SheCon Lovely: M.J. Putnik

The SheCon Lovely feature is my way of introducing my readers to the new friends that I made while attending SheCon '11 in Miami, Florida in May. Rather than doing one post with only my thoughts on the conference and telling you about those that I met, I thought it would be more fun for you to read opinions from more people while meeting them firsthand through a guest post.

To read what the previous SheCon Lovelies had to say, click here. 

This week our Lovely is M.J. who blogs at Everyone Knows Me Here. 

L-R: Rachel, Me (good grief, I'm short!!!), M.J., Frelle, Nicole

*Tell us a little about yourself and your blog (your name, your blog name and any meaning behind it, what you write about, WHO you are, etc.)

Howdy, I’m M.J. Putnik. I’m happily married with two children, a sassy Cairn Terrier named “Alligator” (Ally for short), and two Beta fish. I’m a published children’s book author (Fish Wish by M.J. Putnik), screenwriter, lyricist, and currently working on a medieval fantasy trilogy for young adults. I’m a very busy whackadoodle. My blog name, Everyone Knows Me Here is tongue and cheek. I tell everyone it’s my Happy Place where I go and everyone knows me there. I’m in control, happy, and can rapidly delete anyone with my backspace button who manages to piss me off. :)

*Have you been to any other blogging or social media conferences before? If so, which ones?

Blissdom10.  It was really incredible. I’m looking forward to going to Type A in June.

*What were some of your reasons for attending SheCon?

I live in Palm Beach County. Come on now, South Beach! What a great place to hang out and people watch and gather some awesome character ideas for my blog or writing projects.  If you hung out with me at SheCon be careful…you may end up in one of my novels! {Editor's note: Now I'm a little nervous...}

*Who were your favorite speakers and why?

LOVED Guy Kawasaki (Key Note Speaker), Lela Davidson (Maximizing Your Twitter Presence), Maria De Los Angeles (Travel Writing)  Craig Agranoff, Yoli Ouiya, Shyema Azam, Anna Roth (Dining and Entertainment), Aliza Sherman (The Future of Social Media and the Web Apps)

*What do you think is the most important thing you learned from the SheCon presentations?

The importance of gadgets, planning, perseverance, and networking. Most important…the coffee vendors.  Must have coffee vendors! If it wasn’t for Baileys, and New England Coffee, I would have gone ballistic :) P.S. Clever Girls and their cupcakes hit the spot, too!

*What do you think is the most important thing you learned from the conference as a whole?

The value of networking and meeting incredible people with vision and a great outlook on life. That really motivated me to hop on board the Social Media bandwagon. I started blogging as a favor to a buddy…now I really am hooked. And thanks to SheCon and all the talented speakers, I have a vision for another blog…

*What were your favorite events/activities?

I really enjoyed game night with Calliope Games. My buddy from By Word of Mouth Musings (Oh, also from South Africa) kicked all our butts regarding American pop culture and stats! Hanging out with the posse and watching some incredible women karaoke to “Love Shack” brings a smile to my face, too. But my favorite time… the wine party hosted by the incredible girls of Wine Sisterhood. These women know how to woo. Free flowing wine, cheese and crackers,  hand massages, and a bunch of belly laughs to last me a lifetime. I really loved everything and everyone at SheCon.

*What advice would you give to someone who has never attended a conference and is considering one in the future?

Just do it! Go with a buddy and it won’t seem so overwhelming. Dress for comfort. Especially your shoes. {Editor's note: I echo that shoe thing. My thong sandals were FABULOUS but my heels, not so much.}

*Is there anything else you’d like to share about your SheCon experience?

Enjoy the moments while you are there. Don’t worry about what is going on at home, work, or your checking account . Let this be your time to escape and learn something new. I also want to say that I look forward to keeping in touch with all the amazing women and men I met while I was at SHECon. You all ROCK!  xxoo