What you had to say about The Bloganista Mini-Con

On Saturday, August 1, See Jane Write hosted the 2nd annual Bloganista Mini-Con. This year’s conference was presented by Laura Vincent Printing & Design and Dionne Love, the woman behind Laura Vincent, was kind enough to design fabulous notebooks and blog planners for all the attendees.

I’ll post the official See Jane Write recap of the Bloganista Mini-Con next week and include fun photos from the event. In the meantime, check out what some of our attendees had to say about this year’s conference:

LaCosta Gaston of The Journey of Being a Wife said the conference was “completely mind blowing and much needed.”

Rachel Wilson of CaliBama Belle said the Bloganista Mini-Con “made me realize why I love blogging–because my voice and my personality are what makes this blog unique!”

C.A. Marks of Moxie Beautiful said “The afternoon keynote speaker was awesome! Jeniese Hosey caught my attention right away and had my blogging heart pumping with excitement.”

And Christina Renteria of PinkLuxpl  almost made me cry with the kind words she shared in her post as she mentioned my efforts to mentor her:

There are not enough words to express how amazing Javacia Harris Bowser is in my life. I went from thinking I can to knowing I can to doing it, with her encouragement.

I especially enjoyed the recap by Karri Bentley of Karri So Very. Karri actually attended the very first See Jane Write event ever, which held March 24, 2011. In her post she writes:

I’ve watched See Jane Write grow from a group that took up two tables at a restaurant, to a gathering of women that fills a large conference room space. Javacia inspires and challenges me. And her brainchild’s latest event did not fail to deliver.

The Bloganista Mini-Con featured guest speakers and panelists, delicious treats and awesome door prizes. If you’re a blogger, thinking of starting a blog, or you’re considering resurrecting a blog that’s been dormant for too long, you should definitely consider attending next year’s event, or one of the other See Jane Write events.

Be sure to check out her post for a great list of key takeaways from the conference.

Katherine Walcott of Rodney’s Saga took a very creative approach to her recap post by posing 10 questions that conference made her consider and giving her honest responses. For example:

1. Are you taking yourself and your blog seriously? Not the hype, the story you have to tell. I vary on this: some days, bulletproof; some days, sniveling wreckage.

Check out her other nine questions here.

One topic that came up again and again at the conference was the importance of building your tribe. This wasn’t lost on Wade Kwon, director of the Y’all Connect blogging and social media conference, who also attended this year’s (and last year’s) mini-con. He writes:

If a blogger, whether solo or corporate, makes it to the community stage where she can collaborate and commiserate with fellow bloggers, she will likely prosper. (We should really commission a study on this …) Those who operate with no feedback and no love may falter sooner.

Which is why we should recognize community at every turn.

Jennifer Dome King of Stellar Fashion and Fitness was a panelist for the conference, but says she also left feeling inspired:

I came away from the conference inspired to dive into the business of blogging with the passion that I know will take me to places I’ve dreamed of personally and professionally. (Take yourself seriously! One piece of advice that hit home.)

She also said her biggest takeaway was the importance of building community, the importance of having a tribe. Jennifer says that when it comes to blogging, “finding other women who either blog themselves or love to read blogs, women who ‘get it,’ is so valuable. These are the women you can bounce ideas off of, who will challenge you to work on your goals in tangible ways and who will cheer for each and every success you have.”

If you wrote a recap of the conference, please share it in the comments.