Brave New World

When I go to decorative painting conventions, events or classes, I feel extremely comfortable.? Why?? I’ve been in this business for over a decade, have many friends in the field, know who the major players are and know?a little something about most of the products available and what finishes/trends are coming up.? But today, I attended a convention that was a whole lotta new to me: IzeaFest 2008.? Yup, I attended a blog convention.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I decided to go because the Fauxology blog has become a part of my heart.? I have an obsession for faux, enjoy meeting new?people, live to share info?and love to write.? Within the year?plus that I’ve been posting, I’ve accumulated a growth of readership organically and have receive some great comments that truly make the effort worthwhile.? So, I wanted to learn to make this blog like The Six Million Dollar Man Better,?Stronger, Faster.????

Well.? When I walked in, I felt like I was attending a new school for my senior year after leaving the same school I had attended from K – 11.? I knew no one, everyone had laptops (doofus me brought a pen and notebook…hello?!?),?major player’s names were being dropped while everyone nodded knowingly (and I was like “Who?”) and industry words were flying left and right (and I was like “What?”).??Then, I realized that other attendees were streaming the event!? Man, have I walked into a brave, new world.? Our keynote speaker was Jeremy Shoemaker and he was inspiring, unpretentious and hilarious.??He also used to be 420 pounds and unemployed.? Four years later, he’s lost the weight, looks great?and is a millionaire.? (Seriously.? I may have to rethink this faux thing.)? I also met the awesome Lea Alcantara, a whiz at branding.? I thought of all the faux and other small biz companies that read this blog and thought how cool it would be to have her talk a little about niche markets and how to brand your business successfully.? She and?I talked briefly about it and she’s graciously considering it.? (Fingers crossed for all of us!)?

Slowly but surely I started understanding?the blogworld’s concepts and ideas.? By the end of the day, I was introducing myself to other bloggers and speakers,?randomly asking “stupid” questions and basically satisfied after finding out that I’m not the only one who?secretly reads Perez Hilton.? Tomorrow is the second and last day of the event.? I’ll probably write more then as well.? I hope to take all this knowledge and use it to create a better blog for you to read.? I thank you for coming along this ride with me and I hope that the roadtrip we’re on gets even more picturesque and memorable.?