Already Feeling Like a BlogHer Pro: Day Two

It's funny how one day can make such a difference. Friday morning I was such a stress case, totally lost and confused and worried about every little detail. Saturday morning was so different. I woke up feeling more relaxed, and actually took the time to sit down with my morning coffee before getting myself dressed and ready to head to BlogHer Day 2. (Part of this was due to the fact that everything kicked off an hour later than Friday - thank you, BlogHer!!!) I was much less concerned with what I was wearing and just threw on a comfortable outfit. I leisurely headed down to the convention center and strolled into the breakfast hall. After quickly finishing my breakfast, I ran back down to the Expo to get more shopping networking done.

I was really hoping the sessions on Saturday would be better since I hadn't been too impressed with Friday's sessions. I was starting to worry that I'd get home and have to report to Mike that I didn't really learn anything from this $300 conference. I was thrilled to find that the morning got off to a great start. For one thing, I didn't have a flash mob on the brain, and even more importantly, the first session I attended was a good one. I went to "Your Blog Can Make You a Social Media Marketer". This one was really applicable to me since I've been working with Social Media Marketing recently and I'm in the process of building my SM skills so that I can get more clients as a Virtual Assistant. I did feel that some of the information was a bit remedial - not everyone in the room even knew what SEO was, or how to use Twitter, so I had to bear with it for a while, but I did get some good bits of knowledge from the session. Elisa Page is great - I always love to hear what she has to say!

Lunch was another quick affair and again I headed back to the Expo and sponsor lounges after eating. (Yes, I wanted all the swag I could get, but I also was very interested in making some great contacts for blog partnerships.) The next thing I knew, it was already time to head back to sessions! Next up on the agenda? "Putting the 'Professional' in Professional Blogging." This was BY FAR the best session of BlogHer 2011. Amy Lupold Bair was very funny and entertaining as moderator, and I loved hearing what the panel had to say. Within the first 15 minutes I felt like I had gotten my money's worth. (That's $300, folks! This was a GOOD session.) The room was packed, and I filled page after page of notes. I haven't felt so inspired to blog in years. I don't know quite where I'm going with my blog and career yet, but now I feel like I have a starting point. I can't wait to sit down and go through all my notes and put together a plan for myself. I now feel like I have enough knowledge to start making something of myself, and I can't wait!

My last session of the day was "How to Create a Kick-A$$ Proposal". I liked it - it was good - but it really only answered the bare minimum of the questions I had, and I felt like it wasn't really quite what I was expecting. I am completely new to proposal writing so I was hoping for a step-by-step breakdown of what a proposal looks like and how to put it together. Instead it was more of listening to an established ad agency talk about their great ideas and how they share them with companies. We got to see what a BAD proposal looks like, and then we got to see what a good one looks like. I did find this helpful, so even though I don't know how to actually come up with creative ideas for a proposal and how to put them together, at least I now know what one is supposed to look like.

Once out of the sessions, feeling totally fulfilled like I was on a high, I headed (yes, you guessed it...) back to the expo. Time to hit up all the final sponsors and try to grab some last minute goods before it all came to a close. I am still so floored by how generous all the BlogHer sponsors were. I came home with toys for Sam, food and medicine for all of us, coupons galore, and enough reusable bags that I should be shot if I ever use another plastic grocery bag. I found some awesome companies that I am looking forward to working with on my blog, companies that will be a great fit for Stuff Parents Need, and information about products that will be very useful to me and my family. I ended up with 6 bags full of goodies. I added up the value of everything, and it came in at well over the amount I spent on my BlogHer ticket. Absolutely amazing.

Last (but certainly not least!) on the BlogHer agenda was more partying. I was fortunate enough to meet with several of the local San Diego bloggers for dinner at the Melting Pot. It's so nice to be able to network with other local women who have so much in common with me. After dinner I was planning to head to the Plum District sponsored party, the Secret Style Suite, and my boss, Michelle, ended up meeting us at the Melting Pot and hooked several of my friends up with party passes. To make things even more amazing, she picked us all up in a limo and took us to the Hard Rock Hotel for the party. Way to go, Plum District!!! The party was hosted by Savvy Sassy Moms and Moms Fashion File. The hosts and all the sponsors for this party went ALL out. There was gelato and cocktails provided by Ciao Bella, a drawing for some beautiful baby gear from Stokke, hair feathering by Detour Salon, and more. It was so much fun to party in style and feel young and carefree again. After the party several of us just weren't ready to call it quits, so we headed back to the hotel for the last BlogHer sponsored party, CheeseburgHer. We made the mandatory paper bag hats, ate a cheeseburger, and snapped some photos. Now that was a party! It was SO much better than Sparklecorn the night before. The crowd was great, the atmosphere was awesome, and I am pretty sure everyone was having an amazing time. My only regret is that we didn't get a photo on the cheeseburger bed!

