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Say it isn't so

Bummer


Though it breaks our heart to write this, in response to discussions with and input from our Blogger Social community, we have decided to put off Blogger Social 2009 until next year. We are fortunate to have such a strong and vocal group of supporters, but the economic reality is people have to make tough choices this year. In some cases that was between BS09 and a family vacation. 

Blogger Social has no financial obligations for any arrangement made in Boston, and the City and the people of Boston would still love to welcome you should you wish to travel in April.

Those of you who registered will receive a refund and priority registration for next year's Blogger Social!

BS'09 - Fabulous Places - Fabulous Rates

Once you've registered for Blogger Social '09 (Boston Edition!) get yourself to one of three SPECTACULAR hotels offering Blogger Socialites awesome deals.


60 School Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Phone: (617) 227-8600
1-888-444-OMNI (ASK FOR BLOGGER SOCIAL '09 RATE)

The Omni Parker House is one of Boston's grand hotels located on the edge of the financial district, steps to Boston Common, City Hall, the State House, Historic Faneuil Hall, the North End and waterfront. The Parker House is one of the five oldest continuously operated hotels in the United States. Completely renovated in 2007-2008, it is now one of the newest continuously operated hotels in the US. The hotel has taken great pains to increase the "green" quotient in the hotel while maintaining an extraordinary level of history and detail. Visit Parker's Restaurant where John F. Kennedy asked Jacqueline Bouvier to marry him. Have a piece of the renowned Boston Creme Pie or sip a cocktail at The Last Hurrah - the haunt of many a politician past and present.

15 Arlington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
Phone: (617) 536-5700
1-877-482-5267 (ASK FOR BLOGGER SOCIAL '09 RATE)

The Taj Boston, located at the corner of Arlington and Newbury Streets is formerly known as "the Old Ritz." Bought by the Taj company and renovated in 2007, the Taj has maintained the old elegance of a Boston tradition and infused this fabulous 1927 gem of a hotel with continental vibrance that can be felt from the rooftop event space to the grand ballroom and down to the cozy and utterly charming bar simply known as The Bar. With spectacular views of the Boston Public Garden, the Commonwealth Avenue pedestrian Mall and placed right at the start of the superlative shopping and dining spots on Newbury Street, the Taj has something for everyone. All this and pet friendly - nice!

Harvard Square
One Bennett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 864-1200
1-800-882-1818 (ASK FOR BLOGGER SOCIAL '09 RATE

The Charles Hotel is the jewel of Harvard Square. A modern and bright hotel with a staff dedicated to flawless service. A hotel that made a green commitment several years ago, thoughtful attention to detail is noticeable at every turn. Home to the world famous Regatta Bar Jazz Club, the hotel has played host to the preeminent musicians from all over the world. A favorite spot for celebrities, academics and politicos, you never know who you might spot at Henrietta's Table, Jody Adams' Rialto or the darkly delicious Noir Bar. Smack in the middle of Harvard Square shopping, clubs and shops - and a short hop to the Back Bay, Prudential Shops and even more restaurants!

Click on “Book Now” in the bottom left corner of the screen
Click on “Groups” in the bottom center of the screen
 Enter the Attendee Code: BLOG0409

Let's get ready for Blogger Social '09!

67949285 Whether you love the Boston Red Sox, Boston Harbor, Boston Clam Chowder or even a Boston Terrier...Boston has something for everyone.  And in 2009 it has something very special for you.

Blogger Social '09!


That's right...we're headed to Bean Town for three days of social, social and more social.  Get out your Sharpies and make it a permanent entry on your calendar (somehow, get our your iPhone doesn't sound as dramatic!)

April 3-4-5


Just like last year -- we'll have a casual hors d'oeuvres and drinks event Friday night, a fun Boston flavored outing on Saturday early afternoon and a putting on the Ritz sort of dinner party Saturday night.  And if we learned anything last year....be sure to schedule a late flight out on Sunday, so you can enjoy brunch and some final farewells before heading home.

Based on the reviews of last year's event....we know that the '09 edition is going to be popular.  But we also know that too many people can turn a social into a riot crowd, so we're limiting attendance to 100.

