blog conference Archives - The Mom Maven

I’m Going to the Niche Parent Conference

cindy — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 18:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I found out that I had a major scheduling conflict with this year’s Type-A Parent Conference. Thankfully, I was able to transfer my conference pass forward to next year’s event. I NEED a few blogging conferences each year to educate and empower me. I immediately started hunting for fall blogging conferences in Florida, and I found a few. I made a list, checked my calendar and prayed for direction. A few days later, I received an email from Niche Parent Conference stating that they were looking for volunteers to work a total of 3 hours before or during the conference in exchange for a conference pass. I applied, then told my husband

This week I found out I was chosen as a volunteer. I’m not sure what my duties will entail at this point but I am so excited! This year’s conference is being held at my favorite place, Walt Disney World! This means I can easily drive over for the weekend. I am in the process of finding 3 roommates to share a room with me at the Coronado Springs Resort. The conference schedule looks amazing and it is a good mix of keynotes and breakout sessions. Some of my favorite speakers will be speaking and we have an amazing Safari Sunset Dinner scheduled for the last night!

I am beyond excited to make new friends and learn how to take my blog to the next level. The fact that I get to do it at my home away from home makes it even better! I am still looking for sponsors to help with my hotel expenses. If you represent a brand that would like to partner with me for #NicheParent14 please visit my Conference Sponsorship Opportunities page for more information.

Will you be attending this conference? Have you attended in the past? I’d love to hear your thoughts, please leave me a comment so we can chat.

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Disney Social Media Moms Day 2 Part 1

cindy — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:59 +0000

Day 2 of Disney’s Social Media Celebration was jam packed with magic. My day started by boarding a van at 7:15am and heading to the Magic Kingdom. We were going on a hard hat tour of the New Fantasyland and those of us on the tour were giddy with excitement as we ate our boxed breakfasts on the brief ride to the park. We were taken behind the construction wall and had to put on hard hats, safety vests and goggles..oh and I had to buy hard soled shoes for this “tour” also! Unfortunately this wasn’t really a tour. We stood just on the other side of the construction wall and listened to Imagineer Tim talk about the project, pointing out everything on the artist’s rendering of the area. Honestly, we learned nothing new and when we asked questions about the timeline for attractions opening Tim told us “Meg Crofton is going to announce that to you later today.” Unfortunately, Tim was wrong. While Ms Crofton did greet us at the conference that morning, the announcements were made later that day to the media that were at Walt Disney World as part of the Summer to Remember media tour. I, like the rest of you, had to learn abut the timeline on Facebook from other media outlets.

When we left new Fantasyland we headed over to Storybook Circus to look at the new Dumbo ride and the refurbished Barnstormer and Fantasyland Train Station. This area has been open to the public for about a month and our family had visited it the day before so again, nothing new here. The mood in the van on the way back to the Yacht Club wasn’t nearly as upbeat as on our ride over. Honestly, this was the one time all weekend we were a bit disappointed…and I bought new shoes!

Once we returned to the Yacht Club we hurried to the ballroom where the conference would take place all day. I had a great seat in the front of the room with some great friends. The tables were decorated with wreaths surrounding a circle of electrical plugs sponsored by Rayovac so everyone could plug in their laptop or tablet during the conference. Mary Ellen Hooper, comedienne, served as host and MC for the day and she kept us laughing all day long!

Meg Crofton, President Walt Disney World

We were greeted by Meg Crofton who thanked us for our love and loyalty of the Disney brand. She let us know how important we are as brand ambassadors for Disney and even though she was speaking to all 200 of us in the room, I truly felt appreciated by one of my favorite brands. Next up was Amy Jo Martin of Digital Royalty. Amy Jo spoke about the power of our brand and my favorite quote from her is, “Where skill, passion and purpose collide-that is where bliss is found.”

Next up was the powerhouse speaker of the day Ramon DeLeon. Ramon owns 6 Domino’s Pizza franchises in Chicago.

@Ramone_DeLeon

Ramon is the king of using social media for customer service. Just go to Twitter and search the hashtag #RamonWOW and read the stories. He told us that if we give people “WOW!” to share they will. He challenged us to create our own “WOW!” and see what happens.

