The BlogHer `12 Aftermath

I am now 4 days post BlogHer `12. The manicure has started to chip, con crud is slowly creeping in, and the stack of business cards & info sheets loom over me begging to be dealt with. My head is swimming with ideas and things I wish I did different and longing for more time. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. And I have no idea where to begin. So, I guess I'll start with the easiest thing... telling you how it all went.

What seemed like months of planning all came down to a very fast 3 days. There was good. There was bad. And there was downright terrible. No amount of planning could prepare me for the event, even though I thought I have every possible detailed covered. Nothing like 5000+ people gathered together to quickly make you reevaluate at your plans. Since my head is so full of thoughts and crud, I'm going to just list it all out.

The Right

• The Buddy System - I cannot stress this enough... Laura was my saving grace. Planning to attack the conference with a buddy was the smartest move I made. From sharing a room, to getting the most out of sessions, and a sounding board when I just needed to talk things out. She was my rock. I knew Laura was a great friend... but this weekend clearly proved I don't get to see her or talk to her enough. I truly love her and value everything about her. And I couldn't have done the whole thing without her!

Don't Blink!

• Staying at the Sheraton - While this was more due to the Hilton being sold out, I am very pleased I ended up staying at the Sheraton. It was a quick walk from the Hilton and after reading the many, many complaints from those that stayed at the convention hotel, I have zero. No issues with the room, the elevator, the bill, or the staff. And it was nice to be able to leave the hub of the conference and to get away from it all. Though I will say I could have done without the Weeping Angel in our room... even if it was a perfect tribute for a couple of Whovians!

• The Sessions - Am I ever glad I attended the sessions that I did. I ended up going to all the ones I planned on and they were fantastic. I learned so much and came away with tons of things to do and think about. The one on Affiliate Marketing alone was worth the cost of the BlogHer ticket!

• The Private Parties - no matter what your feeling is on outboarding, the private parties were worth it! I only went to three, purposely selected for how they fit with my "brand". The connections I made, the info I collected, and the good times... totally worth it. And the swag was amazing! I can't wait to either review it or give it away! I got more out of these events than the expo.
• Free Wi-Fi - I had heard horror stories about convention wi-fi. It worked perfectly for me the whole day. It was great because my phone decided it didn't want to play nice.

Hasbro Party

• The Location - Who doesn't love NYC?! Nothing like a quick train ride to get to and from the action. Being a semi-local made a lot of difference for me because I wasn't also trying to cram in sightseeing as part of the event. If there was something I wanted to see, I can easily go back. It also help save on cost because I only need one night in the hotel and didn't have to deal with flying.

Our View from The Big Toy Book Event

The Wrong

• The Crowds - I just don't think the Hilton was meant to hold 5000+ people. To have to see people eating meals on the floor and having to wait 20-30 minutes for an elevator... well, your venue is overbooked. I hope next year there is a limit on tickets, because I don't know if I could deal with that many people again.

• The Geek Bars - These were a disaster. Disorganized, you couldn't hear sometimes because of the other sessions in the room, and sort of a waste of time. I did a Design Audit and would have rather seen a full session on just basic blog design tips than try to audit 8 people's sites in a 30 minute session... and not get to everyone. I'm hoping there will be some good follow up with the presenter, because she did seem to have a great grasp on the material.

• The Expo - This was so not what I was expecting. The booths I had high hopes were a bust and some I didn't think about visiting ended up being little hidden gems. The swag was fine, not better, not worse than what was predicted. Just different. It made it easy to pick out what was of use. I will tell you I ended up with 20 reusable totes, 35 coupons, and 7 pens... all which made my mom very happy. And the 7 flash drives will come in handy because I'm down to about 1GB of space on my laptop, which will be gone the minute I download the photos from BlogHer. Overall though, the expo was more trade show than here's how we can work together. I don't need a new vacuum or phone, I need to know what we can do for each other as a brand and a blogger. That was sorely missing. I wish I took the time to go to more sessions instead of spending so much time at the expo.

