NEPA BlogCon announces speakers and opens ticket sales for Sept. 12 in East Stroudsburg
From a press release:
With four years of sold-out audiences under its belt, NEPA BlogCon, the region’s only blogging and social media conference, has announced both the start of ticket sales and selected speakers for this year’s event.
NEPA BlogCon will make its return on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 9:45 a.m.-4 p.m. at the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Hoeffner Science and Technology Center. Registration opens at 9 a.m. Tickets are available for $15 at nepablogcon.com and include admission to the conference, a swag bag, and lunch refreshments.
NEPA BlogCon is designed to bring together bloggers of all experience levels, as well as those interested in marketing, social media, creativity, leadership, and branding. It’s also an excellent event for marketers, small business owners, nonprofit organizations, and students.
The event draws a wide range of local, regional, and international talent. This year’s conference will be keynoted by Ashley Ambirge, CEO of House of Moxie, Inc., a creative agency. Ambirge, a native of Susquehanna County, is a 2015 Webby Award Honoree for her business blog, The Middle Finger Project. She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, the Huffington Post, and on numerous blogs and podcasts.
Conference sessions include:
- “Building a Community for Your Podcast,” presented by Chris Barrows of NYU and the Shorty Award-nominated podcast Why I Social
- “Profiting From Your Passions,” presented by Elspeth Misiaszek of eMarketing Copywriter
- “The Content You Didn’t Even Know You Had,” presented by Brittany Thomas of Cabot Oil & Gas
- “How Cycling, Blogging, and Social Networking Saved My Life,” presented by Dee Culp of NEPA Geeks and NEPA Scene
- “Words. Words. Words.,” presented by Donna Talarico, founder and editor of Hippocampus Magazine
- “Working the Camera: Professional Secrets for Video Success,” presented by Emmy Award-winning journalist Laurie Monteforte (Farmer)
- “Don’t Be Just a Blogger – Become an Infopreneur!,” presented by Catherine Shefski, creator of the 50 Ordinary Women (Doing Extraordinary Things) blog project
In addition, there will be a panel discussion on using social media for small business – with a culinary perspective – featuring Mario Bevilacqua of What the Fork, Jason Startari of Shawnee Craft Brewing, and Matthew Serniak and Matt Lynch of the NEPA wing review blog The Wing Men.
Thanks to the support of sponsors and partners like Moz, Park Multimedia, Blue Ridge Communications, Bold Gold Media Group, BF Environmental Consultants, Inc., NEPA Geeks, NEPA Scene, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, Coal Creative, WNEP-16, Coalwork, WordCamp Scranton, and others, NEPA BlogCon is able to offer its event at a low cost to the community.
Both NEPA BlogCon and its STEM education camp, Squirrel Girls Tech Camp, is held in collaboration with sponsor organization TecBridge, a regional collegial organization that collaboratively strives to create and embrace entrepreneurial opportunities with the purpose of growing technology and biotechnology wealth within Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sponsorship opportunities for businesses and community organizations are still available; visit nepablogcon.com for details.
Last year, NEPA BlogCon drew more than 150 local bloggers, technology influencers, students, and marketing professionals to Northeastern Pennsylvania, raising thousands of dollars to benefit the founding of Squirrel Girls Tech Camp, a technology camp for girls in grade 4-6. The inaugural Squirrel Girls Tech Camp was held July 13-17 at Lackawanna College.
NEPA BlogCon is unique in that all proceeds go to benefit nonprofit and community education projects. It is organized by volunteers and could not be held without the support of sponsors, local businesses, attendees, and community leaders.
Since the event originated in 2012, the amount raised for charity totals more than $7,500, with beneficiaries including Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge, NEPA Veterans Multicare Alliance, and The Arc of Luzerne County.
All proceeds from this year’s conference will be applied to Squirrel Girls Tech Camp, summer 2016, at East Stroudsburg University.
Tickets, a schedule of events, speaker bios, and additional information is available at nepablogcon.com.
Photo by Brent Pennington
