I’m Back from BlogHer’11 (Did you miss me?)

The first time (and last time) I went to BlogHer was 2007.  It was held at Chicago’s Navy Pier. I booked the wrong flight and missed the keynote address, but arrived in time for the “speed dating”… because the conference was small enough that all of the attendees could FIT in one room and exchange business cards.

There were a handful of sponsoring brands. Butterball was offering to send  bloggers home with Thanksgiving turkeys. Cute, except it was July and I really didn’t know what to do with a frozen turkey on a plane. I probably missed something in the communication.

I sat next to The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, during a session. Mayberry Mom was with me when I learned how to change the background color of my (free) Blogger site. I watched Kristen Chase record a podcast during a rooftop cocktail reception.

If there were any other parties, I did not know about them and that was fine by me. I was “just” a mommy blogger after all.

Four years later at  BlogHer’11, my calendar looked like this:

Why yes, I did have FOUR engagements scheduled at the same time ALL. THREE. NIGHTS. This does not even include the last-minute invitations I received  just by being in the right place, right time. Nor does it account for all of the time spent “holding court” with my lovelies on various sofas and other horizontal surfaces.

Here are my seven quick takes on BlogHer’11 and only seven because I am TIRED!

-1-

Four years ago, it was my impression that only a handful of bloggers were making a living at it. I wasn’t exactly sure how, but I was curious to learn more. The conversations around it were heated, but I had no intention of making this anything more than hobby so why did it matter?

This year, I was the one doing the pitching– for the company I work for, for the company some friends of mine created and that I am now a part of, for the company we are planning to create in the future, for my personal blog, the other blog where I write, my brand, and me.

That’s a lot of pitching and I’m exhausted. No wonder it’s taken me so long to write this!

-2-

That “handful of sponsor brands”  morphed into an expo floor taking up its fair share of a entire convention hall. I made a point of stopping by almost every booth. First, I thanked them for sponsoring our conference. Then, I asked how they were working with bloggers.

Some knew exactly what they were looking for. They had a point of contact for acquiring a review item, a call to action, and “oh, hey, meet our “Director of Public Relations. He’s right here!” Right on! 

Some didn’t know how they wanted to work with bloggers, but they were there to find out. Fair enough! I like that answer. 

Others just had pretty men handing out candy bars… Pass! 

-3-

Walking into the sessions as a blogging newbie four years ago, I was faced with a room full of people I did not know. I had the exact same experience walking through the lobby of the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina this past weekend, except this time it was invigorating!

I don’t know what the attendance was for BlogHer’07 but it was tiny by comparison to this year’s 3500 bloggers- mostly women and a few brave men.

I tend to be social, both online and off, so sometimes it feels like I know everyone (or at least of everyone). So it’s always interesting to meet new bloggers. I love hearing what they write about, what interests them, and somehow in this madness, that they too have found “their people”.  It’s like discovering that there’s a whole other world out there… with it’s very own community and drama.

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That being said, I didn’t spend nearly enough time making new friends since it was hard enough to keep up with the people who I already know and love. There are a lot of you!  The whole weekend, I felt like I was being pulled in a million different directions and having to fulfill just as many obligations.

It was draining even for my extroverted self. I spend the last night of BlogHer sick to my stomach. I had had my max capacity for cocktails and my max output of small talk, but went out anyway to support my friends at The Moms’ Fashion File Style Sessions. Love the party and I loved the company, but  man, could I not focus!

At that point, I craved was my bed and/or an uninterrupted conversation. I know that there were about 3500 bloggers who ought to understand completely, so it disappointed me to come home to find a fresh round of “Wah! So-and-so didn’t talk to me?”

That being said, if I ignored you this weekend, it was not intentional. I promise. See above.

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So, what exactly was it that kept me away from BlogHer’08, ’09. and ’10? Moving abroad. Baby #2 born just days before. Sister’s wedding.

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The Wi-Fi failed me, even in spite of having written an entire article on ShePosts about Turning your Mobile Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot . The only time I found it troublesome was during my “Geek Bar” sessions where I was supposed to be the tech-in-charge and… oh, all of my slides were trapped in “the cloud”! I was also a panelist for a session about Being the CTO of Your Life .

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