I've been wanting to go to Blogher for a long time. There's just a little problem (well, two, if we're going to get specific): I have kids. Little kids.
Yeah.
I've always wondered how parents manage to get away for a weekend. It's hard to do. Believe me, I've tried. I know people do it all the time, but I haven't figured it out yet. Heck, she has a hard time too, so cut me some slack.
When I found out that Blogher was going to bring the party to my corner of the world, I literally had no excuse. So I went. And it was good.
The End.
Oh, I kid. I met some people and had a wonderful time. This is going to take a while, so you may want to get that drink you've been meaning to get.
First, a confession: I was a little lost during the sessions because I'm not exactly new to blogs and I'm not using social media to sell anything. The sessions were good, I just wasn't in the target audience. I wish there were more sessions on how to spark your creativity or just on how to write. Every speaker wisely said that "content" is the most important thing - and I agree. I wanted to focus on writing - maybe a session on the art of journal writing, or even a basic punctuation lesson (ahem) would have made me happy. But then again, I'm a word nerd.
But the best part of any conference is the people. Oh, the people! There were so many people and they all had so many blogs - scholarly blogs, local blogs, blogs about food and shoes and even blogs that don't even exist yet. (Get to it, lady!)
I didn't meet as many people as I'd hoped during the "Speed Dating" session because I was all the way at the end, sandwiched between the very nice lady lady who sells yogurt and Liz Henry. I don't know why I thought Liz would be intimidating, but she is absolutely one of the most approachable people I've ever met - she had a smile on her face THE ENTIRE DAY. Impressive.
Anyways, everybody wanted to meet them, so I kinda just stood there - and that was fine by me because I was a bit overwhelmed the sheer mass of humanity. I don't know how they do those speed dating sessions with 800+ people. Magic?
I'm guilty of gluing myself to those that I was already familiar with - namely fellow townies like Chicky Chicky Baby and the hilarious Fairly Odd Mother (those two had me laughing all day) and my pretend sisters Jane, Audrey and Sharon. I just love their family - you can tell they honestly love and support each other.
But I still somehow managed to find people I had real-life things in common with - like the tall and supermodel-gorgeous Sandy who is not only from my hometown (the real one) - we also went to the same college! Coincidence? I don't think so. She also has the only photographic that I was there - thanks for the picture! I also saw Julie, who used to be my PR partner back when I was in brand marketing - which is pretty much a lifetime ago - and Kerri who used to write at Aisledash with me.
I also met the fabulous Velma and chatted with Mombian about weddings and alma maters, and as soon as Candelaria Silva found out that I'm half Dominican she took me under her wing and educated me on the local Dominican arts scene. (I had no idea it's so active here in Boston!)
I was beyond happy when I finally met HerBadMother and her sweet baby boy (he likes to have his nose tickled and my heart melted, FYI.) I have a feeling that if Catherine and I go to spend some time together we would become BFFs. Then again, I'm pretty sure most people she meets have that feeling too. Speaking of Canadians, I also met Karen Sugarpants, Threeseven and Tempting Mama - all of whom are stunning. I don't know what they put in the chocolate up in Canada, but whatever it is, I want it. So send me some.
I got to discover new (to me) bloggers like Gray Matter Matters (so witty, so smart!) and Wendi Aarons (for real, how did I get by without reading her blog? She's really, really, really funny - like professionally so), the Art and Lemons family, the all-consuming Lilly, and Sally, who wins my award for Best Blog Name Of All Time: Sex and the Knitty.
A big, big thank you to Lisa and Jory and Elisa - thank you for bringing the conference to my backyard. I know you did it just to make me happy. Of course.
See you all at the next one!
