On March 28th, I attended the Press Publish conference in Portland. Actually, I viewed the conference on my computer. I must confess I had some doubts about attending a conference via live stream. Sitting in front of my computer from 9-5 seemed a bit daunting, until I reminded myself that I didn’t have to sit the entire time, and there were breaks.

I was sure there would be technical difficulties (there weren’t). I thought I would miss being able to ask questions face to face and meet other people ( I did) ; but the alternative – missing out entirely on a great conference – was not a good option. Because the audience asked such great questions, I had many of my  own questions answered.

There were lots of good presentations, but my favorites offered insights into the wide variety of the blogging world.

Some of my favorites:

– Mary Laura Philpott’s presentation, Going Public. Informative and entertaining.

– Mark Armstrong’s presentation 5 (or 6?) Years of Longreads. Fascinating story of the development of Longreads

– Sheri Bigelow’s presentation – Photos, Media and Galleries – beautiful photos, great information

– Jerry Mahoney’s  presentation – Which Came First, the Book or the Blog – absolutely hilarious

– Cecilia Gunther’s presentation –Farming by the Blog -unique and charming

-Panel Presentation –From Blog to Book – featuring 5 blogger/authors and their unique stories

I still prefer to attend conferences in person, but I’m glad I didn’t miss out on this one.