The Good, The Bad, The Ugly; My BlogHer 2009 Experience
Let me start by saying that there was WAY too much hype about BlogHer.. the what to wear, what not to wear, the what to bring, the what not to bring, etc. and I totally bought into it so I was so disappointed when I got there and realized I could have gotten away with wearing comfortable shoes, jeans, and a cute top and then a nice dress at night for the parties. I just wished I’d packed differently and then maybe my feet wouldn’t be an achy blistery mess.
I had amazing roommates like Toni from A Daily Dose of Toni, Sara from My Sippy Cup Runneth Over. Then Jen Hinton joined our room the second night and Melissa from Multi-Tasking Mama joined us for a REALLY late night/early morning full of pizza and chats about our families, our blogs, the parties, and everything else going on in our lives. I made true friendships that will last a life-time. For that reason I’m happy I went to BlogHer.
I was extremely impressed by my sponsor that made my trip to BlogHer 2009 possible and I got to meet Scott, one of the daddies behind the Label Daddy company. I along with the other Label Daddy mommies actually got to hang out with him and network for the Label Daddy company quite a bit. Scott was so nice and he’s great at what he does. You have to respect a guy that is brave enough to come hang out with 1,000-something women and I love the way he raves about his daughter. I’m really excited to be a part of the Label Daddy blog team and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Label Daddy. Here’s a picture of most of us, although we’re missing Bridgette from the Not-So-Blog. One of us has another picture that includes all of us in our Label Daddy shirts together and I’ll add it in as soon as I find out where it is. For now I have this one.. left to right; Sara, Toni, Scott, and me, A big thanks to Jen for taking the pictures for us!
As far as the conference went, I’m not really sure I learned all that much. However, I’ve come home with new ideas on where I want to take the direction of my blog. Not too much will change but there will be changes that I’m making for the sake of my family (and my sanity) and for the sake of my readers that will occur gradually as soon as I have a really good plan and I’m ready to go for it. I promise, it’s a good thing.. you’ll all love it.
Here are some of my photos from the BlogHer conference and parties:
Had to take this picture for my son while I waited outside the doors to the People’s Party. He LOVES Sesame Street and Thomas (a.k.a “Choo Choo” around here) LOL
The madness that was the People’s Party.. sure the swag was great but I was elbowed twice and one lady had the guts to elbow me AND give me a dirty look just so she could cut in and snatch up a swag bag. It was sad to see grown people get so greedy… it was JUST a swag bag and they had PLENTY! This was the loudest room, I couldn’t even hear myself talking.
This was the first of our 2 a.m. bed times so us girls all shared some chocolate cake from room service before we finally got quiet and dozed off.
Conference Day 1: excitement was in the air after the Newbie breakfast and the BlogHer conference was beginning.
The craziness that was the BlogHer Expo.. lots of great companies wanting to talk with us bloggers. Loved the Mrs. Potato Head walking around, it was so cute and can you believe I actually forgot to get a picture with her?!
The All fairies. They were so funny.. I really hope that they paid this guy A LOT of money because, well, just because.. look at what they had him wear! LOL I think this might have been the most popular booth for picture-taking.
Getting my picture taken with the Michelin Man…
The Ragu Lunch; I loved the centerpieces that were on all the tables. Ragu did an amazing job at serving us lunch. They also had unique and fun decor. I was really impressed with the Ragu lunch! Also, this was where I first met Jen.. “You had me at Ragu” ,too Jen!
As if the centerpieces weren’t cool enough they had this HUGE Ragu jar made out of veggies that was amazing and so full of detail…
My favorite part of the conference on Friday was the Keynote speakers. Hearing these bloggers read their posts was absolutely amazing and inspiring. This was one of my favorite keynote speakers I got to hear before I had to leave early to go get ready for another event.
Conference Day 2: I loved the mornings, other than being exhausted from only 2-3 hours of sleep it was just a fun atmosphere with the Label Daddy team all gathered around the table. This was the day we all wore our Label Daddy shirts and gave away a $200 Label Daddy gift card to the first person who found Scott, THE Label Daddy. Someone got to him before he even stepped onto an elevator to head down to the lobby.
I went to the Vaginally Challenged panel to hear the men of BlogHer speak which included Adam from www.Avitable.com, Matthew from www.childsplayx2.com, and Jim from www.busydadblog.com. There were so many things they said that shocked me. Like they don’t feel the need to post every day, yet people still read their blogs. They focus on good writing and stories rather than day to day stuff. One of the things they said was that they don’t focus on stats and readers and worry about what they’re doing because that would make what they do less enjoyable. I completely agree with that. They also don’t have the drama and cliques that the women in the blogosphere tend to have to deal with. They also don’t really do product reviews unless something really awesome comes their way. Point is- they’re doing it RIGHT and they’re happy about it! We could all learn from the men who blog.
Some of my pics from BowlHer 09:
My good friend Toni from www.JustStopScreaming.com. She’s sweet, sincere and very loyal to her friends and I love that about her.
Kelly from Childhood.. she’s SO much fun to be around!
