A Review of BlogWorld 2012 Exhibitors
By • Leave a commentI visited the second annual BlogWorld and New Media Expo when it was held earlier this month New York’s Javits Center
Jeannette and Chris Brogan
I registered for the Exhibits, as I did last year, to learn what’s new and helpful for bloggers or anyone interested in social media. As an extra bonus I had my photo taken with one of my heroes, Chris Brogan, founder of Human Business Works.
I also bought his book Google+ for Business. He deserves my support for all that I’ve learned from his posts.
These are reviews of only a few exhibitors. I hope you find the information useful and suggest you do your own research. (BTW, I am not an affiliate of any of these companies). Click on the company name to visit their websites for more information. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Exhibitors I Visited
Commun.it. This Israel-based relationship management service for Twitter launched its public beta at BlogWorld. Now all Twitter interactions are treated equally. The company says it will analyze your tweets, deducing relationship status and significance, prioritize those that matter most, and provide context for each incoming interaction.
GFQ Network. I love this one. The GFQ stands for Guys From Queens (which is a part of New York City). Founded in in 2009, it claims to be the leading producer of “talk-radio” style Internet programming. Each show can be seen live on GFQlive.tv, and also downloaded as an audio/video podcast from the GFQ Network website. Currently the network averages over 2 million viewers a month with some 13 shows per week covering everything from news to pop-culture, technology, opinion, comedy, and entertainment. Stay tuned!
Lijit Networks. This company provides online publishers with a monetization alternative to Google AdSense. It has direct partnerships with every major ad provider – agencies, trading desks, networks, etc. Lijit gives publishers an additional revenue stream to complement existing sales efforts, and provides audience analytics and reader engagement tools. A big plus is you can have a live chat with a real person if you have questions.
Overblog. This French-based company claims to be the #1 blog hosting company in Europe. At BlogWorld, the company launched its first campaign to convert U.S. bloggers to its platform. It was intriguing to learn that you can update your blog every time you share a piece of content somewhere across the Internet, including posts on your social networks and live streaming. Overblog has over 100 templates and its own analytics to track unique visitors, views and sources of referrals.
Rawporter. This neat service is still in beta. You can search its site for videos about a topic. If none exists in its archives, you put out a bid to what it calls its “army of cameras on-location and on demand.”
You can even become a rawporter yourself by downloading the iPhone app.
Suppose you need a quick video on breaking news. You put out a request for video, say, of a burning building and are willing to pay $25. The nearby rawporters see the request on their smart phones, shoot the raw footage and upload it.
Then you buy the video you select (you’re not obliged to buy any), edit and insert it into your blog or news story. I registered and they don’t have a category for Business but, as a test, I chose a video of a sunset that would have cost $5 if I uploaded it. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
Social Chorus. This company’s technology is used by major brands like PepsiCo and Intel to identify and connect with “influencers” across social networks. Social Chorus identifies and builds these relationships to shape the way customers see your brand. The company overlays a robust analytics program on the data it collects. At the Social Chorus booth I conducted a video interview with Syed Balkhi, founder of WPBeginner about how about how someone can start blogging on a WordPress platform.
YouSayToo. This new community driven media platform was launched at BlogWorld. It sort of reminded me of Google+ Circles and Pinterest Boards. They call their categories “Spots.” These are places where content creators and readers can visit specific topics and rate the content of others. The community votes on articles and can boot out bad content.
I covered a lot in my time at the exhibit booths but couldn’t get to everyone. By the way, the organizers are broadening the scope of future conferences.
BlogWorld founders Rick Calvert and Dave Cynkin announced the event will no longer be called BlogWorld & New Media Expo. Instead, it will be now known as New Media Expo.
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Jeannette, I got such a kick out of seeing you shoulder to shoulder with Chris Brogan! You’re my hero! Thanks for the useful list!
Amy Dean recently posted..How to Select a Press Release Wire Service
Amy — how do you think I felt?! He’s really a nice man. Very pleasant and he was happy to pose with one of his fans. He even told me I didn’t need to buy his book. But I knew it would be good and he deserves my support – I’ve learned so much from his blog posts.
It’s entirely possible we were at the same place at the same time! I met Brogan when he was signing books & (confession) I was waiting for next set of authors to arrive so they could sign the book I purchased (“Humanize” by Jamie Notter & Maddie Grant btw).
Great summary of the better exhibitors. I’ll admit I expected more exhibitors like you would see at a tech show (or at the concurrent book expo I snuck in to). I’m gonna check out Rawporter after your review!
