having just returned from a 4-day trip to Chicago where I attended the BlogHer ’09 conference, an annual coming-together of women who blog, I want to sort my experiences into three categories: things That Exceeded My Expectations, things That met my Expectations, and things That Underwhelmed Me. here goes:
Things That Exceeded My Expectations
– Atitudinea mea. I expected a lot more awkwardness from myself, and a lot more moments of self-doubt when I introduced myself to people. less ability to smile at strangers. Instead, I was friendly and generous with the hugs. Go me.
– Oamenii. I was a virgin to consummating online friendships and I made an effort to attach faces (and bodies) to some of the names I know from blogging and tweeting. I have known Alma and Lisa by means of email and blogs for three years; meeting them in person was my a lot of spectacular highlight. I am still smiling when I think about the time spent with each of them. And, I loved connecting with the chicks from Today’s Mama, Mayberry Mom, Amelia Sprout, BostonMamas’ Christine, Marie from Make and Takes, BabyCheapskate Angie, and mucho more. I certainly will gush a lot more about these if you ask me in person.
– awareness of our blog and book. I anticipated meeting fewer people who are familiar with Les Rookie Moms. Debbie from Mamanista was especially generous with sharing how our book inspired her, and Amy said that when people ask her “What do I DO on maternity leave?” she always says, “Read this book.” ATÂT DE FRUMOS!
– The method Party. I have been working part-time in the method office in San Francisco with their brand communication team. We thought of a small cocktail party at BlogHer that would allow some people against dirty to meet Rachel and Anna from method in a low-pressure drop-by suite setting. I was thrilled with the action and the party. bloggers heart method. Știai asta?
– The Swag. There’s no question that seeding product with bloggers is likely to spread word of mouth for that product. We have big mouths and like to use them to influence others. The number of companies who jumped on the opportunity to get their products in our fast-typing little hands was astounding. And, specifically, the team behind the Social Luxe party set up a mind-blowing collection of goodies for us to take home. If you’re not jealous, you must be.
– The Sheraton. very fast elevators, very comfortable bed linens, and a very generous water flow in the shower.
– real conversations with real people. I tend to judge whether or not I can be pals with someone based on how much make-up and hair product they are wearing (Very little is the acceptable amount), so I was attracted to some amazing chicks from Portland, Gina and Katherine. Danielle was the cutest pregnant person serving cheeseburgers. Tracey Clarke is like an old BlogHer pal at this point. I hung with Mike, sharing water and not dancing together at a party. Wild times. Susan Wagner shared her current work/life situation with us at a cocktail party and then later, at the airport debriefed on the whole conference. An unexpected pleasure at 7.30 am on a Sunday morning.
Things That met My Expectations
– My packing job. I had enough clothes, shoes, and accessories to wear each day, and not too lots of that I felt silly for over packing. I will award myself a travel merit badge because I haven’t accomplished this delicate balance too lots of times.
– The conference keynotes. terrific job with the jumbotrons, BlogHer, because we could really see the readers in the community keynote, which was a treat. The content was pretty good throughout. The community keynote featured inspiring writing, but frankly it went on too long. I think fifteen contributors would have been nice.
– a lot of of the panel sessions. I would like to see the bar raised higher for the both the panelists and moderators. several were not as prepared or professional as I expect them to be. I’ll echo Susan’s request that the moderator works harder to control the content and not let the talkative audience derail the subject at hand. I also want to voice Lynn’s idea that greater emphasis on writing would be a good direction for BlogHer. Ironic, isn’t it, that there is a session on search Engine Optimization, but not on What Makes a good blog Post? There is a session on brands and Bloggers, but not on good blogger Etiquette: Appreciating Your Readers.
– The shapewear. I wore a Yummie Tummie tank top, as an experiment. It was given to me by the creative girls collective in buy to allow me to be a brand ambassador for Yummie Tummie. (See, aren’t they clever?) This non-binding undergarment gave me a gentle squeeze around my torso that would have made my profile appear a tad slimmer than it really is had I been wearing a a lot more fitted top. The great thing is that the squeezy part goes down pretty low, holding in the loose skin my 82 weeks of (total) pregnancy has gifted me, and the very bottom of thiS Tank Top este material de tricouri, așa că, dacă aș fi vrut să arate strat-y, am avut această alegere. (Dacă sunteți intrigat, permiteți -mi să împărtășesc un cod de reducere.)
Lucruri care m -au subliniat
– Sfaturile lui Tim Gunn. Am avut șansa să -l cunosc pe Tim Gunn, pe care îl apreciez foarte mult. Era dulce, la fel cum apare la televizor. Când i -am cerut o idee pentru blogul meu despre moda pentru mame, în special, „Ce trebuie să facă parte din uniforma fiecărei mame?”, El a recunoscut că mămicile au nevoie de confort și capacitatea de a fi agil. „OK, el o primește”, m-am gândit, sperând că va transforma asta într-o perspectivă de modă, precum jambierele sub o tunică sau o rochie sau o alternativă de costum de transpirație care nu va împacheta pe nimeni. – Lavabil, a spus el. „Totul trebuie să fie lavabil.” Sincer? Asta este neinspirat. Ghici cine i -a sponsorizat apariția? Voi rămâne doar cu lista sa de top zece ca punct de referință.
– Swag -ul. Obsesia cu swag -ul a fost puțin prea mare. Până la sfârșitul zilei 2, am fost făcut cu auzire despre asta. Am stat în lift cu un grup de tineri bloggeri, brațe pline de swag, vorbind despre swag. În timp ce ascultam conversația lor, îmi doream să se oprească. A fost o familie de vacanță în lift cu noi. Am fost jenat de conversația legată de swag care a avut loc în fața acestei fermecătoare familii. Am întrebat -o pe mama dacă a crezut că fiica ei, în vârstă de cinci ani, ar dori roz boa pe care o purtam în jurul gâtului. Mi -a spus că fiica ei i -ar plăcea. Am dat boa și am ieșit din lift, încercând să înlăture acea senzație murdară, vinovată din corpul meu și să mă distanțăm de eveniment.
-Capacitatea mea de a dormi. Deși diferența de timp de două ore și lipsa sarcinilor de îngrijire a copiilor trebuie să mă fi încurajat să dorm până la ora 10 dimineața, am fost treaz la 6 dimineața două din trei zile și 7.30 am într-o zi. Faceți matematica și întrebați -vă de ce nu am putut dormi după ora 5.30 am pe ceasul corpului meu. Nu știu, dar, în mod clar, aceasta a fost o ocazie ratată de a dormi ceva care nu este posibil în casa mea.
-Prânz sponsorizat de Ragu. Ce pot sa spun? Sunt atât un snob alimentar, cât și un snob de marcă ambalată, iar Ragu nu este în conformitate cu niciuna dintre aceste prejudecăți nedrepte. Fie ca inimile și burtele acelor blohieri cu mult mai multe palate democratice să fie câștigate de porțiile suplimentare mari de parmezan de pui preparat cu Ragu. Anul viitor, lăsați -l pe Newman, vă rog.
Corect sau nedrept, aceasta este recenzia mea despre Blogher 09. Și acum pentru imagini>
