Thursday 18 October 2012

BlogCamp: Review


The level of concentration required for live-blogging BlogCamp last Saturday was enough to knock me for six over the past few days. (See previous five posts all of differing length!) My dyscognition flared with a vengeance; apart from my body succumbing to between twenty and twenty-two hours of sleep per twenty-four hours. This has meant my usual routine of keeping apprised of current events globally, nationally and amongst my relatives, friends and acquaintances via social media has also taken to the back-burner. I still feel completely shattered; but in a rare moment of cognitive clarity, I thought I had best blog before I faze out again!

[Image description: BlogCamp logo ©]


I thoroughly enjoyed the live-blogging aspect. It was great to convey instant impressions and perceptions. Although, I was unable to keep as strict an eye on my grammar and vocabulary as I would normally, due to time limitations and the need to publish asap (as soon as possible). Furthermore the established comfort of my shelf of dictionaries, grammars and thesauri was not readily available to me as at home. This forgoing of some aspects of control felt liberating. Perhaps another behemoth aspect of my OCD has been slain?

BlogCamp was not what I had expected. Partly this is because the announced agenda was supposedly to include usage and development of Google’s Google+, which did not come to pass, and partly because I, erroneously as it transpired, anticipated a blogging-for-beginners course. Unfortunately for the uninitiated, such as myself, the language of blogging is an impenetrable jargon and alas no glossary was provided. This site was mentioned, that app and t’other plug-in. A-huh: no idea what was being discussed for much of the time; it could have been quantum mechanics for all I knew!

Nonetheless, I did glean the odd gem of information and in due course I shall attempt to apply these to my own blog. I definitely think that video-blogging is the way to go for me. This is partly because visuals are one of the most sought-after types of information, and thus likely to increase traffic to the blog. However, from my perspective as a disabled person, I can imagine that speaking my ideas etc. might be an easier way to access my blog for blind and partially sighted folk. The only draw-back I potentially foresee, is the looming of my stutter/stammer. Although, if I learn how to edit my videos, I ought to be able to work around this impairment.

For someone sensitive to sound, the din of around one hundred womenfolk all attempting to make themselves heard was a veritable cacophony. For the most part I retreated to the relative calm of the venue hall whilst the hens clacked away in the communal zones.

Interestingly, the vast majority of bloggers in attendance were female. This could be due to the organisers predilection for baby, toddler and foodie blogs. Or perhaps this is true in general in the blogosphere? Still, I did chat to several lovely ladies, some of whom wish to remain in virtual contact.

I left BlogCamp at The Studio with a contented smile on my face and a sated stomach - what more could one hope for?

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