BLOGasia Singapore Blog Conference Wrap-up

I'm back from BLOGasia and from my blogging hiatus here at Allbusiness. It's time to get "back to business" and I want to do so by giving you a brief wrap-up of my trip and the experience of introducing business blogging to Asia.

Without boring you with details of 21-hour plane rides, except to say that my understanding of 747's being roomy were somewhat misguided. Being housed in coach shares similarities with sardines being packed in a can. On the 14-hour jaunt from Chicago to Hong Kong I got up from my seat only twice. Having the window seat, it was just too much trouble. Enough about that...

I was also hoping to supply you with periodic reports during the conference. That did not happen as time did not allow. However, Susannah Gardner's husband, Travis, did live-blog the event, which you can read on my blog at Radiant Marketing Group if you are so inclined.

The conference was attended by about 40 people representing branches of the government along with non-profit and corporate sectors. Most were not blogging as of yet, though a few maintained personal sites.

We covered pretty much everything imaginable during the two-days from basic blogging, to marketing with blogs, to legal issues, to different types of people who should be blogging within organizations. I spent a particular amount of time talking about CEOs and PR people and why they should be blogging.

I was told that Asians don't typically ask questions as that is a sign of disrespect in that it suggests the teacher didn't do a good job of sharing information. However, we found that not to be the case thankfully, as interaction was part of the makeup of our agenda.

There were several questions regarding issues relating to libel. It seems only a few days prior to our arrival some Singapore bloggers were arrested charged with sedition for making racist statements online. Apparently, free speech is not granted the same degree of liberty as in the US.

While I came to realize the blogging scene in Singapore is fairly robust, it is still a pre-business climate, much akin to the way things were here a year or so ago. I won't say that everyone who attended will put our principles into practice, but I did see a "gleam" in a few eyes to be sure. All-in-all it was a good experience.

Susie and I plan to take this show on the road. We may brand it under the moniker "Buzz Marketing with Blogs," but that remains to be seen. At the very least we have two days worth of material we are ready and willing to present to whatever audience is ready to listen.

Oh, and if you ever get the opportunity to visit Singapore, let me recommend it. The city is immaculate, the people are friendly, and the food is outstanding. My kudos to the staff of the Furama City Centre hotel as well.