Back in February I wrote a post of the 10 Best Reasons to Go to IZEAFest. No with a mere 36 days left to go before the big event I think that a few of you might need some further convincing. So here are 10 BETTER than BEST reasons to attend!

First off you are going to need a ticket. Go buy a Ticket to IZEAFest 2009 – It is the BEST Value for the money.

#10. Location – When I mentioned Location the first time around I knew about SeaWorld as the location but couldn’t say anything about it.

So forget the Mouse because Shamu’s place is where it is at! The Party starts off on Thursday October 1st at Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens! This is going to be the most frightfully fun opening kickoff party ever. Imagine 500 bloggers descending upon the horrors of the park. I fear that we may scare the cast. Then we have two awesome days at the Ports of Call facility for daily sessions. At Night We kick it up at ICEBAR Orlando Friday Night and Howl At The Moon Saturday Night. This is all followed by a Sunday in the SeaWorld Park. That ticket is INCLUDED FREE with your IZEAFest ticket!

#9. SWAG – Certainly not as awesome as my Big Box of Awesome but good none the less.

Do you own Crocs? Well if you register for IZEAFest prior to September you get a free pair. That is but the tip of the swag iceberg. I for one will be bringing some great items to give away to lucky attendees. Find me and ask me for some EBOOST or maybe even an Xshot or a Flipbac or whatever else I may have up my sleeve. I even have a super special item that is going to each and every attendee in their swag bag. The swag bags at IZEAFest are the bomb. Last year we received some awesome stuff. This year the swag will be bigger, better and bolder.

#8 Sponsors – Sponsors for IZEAFest rock. This year the host of sponsors range from funky footwear to energy-a-plenty!

Obviously the big deal sponsor of them all is SeaWorld and Budweiser. Seems that libations and hydration and energization are the keys to IZEAFest, this is an intense weekend, more intense than anything you’ve ever done as a blogger before, believe me. Sponsors like Le-Beast, BluFrog Energy also add to the mix.

IZEAFest would not be complete without sponsors what help us bloggers do what we do. Maybe you live vlog, there we have USTREAM, or maybe you produce a podcast BoinxTV Software is something you have to check out. We also have Doterati which is a community for advancing professional development, education, community networking and overall inspiration for our digital society. They are based in Central Florida, a Doterati NorthEast would be cool. We also have Adrants as a sponsor which is about marketing news with attitude.

Two of my favorite sponsors are people I have worked with on multiple occasions. One year ago the Xshot was given to Ted Murphy by an unnamed source (Me) and since then Xshot has become a vibrant advertiser on SocialSpark. This year Xshot is a Sponsor of IZEAFest. I am so excited to finally meet Michael, the inventor of the XShot in person after being friends online for so long. Fantastic! Also Unique Blog Designs, the guys who made the design for Read To Me Dad will be on hand to help you with the most fantastic blog designs possible.

Two sponsors who are not on the official site yet would be Me – BenSpark.com and PokenGirl. We are sponsoring a karaoke party at ICEBAR on Friday night. So rest up your voice and be ready to rock out for some fantastic prizes.

#7. Food – I’m an eater. You can tell that just by looking at me that I enjoy my food. I’m trying to make that less apparent but hey I’m only human.

I’m really hoping for a lunch by Ted’s favorite burrito place Pancheros. Every time Ted Tweets about them I want to eat there and I’ve never been. We have some time in the schedule where we are free to go get dinner. I really want to go back to B.B. Kings for their Fried Pickles. That was a delicious meal. I’m thinking that some informal blogger meetups at local places are in order and if I know Ashley then I know he’s probably negotiated some discounts for us at the local places.

#6. The IZEA Team – Holding Strong at #6 are the people who work for IZEA.

They have a phenomenal way about them. I am so glad to call them my friends. IZEAFest wouldn’t happen without Ashley. That man rocks!

There are also some amazing people who are behind the scenes, the folks in customer love and the dev team. I am happy to call them my friends especially these folks.

You will not meet a happier group of people who are loving what they do. That sort of enthusiasm is contagious and you will catch it, I guarantee it.

#5. Cake Plows and IZEAHunt – There is one thing that you have to watch out for at IZEAFest and that is some creative use of foodstuffs and shaving cream. I’ve been known to participate in a cake plow or two and I was a human sundae at IZEAHunt last year. It is crazy fun and you should be a part of it.

Oh and if you win the IZEAHunt your team members will each get $500 Home Depot gift cards.