Laura G recently posted..Guest Post: Steampunk Costumes
Laura — like you, I was surprised there weren’t more exhibitors. The big mistake conference organizers make is to have the exhibit area so far away from the where the programs are held. When I chaired a national conference for PRSA we held the opening reception in the exhibit area and the hospitality area was in the center of the exhibits so that attendees were required to go the exhibit area. I noted that quite a few exhibitors from last year were missing and I think it’s because traffic was so light.
Hi Jeannette: We are cut from the same cloth! I, too, have been busy attending conferences over the past month. I really get recharged, energized and focused from attending conferences and trade exhibits specific to my needs and interests.
I am often bewildered at how some people can work in isolation.
Doreen Pendgracs recently posted..why PWAC inspires me
Doreen — I just left a comment on your blog. I went to take a look and saw your post about the Professional Writer’s Association of Canada. Sounds like you had a great conference. I cherish my colleagues and friends from the professional organizations I belong to.
I want to go to this conference! And how cool you got your picture with Chris Brogan.
This is an interesting list, and I found three that look interesting to me: Overblog, Rawporter and Lijit Networks. I will need to check out there websites.
Bethany — it was exciting to have my photo taken with Chris Brogan for posterity! I always learn so much from his blog. Glad my list was helpful.
I have yet to go to a conference. I need to get on the ball. There is conference in Las Vegas in October I am seriously thinking about attending.
Your review of the different companies and a brief on what it is they do I found very helpful, especially Lijit and Overblog. Needless to say, I will checking these platforms out.
Susan Cooper recently posted..Who Are Our Real Heroes
Hi Susan — I actually just paid for an exhibitor pass. I’d heard many of the speakers on social media webinars and follow their blogs. The exhibits are always interesting because you learn something new. Last year, I stopped by the Network Solutions exhibit and they weren’t very busy so one of the tech people there set up my blog for mobile viewing with a couple of free months (it’s only $8 a month). So that was nice. If you search for my blog on your smart phone you’ll see what it looks like — really neat.
Hi, I’ve only just found your blog and simply have to thank you for such a useful list. Memo to self: reserve at least an afternoon to look at all of these new (to me) websites. I look forward to learning more from you.
Hi Carolyn — glad to have you visit my blog. I’m glad my list is helpful. Stay tuned for more posts (by subscribing if you like). Cheers…Jeannette
Thanks so much for the reviews – conference sounds great, tho they can be a bit overwhelming. Both Lijit and YouSayToo really caught my eye. Look forward to checking them out. I’m always looking for new and better ways to do things.
A.K.Andrew recently posted..Receiving a Versatile Blogger Award!
A.K. – thanks for your comment. Yes, conferences can be overwhelming. I got to as many exhibitors as I could and wrote about the more interesting ones. I’m glad that you found two of them of interest.
Love the photo of you and Brogan. What an exciting event. Thanks for sharing it with us and special thanks for the links. Seems like I always learn something new from your posts.
Dolores Hagen recently posted..How To Prepare for an Extreme Dream
Hi Dolores — Yes, it was pretty exciting. I’m glad the you found the links helpful.
Great information Jeannette. The information on Overblog and Rawporter are especially interesting. I’m kicking myself because I didn’t come up with Rawporter. It’s so valuable and yet so simple.
Coretta — there is always a new idea and a new way to make money. It’s usually the simplest ideas that succeed. Whoever thought that starting a community in college where students could leave each other messages would turn into Facebook?
Very helpful information, Jeannette–thanks! Ditto favorable comments re Chris Brogan.
Thanks, Susan. Glad you found it useful. Good seeing you at the FWA the other evening.
It is always so awesome to meet someone you admire. Glad you got to meet Chris. Thanks for sharing this list, I shall check it out over a relaxed weekend.
Lubna recently posted..Poor Little Rich Slum
Hi Jeannette!
First, I apologize for taking so long to respond to your post, but it appears I’ve been saving the best for last.
It means so much to us that you enjoyed the exhibit hall and we’ll be sure our exhibitors will see your post. Nothing means more to them than to meet our community and learn more about them — and I can tell you they truly appreciate your support — as do we.
Please feel free to reach out any time with feedback or if you have any questions.
Deb Ng
Director of Community
NMX (The conference formerly known as BlogWorld.)
Deb, glad to hear from you. I learned a lot at BlogWorld (now NMX) and wrote a post about my interview in the exhibit area of Syed Balkhi, founder of WPBeginner: Stuck Trying to Learn How to Use WordPress: WP Beginner Offers Tutorials and Tips. In turn, Syed invited me to write a guest post for his site Why Every Small Business Needs a WordPress Blog for Their Social Media Strategy. So your conference had its intended effect: to educate and help attendees make valuable connections. Thanks!