The truth is: there are no bad conferences. Yes, I’ve been to my share of conferences that bored the bejeezuz out of me, but I’m a firm believer that you can take away something positive from every conference. It starts, of course, by choosing the right conference to attend.

I recommend these Blog Conferences specifically for business bloggers. If you’re just getting started in business blogging, attending one of these is a great way to get your feet wet- and, of course, for both beginners and pros, they offer valuable networking opportunities:

Blog World Expo

Why?:
As the world’s largest blog conference, this is the first one to look at. We’re talking hundreds of people, bloggers who have been doing this for years, as well as celebrity bloggers and devoted readers.

When & Where?:
This year (2009), the conference runs from October 15 to 17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

How much?:
A full-access pass will cost you anywhere from $895 to $1195, depending on whether you register early enough. Also available are weekend passes ($395-$495), exhibits & parties passes ($175-$225), and exhibits only passes ($75-$100). Check out the Blog World Expo pricing page for more information and to register.

Web 2.0 Summit

Why?:
Don’t let the name throw you off, this blog conference is known to feature some of the best names in technology. It’s a little pricey, but is a great choice for anyone who’s serious about doing business online.

When & Where?:
This year (2009), the Web 2.0 Summit runs from October 20 to 22 at The Westin San Francisco Market Street in San Francisco, California.

How much?:
The standard price (if you purchase a spot from now until October 19) is $4195. After that (on site) it’s $4395. This includes access to all workshops, on site events, and breakfast and lunch for each day of the conference. For more information, visit the official Web 2.0 Summit pricing page.

BlogHer Business

Why?:
Women business bloggers (such as myself!) should seriously consider attending this one- and male business bloggers should, as well. This is a smaller conference (they’re keeping it to around 200 attendees), and focuses on the best practices of reaching women online.

When & Where?:
BlogHer Business 2010 happens on August 5th at the Hilton Hotel in New York.

How much?:
Current “earlybird pricing” (up to March 2010) is at $499 plus a $9.95 fee. This includes all meals, programming, and a cocktail reception. For more details and to register, visit their registration site.

I’m posting this while sitting in the Hilton hotel bar courtesy their free wi-fi, and writing it via my Bluetooth keyboard attached to my Nokia 770 internet tablet — life couldn’t get more geeky!

I landed in Austin for SXSW Interactive around 10am local time, and then went to lunch with some incredibly talented folks: Will Pate, Anton Peck, Jonathan Snook, and Matthew Oliphant. Tonight a bunch of 9rules members (and others!) are getting together to play billiards at Buffalo Billiards, so if you’re reading this from Austin please feel free to stop by and get forced into a 9-ball match of wits with Paul Scrivens :)

Matto and I just got back from the Web Design 2010 Panel at SXSW, and we’ll each be writing our opinions about it.

Mike’s View

Take a look around you right now, and tell me what has changed significantly from 1998 to now. We have computers that look pretty much the same as they used to, cellphones aren’t changing radically, bad web browsers are still prevalent and relevant, and people who are on the far right side of the technological adoption curve still make up a miniscule segment of the world’s population. This panel was all about how different the web will be between now and 2010, and to be honest, I don’t think it’ll change fundamentally one bit.

Doug Bowman was definitely thinking the most realistically about the future and technology when he discussed how technology won’t matter, rather the concepts surrounding its usage are the most important. End users who aren’t technologically savvy don’t care one iota if a web app was written in PHP, ASP, or .Net as long as it just plain works. The slow move to a very content-centric web is already happening, and I believe in 2010 it’ll just be more important. Technologies like XML, RSS, and CSS aren’t going anywhere and in 2010 they’ll still just be taking off with the vast majority of the population. Fringe technologies like XForms, SVG, CSS3, and XHTML2 will still be just that, fringe technologies that nobody really uses for realistic projects. Five years isn’t that far away, but some people on the panel are already waiting for these flying cars to appear.

