BlogHer ’11: my experience

I am finally sitting down to write about my experience at BlogHer. Life has been such a whirlwind as of late, which has left me little time to sit down at my computer (outside of work). I also needed time to reflect on my experience, and writing a recap the very next day would not have allowed that. Now that it’s been almost two weeks, if I don’t do it now, I never will. It was definitely an amazing experience, both personally and professionally and I am excited to share it with those of you that are interested.

I must admit, I had some trepidation about attending this event. What I knew of BlogHer previously was mostly mommy blogs and their huge corporate sponsorship (cough, cough, McDonald’s). After the weekend however, I wasn’t thinking about the sponsors. I was thinking about how blogging brought people from all walks of life together in a single community and it’s changing the world.

My decision to attend was extremely last minute. Fortunately, my sister, Jenna, was also going and I was able to stay with her for the first two nights at the Marriott in San Diego. It was an amazing hotel, with beautiful views of downtown San Diego and the water. It was also connected to the San Diego Convention Center, so once I was there I had no need to leave. Doesn’t the pool look amazing? Unfortunately, our days were so jam packed I didn’t go in! Jenna and I did make a point of getting in the hot tub for a little bit after the first day, and I’m so glad we did.

The first day I attended a few different workshops, focusing on writing, marketing, and photography. A lot of people had their laptops or iPads, but I was happy to have a good ol’ fashioned pen and notebook. It was interesting to meet numerous people in one session that were all attending the conference for different reasons. I am not one for self-promotion, so being there to represent the company I work for was great “crutch” for me. Everyone wants to know if you blog too, so I was happy to share my small corner of the web.

At lunch the first day (they had vegan and gluten free options!) I sat outside with my sister to enjoy the nice sea breeze. At this one table alone I met a travel blogger, a  couple of graphic designers, a women who works for Sally Beauty, someone who works in the tech world, and blogger who has a book coming out about surviving multiple liver transplants. This just gives you an idea of the diversity of people attending the conference.

I hastily made some personal business cards before I left, and I’m so glad I did. I had postcards with information about The Hipster (where I work) to pass out, but my personal information was no where on there. I was glad to give people a way to connect with me personally. People couldn’t believe they were a DIY and I got so many compliments.

Speaking of compliments, I couldn’t believe how many people complimented me on what I was wearing, specifically my accessories. Everyone I met was so friendly and genuine and it was a great way to start a conversation. Someone even asked if I was an “accessories blogger”. Is there such a thing? I’m not sure, but I was still flattered.

After the first night, BlogHer hosts an event called Sparklecorn (a blend of Sparkle and Unicorn). We had to use up our free drink tickets, so we headed down to the party. It was energizing to see a whole crew of women, no kids, no men, free drinks, a dance floor, you know what I’m saying? They were dancing like no one was watching them and they didn’t have a care in the world. It was pretty cool. The photo above is the aftermath of a unicorn and sparkle-infused white wine dance party. The coolest part of the party for me? I met someone who lives a block away from me. No joke. The amount of things we had in common was a little scary. The thing is, we probably would have never met in Denver. It’s funny how things work like that.

Well that was Day 1. Stay tuned for my Day 2 recap and some final thoughts on how I’m going to change the world through blogging!