Yes...only 100 people will be able to attend Blogger Social '09.  We had about 80 last year.

The price is the same as last year....$350 and ALL of the money goes into showing you a good time.  Nobody makes a dime on this.  It's about being social, not making a buck.

So here's the deal. 


$200 deposit gets you a spot.  (Absolutely NO refunds after March 1st...under any circumstances.)  Click here to put down your deposit (or pay the whole registration fee) via credit card.

The final payment of $150 needs to be made by March 1st.   We'll e-mail you with a reminder or two, but if you don't pay the back half....and we have people on the waiting list, we will have to sell your spot.

The Magnificent ModaMags is getting us some fantastic deals on hotels...which we'll tell you about in the coming days.

Be sure you tell your friends...if they're fun at a party!

Remember, registration is set at 100 Socialites....don't miss out.

Questions?  E-mail Drew or Lori.  As you remember -- CK, Lori Magno and Drew were the main drivers (with tons of help from lots of you) of the event last year.  Due to her workload, CK is taking a back seat this year.  Oh, don’t worry — she’ll be there (it wouldn’t be social if CK wasn’t there!) but if you have any questions, please direct them to Lori or Drew.

We can't wait to see you in Boston!!

The Longest Thank You Note - Ever!

Hi, it's Lori Magno giving a shout out to all of our wonderful goodie bag contributors. Please be advised that this will be the longest post on the Blogger Social site, ever. And now I give you The Parade of Thanks©

Blogger Social was pleased to present goodie bags to all attendees – lots of goodie bags, and without the kindness of these fabulous people & companies, they would have been might empty goodie bags. So hey- say thank you, pay a call, or drop a post on the following beautiful peeps (in no particular order):

Clikitlogo_copy_3ClikitySplit.com (a visual marketplace) presented the Socialites with the New York City Edition Moleskine, a divine little guide to America’s most socialite-laden city. The maps were quite useful in running event to event, with a subway guide that’s actually readable – bonus! Check out ClikitySplit’s dynamic billboards and useful information that will blow your shopping minds. Thanks to CK for connecting us with ClikitySplit.

Mktgprofs_3Marketing Profs membership & t-shirt courtesy of the divine Ann Handley! Thank you for spreading the goodness that is Marketing Profs to our circle of smarty people. The five premium memberships for our raffle were too gracious and we thank you for not only being with us on Friday – but rolling all those t-shirts yourself!

BblogoBitchyBetty.org t-shirt: OMG – how do you not love an org with the tagline “Anyone Can Bitch, It Takes Balls to Be a Betty”? I mean really, it does take balls to be a Betty. BitchyBetty is a brand new social network that allows members to post a “b!tch” and request a "pitch" from other members to help with the situation. Blogger Social congratulates BitchyBetty on their recent launch and encourages you to become a Betty! Magno says “I was already halfway there – I’m excited to become a Betty!”

BeamlogoReidel bourbon glasses courtesy of Jason Falls’ client Beam Global Spirits. I’ll say it – who knew one needed bourbon glasses? Not me, and I’m all about the lovely glassware. Our Social Media Explorer Jason was kind enough to hook us up with his client, and quietly tell people that there are awesome recipes and other cool things here. (Age verification req’d)

Solutia_6Flooring the Consumer’s magnificent C.B. Whittemore gifted us with useful goodies from Solutia/Wear-Dated; paper, pen and ruler – as well as the nicest piece of print material I’ve seen in years. The black Wear-Dated bags came in quite handy by the end of Social! Thank you CB for gifting us with goodies and your smiling face at Social - further proof that Age of Conversation Authors, and bloggers rule.

FreshbooksThe Smartest Man on Earth, Saul Colt provided us with a fancy, fancy t-shirt and gift cards that will allow business owners to try out FreshBooks. FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional – and who couldn't use a little help looking professional.

IdeablobIdeaBlob “I Talk to Strangers” t-shirt. If the gift fits, wear it. IdeaBlob is the tastefully unbranded brainchild of some smarty peeps at Advanta. The concept is simple: Where entrepreneurs and small business owners can share and grow their business ideas – and have a monthly chance to win $10,000 towards fulfilling them. Post your idea and win a hefty amount of seed money? I am so there.

