Blogging the Stratosphere 1.0

In 2005, Parnassus conceived, named, and organized an event which won a Gold SABRE Award in the special events category in 2006, and was nominated for a “Best Use of the Internet” award by PRWeek.

After Connexion by Boeing sponsored our first blogging conference, we approached them with the idea of hosting an “editorial retreat” for our blog conference speakers. This “Blogging the Stratosphere 1.0″ test flight and dinner trip to Walla Walla wine country featured a sumptuous meal at our long-time friend and noted winemaker Chuck Reininger’s facility in eastern Washington.

Thanks to the coverage by NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and the blogosphere at large, the event was considered a huge PR win for Boeing.

Press Coverage included:

KOMO: Wi-Fi In The Sky

Brian Gregory reports on the Stratoblogging for KOMO 1000 News radio. The 2 minute-long report (MP3) is available on their podcast. It was recorded during the Blogging the Stratosphere event.

Boeing shows off wired jet with flight to Walla Walla

A highlight of the event was flying into the Walla Walla Airport where a welcoming committee was waiting, waving and clapping. Bloggers usually don’t get that kind of attention! Andy Porter of the Union-Bulletin reports on the arrival of Connexion One. He interviews Terrance Scott, Boeing spokesman and Buzz Bruggeman.

Greetings from the Big Boeing Blogfest

Bryan Corliss of the Everett Herald reports on his blog that, “All the “real” bloggers are happily Instant Messaging their friends.” Correct! I was one of them. I got an instant message flood.

Bryan also reports about the new live TV service that Connexion By Boeing is offering.

Boeing builds Wi-Fi buzz with bloggers

CBS Marketwatch reporter quotes Boeing’s David Friedman, vice president of marketing and direct sales, “No other group demands constant broadband wireless connectivity more than the blogging and technical communities.

“We felt that fulfilling the in-flight needs of this particularly demanding audience would help spread the word about our performance advantage.”

National Public Radio

Bellamy Palethorpe of KPLU reports on cyberspace “celebrity.”