33rd Annual Virgin Island Charter League Boat Show – a post-event perspective

I never dreamed what I committed to do with four postings a day for this event.

A blogger is a citizen journalist writing about things he/she observes. Last week, I attended the VICL 33rd Annual Charter Boat show, not as a charter yacht broker, but as an internet blog reporter with a commitment to deliver four postings a day. My task was to find four interesting stories a day to write about and add photos to the posting. I had no idea what I had committed to because I had never written more than four blog postings a week. It was like being a newspaper reporter with four deadlines a day! I needed to have my creative antennas out at all times in order to see if I could come up with a new angle on the events that were unfolding at the Boat Show.

In the process of creating the postings, I took over 400 photos in four days. The photos were also a BIG part of the inspiration of each of the postings. By the end of the second day of the boat show a momentum began to surface of the participants recognizing who I was and what I was doing. Everyday I passed out my business cards and letting people know that I was posting about the boat show on www.CaribbeanIslandsRealty.com . What gained momentum were the number of people who wanted me to interview them and take their photos so they could be on the internet. Hopefully, I did not disappoint the participants in the show.

I like to focus on the service providers of any even environment – restaurant wait staff, bar tenders, yacht marina service people, volunteers, etc. That aspect of my postings turned out to be some of the most fun. Because of allowing this group of people to participate in my work, I always was able to get a table at a restaurant and to get a seat at the bars.

The governor, lieutenant governor, and a senator of the Virgin Islands were at the opening reception for the show. Because I was doing the internet interviews, they were glad to participate and answer my interview questions. It allowed me access to these important policy makers for the Virgin Islands that I would have never had if I was just a charter yacht broker for the show. The savvy marketing people and public figures clearly understand the power of the internet and they want and need the exposure.

Another observation is that if a person opens up their consciousness to having “magic” happen each day, it will happen. Remember in my first posting of the boat show it was about my flight being canceled because of mechanical difficulties? It caused me to spend the night in Miami instead of St. Thomas. I allowed my brain to stay open to having that event be OK because it meant there was someone(s) for me to meet. I met Betsy and Marques. Also keeping my brain open I met Bill Tait while he was checking his email at Yacht Haven Grande. Bill emailed me the quote that encouraged him during his first few months in the Caribbean from Mark Twain. I met Megan and Amber at the Rum Hut as they called taxis for me each night. I met Catherine, the manager of Wikked Restaurant & Bar. I met Big Momma who sold the hats and t-shirts for all of the businesses at Yacht Haven Grande – and so on, and so on. These are the people who help create the “Caribbean experience”.

A final observation about the last five days is the “viral marketing” that occurred because of one person telling another person, and another person about my blog, which resulted in visitors from 16 different countries in the past few days. I never ever dreamed that the “viral marketing” aspect of blogging was so powerful. All of the results from this blogging marathon would not have been possible if it had not been for my Blogging Coach, John Harper. He worked behind the scenes as I sent him my articiles and photos, and then he would transform them into postings that resulted into something that made sense and created continuity on my internet site. I am grateful for the services that John delivered to this project. I have still not fully downloaded on all the events of the past five days, but as I sort things out I will let you know more of my discoveries. Until next time…