BlogHer 2012 Bound Pt. 3 - The Parties

Now that we've gotten the basics and the business parts of BlogHer covered, let's talk about the parties! There are two types of parties happening a BlogHer, the official and the private or offsite parties. The big difference between the two is the official parties are open to everyone with a BlogHer pass. The private ones are invite only, for the most part. Now, before I get into the actually parties there is one thing I need to mention, Outboarding. In simple terms, outboarding is a term used to describe a party that sort of latches on to a large event in the area. They don't sponsor the larger event, in the case BlogHer, but they do gain from having all these people come into the city to attend it. If you read the article I linked above, you see there is question if it is ethical for people to latch on to a bigger named convention and do on. I'm torn on the topic and don't really know how I feel. I want to support BlogHer in every way, but the opportunities some of these private events offer are really too good to pass up! Plus, it is NYC so I'm sure there are always events going on, but for the most part these private events are using BH to some extent. It's a toss-up. So I'm going to leave it up to you to make your own decisions about the non-BlogHer sponsored parties. Go with your gut. But also keep in mind you are trying to be the best blog you can be and sometimes a detour out of the main event might be what is needed.

So, on to the parties! BH is hosting a number of parties each night. On Thursday you have some parties to kick off the main event, including Serenity Suite, Evening at the Expo, The People's Party, and Queerosphere. Friday evening brings you some even wilder fun with Voices of the Year, Open Mic Salon, and ending with the most talked about party... Sparklecorn! And on Saturday, to close out the event they are even more wilder parties Come As You Are, Social Fiesta, and CheeseburgHer! The official parties I plan on attending are Sparklecorn, I mean seriously, rainbows, glitter, and a giant unicorn cake!? Add to that liqueur, glowsticks, and a lot of crazy dancing women in wild party outfits... It's going to be one out of this world party. Depending on how my Saturday goes, I'm hoping to stop into the CheeseburgHer party. This one features food by McDonalds (I think) and as the evening progresses people end up wearing paper bags on their heads as if the were in some crazy hamburger loving cult. Those are really the only two parties I think I'm going to be able to visit. My good buddy Laura is thinking of maybe going to the Open Mic event to see what that is about. I'd go with her, but this is where the private events start to come into play for me.

On Thursday night, I'll be attending Sweet Suite, a party hosted by The Big Toy Book. It's being held at Viacom studios, overlooking Time Square! And some of the brands that will be in attendance... Hasbro, Hexbug, Lego! Who could pass up a chance to meet Lego!? Not this brick loving freak! The whole night is going to be pure toy geek heaven. Perfect for a just starting out toy blogger like myself! I plan to stay the whole toy party, so I didn't even try to get tickets to the countless other events that night, like Social Luxe and Social Soirée. I wanted my night to be all about the toys.

© The Big Toy Book

On Friday evening, I managed to snag an invite to another toy party, this one all about Hasbro. I'm really looking forward to meeting the pr reps for this one because they aren't too far from my in NJ. There is possibility for future toy events in NYC or NJ, both very easy for me to get to! This was the only private event I picked up for Friday. I wanted to go to Sparklecorn, and I wanted to give myself a chance to enjoy each one instead of quickly running from one party to the next. That just seems like too much work for me and my jacked up knee. Maybe next year I'll be a little my daring in the number of parties I attend.

© Disney

On Saturday, I again only have one private event. This one is a movie premiere and cocktail party hosted by Disney. Yes, you read that right, Disney. Perfect for my Magic Family of sites wouldn't you say? The movie they a premiering is The Odd Life Of Timothy Green. Not 100% sure what it's about, but I'm always game for a good Disney family film. And Laura got into this event too, so getting to enjoy it together is a big bonus! I got other invites for this day, but I took a long look at the schedule and at my blog goals and ended up turning them down. I'm sure the free swag would be great, but the content wasn't a perfect match and I hated taking the spot from someone else who would get more out of it.

Now you are probably wondering how, as a newish blogger, did I manage to get any private party invites. It was pure luck. I was either in the right place at the right time, or I knew the right people. It's not hard to get the invites, you just have to know where to look. Most popular place - the BlogHer12 hashtag on Twitter. And join a group on Facebook about going to BlogHer. Those group members are a wealth of information! It's also who you know, who you've work with in the past, and how easy it is to find out about you, your site, and your contact info. If you are just starting out, you'll take a bit of a blow to your ego, doing a lot of "why wasn't I invited". It's not personal no matter how hard you believe it is. Just let that party go and move on. And if there is a party you want to go to really bad,  please for the love of Pete, do not beg, plea, whine, or spam the BH hashtag. It makes you look needy and desperate. And that's no way to come across to people you may want to work with it the future.

Enjoy the parties you got and don't sweat the ones you didn't! Party On!