mattandjess.net - as you wish: So apparently I'm doing a BoF!

December 19, 2007

So apparently I'm doing a BoF!
Posted by Jess in Lotusphere2008

Why the word "apparently?" Because I had no idea my abstract was even submitted to be one. :-)

I submitted an abstract for the Best Practices track titled "Blogging Best Practices". This was the description:

Whether you already have a blog or are just thinking about getting started, you'll walk away with info you didn’t know! This session will cover why you’d want to blog in the first place, creative uses for blogs, blog software options, corporate blogging, how to build your brand, and some quick "Writing 101" tips to keep your readers happy and coming back!

I didn't hear anything about it, so I inquired. It couldn't be used, which was not a big surprise, especially after seeing the AMAZING track listing.

What WAS a surprise, however, was getting this in my email:

Re: Blogging Best Practices

Dear Jessica Stratton:

Once again, this year we asked all registered attendees to pay special attention to the Session Preferences voting application - the BoF submissions with the most votes would be the ones included in this year's agenda. There was tremendous interest and excitement in our new approach, and a huge turnout of voters as well.

We are pleased to inform you that your BoF session listed above has been chosen as one of the Bofs attendees would most like to see included on this year's agenda.

Well, cool!

Because this is a "Best Practices" type of discussion, I think I may include a few discussion points such as some creative uses for blogging (such as meeting minutes), and your favorite tips for keeping return visitors to your blog. I also want to talk about potential blog "faux-pas" (if you care about that sort of thing), etc.

What else would you like to discuss?

Oh, and who wants to tell me how you run a BoF? I was a deer caught in the headlights reading THAT email. :-)

Edited: For those that aren't sure, a "BoF" is a 'birds of a feather' discussion at Lotusphere2008. Instead of a formal presentation, I'll be leading a discussion on the topic above. Think talk show host. This is in response to an email I got from my mom about five minutes after posting this, that said "Congratulations, I think. By the way, what's a BoF?" :-)

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Comments

Congratulations!

You will get an e-mail explaining how to run a BoF. It's pretty "easy," in that you basically facilitate a discussion on your topic. A lot of audience participation. No A/V.

I think "easy" only plays a part when you have an animated group. :-)

Posted by: Gregg Eldred at December 19, 2007 10:23 PM

Thanks Greg! I've attended BoFs before, but never run one. Yes, the blogging community tends to be rather shy, which could be a HUGE problem. LOL! :-)

Posted by: Jess at December 20, 2007 06:53 AM

@Jess,
I don't think you'll have any trouble. Like Gregg says, the audience should drive the discussion. You have lots of blogging friends. This should not be a problem. We've had some recent interest in corporate blogging at my company. This subject interests me and would love to score some corp. blogging rules examples.
Congrats! Looking forward to it.

Posted by: Curt Stone at December 20, 2007 08:21 AM

My 13th 'sphere, and this is the first BoF I'm excited to attend! I plan to start a blog next month mostly on Domino topics. I'd be interested in discussing what is the right amount and type of non-business topics so as to add some personalization without detracting from the blog's credibility in the business world. Congrats on getting selected, Jess. See you soon!

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