Jon Hicks and Dave Shea appeared to be well-versed in these technologies and the restraints surrounding them, so they were able to elaborate more about their usage and what might come of them. Eris Free seemed to talk for only about 45 seconds, but in reality it was probably closer to 4 minutes. Her very first comment on the panel started off with a long pause and ended with a “I’m sorry, I haven’t had my coffee yet” and then Doug Bowman grabbed the mic and spoke cogently about the topic she couldn’t discuss. Eris was very unprepared, and was completely out of her league. I can understand giving her a chance to speak for the first time, but sticking a mouse in a lion pit just doesn’t work.

Matto’s View

I don’t know why this panel was as bad as it was. It could have
been the format, it could have been the chemistry (or lack of) between
the panelists while on stage. It could have been the moderator. I
don’t know, but it was a waste of time. And maybe that’s why it
wasn’t very good because I felt it was a waste of the panelists time
as well. A better question to discuss, instead of where will the Web
be in 5 years is, how are people’s needs going to change in the next 5
years and how are we going to help them accomplish their goals.

Another miss on the part of the panelists, was answering no to the question, “will we
care about IE6 in 5 years.” However, we will probably still support it like we still support Netscape 4.x (to the extent that we remember to). This is a very First World-centric view. Developing countries often get hand-me-down computers from developed countries. Given that, I’d say that web developers/designers in general will still have to worry about IE6 in 5 years.

The thing is, not much has changed in the last 5 years. Some of
the technologies we use to deliver data from UI to database and back
again have changed, and I think that is likely the area where most of
the change will happen in regard to web development. We’ll still be
doing much the same we do now to create access to data for people to get their work done.

I’m currently at the Design Eye for the Idea Guy panel at SXSW and I wanted to link everyone to the new and improved Design Eye skill session and Dirk Knemeyer’s prototype website:

DesignEye.org

And here’s the winning site design …… sweet!

Dirk Knemeyer’s new website design

Our goal is to bring the SXSW and Austin, TX experience home to all our readers who may not be able to attend this year’s event. This is our first time at SXSW, as well as our first time in Austin, so to aid those who haven’t been here before either we’ll be discussing the fun/cool stuff we find.

Paul and I just got back from checking out all the night life on 6th Street here in Austin, and it’s definitely where we’ll be the rest of the time we’re here (at night anyway!). 6th Street is similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans or Marshall Street in Syracuse, NY where it’s club after club all the way down the street. I’m not sure if the roads are blocked off every night, but they were definitely not open for traffic tonight. College students from the University of Texas, SXSW attendees, tourists, and other locals crammed each establishment until they all overflowed onto the streets. Street food vendors were making a mint from the 2am bar crowd pouring out and feeling hungry, and everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time.

We’re at the top of the Hilton Hotel here in Austin which partially overlooks 6th Street and it’s completely lit up even at this time of night. If you’re an Austin native or here for the conference, look for the B-Logs team down on 6th Street if you get a chance, because we may just be right next to you.

Okay, not abuse, but take advantage of.

The Blog Business Summit, which we are attending and promoting has introduced a “blogger” rate that is almost half the regular cost.

If you’re a blogger and want to attend the conference, we have a limited number of seats available for just $395.00. All you have to do is post a mention of the conference on your site, (with a link or the BBS 05 badges) and use the button below to register. During checkout, just enter the URI for your post when prompted.

This price includes the opening night reception, and continental breakfast, lunch, and snack breaks on both days.

Promote the summit on your site, get a good deal. You might even qualify for some click incentives. Ask them about sponsorship opportunities.

More and more conferences are cropping up of late that either have blogging as a highlight topic, or are specifically about blogging. While we know of a few, we would very much appreciate it you would let us know when you find one.

Soonish we are going to put up a resources page and conferences are one of the things we’d like to track.

So, if you have attended, heard about, or are promoting/organizing a conference on blogging, let us know about it!

Let us also know if you are attending a conference with plans to blog it.