I’ve been digging into the BlogPaws 2011 treasures that my pet parent brought home from this gathering of pet bloggers. I am a discerning watchdog so Amelia took me along to keep her company. I also networked with the other pets, boned up on my social skills, and had some fun…actually the ferrets provided entertainment for me during some of the same sessions that we were in together.
BlogPaws 2011 was sandwiched in between the East Coast Earthquake and Hurricane Irene…which explains why some of the speakers never made it in or others had to leave early. We arrived Thursday, just in time for the Welcome Reception. The Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner welcomed pets in all of the educational sessions, general sessions, exhibit areas AND MEAL AREAS!! Of course, Amelia was required to fill out a Pet Waiver for me. A complimentary Pet Park and pet sitters were available too.
Friday morning’s Keynote was by Rescue Ink. Their message was both serious and humorous…and they made my tail wag.
Joe Panz, Amelia, Schatzi, and Big Ant
After meeting the Fire Safety dog Tango
Tango - Fire Safety Dog
and Travelin’ Jack,
Travelin' Jack
we listened to their pet parents Dayna Hilton and Jill Lane talk about leveraging niche blogging. Those lucky dogs get to travel everywhere with them. They even have their own products to promote their message. Cool.Our next stop was to meet Dino Dogan, the co-founder of Triberr to learn about Reach, Relevance, Design and Presentation. I don’t know what all this fuss is about tribes when most pet parents say we travel in packs…but Amelia understood the value of his message. I slept through it.
- Dreaming about Relevance
We had time for two more breakout sessions on Friday so we attended WordPress Tips & Tricks with Nikki Jeske of
followed by StumbleUpon with Vijay Vachani, Business Development Manager for
I think that is where I stumbled upon some of my own entertainment in the form of sleeping ferrets nesting in bags.
- Ferret Entertainment
After snacks, cocktails for pet parents, and more networking, we were invited to the FIRST press screening in the country for Disney’s Spooky Buddies! Many of us dogs in the audience followed the action on the big screen and barked along when the puppies needed some assistance on Halloween night. I also watched the security guard at the front of the room to make sure he didn’t come to close to Amelia. He was one big dude! Amelia and I had our picture taken with Robert Vince, the Director, Producer and Writer of Spooky Buddies. He was sincerely interested in the feedback from the pet bloggers. Amelia got to hold one of the Spooky Buddies while I stayed with one very pretty lady who gave me an awesome neck rub.
Amelia & Schatzi with Robert Vince of Spooky Buddies
Amelia with a Spooky Buddy
Fresh popcorn had been served during the movie and pizza was served after the movie. No one went to bed hungry that night.
Heidi Ganahl, the Top Dog at
was the Keynote speaker on Saturday morning. She found her purpose and overcame her grief after a personal tragedy put her on a journey that has been a blessing for pet parents and pets alike.
Then we learned how to Unleash Our Inner Movie Producer with Kenn Bell of
The Dog Files
One of Kenn’s dogs left the session with the pet sitter while his other dog slept through it…she’s heard it all before…
Dreaming about Dog Files
Our next session was about No Blog Being an Island. With Irene coming in, getting an internet connection was proving to be tricky but Felissa Elfenbein of
persevered and the room full of people learned about topics such as Linky Lists, BlogHops, and other ways to grow blog traffic.
No Blog is an Island
Every Picture Tells a Story was the last session we attended with Brett Chisholm, the photographer for
Brett shared tips that we have yet to implement but we certainly hope that you have enjoyed the pictures in this blog post. We are grateful that pet bloggers will continue to bring out the Best of Pets.
How do you like my ghost costume? Do you think I would make a good Spooky Buddy for the Spooky Buddies?
A Natural Ghost Appeared at Spooky Buddies Premier!
Saturday morning, along with our room receipt, we received a letter from the Director of Operations and the Sheraton Team. The letter made us aware of the emergency preparations that were underway in preparation for Hurricane Irene’s arrival in the Washington DC area on Saturday evening, August 27th. Luckily, we drove, so we stayed to within two hours of Irene’s arrival. We sure didn’t want to miss dinner and only missed Saturday night’s networking. The remaining pet bloggers were either stranded there or chose to stay and party…Woofie Woo!
Living in the moment,
Schatzi
Pet Companion to animal lover Amelia Johnson
