Sunday Summary of NYC & TBEX ’10

I’m back home absorbing everything learned and experienced during TBEX ’10 in New York City. While everything ferments, following is a quick rundown of Sunday’s activities. Understand, I had intentions of posting this last night but figured I could use my sole free 90 minutes to catch a nap before heading to the airport.

And yes, this post goes against the storytelling philosophy by sharing my day’s activities but hey, at least I’m purging out something. So much to do, so little time…

All the Pretty Things in New York City
The morning began with my walk to the TBEX conference venue, about 2.2 miles, according to Google. In addition to seeing loads of police officers, there was a slight mist in the air and the impatiens flowers pictured above caught my attention.

During the conference lunch break, caught a glimpse of the NYC Gay Pride March where I saw Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) march along with colorfully dressed performers (pictured above). And speaking of lunch…

Sharing Good Eats with New Friends

Thanks to TBEX attendee Robin Locker (@MyMelange), I enjoyed a delicious and inexpensive lunch at Otto Pizzeria (One Fifth Ave., New York; Tel: 212-995-9559) with fellow attendees Lanora Schoeny Mueller (@WritingTravel), Donna L. Hull (@DonnaLHull) and Mary Huff (@MaryHuff).

Dinner that evening was with Matt Lubin (@ChinaMatt) at a Chinatown restaurant called Wonton Garden (56 Mott Street, New York; Tel: 212-966-4886). O-M-G! Delish indeed and great on the budget. My entree was a generous sized bowl of mushroom wonton with noodles. Yum! And, the menu prices are right – my bowl was under $7.

My early evening snack was a homemade ice cream sandwich at Jacques Torres Chocolate and Ice Cream (66 Water St., Brooklyn; Tel: 718-875-9772) during the Brooklyn walking tour with Context Travel. Oh yes, yummy!

What I Learned Sunday
Gary Arndt’s (@EverywhereTrip) presentation on how to become an expert travel pornographer, err, photographer (his topic was “Travel Porn” and power of images), was extremely inspiring. While many may have thought that the ‘travel pornographer’ presentation would show people how to be a like a m porn performer while on the road, fortunately (or unfortunately for some) this was not the case. Perhaps it was because he is a regular guy who traveled the world and blogs about it. He makes travel blogging success seem attainable.

The panel on blogging ethics was also valuable and especially hearing from the FTC on blogging disclosure. The panel cleared up misconceptions on disclosure and the $15,000 fine and in a future post, I’ll explain. Bottom line, it’s good practice for all bloggers to disclose and this can be done in the context of the post and not a separate mention. And, the fine would be issued to the marketer, not the blogger. Again, more another time but check out this post on Marketing Roadmaps called, “Eleven Urban Myths About the FTC Guidelines for Endorsements and Testimonials.”

I bugged out of TBEX early because Context Travel offered conference attendees complimentary walking tours to enjoy and review. So, I took advantage of the opportunity for a walking tour called “Brooklyn, Portrait of a City” and it was fantastic. I’ll post more about the trip another time – along with video – but I love Context’s philosophy of offering tours for the intellectually curious. Group size is limited to 6 (there were 4 of us) which makes it more comfortable to ask questions and participate rather than being talked at.

Big City, Bright Lights

After dinner with Matt, we enjoyed a drink in a local pub and parted ways. Since it was about 10:30 and although I had a 6 a.m. flight to catch, I opted to head over to Times Square to say goodbye to the Big Apple. My hotel, Roger Smith Hotel (awesome location and comfortable accommodations), wasn’t too far away (maybe 6 blocks) and although my feet said “no,” I kept going. And “wow!” At 11:30 on a Sunday night, Times Square was still hopping.

Back to the hotel, rinsed off the daily grime, packed and took a 90-minute nap before catching a high-speed cab to the airport.

More blog posts about the trip to follow in the coming weeks.

In Case You Missed Them…
Here are links to two previous posts on my New York City trip:

First 12 Hours in New York for TBEX ’10
New York City UPdate: TBEX Begins