One of the key closing events we highlight each year at the conference is our “Lightning Talks”. What on earth is a Lightning Talk, you may ask?
It’s very simple actually. The motto for lightning talks is: “Enlighten us . . . but make it quick!” Instead of giving a long, broad presentation, participants get to make a very focused and short one, full of interesting facts and photos. There are exactly 20 slides of material – no more, no less – and the talk is exactly five minutes. The catch? The slides are set to auto-advance every 15 seconds – the trick is for the presenter is to stay on topic before the talk leaves them behind!
Past topics have included touring specific wine regions, health benefits of wine, how to create a gift guide online, bike racing and wine, and how the wine industry views bloggers.
Attendees at this year’s conference once again have a chance to share their voice through a Lightning Talk – it is a fun, challenging (and often hilarious) opportunity to share what’s going on in the blogging or social media world. A word of encouragement to the participants: be brave, have fun and light that spark!