So, my recap of day two? Much better than day one, and worth the price tag of the conference:
Workshops: Excellent - especially the one on Professional Blogging!!!
Networking: still great - I met some really great people that I hope to maintain friendships with!
Expo: worth every $$$ I spent on BlogHer
Sponsored Parties: awesome all around - I ate free all weekend, drank free all weekend, made some great connections, and felt fabulous and special.
BlogHer Parties: CheeseburgHer is a must-attend - even if you don't like McDonalds.

Thoughts on My First BlogHer Experience: Day One

This past weekend was so amazing for me, I hardly know where to begin. For one thing, it was such a last minute decision for me to go that the few days leading up to BlogHer were a complete blur. I went from being totally relaxed about my week to suddenly rushing around like a madwoman trying to coordinate babysitters, get last-minute business cards printed (thanks, Laura at Vertical Printing & Graphics!) choose which workshops I wanted to attend, and oh yes, trying to get on the guest list for the must-attend parties. I had no idea what I was getting into, so thankfully I have good friends that were able to steer me in the right direction!

Friday morning was completely overwhelming for me. I got downtown and right off the bat I couldn't figure out where I was supposed to park. I kept seeing women in skirts everywhere and was suddenly afraid I was under-dressed. I was totally stressed out that I was going to be in line for hours trying to register, and I would miss breakfast. It turns out my fears were totally unfounded. I parked under the convention center just fine, and while I was frantically on the phone with my friend Dani trying to figure out which door I was supposed to go in, I saw the registration counter right in front of my face. I was registered in all of 5 minutes with my hands already full with my first swag bag. On my way in, I ran into some fellow San Diego bloggers (where I snapped a couple photos for the #SDBlogHunt - more on that later!) and was happy to find that San Diego girls like to dress casual. I was right at home in my jeans and tank top! I headed up the escalator to breakfast, where yet again I was overwhelmed. There were women EVERYWHERE. I had a 2-second panic attack when I couldn't reach my friends by phone, but I quickly found them, got myself a plate of free food, and got comfortable. Within a few moments I had been introduced to several local women, and things were going okay.

As soon as I finished eating, I followed the crowd into the morning keynote session. We heard about how influential woman bloggers are now, and that the majority of people take their advice from us. The keynote was followed by speed dating, which I found extremely awkward. We formed into several circles and briefly met the blogger in front of us, exchanged business cards, and moved on. It was interesting, but I really didn't feel like I connected with anyone. It was such a broad audience that no one in my circle happened to have much in common with me. It was an interesting experience, but I cut out early. I think I'll skip speed dating next year. I'd rather make my connections in smaller circles in the sessions I attend with like-minded bloggers.

The first session I attended was one I had really been looking forward to, but unfortunately I was disappointed. The workshop was called "Leveraging Your Blog to Build E-Products For Sale." Mike and I have been talking about opening a web store for months now, so I was really excited to learn more about getting that going, and to find out what kind of products my readers would be interested in. I quickly found that this workshop was all about how to create and sell an e-book online. Not what I was looking for at all. So, I headed out and gave the "Bad Blogger Pitches" workshop a try. It was okay, but I think that since I came in late, I was a little lost and therefore not fully understanding the discussion. There may have also been something else on my mind....(#mobher #operationglory) So, I decided to check out the expo for a while. HOLY MOLY. More on the expo later.