I love Jen from JenHinton.com. She’s silly, sassy, believes in family above all else, and she’s one proud mom. I also shared a bed with her and I’m not sure how she dealt with me and my mountain of stuff I kept piling on the bed and my 5 minutes of moving around trying to get comfortable. I’m so glad I got lost and found her at the Ragu lunch. LOL
Fiona from www.banteringblonde.com was hilarious and did this pose like 10 times for us so we could all take pictures. I don’t know how she did this, I probably would have put my back out had I tried it even once. Fiona has spunk and totally cracks me up.
Jen can bowl! She made us all look pathetic. LOL
Time to pack:
This was Sara’s bag.. and Sara was trying to squish this ALL into her suitcase AND zip it up! However, she did get it all in there and her suitcase zipper surprisingly closed. But in the process it gave us all a good laugh.
BlogHer wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t expect to see people get so greedy over free products. Sure they were nice products but it’s not like they were made out of gold or something. I’m not sure elbowing people and getting ticked off over coloring books and lint removers is what BlogHer parties should be all about. I also wasn’t expecting the conference to be like some strange version of a college party… nude surprises walking through the parties (thankfully I missed that), drunkenness, puke in the elevators. I expected there to be more professionalism, however I witnessed and heard about a lot of drama within certain groups and it was just really sad. People went out of their way to be rude, mean, and downright cruel and I couldn’t help but wonder why they would try so hard to provoke things the way they did. My post about blogging being like high school rings true more now than ever before and I’m somewhat disgusted in the blogosphere. However, now I know who’s who.. the good, the bad, the ugly, the psychotic and I’ll leave it at that.
Would I attend BlogHer again? I don’t know. I can’t say I wouldn’t because I did have fun a good majority of the time, even if parts of it seemed stressful. I think I would prefer smaller conferences like Sitscation and Blissdom over anything though. A smaller group setting like these conferences might make it easier to connect with others and maybe I’d even learn something. I think the smaller conferences would leave me feeling like I’d accomplished something and I think there wouldn’t be the same kind of drama that I saw at BlogHer.
5 Things I’m taking away from BlogHer 2009:
- SOME people are greedy but not all – not everyone will elbow a baby in the head for a free reusable tote bag or ask for ridiculous things from companies.
- You might not remember everyone based on their name or blog- but 9 times out of 10 you’ll know them by their twitter ID.
- Some of the people you’ve never been anything but nice to online may not be nice to you in real life.
- I’m inspired to become a better writer.. more QUALITY content and less of everything else. Even if that means I only blog a couple times a week. It’s better for my readers, better for me, and better for my family and my home. I’ve put way too much pressure on myself and for what?
- I enjoy working for a company rather than for myself. Apparently I’m not really good at pimping my blog out but I really love networking for a company that I stand behind and love. I have no idea why it works that way for me, it just does.
Related posts:
Looks like an absolute blast, I can’t wait for 2010!
I adored meeting you and hanging out at the Sara Lee Summit. I think you were spot on with what BlogHer was about and what you gained from it. I am still processing BlogHer and what I want to say about it
((Hugs))
Great post…I was surprised to read all the posts about greedy people and the swag. I am kind of grateful that I was in a 5 Minutes for Mom..work and interview bubble…because I think I missed all of the drama and craziness. I wish we would have had a chance to hang out more…hopefully I’ll see you at another blogging event sometime soon.
I am glad that now that you are reflecting on it, that you might consider going again next year. I know that when I ran into you that one night at BlogHer…you looked so sad, angry and upset. I felt so bad for you!
It looks like you had some GREAT roommates.
They look like such fun ladies.
I really like what you’ve taken away from it.
I thought it was a blast and luckily I wasn’t anywhere near any of the drama. Sorry that you got elbowed!
Wow, the greediness seems to be the main dissapointment I keep hearing about as well as some folks being standoffish when they are known as supposed “weblebrities”. Amazing and dissapointing to read. I thank you as I have thanked some other for not overglamourizing (is that a word) this event. Let’s me know what not to do next year LOL.
I’ve have heard about the greediness on so many blogs now, it’s insane! I didn’t go this year, although I wanted to. I’m not so sure about next year. If I go, the man is coming with me and I won’t be at all those parties, maybe just one.
Oh man I almost forgot about the puke in the hall! That was so sick!! We were laughing about it and thinking “That was someone’s MOM!” nooo!
I have to agree with your summary, and a lot of the points are sad but true. I was glad to see you, even if only for a minute on my way to the bathroom! Your outfit looked wonderful, and I felt that I packed too much and overdressed as well. Oh well, we learn!
Danelle Ice
I just simply don’t understand the greed. And I see it appearing in the MommyBlogging community online, not just offline at events. Just makes me so sad.
However, it still looks like you had a great time! Meeting all the bloggers is what I’d go for. Not the free stuff.
And the night where the bloggers read their posts sounds TOTALLY AMAZING!
Nell
Can I just say this post made me say,”Awwww, LOL, I miss her, yes she does twitch herself to sleep, and she SO had me at RAGU.”
