Tobins' Tastes: Online BlogCon 2013! Attending A Blog Conference Without Leaving Home #OBC13

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Online BlogCon 2013! Attending A Blog Conference Without Leaving Home #OBC13

Online BlogCon 2013
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When I first started blogging, I was clueless. I started a blog because I liked to cook, bake and coupon and people where often asking me for recipes or details on my grocery savings. So I started a blog to share what little knowledge I had with about ten people who knew me the world.

At first it was just me and my keyboard. I wrote what I thought people wanted to hear. I felt like I had to fit into my idea of a couponing blog and after awhile I realized it wasn't working. I needed help, I needed answers. I wanted support but I didn't know where to turn.

I had no idea that blogging communities existed. I didn't know that there were huge groups of people united over cyberspace sharing ideas, supporting each other and becoming online friends. I discovered Blog Conferences and shortly thereafter I figured out that logistics and cost of attending one made it pretty much impossible on my teacher's salary and I put "attending a blog conference" on my long list of "things I want to do someday."

Around this time, I started reading a few blogs religiously. And one of those blogs happened to be Crazy For Crust. I started to feel like I "knew" Dorothy. And when she mentioned her blogging BFF Ashton from Something Swanky  naturally being the internet stalker that I am, I started following her blog too. And then last year, the two of them introduced the world to the idea of Online BlogCon.

Online BlogCon is an online blog conference that lets you get all the benefits of attending a conference without the costs and hassle of actually leaving town, or your house for the that matter. OBC helped me find the guidance I needed to be a better blogger, a more passionate blogger. It was more than just lessons on photography, working with brands, or designing your site. It helped me find my voice as a blogger. And it led me to a community of people who have continued to support me and my blog over the last year.

OBC helped me realize that blogging isn't just putting words on paper a website. It's about doing what you love and sharing that with others. It's about finding a group of people who can lift you up, enter your giveaways, leave you a comment when you feel like you are never going to be a big or as well read as some of the other blogs out there. Last year's conference did all that and more.

Through the OBC Facebook group, I now feel like I "know" the people behind the blogs I read and the feeling of community that we have couldn't have been found by jumping on a plane and spending two random days with a bunch of strangers. OBC gave me more than just knowledge about blogging (although it gave me tons of that too), it gave me the desire to keep blogging, to keep improving and to set bigger and better goals for myself and my website. So the minute Dorothy and Ashton announced OBC13, I registered and I will keep registering every year they have it because I certainly have a lot left to learn and I can always use a few more friends :)

Want to learn more about #OBC13? Check it out HERE & HERE!
Want to join us for this year's conference? Register HERE!
Questions? Feel free to leave me a comment so I can tell you even more about my love for OBC!
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