#4. Friendships – I can’t believe that I put friendships at #8 in the last version of this list. Friendships are so important and I know that you will meet at least one other blogger that you can connect with online and off. You get to see people that you have probably only talked to to twitter or through your blog. Now it is time to make some connections to real live people in real life.

Also you have such access to everyone at this event. So you may form friendships with anyone at the conference. I challenge you to treat everyone as if they are at the same level, that means speakers to newbies. Everyone has something that they are awesome at, find out what it is. Listen more and talk less, ask more questions. Just be real to each other and amazing things can happen.

#3. Ted Murphy – Yeah I dropped Ted one point on the list and it it is because, while he is awesome, he’s a catalyst for the event and what #1 and #2 bring to the table is intrinsically of higher value. Ted is big at promoting others. He’s been amazing at promoting the venue, the speakers and things that he likes from all over. Ted changes the game constantly and this IZEAFest he’s going to change the game on us all. I personally have a very vested interest in his keynote Developing Your Brand. Ted is amazing at branding. He fiercely knows what he wants and how it is presented. And he is going to be able to help you think about your own personal brand.

Ted’s keynote will set the tone for the conference sessions but he cannot do it all himself. There will be an amazing group of people there to help you with your blogs through their fantastic topics and sessions. I’m talkign about the speakers.

#2. The Speakers – I hope that you remember last year’s sessions with great speakers especially the one I moderated which was the Big Money Bloggers Panel, I was nervous as all hell.

This year the speakers will blow you away. I already mentioned Ted Murphy’s Keynote (sort of like Steve Jobs keynoting those Apple events) but there are so many other speakers and such great sessions.

Tip: Prior to IZEAFest you should become familiar with each of the speakers, their blogs and their twitter accounts. I personally created a folder on my Google Reader with feeds from each person’s blog. I also set up an IZEAFest column on Tweetdeck so I could follow not only the speakers but also the people who were attending IZEAFest.

Here are the fantastic speakers for IZEAFest

Keynote – Friday – Developing Your Brand – Ted Murphy (@tedmurphy)

Session 1 – Friday – Traffic Strategies That Work – Brian Clark (@copyblogger)

Session 2 – Friday – Screen Gems –
Moderator – Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans)
Panelists – Sarah Austin (@pop17) and Julia Roy (@juliaroy)

Session 3 – Friday – Rockstars of SEO
Workshop Masters – Michael Gray (@graywolf), Rae Hoffman (@sugarrae), Mystery Guest

Session 4 – Friday – Session Title TBD – Arleen Anderson (@alohaarleen)

Session 5 – Friday – Social Media Promotion – Panel Discussion
Moderator: – Lucretia Pruitt (@geekmommy)
Panelists: – David Binkowski (@dbinkowski), Chris Heuer (@chrisheuer), Wendy Piersall (@emom), Warren Whitlock (@warrenwhitlock)

PHEW!!! That is a lot of stuff for Day one – But hang on tight we have one more day of amazing speakers ahead!

Keynote – Saturday – Marks of an Influencer -Aaron Brazell (@technosailor)

Session 1 – Saturday – Go Deep or Go Home – Chris Brogan – (@chrisbrogan)

Session 2 – Saturday – What Advertisers Want
Moderator:
Brett Bumeter (@brettbumeter)
Panelists: Joseph Jaffe (@jaffejuice), George Smith (@), Zena Weist (@zenaweist)

There will be more but they are not up on the schedule right yet. The speakers will be pretty darn amazing. I am very excited and hope my brain will be able to take in all the info.

You will also have a chance to meet Me and the other the members of the IZEA Insiders:

- Kathleen Argonza (@KatArgonza)
- Laurie Brosius (@laurie_pooh)
- Brett Bumeter (@brettbum)
- Elizabeth Edwards (@Table4Five)
- Corrin Foster (@CorrinRenee)
- Lisa Martin (@blm03)
- Steve Sanders (@steven_sanders)
- Heather Smith (@HeatherinBC)
- Julie Vazquez – Via Twitter Only :-( (@JustJulie)

And the Number 1 reason to go to IZEAFest would be to watch Evaboo watch the Shamu Believe Show!!!

Er…. No that isn’t right…. The #1 reason to go to IZEAFest 2009 is….