After the expo, once my arms and shoulders were aching from the weight of all my swag, I headed to lunch. I walked into the lunch room, and by this point, my entire body was shaky, my stomach was swirling, and I was nervous as all hell. Why? I was about to participate in my very first FLASH MOB. About 100 or so of us were about to get crazy on the lunchroom floor and break out into dance to Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory." I had been practicing for several days, but honestly I do NOT do well with choreography. I was sooo nervous. Halfway through my meal the music started, and the girls began to dance. By the time it was my turn to join in I was ready, but I was surprised to find that I was still shaking for a good 30 minutes afterwards! But it was so worth it - the girls of #operationglory ROCKED it. Everyone did awesome, and we had a huge audience and everyone loved it. I am so honored to have been a part of it! I can't wait until Sam is old enough to understand that her mom participated in a Flash Mob.

After lunch I felt like I had my head on straight again - no more flash mob taking over my thoughts. I headed into the "Connecting With Brands From the Inside Out" session. It was okay, but again I just didn't really feel like it was really what I was looking for. For my last session of the day I attended "Peer Networking." It was good, but a bit remedial. I was hoping for something a bit more advanced, as most of the Twitter, Facebook, and SEO info was stuff that I have already researched on my own.

I think the highlight of my day so far was the Expo. I cannot believe how much stuff was in there! Thank goodness I had a friend to walk around with for my first trip or I would have been totally lost. Every type of business you can imagine, from PepsiCo to Lowes, to Skinny Cow to Chuck E Cheese, to Hillshire Farms to Snapfish was there. And every single one of them was giving out free swag. I entered to win giveaways, gave vendors my contact info, and filled my bags with goodies. I barely scratched the surface on day one and already my bags were full. I got fake eyelashes installed at the Skinny Cow booth, snagged some cash at the RetailMeNot money grab, and posed with the Charmin bear in front of a gigantic toilet. I also filmed a Febreze commercial and discovered that I would NOT make a good spokesperson for them. Obviously my super-powered sniffing abilities have lingered after my pregnancy.

During the afternoon I was able to meet one of my online friends, fellow blogger Emily from Baby Dickey. It was so nice to actually put a face to a name! She is just as sweet in person as I imagined she would be. I scored some great swag from her and the girls and also ended up winning a drawing for some Vedette Shapewear!

After the last session of the day, I headed over to the Cheap Sally party at Stingaree - one of the awesome parties I was fortunate enough to get on the list for! The crew at Cheap Sally really went all out for us - we had free drinks, free food (and it was delicious! tacos, pasta, BBQ, mmm...), music, and more swag. I also made some really great connections with sponsors at the party, some of which I can't wait to get in touch with!

After Cheap Sally I headed back to check out the #SparkleCorn party. It was, let's just say, weird. I totally felt like I was at some awkward wedding reception in a hotel ballroom. With glowing necklaces everywhere. Maybe I was just there too early, but it was just not comfortable. They were only serving pretzels and hot dogs, and plus, it was only 8:45 and I was so tired I felt like it was already midnight. (That right there may be the bulk of the problem!) I left before I had a chance to participate in the #operationglory encore, but I heard that it was really the only interesting part of the party anyway. So, I don't feel too bad.

So, here's my breakdown of Day 1:
Keynote: so-so
Speed Dating: not worth my time
Flash Mob: AWESOME
Workshops: not quite what I was expecting
Networking: great - I met some really great people along the way
Expo: so much fun - there is really something for everyone, and the sponsors are SO generous!
Sponsored Parties: a fun and relaxing way to end a long day, while still doing some great networking
BlogHer Parties: only worth going to if you're not super exhausted

I'm back from BlogHer 2011! #blogher11

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to attend BlogHer 2011. I learned so much, met so many great people, and had so many fun experiences that I'm going to have to write a detailed post (or two or three!) about it. But for now, I'll give you a couple quick highlights:

1) I participated in my very first Flash Mob. Yes, really!!! Go #operationglory!
2) I learned that I would NOT be a very good spokesperson for Febreze.
3) I got to put faces to names and see some pretty famous bloggers.
4) I got to ride to the Plum District-sponsored party in a limo. (Where I unknowingly got to grab my friend's butt. Oops!)
5) I ate a cheeseburger at midnight while wearing a fast food bag on my head.
6) I was able to network and build friendships with some awesome local (and not so local) bloggers!

As soon as I get myself a bit more organized (you would be horrified at the stack of papers, flyers, business cards, photos, etc on my desk and piles and piles of swag on my floor!) I will be back with a couple of posts for you detailing my BlogHer experience.

I'm already excited for next year!