On Saturday, more than 300 bloggers and brand strategists gathered at Orlando’s Full Sail campus for the 2013 Florida Blogger and Social Media Conference, also known as FLBlogCon.  This was my second year attending the conference, and once again, my brain is still trying to figure out where to start in disgusting all the information.

The day started with keynote speaker Orlando Magic Senior Vice President Pat Williams.  I really had no expectations for this speaker.  I not a big fan generally of the NBA, so I really wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of this.  But I have to say, I was blown away.  He actually had me in tears at one point.  His presentation was about finding your passion.  ” When you can figure out what is your greatest talent, and when that intersects with your greatest passion,” said Williams.  “…that is your sweet spot in life.”

I’m not going to share all my notes – you can get his book for that…but the 10 building blocks for success are worth sharing:

1. THINK the right kind of thoughts because what you think about all day long is eventually going to become reality in your life.
2. Say the right kind of words.  The words we speak also have a way of becoming reality.
3. Be specific in goal setting.
4. You are responsible for your attitude.
5. Seek out the right kind of friends.
6. Take your hurts and your pain and your setbacks and disappointments and turn them into strengths.
7. Go the second mile.  Do twice what’s expected of you in every situation.
8. Never give up.  The winners in life never surrender.
9. Character counts.  Honesty, integrity, responsibility, humility, courage.
10. Live your life by the faith phenomenon.

I also had some great takeaways from other speakers…things like:

• Really need to focus this blog a little more – I feel like I’m a little all over the place- am I a mom blogger? travel? food? pop culture? I want to be it all? But that’s not easy to sell.
• I need to really put together a good media kit.  I had no idea why I needed one until I sat through Katy Widrick’s presentation.  Now I’m embarrassed I don’t have one at all!
• Editorial calendar – I need to make one.  I said I would last year and didn’t.  I need to get back to that.
• I really need to set some goals.  I have NONE…and that is sad.

Katy’s presentation on media kits was a must-do!

I was unable to stay for the entire day due to another event.  But I got so much out of the day and I still need to pour over all the slides.  I can’t wait until next year!

The Venue

The location of the event changed from the Orlando Science Center to Full Sail.  I’ve never been on the Full Sail campus before, but it was JUST PERFECT! I can’t believe a school like this exists.  It is so beautiful and was the perfect setup for this group of bloggers.  The students working the cameras for the event seemed really interested and engaged.  I was super impressed by the facility and by all the employees!

The only thing that really had me confused at the event was the bathroom sink.  I mean, a sink is a sink, right?  Well, this sink made me feel stupid.  (That also could have been due to the rum drinks, but more about that in a bit!)

The confusing sink at Full Sail.

The Food

What’s a good conference without some great food? The Florida Dairy Farmers provided lots of free food throughout the day.  For breakfast there was yogurt and fillings to make parfaits.  There was ice cream for dessert and cheese out for afternoon snack.  It was quiet a spread and it was all delicious.

Thanks Florida Dairy Farmers!

Lunch was sponsored by Bahama Breeze.  We were served salad, shrimp & grits and some chocolate mouse thing for dessert.  I’ve never really had Shrimp & Grits before – so I was a little hesitant.  Oh….man….it was delicious.  I seriously can’t wait to Bahama Breeze order this again.  The grits were more like risotto and had chunks of bacon throughout.  It was delicious.

Shrimp & Grits from Bahama Breeze.

Bahama Breeze is also kicking off their #RumtoberFest event – which includes some fabulous rum drinks! The drink was called the twisted tail.  I really have no idea what was in it except rum, but they were great!  We may or may not have had more than one.

My friend Jen carries over drinks from Bahama Breeze.

Bahama Breeze is kicking off their #Rumtoberfest event.

Overall, a great event.  For the price, it’s a steal.  I have come away with pages and pages of notes and now have access to all the slides from the other presenters that I couldn’t get to.  There is so much great information that is so helpful not just to bloggers, but anyone who even remotely touches social media.

One of my other favorite parts of the event is finally putting faces with names I’ve been interacting with on twitter for so long! If you’re interested, be sure to get your tickets early! This year it sold out pretty quick!

FLBlogCon13 was presented by Bahama Breeze and was sponsored by Sysco, Ford, Pinnacle Vodka, TriNet, Barnie’s Coffee Kitchen, and Florida Dairy Farmers.