I loved everyone that I met at Blogher(ok not everyone) but you are definitely a part of the FANTABULOUS four! I can’t wait to see you again!
So much fun hangin’ with you and getting to know you! Thanks for catching my moment on camera … not sure what inspired me… LOL
What a great post Miranda!
BlogHer definitely was an experience we ALL have to make as bloggers. It taught us where and WHO we want to be in the blogosphere. I’m so happy you enjoyed working with Label Daddy bc there is NO WAY in HELL I’m letting you leave us.
SITScation will be smaller, more intimate, and I know you’ll represent us well sweet woman!
What a wonderful post and it describes to a T what I think everyone in our fantab4 room were thinking. I can’t wait to do this over and over with you, next time I call sleeping with you
Yes there was drama and people that tried to ruin our weekend but thankfully we grew up long ago and were able to just walk away knowing we were there for the right reasons while others may not have been.
What a refreshing and honest viewpoint.:)
I was so torn about going to BlogHer because I wondered how you would get to network with all those people well. I agree small conferences are the way to go or at least conferences that are less general but more focused on one area.
I hope there is a lot more quiet reflection with some of the people you mentioned relating to swag. People do lose their minds and behave out of character- peer pressure I guess.
I hope we can get back to the fun of blogging and have less emphasis on review blogs, contest blogs, sponsorship and get back to supporting and promoting good content.
Thanks so much for the detailed re-cap.
That chocolate cake looks delicious!
And I am totally impressed by Fiona’s pose with the bowling ball.
Your summary kind of reminds me of my experience at BlogHer ‘08 (I didn’t attend this year because I didn’t want to leave my “littles” behind – 4 months old and 2 years old). The conference is big and a bit overwhelming and the lack of professionalism is disheartening, but it’s also so incredible to connect with “blogging friends” in real life. My favorite moments of the conference were the “in-between” moments – chatting in the hotel room, going out to dinner with friends, etc.
Fabulous post. You are so right. The very same woman elbowed me three times in the famous swag suite. I just got disgusted and left.
It so wasn’t worth that bottle of Wisk that exploded in my luggage. I had to hang my head in shame and run out of the airport when I saw the purple Wisk trail on the luggage carousel. It was all over the place. Nasty.
I already rode in the same elevator three times before I noticed the puke in it. I kept thinking that it was very stinky but it never occurred to me to look around for some puke. Blech!
I’m so glad you got something useful out of our panel discussion. I’ve heard your sentiments echoed a lot since that panel and I really do believe if you don’t pressure yourself to write every day, concentrate on quality over quantity, you and your blog will be better for it.
I really enjoyed meeting you all. Thanks for the shout out.
I was so glad I got to meet you at the Newbie breakfast!!
I think it would be great if we could have the one next year without swag…or keep it all until we were ready to leave the party (like at a child’s birthday party…for the the exact same reason…no fighting over what is in them…no complaining and to keep your attention on what you are there for.) LOL
I loved meeting all the people and learned a lot.
Hope you will be at Blogher 10…I am going for sure.
Best review of Blogher I’ve read yet. Thanks for all the great info and details. Sounds like a good time was had over all!
Sorry but that chocolate cake looks amazing! lol
I had no idea that so much drama was or is involved with blogging
I have never came across it and hope to never come across it. I am glad that you did have fun though with your new bloggin’ buddies, how great is that? I don’t know if I will ever attend a Blogher event, but I do like reading about them. I agree on the Dad’s take on blogging too. Quality over quantity… Great advice, really. It is really all about meeting new people, writing what you feel and having fun. I am trying to do that and stay away from all this drama I keep hearing about! Great post and I love your blog 
Kim
I totally love how you spun the fact that I am essentially a lazy blogging dude into something so positive!
You rock. And I chuckled at how it’s easier to remember someone by their twitter ID than their blog. How true. It’s also a lot easier to recognize them if you crop their face with a frame you make with your fingers. Looks a lot more like their avatar. Yup, I was doing that all weekend!
Girl, meeting you and learning all we have in common was a highlight of Blogher for me! And, Jen made me laugh with her comment that you twitch yourself to sleep- too funny =) Talk to you soon!
I don’t know what it would be like if I met the faces behind the blogs of those I’ve talked to online. I think it would be a bit weird, sorry to hear that you met some selfish, greedy people but unfortunately they are in every walk of life and it’s good you met some great friends!
Miranda,
I am sooooo sorry you had such a negative experience at BlogHer. I loved meeting you…
I wrote a post about this at…
http://www.5minutesformom.com/6822/blogosphere-like-high-school/
Talk soon,
Susan
I somehow managed to get out of BlogHer avoiding most of the yuck and drama. Maybe cause nobody would elbow a pregnant woman
Anyway, I really enjoyed meeing you at the UL event and you ROCKED the fire extiguisher. I loved Blissdom 10 times more than BlogHer so you should definitely check that out. Much more focused on frienships and blogging than swag and parties!!
I just came across your blog and I love it. I love to write but my blog is more about saving money and freebies but now that I read yours maybe I can incorporate other writings into it. Thanks for the great perspective.