Iowa, but in a different location, likely another area of the state.  It is hoped to be somewhat larger than this year’s I_Blog, but still be focused on the needs of Midwest bloggers rather than becoming a mega-conference.  If you missed this year’s I_Blog, please mark your calendars for next year, and follow @i_blogconf on twitter or watch the I_Blog website for more details.

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