OovooooVoo gifted Blogger Social with the kindest, and also the giftiest gifts. For the Socialites, ooVoo sent an Amazon.com gift card and invited everyone to visit their webstore to purchase a webcam or other gear that will allow them to use ooVoo’s unique web conference service. ooVoo also presented a check in the amount of $30,000 to benefit the Frozen Pea Fund in honor of our friend Susan Reynolds (check out Boobs on Ice!) And check out ooVoo – it is a remarkably easy way to have a face-to-face video chat with friends, family or colleagues, no matter where they are in the world. ooVoo Video Chat is easy to use and best of all: it's free! Thank you Greg Verdino for connecting us with ooVoo.

The City of New York provided us with some goodies too. The NYC Department of Health has their own branded condoms, and since they give them away, we thought why not include them in the goodie bag? (For nothing more than a NYC branded laugh!)

The New York City Tourism folks run a great website (definitely worth a visit before a visit for the discounts alone) and provided the Socialites with awesome tour books. We thank them for making us welcome and ensuring great weather for the entire weekend!

But wait, there's more! The Blogger Social Book Club (Who’s bringing the wine?)

Socialites were gifted with books from some of the smartest social media peeps out there.

Spotlight_2Step into the Spotlight by Tsufit. Tsufit coaches performers and keynote speakers on how to “knock em dead” in the spotlight. A dean’s List graduate from University of Toronto Law School and named a “super-achiever” by Canadian Lawyer magazine, Tsufit left her downtown litigation practice to become a performer. Tsufit coaches entrepreneurs to follow their dreams. We are grateful to Todd Andrlik for connecting Social with Tsufit!

Nowisgone_2Now is Gone by Geoff Livingston. Our very own Socialite, Geoff Livingston gift us with his book and his presence at Social. Geoff has worked as a marketing strategist in the Washington, DC region for 15 years. Dubbed a “local blogging guru” by the Washington Post, Geoff’s Buzz Bin blog is nationally recognized, and is the top ranked independent PR blog in the Washington, DC region. Geoff has received many accolades for his Blogger Social championship tattoo.

Asacker_2A Clear Eye for Branding by Tom Asacker. Socialite Tom “Director Tom” Clifford connected us with Tom Asacker- author, speaker, provocateur. Tom has marketing, management and operational expertise from prior management posts at G.E. and from his entrepreneurial experience as co-founder and President of a high-tech medical device company. He is a recipient of the George Land Innovator of the Year Award and holds medical patents and product design awards. Tom can now add friend of Socialites to his list of superlatives!

Stopwatch_copy_2 Stopwatch Marketing, Take charge of the Time When Your Customer Decides to Buy by John Rosen and AnnaMaria Turano. Authors John Rosen and AnnaMaria Turano lead one of America's most prestigious marketing consultancies and have spent years helping clients analyze, evaluate, and respond to the time sensitivity of their customers. They share case studies of what works and what doesn't, for businesses ranging from mom-and-pop stores to consumer products giants. Check out John & Anna's blog. Social was pleased that John could join us at the Friday night social event.

Media_rules_2Media Rules! By Brian Reich and Dan Solomon. Brian Reich is a principal at Echo Ditto. He is a regular speaker and writer on the issues involving the impact of the Internet and technology on politics, society, and the media. He is the editor of the blog Thinking about Media and contributes to The Hotline and to Personal Democracy Forum. Brian is also a contributor to The Age of Conversation. Co-author Dan Solomon is CEO of interactive agency Virilion, helping organizations and institutions transform their ideas into results through digital media. Dan has written for the Washington Post, PRSA Tactics and is a regular source for reporters writing on online advertising and communications. We thank Brian for helping the Socialites gain greater through Media Rules!

Leadwithyourheart_4Lead with your Heart by Lewis Green. Lewis is the Founder and Managing Principal of L&G Business Solutions bringing three decades of business management experience. In addition to his business experiences, Lewis is a contributor to The Age of Conversation and a former journalist, sports writer, children’s author, and travel writer. His feature articles have appeared in books, magazines and newspapers throughout North America. Lead With Your Heart is his fifth book. Social thanks Lewis for gifting us with 5 copies of his book which were raffled off on Friday and Saturday nights.

