BlogHer: A Newbie’s Quick-Fire Wrap-Up

‘Tis the season to find hundreds of BlogHer wrap-up posts, many infused with great emotion and detail.  But because I’m so exhausted from the weekend and can hardly tell which end is up, I decided to share my judgements in a brief, short-is-sweet format.

The location:  NYC?!  Awesome!

The hotel:  fabulous location, comfy beds, great service.

The hotel’s internet:  HORRIBLE.

The hotel’s elevator system:  adequate, if you don’t mind feeling like a yo-yo (going down five floors to take another elevator up 10 floors) or waiting 15 minutes for one to stop.

The food:  DELISH!  Honestly, the best blogging conference food I have *ever* eaten.

The sessions:  I only went to two (and enjoyed both), but nothing else on the schedule ”spoke” to me, and from what I hear, even those who attended more sessions were underwhelmed.  The overall response:  the sessions were often crowded, offered little interaction, and the panelists didn’t know much more than many of the bloggers in attendance.   But that’s just what I heard.

The swag:  Meh.  Again:  underwhelmed.  Which is just fine.  I got over the spell of swag on the first night, before the conference even started.

The expo hall:  Really?  I spent two and a half hours there and didn’t make more than maybe three valuable contacts.  A third of the booths were things I had no interest in, some of the presenters either didn’t know what they were talking about or were just talking off scripts, and overall it felt too much like being barked at by carnival hustlers.

The parties:  a lot of fun.  I went to SocialLuxe, Sparklecorn, and Cheeseburgher.  Each one had their own “flavor,” with a lot of music and tons of energy.

The people:  this is what it’s about, right?  I loved those who came through my affectionately-named “Hobo Suite”:  Rachel, Deb, Tracy, Meagan, and others.  Those who needed a place to land found their way to Room 1820, and it made for an awesome, safe, welcome, meaningful place to be.  I got to hang out with the crew from Mabel’s Labels, the company who brought me to BlogHer in the first place.  I can tell you they are all as gracious and fun-loving as they seem.  I got to see blogging friends I’ve made online and met other times in person (I enjoyed our bus ride, Tricia!).  I also got to meet (however briefly) other bloggers who I hope will stay in contact (that includes you, Jen!).  I met PR people I’ve been working with online and was glad to know them face-to-face.  Overall, I had an incredibly positive experience with the people at BlogHer.  Then again, there were more than 1,000 in attendance, and I kept my focus down to maybe 10 important interactions.

BlogHer was everything everyone is saying it was:  emotional, overwhelming, huge, catty, fun, exciting, lonely, uplifting, welcoming, educational, exclusive, exhausting…EVERYTHING.  BlogHer is a strange alchemy of what the organizers have made it + what others bring to it + what you bring to it.  Which is why it’s different for everyone and probably different from year to year.  It’s a living, breathing, organic experience, and I’d say that for being a newbie this year, I came out of it a-ok.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig:

1. BlogHer: It’s Like…
2. Your Voice Is Yours To Keep {Mabel’s Labels BlogHer ’10 Contest Entry}
3. Top Ten {Tuesday}: 10 Things I Hope To Do Before, During, and After BlogHer ’10

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