Why BlogWorld worked, even if it was new to New York

So, last week I was in New York for the first East Coast version of the BlogWorld and New Media Expo. In many respects this was another conference in the same mould as those that have gone before, but in other respects this felt like starting over again.

With the move away from the West Coast (and really, Las Vegas is nothing more than a weekend break for Silicon Valley) there was a different vibe in the air, a lot of new faces, and some old friends as well. From the new discoveries such as Web Doc to the continuing presence of Chris Pirillo (who amazingly calls himself a geek but has never seen Spaced) this was like the other half of the extended family (the half that all get on together) meeting up and not talking about the crazy uncles.

In all honesty this felt a lot like those early podcasting conferences of 2005 and 2006.

I also loved that there was no visible cliques in the exhibition halls, the sessions or the lobbies. There was a lot of sharing going on, and that’s one of the main benefits of an event like this for me – there’s a page in my Filofax with a bundle of ideas that I want to try out over various online locations. The other benefit is meeting people and being open, because that’s when you can get some great results.

For example, chatting away with Steve Garfield as we took in the three huge adjoining exhibition halls of Book Expo America, he was talking about some of his work, which chimed with one of my "proto projects" that I carry all the time in my head – two days later I was taking a meeting with someone outside of BlogWorld right before flying home from JFK.

When you talk about "social networks" that’s the sort of effect you want. Can it happen online? Sometimes. Dos it happen at the right conference? Definitely. Will I be BlogWorld LA? Count on it.