BlogPaws 2010 - Being the Change

April 11th, 2010 by Eric Goebelbecker

BlogPaws 2010

I attended the very first BlogPaws conference this weekend. I had a fantastic time and learned quite a lot. The conference was very well organized. The panel discussions were very informative and there were three great keynotes from Andrea Arden, Dr. Larry McDaniel and Elisa Camehort Page.

I went expecting to learn about creating and maintaining a strategy for my business blog and about getting a book published. (Yes like the rest of the western world I too would like to publish a book.) I was also eagerly looking forward to meeting the people I have been communicating with online the past year or so. I did finally meet Edie Jarolim, author of "Am I Boring My Dog", Roxanne Hawn of Champion of My Heart, Rod and Amy Burkert of Go Pet Friendly, Kenn Bell of The Dog Files, Paris Permenter and John Bigley of Dogtipper.com, Candy Blakeslee<a href="http://www.bestfriendsgeneralstore.com/">Best Friends General Store</a>, and many, many, other familiar names that are too numerous to list. (Sorry if I left you out.)

But what I really learned — the real takeaway from this conference — is how dedicated and cohesive the online pet community really is. The passion that we "pet professionals" frequently see from our peers and clients exists in our online community too. What's more, this community is doing some amazing things.

The last panel discussion I attended, "Be The Change You Want to Be," was moderated by Jane Harrell of Petfinder.com. The panel consisted of Dorian Wagner of Your Daily Cute, Lynn Haigh, the creator of the twitter #PawParty phenomenon and Dr. V from one of my all-time favorite blogs, Pawcurious. From this panel we learned about the amazing work they have done to raise money for shelters and rescues around the world.

Here is a video they put together:

As someone who still has a substantial footing in the technology industry and is using online tools to promote a dog training business, I almost constantly hear about how social media and the web are "changing the world." Yesterday I saw how it is really being done.

I went to the conference to learn and network: I came home energized and motivated. Check those links out. Get involved. We have a great community.