Milk.Blitz.Street.Bomb.

Where Martial Arts and Travel Meet

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Contributors
    • Contact
  • The Martial Life
    • Boxing
    • Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
    • Karate
    • MMA
    • Muay Thai
    • Silat
  • The Nomadic Life
    • Destinations
      • Asia
        • Indonesia
        • Laos
        • The Philippines
        • Russia
        • Thailand
      • The Americas
        • Canada
        • Cuba
        • Mexico
        • The U.S.
    • Memoir
    • Galleries
    • Photo Series
    • Random
  • Resources
  • Press
  • Shop
  • Thailand Help
You are here: Home / Random / TBEX Toronto – A Beginner’s Review

TBEX Toronto – A Beginner’s Review

June 7, 2013 By Laura Dal Farra 4 Comments

passport-pages
Token passport shot as I didn’t take photos at TBEX, 2013

The Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) hit Toronto last week with the conference’s largest number of travel bloggers, writers and new media content creators in attendance to date. I was one of them and it was my first time. Despite TBEX being the largest conference of its kind I had no idea what it was until approximately three months ago.

 

Some background info on me:

 

I came into the blogging game sometime in 2008 writing for a muay thai website. In 2009 I sold most of what I owned, caught a flight to Bangkok to train and continued writing about muay thai. My internet diet consisted of a handful of hours a week at Thai net cafes to let family and friends know I was sane and secure and to send off pieces for publication. I was training muay thai fulltime and wasn’t thinking of much else until I started this blog in 2011. This was around the time that I began to have regular net access. Not long beforehand, I got a handle on what a Tweet was; I’m still not a fan.

 

My mode of travel has been a liquid mix of catching the basics of a destination and following my intuition which generally leads me into the unknown. Everyone’s going where? Oh, nice to meet you all, please excuse me while I quietly make my way to investigate this black hole…I didn’t realize there was a subculture of travelers melding honesty, creativity and informative narrative until I believe, in late 2012, possibly early 2013. Previously the idea of spending time on a travel blog was about as enticing as eating newsprint.

 

This all lends to why I caught a plane to Toronto to attend TBEX and my subsequent perceptions of the event.

 

 

What I Was Looking For

 

  • An understanding of the current travel blogging landscape.

 

  • Learn more about travel blogging as a business.

 

  • How to work with destinations and brands.

 

  • Meet other content creators.

 

  • Have a good time.

 

 

What I Found

 

  • All of the above.

 

 

The Breakdown

 

Keynotes + Seminars Attended

 

  • Opening Keynote – Trey Ratcliff

 

  • Brands, Bloggers & Dollars – Ted Murphy

 

  • Creative Pitching For Experienced Travel Bloggers – Amy Moore, Ryan Levitt

 

  • Where’s My ROI? Campaigns & Strategies In Digital Marketing –  Stephen Oddo

 

  • Beyond Blogging: Building A Publishing Empire – Tim Leffel

 

  • Podcasting: Turning Your Passion Into A Full Time Business – Lou Mongello

 

  • Social Media Tours: How To Have A Conversation With 30 Million People – Kat Reese, David DiGregorio

 

  • Closing Session: This Week In Travel Live –  Chris Christensen, Gary Arndt, Jennifer Leo, with Spud Hilton

 

I found most of the sessions I attended worthwhile. There were a couple that missed the mark in my opinion as they concentrated on generalities and didn’t delve into deliverables. They were at best summaries suited to people outside the industry. There was a particular discussion that made me question if it was put together last-minute aka enroute to the event. That being said, I left TBEX with more information than I had going into it, some of it incredibly valuable. And that’s a big positive.

 

 

Events Attended

 

  • Pre-TBEX Party –  Hosted by Toronto Travel Massive

 

  • Travel Mix & Rock  – Hosted by MatadorU, Hostelling International, G Adventures, San Juan Marriott, Diamond PR, Matador Network

 

  • TBEX Opening Night – Hosted by Toronto Tourism

 

  • Night With The Stars Viewing Party –  Hosted by Expedia and Travel Alberta

 

Gold stars for everyone. The events were well organized,  facilitated meeting others in the industry and they were a great time.

 

 

Tours Attended

 

  • Aboriginal Toronto

 

Not the tour I anticipated from the description on the TBEX site, however the guide was honest about complications and still delivered.

