The ABC’s of TBEX

Last weekend pretty much the entire travel blogging community met up about 30 minutes from my apartment (or as you would call it New York City) for the second annual Travel Blog Exchange.

From my last count there are currently 859 blog posts about TBEX online. Actually I just refreshed my TweetDeck – make that 864. While many have commented on what was great, what could have been different and just how much booze they inhaled over the 48-hour period, I felt that as a blogger that attended, spoke on a panel and was apart of the organizing committee, it was very important to provide everyone with the ABC’s of TBEX.

A – After party: BootsnAll and EuroCheapo hosted an awesome after party that took place at The Loft at Professor Thom’s. Insanity ensued and about 300 bloggers proved to me that they can all hold their booze…well some of them at least.

B – Barish: As in Mike Barish, who was voted the best dressed man at TBEX. The man wore a heavy powder blue suit in 90 degree sticky and hot NYC weather. He without a doubt deserved to win. Perhaps next year a simple powder blue banana hammock would suffice.

C – Canada: It was announced at TBEX10 that TBEX11 will take place in Canada’s very own Vancouver. I personally have never been and started mapping out a possible Seattle, Portland, Vancouver week long road trip leading up to the big event. #PREBEX road trip!

D – Diamond PR: The people at Diamond truly know how to do PR. They brought a damn taco truck to TBEX for crying out loud!

E – Ethics: The panel discussion on was one of my favorites that weekend. Some words of advice to bloggers out there, disclose when you’re on a press trip. Include it in your blog post and when tweeting perhaps even mention it in one update.

F – Freebies: Prizes were given out all weekend from a trip to St. Kitts Marriott to a cross country trip on Rail
Canada to big red mittens (which were perfect for the Thailand like weather) courtesy of Canada tourism . Bottom line, bloggers like free stuff.

G – Galavanting: Kim Mance, Maren Hogan, Courtney McGann and Shanna Quinn also known as the Galavanting Gals were true rock stars putting together such a well organized, fun and informative conference. Bravo!

H – Hot!: Perhaps one of the most talked about non-TBEX items besides World Cup action was the scorching weather. The extreme heat showed up in the Big Apple about a day before most bloggers arrived in town for the event and oddly left a day after TBEX. Coincidence?

I – Intoxicated: Red eyes, yawns and grumpy faces were seen early Saturday and Sunday morning as many bloggers (including yours truly) stayed out a little too late enjoying some NYC nightlife a little too much.

J – Journey Woman: I follow Evelyn Hannon on Twitter and always adored her work. She is not only an inspiration for solo women travelers, but to all travelers in my opinion. Not only is she a sweetheart, but she is pretty funny. During her panel discussion on helping bloggers find their niche she explained how she has the same blog since she started over a decade ago. While ugly (her words, not mine) people continue to flock daily for her expert advice.

K – Keynote: I absolutely loved the community keynote segment on TBEX. Mike Barish from best dressed TBEX fame and Pam Mandel of “Nerd’s Eye View” both read eight excellent pieces to a crowd of 300 smiling bloggers. One person even said it was like bedtime stories for bloggers. To read the eight stories, check out TBEX Community Keynote Links.

L – Line: I showed up to day one of TBEX to find a line wrapped around the block. Even though the weather was unbearably hot for a hungover Saturday morning, everyone seemed excited and happy that the big day had finally come. Plus the line moved rather quickly in my opinion.

M – More Time: Yeah, yeah, yeah…some of you already know that I had gone out Wednesday night and Thursday night for a little PREBEX to TBEX. But I am talking about the actual event. Two days seemed like enough time going into it, but I barely met most of you. I agree that next year, even though I love a cold one at the pub, there needs to be more small group time for bloggers. Perhaps micro-niche groups (i.e. Mommy bloggers meet in one room, backpackers in another etc.). Fortunately I did a lot of the next thing…

N – Networking: Besides learning (and drinking), this weekend for me was about networking. I wanted to meet new people and pitch new ideas or finally get the chance to meet face to face with someone I want to work with in the future. I handed out many cards, received many cards and have already been chatting with some people via email, direct message and phone.

O -Outgoing: Simply put, the travel blogging community is filled with a lot of outgoing and nice people. I was awful at figuring out who was who without their avatar, so it was always great when someone recognized me, said hello and introduced themselves. I met many people I have been chatting with daily online and made many
new friends as well.

P – Porn: The”One Man National Geographic” Gary Arndt discussed “Travel Porn.” What exactly is “Travel Porn” you ask? Gary described it perfectly as “watching people do things you’ll never do in places you’ll never go.” He also touched on why it is important to create engaging travel imagery for your blog.

Q – Quick Pod: Want to shoot video for your blog with your face in said video? According to Robert Reid, during the travel video panel discussion, purchase a quick pod, strapped it to your cam and prepare to look stupid walking down the street.

R – Rooftop: The good people at TripAdvisor had a cramped happy hour atop Bar 13 immediately after day one wrapped up. Lots of drinks were had and a couple of iPads were given out. Unfortunately I am writing this blog post from my beat up old Dell laptop.

S – Swag Bags: It is all about the schwaaaaag. Hope you’re enjoying your free Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi, neck pillows, shirts and TBEX lingerie (wait you didn’t get that in yours? Too bad). That bag was packed to the gills with goodies and definitely a nice extra for simply attending TBEX.

T – Twitter: Tweeting and Re-Tweeting occurred heavily throughout the weekend festivities. Hundred of grubby little thumbs were tapping away nonstop…with of course the hash tag #TBEX going strong.

U – Upping Your Game: One of the things I took away from TBEX was that you should always strive to provide your absolute best work. When going on a trip (whether it is sponsored or not), do not just do a walk through of the itinerary. Provide a unique and truly interesting angle. Give the reader something new and have them come
away after reading your blog post with a whole new outlook on a certain destination.

V – Vuvuzela. I had jokingly asked Craig from Stay Adventurous, who was attending the World Cup in South Africa, to pick me up one of those vuvuzelas that everyone was talking about. Little did I know he would take me serious and purchase one, carry it around the world and present it to me at TBEX. I carried it around during day one, blew on it a few times, turned it into a giant beer funnel for others and sadly woke up Sunday morning without it. Although the vuvuzela and I only spent 12 hours together, it left me with some fond memories that will surely last a lifetime.

W – Wi-Fi: I have bitched and moan on this blog and tweeted angrily (something I do not recommend doing on an empty stomach) about how much I loathe hotels in the year 2010 that still continue to charge for wireless internet access. When I am forking over hundreds of dollars to stay at your property can you at least give me
some Wi-Fi? I would gladly give up other amenities such as the bland coffee you leave on my work desk in order to not pay for something that really should be a basic feature when you’re sleeping over. Raise your torch and pitchfork (or smart phone and laptop) and say it with me: I WILL NOT PAY FOR WI-FI!!!

X – XEBT: Did you know that is TBEX spelled backwards? I really didn’t learn that last weekend, but could not find an “X” to complete this blog post idea.

Y – Yelling: Holy sh*t are you bloggers loud talkers. The after parties, lunches, dinners and breaks between panel discussions were filled with groups of people trying to talk louder than the group next to them. I lost my voice a few times during the weekend from having to yell all day long. So nice to be silently typing right now.

Z – Zozzled: That was indeed the speakeasy password for the Omni Berkshire Hotel TBEX party. How many of you actually said it to get into the event?

This blog post originally appeared on "The Brooklyn Nomad" website on July 2, 2010.