Smart Series: Stacey Ferguson
It is no secret that one of my absolute favorite conferences of the year is Blogalicious Weekend. I love everything about it: the vibe, the community, the friendly bloggers, and the founders!
I had the great opportunity to interview Stacey Ferguson, one of the founders of Blogalicious Weekend, via email. Given her busy schedule I am even more thrilled she had time for my interview.
Jennifer James: Now that Blogalicious Weekend 2011 is so close, how are you holding up? I’ve never put together a conference before, but I can only imagine how labor intensive it is.
Stacey Ferguson: It’s extremely labor intensive! I am basically spending every waking moment when I’m not at my day job or tending to my family preparing for the conference. Thank goodness for great team members like Xina Eiland, who is managing our media, and Jazmine Jones, who stepped in a couple of weeks ago to assist with special projects. I must also shout out my husband, mom and sister for listening to me rant about menus and logos and contracts like a crazy person for the past several weeks! I am looking forward to the event though – seeing all of the wonderful faces at the conference always makes the crazy months preceding it worth it.
Jennifer James: What is different about this year’s Blogalicious Weekend? Are there any new initiatives that will be launched this year?
Smart Series is a compilation of interviews with movers and shakers I think are making a notable contribution to the mom blogging community. See more
Stacey Ferguson: One thing that’s different from last year is that we scaled back just a tad on programming and attendance. Because the response was so overwhelmingly positive the first year in Atlanta, we went big in Miami last year and had 3 tracks and around 300 attendees. What we heard from our community was that they loved the easy, small, and intimate feel of the inaugural event – so look for a return to that this year in D.C. As far as new initiatives..you’ll have to just wait and see!
Jennifer James: How do you think Blogalicious Weekend has changed the social media landscape, especially among women and mothers?
Stacey Ferguson: We hope that it’s provided those generally overlooked in the social media space a platform to share their voice. There are so many phenomenal women and mothers doing spectacular things online that may not always get the recognition they deserve in the mainstream web. By giving ownership of the Blogalicious brand to our supporters, we hope to have raised the profile of this powerhouse community. From the feedback we’ve been getting, it seems to be working!
Jennifer James: Once the Blogalicious Weekend is over, what will you do to celebrate another successful year?
Stacey Ferguson: Good question! Probably just enjoy having downtime with my family again. Reconnect with my blog. Oh and focus on some personal projects that have been on hold for some time. Of course, a day at the spa would be nice too!
Visit Blogalicious Weekend at blogaliciousweekend.beblogalicious.com
I’d say a spa day is definitely in order for Stacey after the event. Have a great time and be sure to follow-up up with her surprise initiatives.