by Jazzy Jonez
Another Blogalicious has come and gone! It was a banner year for us. Not only did we celebrate our 5th birthday in the city where we first launched, but we had our highest attendance yet. We created a space for 400 bloggers and brands to connect and build lasting relationships.
By now you know that our theme this year was Create. Build. Fund. We hope that we have provided you with some resources and connections to support you in growing your brands and businesses.
There really was so much going on, if we were to highlight everything single awesome experience at BlogaliciousFIVE, this small post would become a novella. If you follow the still active #Blogalicious5 hashtag on twitter, you’ll find a bunch of links with Blogalicious highlights. Below are a few of our favorites.
In Your Words:
Javacia Harris of The Writeous Babe shares what it means to be Blogalicious.
Miss. Daja of No Boiz Allowed returned to Blogalicious for the 2nd year in a row and shared her favorite quotes.
Nae Carter-Staggs of I Choose the Sun couldn’t pick just one. She listed her top 10 favorite Blogalicious moments.
If ten weren’t enough, Lorraine C. Ladish of Mamiverse shared four more conference highlights.
Diana Ramsey of Sisters with Beauty probably said it best: “You had to be there to feel it!”
Our event is made possible, thanks to our sponsors. Here’s what you had to say.
My Black is Beautiful brought their documentary, ‘Imagine A Future’ to BlogaliciousFIVE and attendees had an opportunity to have an intimate Q&A with Director Lisa Cortes. The film was relatable to Stacy Taylor of The Sistah Cafe who shared her thoughts on her blog.
McDonald’s returns every year to celebrate and they know how to throw a great party! This year they hosted the Freshest Jam Ever, complete with 80’s hip hop and a rap battle. TOY!! was crowned a winner of the battle and thanks for Stacy Taylor for capturing some of the fun on video.
Kia, our title sponsor not only planned an awesome closing party, complete with a southern grits and pasta bar, they also offered test drives on their latest models. Terrance Gaines of Brotha Tech took a bit of video footage. Terez Baskin said it best: She had a ‘Kialicious’ time testing driving and posing next to their model cars.
BlogaliciousFIVE premiered the same night as hit TV show: Scandal. Many of us are fans of the show and weren’t missing the premiere for the world. Comcast XFINITY CelebrateBlackTV.com pulled out all the stops to host a fabulous watch party. They brought in super bloggers Luvvie and Kailei to run the show. Gladiators came dressed in their best Olivia Pope outfits and Essence Magazine collected some of the best tweets from that night.
Wells Fargo hosted “The Perfect Pitch” contest. After receiving a host of really awesome submissions, three finalists were selected to present before a judging panel before a winner was selected. The Pitch Contest was a huge success and competition was fierce. At the end, Arsha Jones of Capital City Mumbo Sauce won the $5k grand prize. Wells Fargo didn’t stop there. During the conference, they offered complimentary headshots. The pictures have come back and conference attendees loved them! Erin, Founder of Bag Ladies Radio sang her praises.
23andMe joined the party for the first time and came armed with boxes of DNA kits to give away to conference attendees. Some attendees were lucky to sit with the 23andMe crew to a through education on just how useful the DNA testing kits are in terms of learning about family background and medical history. Jazzy Jonez was especially excited to win a kit and she shares why on her blog. Briana Myricks of My Own Shero sent her kit in right after the conference was over! {Psst: She’s giving one away!}
We had a treat on Day 3 of the conference when actress Adrienne Bailon stopped by for a candid Q&A about her life, career, aspirations and her role in “I’m In Love With A Church Girl” opening in theatres TODAY! Weather Anchor Mama shares how she was inspired by Adrienne’s message and her journey. She also shared just how much she learned from the speakers from PicMonkey!
The Social Squad Crushed It.
Our volunteers really do help make the conference experience amazing for everyone. You could easily spot them by the bright purple flower lapel they sported. Being a member of the Blogalicious Social Squad is a very serious job. The Social Squad shared Ten Commandments one needs to abide by should they become interested in joining rank next year.
Want more Blogalicious? Check out our YouTube page. Brotha Tech and Doug Lehman posted a few videos highlighting the conference experience. And view our Flickr photo set HERE.
Thanks to our community and sponsors for another great year!
See you at #Blogalicious6
John Leeke says
This was my second Blogalicious Conference. I was at the 2011 conference at the National Harbor in the Washington area. Blogalicious5 was fantastic! I had many highs. I learned a great deal from the different sessions and I made contact with a number of very energetic and creative folks from all over the country. I have memories that I captured on my smart phone camera. There were three outstanding highlights: 1) the Scandal Premier Watch Party; 2) the Keynote Address by Amy Dubois-Barnett, editor-in-chief of Ebony Magazine; 3) interview of Adrienne Bailon, co-star in the movie “I’m in Love with a Church Girl” by Stacy Ferguson. I look forward to next year.