It is time for us to start planning the detailed content of the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference, to be held June 6-8 in beautiful Penticton, BC., and our first step is to get input from you, our blogging community!
Take a look at our outline Agenda on this site. Many of the components are already set but we do need your input on these three sections:
Breakout Sessions: Hour-long breakout sessions are the chance for you to hear from experts in the field, be it blogging, writing, technology, or wine. Do you have suggestions for breakout session topics and speakers?
Blogger Discussions: We will have one time period where we’ll break into three groups for community discussions about topics of interest to wine bloggers. In years passed we’ve discussed Monetization; Wine Blogging and the Wine Industry; and Reaching Outside the Wine World. If you could sit down and talk with your fellow wine bloggers, what would you like to discuss?
Block Session: This is new this year, and on Saturday we plan to have several 2.5 hour sessions offered between 9:30am – 12:00pm for you to sink your teeth into. Some thoughts so far on this include a photography workshop that may involve a trip to a nearby vineyard, a training course on the elements of becoming a wine judge, or a in-depth tasting spanning several vintages of Canadian Ice Wines. This is an opportunity for you really focus on a single subject and learn a great deal. What would you like to see here?
To provide suggestions, please either comment on this blog post or email conference organizer Cindy Molchany at cindy@ZephyrAdventures.com. Please be specific as to the topic and whether you are recommending a breakout session, blogger discussion, or Block Session. Please also provide us with names and, if you are suggesting someone else to present, whether you know the person!
We will take suggestions over the next week and then conduct a public vote to determine which potential topics are most popular. Thanks for your input!
Since photography is such an important part of blogging I would like to participate in a photography course, not only pertaining to the vineyard (since vineyards are so photogenic) but extend this to wine and food, perhaps both indoor and outdoor.
Since I am a food blogger I would also like to know more about judging wines and developing a sharper palate.
I’d like to suggest David Honig of Palate Press address attendees regarding use of content, ethics, and copyright. Many bloggers haven’t experience in journalism – nor, as citizen bloggers, should they necessarily. If we’re going to play together in this big virtual sandbox, perhaps we could use opportunities like these to help foster a positive relationship between citizen bloggers, professional wine writers, and journalists.
How about some sessions on other media? Wine blogging is starting to encompass other forms of media – photography, video, podcasting, etc. – there’s a lot more than just creative writing that gets people reading blogs. How can using other media attract viewers to blogs effectively? What about wine blogs that create other forms of media to present their views (and reviews) of the wine world?
Can we explore the barriers that wineries have with pursuing global markets, including what is (and is not) done to secure an importer, to engage and encourage distributors, to create/execute omnipresent educational/tasting experiences, to connect with and embrace consumers wherever they might be looking for wine?
Thanks, Joe! I will note that and include it in the survey once other suggestions come in.
I would like to have an expert on WordPress give us some information on best SEO practices. A majority of bloggers are using WordPress these days. I heard this guy is the best of the best: Joost de Valk. Let’s get this guy on board.