Orange you Glad you went to BConnected and the top Five Takeaways Every Conference should Use.

Now that is a stroll of confidence as I make my way to BConnected… I was Team Orange so what a great excuse to start digging out some of my packed away goodies like maybe the awesome coat I received from Shein last year.  What a cool concept, all the participants were divided into Team Colours to try and provide a support system for when you arrived, so even as a solo you had something or someone to look for.

BConnected and the team concept for me was an excellent way for the organizers to try and make everyone feel welcome.  I mean as much as the blogging community is an amazing awesome community they can also be a tad bit intimidating. OK before everyone starts yelling at me that you are all kind and generous and friendly ( which is all true) Just remember back to your first or second conference… it is intimidating to walk into a room where you think everyone knows everyone.  I really sometimes wonder, is it just me or does anyone else feel this way?

BConnected really did a great job at trying to make everyone feel part of the community so my top five takeaways I would recommend to all conferences.

 1) I loved the colour teams, they assigned a group lead and the lead sent out facebook messages telling you what team you were on, for me it was an opportunity to start communicating in advance and a great opening when you looked at someones badge.  The only recommendation I would make would be to have the team leads have some kind of meet and greet at registration, maybe have the teams sit together at the beginning, it would be a great ice breaker.

2) The other great concept was a facebook group for all the participants ( I know that is norm) but this time we were all encouraged to share twitter, Insta, Pinterest etc on a sign up sheet and then encouraged to go follow each other 1) a great ice breaker, 2) great support for each other 3) great way to discover new accounts and 4) extra follows so a win/win for everyone

3) Making everyone move tables and find a group or a table where they did not know anyone during plenary.  When everyone is moving around and changing tables people feel more inclined to chat up their seat mates.

4) Breakfast and lunch provided plus speakers during the session,  now this may be a norm but it needs to be mentioned, having the meals as part of the conference encourages extended participation and mingling.  I think the one slight improvement might be to incorporate the colour teams into the seating arrangement, what a great  opportunity to meet your team mates in a comfortable environment, I mean hello breakfast food…..

5) Candy Bar, hello this goes without saying right… candy, bloggers and mingling just go hand in hand. ( and at this point I believe I need to say thanks also to The Ottawa Tourism, one of the great sponsors for the awesome candy glasses with the amazing “things to do” suggestions included, great idea and I am still playing with my lego)
Now to what I wore, well hello I was team Orange and although we were advised we did not have to wear team colours I thought it made a great statement.  PS Did the nails orange as well.  Next year I( am hoping for the Neon Green because if you know me you know how much I love my Neon.

My Blazer just seemed perfect with the Camera Necklace C/O New Chic and Cream Tunic from Dress Link, paired with leather leggings and the Leopard Boot from Shoe Dazzle that I tend to wear excessively.