BlogHer ‘09-Veni, vidi, philologi

In English: I came, I saw, I learned. But I observed too which is out of character for me. Remember this http://bit.ly/FlPxT ? I am glad I did not back out at the last minute because I learned tons. I state clearly on my About Us page that I am not a writer. So initially I felt like an impostor because these women take writing very seriously whereas I do it for fun. My BlogHer trip was two fold, 1) I wanted to connect with other women whose blogs I read on a daily basis and if I plan on getting serious about my ish then the conference would be a great place to start because they had all these sessions designed to teach bloggers the ins and the outs of blogging. The ones I attended I learned so much from and was grateful to have the opportunity to attend something organized for a change. From the itinerary to the lunch to the cocktail parties, everything was well thought out and not once did I find myself wondering where something was. So kudos to the BlogHer staff for having it all together! 2) From the professional aspect, since Mom Noir is the title sponsor of the upcoming Blogalicious event, I wanted to meet the ladies of Mamalaw Media Group to get a sense of who we were working with in October. At the end of the day you are what you represent so while the conference made sense to sponsor because of the natural connection between Blogalicious and Mom Noir, it is also important to see who is behind the brand. In addition, there were a ton of sponsors at BlogHer and at the last minute a couple meetings with brand managers were arranged so that we can adequately prepare for the Mom Noir launch party in September. From both standpoints, I left feeling satisfied.

 

As a newbie to BlogHer I was not up on the internet drama so I have none to comment on. I watched the panels. I watched the interaction of the attendees. I watched the parties. I watched the lobby. (I know you get it, I have eyes and used them lol) But seriously, I watched to see if there was indeed a tribe, where would I fit in. I eavesdropped on conversations to see what the real chatter was all about. But I did not go all the way to Chicago to sit in a corner and observe. I walked around and was very social because I wanted to get a genuine feel for these women and at times I covered my name so that I would see the reaction to meeting a “stranger” before you realized who I was and knew that in some social mediasphere you have indeed interacted with me. I extended my hand to shake yours so that I could decide if my blood took to you or not. (I swear I have powers like the X-men but that is a next post) from that I gained new blogs to read and lost a few. After all, blogging and sharing information across the internet is about building relationships. I write here for the world to see and in some strange way, a relationship is being developed between my readers and me. I am not talking about the whackos out there that might be taking pictures of Kennedy and passing her off as theirs but the genuine folks. This and everything I do is about relationships. I knew this before Blogher but it was reinforced there.

 

Social Media has created new phrases like BFF, LMAO and IRL which stands for In Real Life. I kept hearing people say that they were so glad to meet people IRL and I kept thinking to myself, haven’t you done that already? Is there a difference between you and the person writing? I get the idea that I am actually stepping out from behind the computer and putting a face to the words. But if you write about your life and you aren’t someone that is writing about fantasy haven’t your readers already met you? I am what you read: I’m sarcastic, I’m friendly and umm yeah I gotta big ego. I got the feeling that some of these women were chameleons and changed up a bit once they came from behind the monitor. IRL I really am doing so well. IRL you really are dismissive and obviously relationships are not that important to you. But silly me, I think I should have known this already because again, IRL (on your blog) you’ve shown me who you really are. Even the biggest HP monitor in the world (which you almost knocked me down to see if you could win) could not prevent me from seeing who you are IRL.

 

To BlogHer: I would keep the swag to a minimum next year. Freebies always brings out the worst in people and in my observations, the swag was the biggest problem this year. If the sponsors want to give away something think something charitable instead.

 

To Bloggers and Future Bloggers: You have to give to get. I learned from a successful blogger that you have to state your goals. As you may already know, I go in, no research, just straight in. Figure out what you want and work hard to achieve it. If you want to make blogging a business, you have to work hard. I am not trying to make an income from this blog but if you are, do your research. Also, show other blogs some love and leave comments. I was guilty of visiting blogs, reading, laughing and moving on. If it made you laugh, cry or curse, say so; comments are good. Another thing, don’t misrepresent yourself just for the opportunity. If you are interested in aligning with brands stay true to who you are. It would make no sense for me to position myself as a Walmart mom when I shop religiously at Target. (Target if you are reading, holllaaaaa!!)

Lastly, do not wait for something to fall in your lap. My personality is outgoing so naturally I don’t sit back and wait but I heard a lot of “when am I going to get one” this weekend. If you want it, go get it-and share your tips when you do get it.

 

For the record, I didn’t find my tribe because it doesn’t exist. I am kind of free floating between lifestyle, mommy, foodie and travel blogging (oh and fab chicks with big egos). I did connect with some stellar women and over the course of the next week when my blog shifts into its new direction, you will see them either showcased here or mentioned under the sites I read. Be sure to check them out. You’ll be glad I shared them. J

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Tagged as: blogalicious, blogher, conference, IRL, mom noir, Rants, relationships, target, tribe, women