Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Clarity Through Chaos and Some Fun Times: My BlogHer Recap




This past weekend, I traveled to New York for a blogging conference.  Maybe you’ve heard about it; it’s called BlogHer.  Plenty of people heard about it because there seemed to millions of women there.  And by millions, it was probably closer to 5,000.  It felt like millions because the sessions were filling up. 

On Friday, there was a very long line to eat lunch, and I was faced with a choice: do I place a premium on seating to hear The Great Martha Stewart speak or do I place the priority on food?  I, in an unprecedented moment, decided to power through the crankiness of low blood sugar and placed the priority on hearing Martha talk about her life (which included her talking about how she tweets and cleans chicken coops and her new show).  This, in turn, resulted in waiting forever to get a turkey sandwich along with a bad attitude.  Others were not so lucky.  They placed the priority on food and had to sit *on the floor* outside the hall where Martha was talking.

Needless to say the vibe was frantic and kind of set the tone for the rest of the day.

I went to some great sessions about turning posts into publishable essays, SEO, Google Analytics, pricing your services, and using social media.  I learned a lot.

But it was outside of the sessions in which I gained clarity about my goals. 

I went to the Voices of the Year ceremony and was completely blown away by the talent on that stage.  The posts were funny and heartbreaking and insightful.  I was moved to tears, both of sadness and joy.  I left feeling completely inspired.

And then it clicked . . . again.

I started my blog because I love to write.  It makes me feel whole and true.  I love the sharing and connecting over the human experience whether it is hilarious or sad or angry.  Losing sight of one’s goals is very easy to do at BlogHer.  There is glitter and mayhem at every turn.  I feel like I got kind of turned around which led to an anxiety attack which was compounded by the crowd and lack of water.  But once I got in touch with my priorities (and ate some food and drank some water), all (well, most) was OK with the world again.

Aside from the frenzied pace and soul searching, I had an amazing time with friends.  To me, this is the very best part of BlogHer.  I have made some awesome friends, not just online friends, but real-life friends from this blogging experience.  Being able to hang out with them in person is just amazing. 

Until you are fighting back tears as you say good-bye, which you blame on lack of sleep and water.  Which is a total lie and everyone knows it.

And if you are from Michigan, plan on me stalking you getting in touch with you so we can hang out more!

 I also attended BanShe which was a ton of fun, too.  And my favorite official BlogHer party was the Come as You Are with the Mouthy Housewives and AimingLow.  Cotton candy, cupcakes, and wine with the Mouthy Housewives?  Yes, please!

Yes, this trip had some hiccups.  But overall, it was success.

Did you go to BlogHer?  What did you think?




8 comments:

Liz Parker said...

I wish I went to Come As You Are! I was at the Disney screening then. It sounded fun.

I take it you will be going to Chicago next year then? :)

RealMommyChron said...

Hey! There were tears being held back when we said goodbye! I think I'm in this blog post! ;)

I love the part about getting distracted by the glitter and mayhem. True dat.

xo

Erin Janda Rawlings said...

I'm not sure. It's really close to my 10th wedding anniversary. I'll have to see how the year pans out.

Erin Janda Rawlings said...

Yes, that would be you! I'm so mushy.

DarleneMAM said...

I attended BlogHer for the first time. When I walked into the Hilton and saw the thousands of (mostly) women and heard the decibel level, I almost back right out the door! Sensory overload!
As a middle-aged blogger I was there to meet my tribe, even though I didn't know quite where to find them. That said, I met dozens of younger bloggers with whom I had conversations and fun. Thank you one and all!
Martha Stewart (my idol when I was younger) and Katie Couric were awesome; I so enjoyed the keynote luncheon speakers!!
I agree with you about the lack of water and the lack of seats into which we should have been able to park our butts!
Stay well,
Darlene

Erin Janda Rawlings said...

Glad you had a good time!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the nice mention Erin! I so loved having you at The Glamorous Luncheon. Knowing I had you, Annie, and the rest of my Michigan friends there to support me was heart warming!

As far as the conference, I agree with the many complaints out there on lack of water and lack of seats....Hopefully that issue will be resolved for next year. I was embarrassed for the conference hosts when I saw the many women sitting on the dirty hotel floor eating their lunches the day Martha Stewart spoke. If one pays to attend the conferences, meals and parties, then they should be accommodated. They deserve that much respect. Again, hopefully those issues will be resolved.

I did love the conference all in all and the trip to NYC as a whole was absolutely amazing! I do plan to go to Chicago next year. Possibly another Glamorous Luncehon will be in the works! Hope to have you right there with me!

Shannon Lazovski

Erin Janda Rawlings said...

Whether I attend BlogHer or not, I would consider going to Chicago for another Glamorous Luncheon! Such a lovely time!