Wacky Gary aka Gary Buchanan from Disney’s Social Media Department shared with us about all of the excitement that happens during Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. He was even joined on stage by Darth Vader himself! Then Amy Foster, Director of Consumer Insights for Disney Destinations talked to us about the value of a family vacation. She used the concept that we have but 18 summers with our kids, and that hit home to a lot of fellow bloggers. It didn’t hit me the same way though, I’m in my 19th summer and I envision us taking vacations with our kid’s families in the future just as we do now with my parents and my husband’s parents. I mentioned this concept to my kids later that night and they had the same mindset I did-we will ALWAYS have family Disney vacations for generations to come, and that made this mom very happy

Peter Shankman was the speaker I was most interested in hearing from. I have followed him for years on Twitter and Facebook and he has inspired me through those outlets so i couldn’t wait to hear him in person. Peter encouraged us to be weeds! Why weeds? Weeds are different. Weeds stick around and have the ability to survive no matter what happens around them. My favorite quote from his session was, “Nothing exciting ever happens in your comfort zone.”

Lisa Druxman of StrollerStrides.com encouraged us to get out of our own way. Take that first step towards something we want to accomplish and give ourselves rewards for reaching each small goal. The last speaker of the day was Chris Brogan. The main thing I learned from Chris this year was to get my mobile site in gear…and that is what I am working on.

Throughout the day there was plenty of pixie dust sprinkled in the form of giveaways including a night in Cinderella Castle, a yacht cruise, boxed sets of books by Ridley Pearson and more. I am happy for my friends who won the extra magic…really, I am

As it is at any conference some speakers speak to you more than others and I am always thankful for the great mix of speakers at Disney Social Media Moms, there is truly something for everyone.

Disclosure: I paid to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. In exchange for my registration fee, I received deeply discounted rates on hotel, park tickets, free events, meals, and swag. I am not required nor was I asked to write about the events by Disney or any other brands, celebrities, or speakers affiliated with the event. All opinions are my own.

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Disney Social Media Moms Blog Hop 2012

cindy — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:19:08 +0000

It has been 4 months since our last Disney trip and we are all excited to go back! On April 26th we are heading to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration! This is the 3rd year of this amazing event and the third time we have been invited to attend this highly coveted event. What makes this year even more exciting is we are bringing Summer, the 17yo girl who is living with us part time. She has never had a Disney vacation and we can’t wait to share the magic with her!

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is a great mix of family vacation, Disney magic and bloggy conference all rolled up into 4 awesome days. Thursday morning we will check into Disney’s Yacht Club and start hugging the necks of my girlfriends from around the web Then we will hit Magic Kingdom for the day before prepping for the evening conference events. Friday I will be in conference all day while the family is attacking Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Friday night we have a dinner event at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Saturday morning I have conference events and the family might be hitting a water park. Saturday afternoon our plans are up in the air and then Saturday night is our closing dinner event. Sunday we’ll probably spend at Epcot enjoying the Flower and Garden Festival before heading back home. I plan on using a wheelchair in the parks since my stamina is still pretty low after surgery and we have long days/nights planned but that is ok by me As long as I am at Walt Disney World with my family and friends I’ll be happy.

If you’ll be joining us virtually follow Twitter hashtag #DisneySMMoms and my Facebook for photos and updates.

Link up with us!

If you and your family are attending the celebration, link up your introduction post here this way we can all meet online before we meet in real life! I love making new friends and I can’t wait to meet you!

We will have 5 in our party this year Hubby and I along with Aaron 19, Summer 17 and Jordan 16. Our family has been Disney passholders on and off for years and we are happy to help answer any questions you might have about planning your trip or touring the parks. Just leave your question in the comments and we’ll get back to you asap.

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My 900th Blog Post-What’s Next

cindy — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:41:22 +0000

Wow! It is hard for me to believe this is my 900th post on this blog, that is a lot of words! I started TheMomMaven.com on November 21, 2008, it is my second blog. My first blog which was on homeschoolblogger.com was started July 14, 2008…almost 3 years of blogging, learning, growing and making lots of new friends around the world. I am amazed!