The best "swag" of the convention... business cards and information!

• Relying on Twitter - A bunch of things at BlogHer relied on Twitter. Entering contests, finding other people, catching news. I just didn't want to spend my entire time staring at a phone. Maybe I'm just not a tweeter, but I just didn't get why it was needed so much.

• The Pack Mule Effect - I just packed too much stuff I thought I was going to need. My hands were constantly full and I was seriously weighed down. I really wish I had a better phone or a point & shoot, because bringing the DSLR was a mistake. It was so bulky I barely used it. Between business cards and a phone and a camera and swag and handshakes and even Dalí, my hands were full All.The.Time. It was insane. And I'm never doing that again.

• My Confidence - Leaving BlogHer I feel my confidence in myself and my work a little shattered. I feel like I now need to do complete overhauls of everything I do. Full redesigns, different photography, different topics. In some cases I even feel like I might have to adopt a kid to be able to "compete" for the attention of some brands. Some of this feeling may come from being sick and completely exhausted. In a few days, after some meaningful online conversations, some connections made, and some information better absorbed, I should be okay. Just have to keep telling myself I am good enough, my work is good enough, and if people don't like me or my "brand", oh well.

The So Very Wrong

• The Heat - I hate summer... I always have. The sun is not my friend and if I never have to deal with heat & humidity again it'll be too soon. But it's August, it's NYC, it's expected. It wasn't like there was a massive change in the weather for me... I only live about 45 mins West of New York. But I didn't expect summer to be INSIDE the convention. From the crazy hot expo, to hot session rooms, to lots of bodies pressed together. I don't think there wasn't a time I wasn't hot and sticky. If I had thought about bringing enough clothes, or had the time, I would have showered a million times a day. Add to it that I was wearing jeans and a knee brace... it was not fun. If I didn't hug you, it's not because I didn't want to... it's because I was saving you from the hot mess that I was.

• The Food & Drink -  Ugh... food. My kryptonite. I love some kinds, hate most other. And this food was a bust. And because I relayed on the Hilton and private parties to get my meals... my intake was nowhere near where it needed to be and I paid for it by Saturday. I should have know that I would have food issues, and I even brought snacks... just should have planned for meals on my own. And while I get that BlogHer is trying to go green, those water coolers and little cups were not enough. I'm all for going green, but maybe in the swag bags there could have been refillable bottles, something more portable than a little plastic cup. And plastic cups? That didn't get recycled and no one used more than once. Not sure how "green" that really ended up being. I even had a water bottle I refilled and I just didn't drink enough water. Too many sweets and carbs and soda. Not enough of anything green or protein or of real substance. Not that there wasn't some of those options... it was just nothing I would eat.  

• Sparklecorn - This was wrong not for what it was, but for my expectations vs reality. I expected a lot of drinking and dancing and even some shenanigans, but it was so much worse. It was super loud, dark as night, and some of the behavior was shameful. But I really can't put that on the party goers. It is just not my scene, and while I'm not the most classy chick on the block... there was so crass behavior that caused my jaw to drop. I think I managed to stay 30 minutes. And even that was too long. I will say the cake was yummy... even if there is some disagreement on what the filling was.

• Blogger Time - While there seemed like there was enough time for everything, there just wasn't time to network with OTHER bloggers. Other than breakfast and maybe waiting in a line, there was no time to connect. You almost need to preplan to meet people. Lunch was paired with keynotes, so no speaking to each other there. And there was just no real place to sit. Only one or two seats in the lobby and none anywhere else. There were times when it would have been nice to grab a seat with someone and chat... other than the floor. 

Overall, I got a lot out of my experience. BlogHer 2013 is being held in Chicago and while I think I'd like to go, I really need to see what my return is on BlogHer 2012. I learned a lot of lessons, good & bad, and I'm a lot wiser in the ways of a blogger convention. I just really need to see were I can take it from here before I invest in another event... be it BlogHer or a different convention.