Rohit_3Personality Not Included by Rohit Barghava. Rohit is a founding member of the pioneering 360 Digital Influence team at Ogilvy – a leading agency in helping clients navigate the social media universe. He publishes the Influential Marketing blog, ranked among the top 50 marketing blogs in the world, and is often featured as an expert in media including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Fast Company. Rohit hosted a lively book discussion & idea session with the Socialites and we thank him for being a joyous addition - and for personally hauling all those books to Social!

Powerlines_4Powerlines by Steve Cone. Steve was recently appointed chief marketing officer for Epsilon, a leading provider of data-driven marketing technologies and services. Steve has established an industry-wide reputation for programs that drive results, strengthen brands, and deepen customer relationships. With more than thirty-five years at the top of the marketing profession, he has worked with a wide array of major clients and companies. Social thanks Steve for providing his newest book three weeks before publication date. Thanks Steve!

Finally, I have to thank my company, Digitas for supporting the bloggers in its midst, and supporting this important event in so many ways. Extra special thanks to Boston Executive Creative Director, Heath Rudduck, for "getting" the social media thing.

Gone Social!

It's happening. It's here. The time is nigh and the time is now. We have absolutely, positively, without a doubt and with every good reason Gone 100% Social with these Socialites. See you on the flip side!

Collage_march_5_low

Need more info? We've plenty of that...we're marketers, after all!

  • For full Event Guide (8 pages): go here
  • For an OVERVIEW of events (1 page only!): download here
  • For FAQs go here
  • To see Attendees here
  • For Photo Fun: go here
  • For a full packet of attendee profiles and another series profiling attendees: go here
  • For an OVERVIEW (2 pages only!)of attendees by name, location and blog URLs: download here
  • Press release (PDF format) can be accessed here
  • To learn about the Meetups that you can attend in-between the 3 official events go here
  • To join the Blogger Social Twitter Group: sign-up to follow right here
  • To view an event map of where all we'll be just go right here
  • For a full map of where everyone is coming from go here

Maps, Guides & Glances: Navigating Blogger Social (and all our Socialites!)

As Social draws ever closer, we thought it'd be handy to give you a few resources that you can glance at in a pinch.  So without further adieu, here they are!

1. Social at a Glance
The first is a cute, simple PDF (shown at right) that breaks down each event to its bare essentials: the date, time, dress, food & drink, address and phone number.  It's only one page and it's got just about everything you'll need. 

You can check out this lovely guide right here or by clicking on the image.  Thanks to the awesome Ryan Karpeles for this useful and cute guide.

2. Blogger Social Event Map
  With all the FAQs, blogger profiles, event guides and everything else you've been reading - we thought you should at least be able to SEE where you'll be for the weekend.  So... we created a mashup that plots all our events on a map of New York City, and provides some pertinent info about each event.  Hopefully this will give you a more spatial, concrete idea of where we'll be, and also appease the visual learners and/or cartographers among us ;-) 

To view the map you can click the graphic above or check it out right here. And thanks go again (!) to Ryan Karpeles for this map.

3. Socialite Location Map
  Where is everyone coming from?  Well, we could just tell you, or... you could take a look at this wonderful map created by Matt Dickman.  It plots the location of every attendee on a map of the entire world.  That's right - we have Socialites coming from all over the globe, and you can see exactly where they're from right here.

Now that you're armed with all this knowledge, you can always be in the right place at the right time-- and you won't even look like a tourist!

Need more info? We've plenty of that...we're marketers, after all!

  • For full Event Guide (8 pages): go here
  • For an OVERVIEW of events (1 page only!): download here
  • For FAQs go here
  • To see Attendees here
  • For Photo Fun: go here
  • For a full packet of attendee profiles and another series profiling attendees: go here
  • For an OVERVIEW (2 pages only!)of attendees by name, location and blog URLs: download here
  • Press release (PDF format) can be accessed here
  • To learn about the Meetups that you can attend in-between the 3 official events go here
  • To join the Blogger Social Twitter Group: sign-up to follow right here
  • To view an event map of where all we'll be just go right here
  • For a full map of where everyone is coming from go here

 

Join in the Blogger Social Flickr Promotion

Hi Socialites!

