On the third day of SoFabCon my true love gave to me….

A pep talk.

I was feeling that occasional feeling we all get when we go to a conference. You feel connected and known, then you feel anonymous and invisible.  You feel everyone wants to sit with you, then you feel people wouldn’t want to sit with you if it was the last seat in the breakout session. Of course, neither is true, but the emotional range is there nonetheless.

The pep talk from Linda back home worked and I started by becoming Iron Man.

The first thing we did was ‘Awkward Stretching’. I am not sure if that is something they just made up, or a post-planking trend around the globe, but creaky old me likes and needs any kind of stretching so I was happy to do it.

 

The first session was a panel that included the 5 women pictured below as well as the imposing presence of the shadow.  The shadow is actually Jasmine, who was the conference head honcho.  She made it all work behind the scenes, as this photo shows.  You will see more of her at the end.

 

After lunch I saw a gathering at one table. Dan Morris, who had led a very helpful session on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) the day before, was holding court, doing a hands on demo of various software that he uses to make sure his words, ads, and placements are set up as best they can be.  He has a very dry sense of humor combined with a sharp wit and immense expertise.  I hate him.

Ok, I don’t really hate him.  But I should because if it weren’t for him I would be showing you a napkin drawing I did of the women in the panel I mentioned above.  Instead I will show you this photo of a dumpster.

Why am I looking at a dumpster you ask? Because that is where the drawing is.  I was so enamored of Dan’s impromptu little how-to session that I put the drawn napkin down on an adjacent table and forgot about it. I remembered it about 10 minutes after I left the ballroom but when I came back it was gone. I asked a waiter if he had seen it and he said yes, they all had, and had thrown it away.  Oops.  I asked if he could lead me back to the trash can just in case. He brought me through the bowels of the catering facility, all the way to the loading dock, where I was shown the napkin’s likely final resting place.  He also brought out a rolling trashcan and said it might be in it and I was free to dig through it, he would even get me gloves.  I looked at the pile of food and waste and wet and thought it highly unlikely a napkin would survive. I let it die a noble death and did my best to get on with life.

When I was speaking at Blog World in LA back in 2011 I made plans to connect with this woman, Marla Schulman.  We were going to meet up at the back of this huge auditorium but we never did find each other.  Fast forward 2 years and while checking my twitter feed I see that Cheryl Lawson from back in Tulsa is tweeting, wondering why Marla and I are both at the conference and she is not.  I then realize I need to finally meet Marla!  She had a great session on how to be a video rock star (which I need if I am going to take over the world) that I sat in on. Afterwards I introduced myself and we took a photo to send back to Cheryl to make her even more jealous. I think it worked.   I am also posting it because I look really skinny in the photo (comparatively), having lost 22 lbs since January.  

I am a speaker. I know what it takes to prepare a good speech, especially when it is combined with a visual presentation. It takes a LOT of prep.  Actually, not knowing much about the conference I had emailed Ted Rubin a few months earlier asking if they were accepting proposals for presentations.  He said the slate was already set so I let it go.  I did however make sure I had a number of my presentations on my iPad, just in case I found once I got there that a speaker had to cancel.  Always be prepared, right?   So, when I heard in the morning that the final Keynote speaker wasn’t going to be able to attend due to travel problems my mind started racing. Maybe I could do it, who knows!  

Jasmine said something about her doing part of the session but just in case I found Jasmine right after and said, ‘If you need a speaker I can…’ and before I finished the sentences she said, ‘Thanks, but we have it on lockdown!’.  I let it go as quickly as I had held onto it and waited like the rest of the attendees to see what was going to happen.

What happened was an AMAZING final keynote by Jasmine Banks.  It had purpose, energy, logic, emotion, power, humor and a kick-ass visual presentation as well. I would imagine the presentation would have easily taken weeks to prepare, but I got the feeling she had gotten it together in 24-48 hours.  She exposed her soul and her life, telling a compelling story and weaving lessons for all within it.  It was an impressive accomplishment in every way.

We ended the conference with a 80s Bowling Party that included a crazy sock contest and go karts.  The woman in the Mets Jersey kicked everyone’s butt. She has a Porche or a Viper or some such speed demon car in real life, and it showed.

At every conference, if I am lucky, I find a pal.  Someone who I look for to sit next to, to hang out with and compare notes.  At this conference it was Michelle Marine. She was kind enough to make room for me in one of the early sessions, moving her stuff off of one of the few remaining chairs so I could sit close enough to not have to use binoculars.  She has a cool blog about homesteading in Iowa, raising her family and doing everything as naturally as possible.  It was great to know that there are all types in the world of brand/blog relationships, that no one type of shopper, consumer, brand influencer  and blogger was expected.  Authentic real voices of all stripes are what’s needed and that is what is what was pursued and investigated at this conference.  I left impressed.

And a napkin, finally.

The next morning I had a breakfast of champions then headed off for an interview with Lana Flowers at the very cool and modern 21c hotel and museum in Bentonville.  She is a news writer living and working and Arkansas who used to live in Tulsa.  She enjoyed seeing my napkin drawings and wanted to know the story behind them.  We took some time to check out the amazing art as well.

Finally I headed home, across Arkansas into Oklahoma.  Beautiful puffy clouds and dappled sunlight kept me awake.  Loud music and open windows helped.

I also spent many hours on Sunday at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. I will post about that visit separately from my SoFabCon adventure.

SoFabCon – Day 1

SoFabCon – Day 2

SoFabCon – Day 3 & 4

SoFabCon – New Friends

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People I mentioned and their blogs/websites

• Danielle Smith – Extraordinary Mommy and Danielle Smith Media
• Ted Rubin – Ted Rubin Blog
• Dan Morris – Letters from Dan
• Michelle Marine – Simplify, Live, Love
• Lana Flowers – First Arkansas News
• Nicole Brady – SAHM Reviews
• Jasmine Banks – Just Jasmine
• Melissa Garcia – Consumer Queen
• Dawn Sandomeno and Elizabeth Mascali – PartyBluPrints
• Marla Schulman – About Marla Schulman

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