1. YOU – It was the top before and is the top again.

YOU are what makes IZEAFest an amazing conference. Without YOU and YOUR unique self it would somehow be less of a good time. Having YOU at IZEAfest is pretty much the best thing about it. By going YOU are saying that YOU are motivate to be the best possible blogger that YOU can be. Also that YOU love blogging about things YOU love and having fun. YOU want to learn and interact with an amazing group of people. YOU don’t have to be famous or have a huge blog, YOU just have to be YOU and have a willingness to have a great time. That is the best thing about IZEAFest 2009, YOU being there.

There are three very special people who understand that. They are my winners of the Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack Contest. Our Grand Prize Winner MommaDJane and runner up winners Buck Daddy and Melinda are prime people who will put their YOU in IZEAFest.

Want to save %20 on your ticket? Use the promo code BenSpark (case sensitive) and buy your IZEAFest Ticket today! -See YOU in little over a month!

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

10 Better Reasons to go to IZEAFest 2009

Before I get into the 10 Biggest reasons to go, here is the #1 way to get there in style! Enter BenSpark’s Ultimate IZEAFest 2009 Prize Pack Contest.

Yes, I am going to tell you about the 10 BEST Reasons to go to IZEAFest 2009. How do I know that these will be the best reasons? Trust me, I know IZEA and I know that they DO IT UP BIG!

#10. Location – IZEAFest is in Sunny Orlando, Florida which is home to some amazing theme parks like Disney, Sea World and Universal. Last year there was a blogger takeover of Universal. This year, who knows. But I do know it will be an amazing time. This Year IZEAFEst is at SeaWorld and it was recently annoucned that the opening party is at Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream!

#9. SWAG – IZEA certainly does know a thing or two about swag. They were very generous at IZEAFest 2008. Check out my Swag Bag.

#8. Friendships – You get to see people that you have probably only talked to to twitter or through your blog. Now it is time to make some connections to real live people in real life.

#7. Sponsors – Sponsors for IZEAFest rock. Last year there were a ton of them and this year a ton more. My money is on somebody like BluFrog supplying us with Energy drinks so we can keep up with Ted Murphy.

#6. The IZEA Team – People who are working at IZEA have a phenomenal way about them. I am so glad to call them my friends. IZEAFest wouldn’t happen without Ashley. That man rocks!

#5. Food – Oh man the food at IZEAFest is so good. We had tons of great stuff at Watiki and various other restaurants. I myself would certainly love to see a Blogger takeover of Pancheros. Every time Ted Tweets about them I want to eat there and I’ve never been.

# 4. Cake Plows – Speaking of food, oh man the things we do to cake.

# 3. The Speakers – Each year IZEAFest ratchets things up a notch, last year they even got John Chow, Jeremy Schoemaker, Stephanie Agresta and Neil Patel to do a Big Money Bloggers Panel which I moderated. I was nervous as all hell. This year the list is also very impressive with people like:

• Robert Scoble (Keynote)
• Aaron Brazell (Keynote)
• Chris Brogan
• Darren Rowse

You will also have a chance to meet the members of the IZEA advisory board:

- Michael Brito (http://www.britopian.com)
- Brian Clark (http://www.copyblogger.com)
- Jim Kukral (http://www.jimkukral.com)
- Neil Patel (http://www.quicksprout.com)
- Wendy Piersall (http://www.sparkplugging.com)
- Jeremy Schoemaker (http://www.shoemoney.com)
- Missy Ward (http://www.affiliatesummit.com)

Along with our IZEA Insiders:

- Kathleen Argonza (http://toughgirl101.com)
- Drew Bennett (http://benspark.com)
- Laurie Brosius (http://laviedelaurie.com)
- Brett Bumeter (http://something-about-harry.com/)
- Elizabeth Edwards (http://table4five.net)
- Corrin Foster (http://corrinrenee.com/)
- Lisa Martin (http://mythoughtsideasandramblings.com/)
- Steve Sanders (http://steven-sanders.com)
- Heather Smith (http://socialspark.com/bloggers/heather-in-beautiful-bc)
- Julie Vazquez(http://juliesjournal.com)

2. Ted Murphy – I bet you were thinking that I would put Ted Murphy as my number one best reason to attend IZEAFest 2009 but you are wrong. Ted is an amazing guy but he is merely a catalyst for the most important part of IZEAFest 2009.

