I recently travelled to Swansea to attend a new event called BlogConf. I struggled to find out who ran it and it seemed to be cloaked in some kind of mystery but I decided to go along anyway. Well I say I decided I was persuaded to go by a local blogger who is a good friend. We couldn’t find a schedule and saw conflicting advice on twitter regarding when it started so it was all a bit confusing.
The venue was easy enough to find with the poor man stood outside shivering in the welsh wind and we went upstairs to find a very empty room with only around 20 people in it. I signed myself in although I wasn’t prompted to do so and took a seat on a very badly arranged table layout.
Now don’t get me wrong the speakers were lovely although the photographer kept getting in the way and the lighting wasn’t very good for the projector from where I was sitting but it all seemed a bit amateurish. Having been to conferences such as the ones run by Tots 100, Mumsnet and Britmums I have come to expect a certain level of professionalism. Name badges for example or being told where the fire exits were.
Things seem to get worse as the lack of drinks that were not caffeine laden became apparent at around the time our breakfast of cupcake was shoved under our noses whether we politely declined or not.
However it wasn’t until lunch that we became really concerned. Despite paying over £20 for a ticket to this event there was no catering, not even a measly soggy egg sandwich or a crisp in sight. As a group we headed to a local buffet restaurant deciding that this would be the quickest lunch as it is already prepared. However it seems that not everyone was able to eat as quickly and this included the organiser and all the speakers who were still sat in a restaurant having not even received their food.
Deciding that I had seen enough I left but not before picking up what can only be described as the weirdest goody bag I have ever had as it seemed to be filled with random things from Etsy such as a square of fabric, a broken bottle top brooch and some very random costume jewellery even my daughters were not interested in. It did also include a personal planner voucher which is always awesome and some other bits of paperwork oh and a tea bag but nothing really breathe taking or even inspiring which was a shame after such hype about them.
It has become brutally clear that you can call anything a Blog Conference but that doesn’t mean it will meet the expectations or professionalism that we have come to expect from a conference rather than a meetup.
BlogConf was a huge let down especially for the price I paid not only for my ticket but my travel too. However on the bright side I did get to listen to some great bloggers tell their story its just a shame the rest of it was a shambles.
One good thing has come from this event, I have decided to show Wales what a real Blog Conference is all about! Blog On is going to Cardiff!!!!