A week from today, the Blogger Social countdown clock will be approaching zero and we will all be converging on the Big Apple.  All the important logistics have been taken care of, meet-ups are being planned and there are some great bios available here for you to get to know your fellow Socialites ahead of the big event. So what's left to do before packing you bags?  How about we inject a little pre-event Social Fun into the mix to start getting everyone geared up? 

I'm (Doug Meacham) thinking it would be way cool if each of you would join the BS08 Flickr Group (we only have 20 members so far) and contribute a pre-event picture to the pool.  What kind of picture should you post?  Here are some ideas:

Pix If you are feeling creative, you could make a Blogger-Social '08 promotional picture.  There are some great examples already on the Flickr BS08 Group site, but it just seems to be missing something. 

YOU!!!

Hey, why not be the first to create a promo piece for BS09???

What else could you do?  How about using a picture to share something about yourself that the other Socialites don't know.  It's like that "Eight Random Things" meme, only its done with a picture, one random thing (or eight if you really get into it) and you don't have to tag anyone else.

You see it really doesn't matter what you share, just so long as you do.  And to really get the conversation started be sure to tag you photos, add descriptions, and use Flickr's Discussion and Comments tools or Twitter to let people know you've posted.  You can even subscribe to the BS08 Group Flickr feed here to see new pictures as they are posted to the group.

Come on, earn your bragging rights for next weekend!  Show us your creative side!

More information on our photo group right here.

Blogger Social Quiz

Getting excited about next week? Need a little something to keep you busy while you wait?  Try this official Blogger Social Quiz -- brought to you by the talented and twisted mind of our own Arun!


Meet the Socialites: 80+ of them!

Collage_march_2_2 Who's attending the BIG event? We have "Socialites" (marketing bloggers) traveling from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, East Coast, MidWest, West Coast, Down South and Up North...and many more places all over this big--but getting smaller!--world.

All told, we hail from 8 countries and 20 U.S. States (just click on the graphic above to view it at full size, or right click and save to feature it on your own blog!)

We are proud to be hosting the following brainy, and beautiful!, Socialites featured in the below video...links to all the blogs of our Socialites available here. Get excited and we'll see you in the "City of Blinding Lights" in LESS than 30 days!

(Special thanks to Mark Goren for his help on the collage and video.) Still need the Event Guide? That's located right here. RSS and email subscribers please click through to the blog to view the video.
 

Blogger Social '08 Guide-o-Fun Unveiled!

Bscoveshrunkedit2_2 We're pleased to unveil the Official Event Guide for Blogger Social '08.

Yippie!

Zoinks!

WoWsA!

Jam packed with events on land, at sea and in Times Square, our events span gatherings that are elegant, elaborate and some that are downright fun--along with ways to make your own meetups, contribute to the official Photolog...and even enjoy some specialty drinks designed for this very special occasion!

Yup, everything you need to know about everything we'll be doing during our oh-so-social weekend can be downloaded (PDF) right here.

What's that you say? You have many questions? No problem! We have an entire packet dedicated to answering them...and that PDF is located right here.

So if you want to get (more) excited for Social: go here to read the Official Event Guide. And if you're in need of answers to your questions: go here to review a host of FAQs.

See you at Social in 34 days!

Ussbloggersocial

PS: We'll shortly have a packet for you that focuses on the event's attendees, so you can get to know a little about them before you actually get to know them. Hold tight, that information is on its way. For now, we've given you plenty to read! (And you can check out the attendee list here.)

PPS: Want to see lots of funny pictures? Just go here.

Shouts: Our Event Guide and packet of FAQs would be nowhere near possible without the generous, heaping help of so many. CK & Drew send MAJOR shouts to:  Ryan Karpeles, Luc Debaisieux,  Lori Magno, Gavin Heaton, Doug Meacham and Cam Beck. And thanks to Mike Sansone for keeping this blog looking spiffy! We cannot thank these fine people enough-- but on our budget, thanks and hugs will need to do ;-).