1. YOU – Yes having YOU at IZEAfest is pretty much the best thing about it. By being there you are saying that you love blogging about things and having fun. You want to learn and interact with an amazing group of people. You don’t have to be famous or have a huge blog, you just have to be you and have a willingness to have a great time. That is the best thing about IZEAFest 2009, you being there. So grab your Early Bird Ticket today and Save $50. Only 30 are left. The value you get for your money is the BEST value of all conferences around by far, it is the most inexpensive and gives you an up close and personal look at great blogging and bloggers.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

10 Best Reasons to go to IZEAFest 2009

This should be titled How to not interview someone.

Hanging with Stephanie Agresta, Ted Murphy and David Brim

I got to spend some quality time with Ted Murphy of IZEA and I had never interviewed him before so I figured I would ask. Well, I thought about asking him for an interview, I never thought about what to ask him. Anyway this is how it went.

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Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Hanging with Ted Murphy

The end of IZEAFest was IZEAHunt. For the IZEAHunt the team was going to be Heather, Christine, Lisa, Allison and I and we were to be led by David. However, when the hunt happened teams got mixed up and our new team leader became V or Veronique. I have to say that I was pretty excited about v being our team leader, sorry David we would have had a great time with you as well. V is crazy-awesome. She was non-stop all about the fun and the points during the hunt. Allison and I had a great time for sure.

The IZEAHunt is a multimedia scavenger hunt that leaves you tired, sweaty and sticky. Sounds like a good time to me. We were placed into groups and given a bucket of stuff, a list of tasks and the direction to have a good time. First off, the bucket. The bucket was filled with things like funny hats, face paint, chocolate sauce, shaving cream, marshmallows, pipe cleaners and various other things. We had to use everything form the bucket. Everything. First we did some face painting. I just started painting my face willy nilly. Who cares what it looked like it was gonna sweat off later anyway.

The directions and list of requirements were nutty. Many had you approach a stranger and get photos of videos with them. Others were to get really, really messy. I knew that the scavenger hunt would be a disgusting mess so I brought some really ratty jeans and a shirt I was going to get rid of. I knew those clothes were not making it back home.

Yeah these pants were destroyed.

We ran all over the place and even went to a very secret place that V knew. There we made the human sundae (basically stuff was tossed all over me). That was videoed and is on Facebook somewhere. Then we had to run back to be on time to present our items and videos. It was a lot to do in 2 hours.

When we got back the IZEAFest Cakes were laid out. They were a beautiful rainbow of colors. Poor bastards wouldn’t know what hit ‘em.

The cakes were prematurely plowed by Ted Murphy who was forced to plow by some of the bloggers including Loren Feldman however you won’t see video of that because they didn’t let anyone with a camera know that they were gonna do that. Oh I guess not, someone had a camera so I guess it was an exclusive shot for 1938 media.

And Here is Allison and I after the Cake Plow. I had Allison take pictures not even realizing that she wanted to do a cake plow. Sorry hon. Next IZEAFest.

Well, the whole event was a great time and I was very happy that V was our team leader. I hope that she pulls through and hooks us up. I will look into getting her an XShot 2.0. Sorry I didn’t have one for you V. I’ll see what I can do, in the meantime take Ted’s. He won’t miss it. Or he’ll use it to make a replacement Ted.

I feel honored that V has this on her desk at work. Very cool. Watch for V and Ashley on their weekly stickam show, Lunch with Ashley and V.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

IZEAHunt lead by V

Before IZEAFest I received 12 XShot 2.0 camera extenders. This product is available to purchase through XShotpix.com and you can even get $5.00 off your very own by using this promo code IZEASPARK8. The code is good till the 19th. I gave away 8 of them at IZEAFest and have 4 left to give away at Blog World Expo. So if you want one and you are going you’ll have to follow me on twitter and be one of the first people to find me when I send out a special XShot 2.0 tweet during the conference.

The lucky people who got XShot 2.0‘s from Me were my original teammates for IZEAHunt, Lisa, Heather and Christine. Heather and Christine got snatched up on other teams. But before that we had a group photo at lunch and prior to the IZEAHunt itself.

I was playing with the XShot 2.0 and Art, Jill and Michelle asked me for one as well. I gave one to each of them.

Art and I

Michelle and I

Jill and I

Then I gave an XShot to a couple of High Profile guys. One to Ted Murphy. He wanted me to hook him up. I did my friend, I certainly did.

I also gave one to John Chow and he immediately opened it up and started playing with it.

John Chow and I

John I think you should use it to scout when you are on your T-Shirt “stealing” missions.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Get an XShot 2.0 from BenSpark