This blog has changed and grown and morphed as I have grown and changed and more change is coming. I like change, usually. Change often means growth and new opportunities. During the next month you will see some changes around here. My header is getting an update to include the new name of this blog “MomMaven’s News, Views and Reviews” I think it better encompasses what this site has become. More about reviews, giveaways, family entertainment and I need a place to share my views on things going on in the world so that will have a home here too. I’ll also be changing the look of this blog, it needs a makeover

My travel posts, except for personal travel are moving to my new site TheMomMavenTravels.com. This site is still in its infancy but I would truly appreciate you stopping by and checking it out. Right now it mostly covers Florida travel info but I am working on branching out across the US and hopefully around the world.

I have also just purchased another domain, which I’m not going to share with you quite yet. I get lots of good pitches about products and services that aren’t a great fit for my family personally so I don’t cover them. I know that not all families have 2 teenage boys so I am adding a site that will include more items for families with kids of all ages. My hope is to expand it and bring on a few additional writers-in the future and cover all aspects of life with kids.

I am excited about what the future holds and I’m glad you’re with me on this journey!

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Disney Social Media Moms Celebration!

cindy — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:46:51 +0000

The time has finally come! Today (3/17/11) through Sunday (3/20/11) we will be learning and playing with almost 200 other families at Walt Disney World! I am so excited I can hardly stand it! There are so many online friends that I can’t wait to see in real life.

I will be tweeting all weekend with hashtag #DisneySMMoms so please come join the fun on Twitter. Also, Friday’s conference will be live streamed at MomTV.com so follow @MomTV on Twitter for updates.

You can join the fun Friday night as @ResourcefulMom hosts a Twitter party live from the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa! You can RSVP for the party here.

I’ll be taking lots of pictures and video and updating my personal Facebook page as often as I can. Have a great weekend!!

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I’m Going to IZEAFest!

cindy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:55:55 +0000

I have wanted to go to a blogging/social media conference since January. Money is tight and I can’t afford to gallivant around the country at the expense of our family budget. I can’t tell you how many contests I have entered to win trips to Blissdom, Blogher, SXSW, Twitter by the Sea and IZEAFest. Saturday morning when I logged on to Twitter I found out I had won a ticket to IZEAFest!

I have been a fan of IZEA for a while now, I believe in what they do to promote sponsored conversations on blogs and other social media forums. I feel that with the FTC looking at regulating bloggers and the compensation they receive for blogging about products, sponsored conversations are going to become the norm and IZEA is the cutting edge.

Izeafest will take place October 1-4 at SeaWorld Orlando. The list of speakers at this event is a who’s who of blogging and social media:

Ted Murphy CEO of IZEA
Aaron Braazell of technosailor.com
Chris Brogan of ChrisBrogan.com
Darren Rowse of Problogger.com
George Smith of Crocs.com
Sarah Evans of PRSarahEvans.com
Wendy Piersall of Sparkplugging.com…….and many more

The IZEAFest website describes the event as,

“An interactive event designed to educate, inform and connect social media enthusiasts. Meet the world’s foremost social media experts in a collaborative, fun and open setting. Learn how to grow your traffic, build your brand and make more money online.”

The only thing that has me concerned is…on Sunday 10/4/09 the IZEAFest bloggers are invading SeaWorld Orlando. Ok, I love SeaWorld-Shamu, Clyde, Seymore and all of their friends. What has me concerened is…to enter the contest I had to agree to ride Manta, SeaWorld Florida‘s newest roller coaster and the only flying coaster in Florida! I am not a roller coaster lover but I will ride Manta. (Yikes!)

I have 16 weeks until IZEAFest and I need to reach a few personal and business goals before then. I need you, my loyal readers to hold me accountable and help me towards these goals.

I would like to lose at least 20 lbs before I go.
I need to earn enough additional money monthly so that I can upgrade to a smartphone & pay for the plan- so I can blog and tweet from the event. (It just isn’t practical to lug my laptop through SeaWorld-and my battery only lasts 15 minutes anyway.)
I need to find a sponsor to cover the cost of my lodging and dinners during the conference. If you know of a business, company or benefactor who may want to sponsor me, please share this link with them http://themommaven.com/sponsorship-opp/

If you would like to come to IZEAFest there are still tickets available, just click the IZEAFest link. October is a beautiful time to visit central Florida and I’d love to get to meet you.

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