 

teiaigon-humber-river
East bank of the Humber River, an area previously home to the Iroquoian village Teiaiagon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013
humber-river-crow
East bank of the Humber River, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013

 

Complications

 

The major complication that arose relating to TBEX came on my end – I didn’t get remotely enough sleep. By the time I arrived at the conference on Saturday morning I had had possibly a total of 11.5 hours of sleep over three nights. By the time I slid into my Speed Dating appointments aka meetings with brands and destinations that afternoon I was burned out and weird. I sat down in my last meeting, apologized for my demeanour and handed the rep my media kit; I didn’t have much left in me. Not the pitch I was preparing for but at the time I felt being somewhat coherent was a victory of sorts. I had battled falling sleep on the Aboriginal Toronto tour bus the day before. How did this happen?

 

My evening flight to Toronto was cancelled then rescheduled to an early 7 am take-off. Then delayed. I was also staying an hour transit ride from the conference venue. Lastly, I had prepared to pick up my printed media kits in Toronto and that didn’t pan out so well. The associated stress triggered insomnia and the rest is barely remembered history. If you were at TBEX, perhaps you noticed me melting out of one of the big black minimalist chairs. While others were networking and taking photos, I was spacing out and thinking, I can do this. I think. Hello?

 

Not having an iPhone put me at a slight disadvantage as well. I didn’t realize how plugged into the TBEX community everyone was via Twitter in realtime. There were meetups that I wasn’t aware of until after the fact as a result. I also wasn’t able to enter specific contests announced during the conference and at events.

 

 

Would I Recommend TBEX?

 

Definitely. I’d also recommend others venturing to their first TBEX to prepare well, sleep soundly and maintain a sense of humour should any complications arise. Have fun. TBEX is a great venue to learn more about the travel blogging industry and to meet others with similar passions in a laid back and open environment. I learned as much from conversations with fellow content creators as I did from the seminars attended.

 

VDNMBDYAH7DQ

Filed Under: Random

Love What You’ve Read?

$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Donation Total: $1.00

Your support helps us to continue our work by contributing to the operational costs of Milk.Blitz.Street.Bomb.

About Laura Dal Farra

After a six month adventure training Muay Thai in Thailand in 2007, Laura Dal Farra returned to her native Canada, sold most of what she owned, and boarded a plane set for Bangkok alone. She spent the next 3.5 years training in traditional Muay Thai gyms, pushing her limits, and embracing the unknown. Realizing little was being written on the subject, she began to blog about it. Laura Dal Farra is the founder of Milk.Blitz.Street.Bomb.

Comments

  1. Tim Leffel says

    June 8, 2013 at 16:59

    Hope my session was one of the useful ones. I think you’ll find after you get lots of sleep and reflect that you learned a lot through the haze. A crazy conference, but invigorating too. Best of luck with the blog and don’t give up concentrating on the Thai fighting—that’s an interesting niche to focus on that’s not crowded.

    Reply
    • ldf says

      June 8, 2013 at 22:58

      Thank-you Tim. I really enjoyed your session and saved the online link to revisit once I’m caught up on sleep. For everyone else, you can view Tim’s session here:

      http://travelwriting2.com/empire/

      Reply
  2. Amy Moore says

    June 10, 2013 at 11:57

    Thank you for coming to Ryan’s and my session. Hope you got lots of concrete tips you can impliment now! Good luck!

    And I was so… so, so tired too. It was my third, but they are always pretty grueling 🙂

    Reply
    • ldf says

      June 10, 2013 at 15:46

      Hi Amy, Your session was one that I was really looking forward to and that I gained much from. You hid your exhaustion well…. Ha! I had no idea. Thanks for stopping by MBSB.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recent Comments

  • Liam Sitmonchai on The Power of Pushing Your Limits: How Martial Arts Can Help You Achieve More
  • Petrified Wood – All This on The Petrified Wood Forest, Tak, Thailand
  • beget dedicated server on Racism in Thailand – a Day in the Life of a White Woman in Buriram
  • The Artwork of Not Complaining – My Blog on The Art of Not Complaining – Your Key to Mental Toughness

MBSB Merch

muay thai

Travel Thailand

How to Declutter and Make Money to Travel

Tips for Women Traveling to Thailand

Vegan? Vegetarian? Here’s How to Do It in Thailand

How to Avoid MSG in Thailand

Tips to Help You Book a Hotel, Guesthouse or Resort in Thailand

Muay Thai in Thailand

Things to Consider Before Training Muay Thai in Thailand

What Muay Thai Training Can You Really Handle?

Training in Thailand: Deciding How Long to Go

Determining Your Budget

6 Ways to Make Money to Train Muay Thai in Thailand

19 Ways to Save Money to Train in Thailand

Guidelines for Training in Thailand’s Muay Thai Gyms

Subscribe

MBSB delivered straight to your inbox.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
| Contact | Resources |
Copyright © 2023 Milk.Blitz.Street.Bomb., All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Affiliate Disclaimer |
 

Loading Comments...