Last week I posted about my general observations while at BlogHer12. It was a whirlwind of a 4 night stay in the Big Apple, especially for a newbie. Now that I’ve have a few days to really sit down and think about my experience, I thought I would share a few tips that might be relevant for those going next year {here we come Chicago!}. Are you ready? Here we go:
Take an extra suitcase for all the swag. No, not a duffel bag, a SUITCASE.
Full size business cards, please. I got free mini-cards and used maybe 3. Which means I was kinda embarrassed a total of three times throughout the conference.
COMFORTABLE SHOES + BLISTER BANDAIDS. ywia.
Don’t put private party stickers on your legit conference pass holder. That shit does NOT come off.
Make a schedule beforehand, and then give yourself permission to break from it in order to a) keep your sanity b) keep your interest and c) hang out with some awesome person you just met {I’m looking at YOU, Suzanne!}.
Know that even though you have 3 roommates, 20 close friends and 5000 other attendees around you, at some point, they will all have other shit to do and you’ll be alone. Don’t freak out. They don’t all hate you. They’re not snubbing you. Go to the Expo. Take a nap. Enjoy the moment to yourself.
For the love of God, don’t go insane on the swag. Pushing people out of the way for a Lysol coupon makes you look like a jerk. A HUGE jerk. Just don’t do crap like that, it’s seriously bad manners and also really weird.
Go to the private parties/sessions/geek bars/keynotes that YOU want to do. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re “doin’ the conference wrong”. Everyone is there for different reasons. Decide what you want to get out of BlogHer and find activities that will help you achieve that. Ignore all the haters.
As a good rule of thumb, ignore all the haters in general.
Remember to eat. Never in a million years did I think I would forget to eat in NEW YORK CITY, but I did. And then I crammed four McDonald’s cheeseburgers into my pie hole in less than 5 minutes. And yes, I suffered for that the next day.
Get there early, stay late. Getting to NYC on Wed was the best decision I made. It gave me time to get comfy with my surroundings, take in the city, and connect with friends before the craziness began.
Do NOT schedule an early flight for Sunday morning. Just don’t.
Meet new people. As awesome as it would have been to room with 3 of my BFFs, it was really amazing to room with 2 complete strangers, and one e-friend I hadn’t actually met IRL. Sit with random people at the keynotes. Go to the sessions by yourself. Introduce yourself to the person waiting in line with you for the elevator. This is how you grow your tribe!
As a f/u to that – do the newbie breakfast and speed dating. DO IT.
Wear whatever the hell you want to. The last night I was there, I was so effing tired of making myself pretty that I wore the same thing all day. That cute dress I had altered just for this conference has still yet to be worn. Be comfy and be YOU.
I’m giving myself permission to add to this list over the next year as I think of more things. Did you go to BlogHer12? Let me know if you have some other tips!
I KNOW. I am a huge jerk for always being too busy to just STOP and hang out. The worst part is I did the SAME thing last year and promised I wouldn’t do it again this year. But I did do better this year – I (fuzzily) remember SEEING you at least 4 times – so next year maybe we can plan a Starbucks date. xoxo
Lol – you’re not a jerk! I stuck your name in there because of your comment on my last BH post. Much love, hon <3
I LOVED Speed Dating. I would say that was one of my favorite things about the conference. I met an amazing woman there whose blog I now love. Also agree with wearing whatever you want. I wore a tshirt and shorts after Getting Gorgeous on Saturday. I was so comfy and happy!! This is a great post.
“For the love of God, don’t go insane on the swag. Pushing people out of the way for a Lysol coupon makes you look like a jerk. A HUGE jerk. Just don’t do crap like that, it’s seriously bad manners and also really weird.”
YES….and this applies not just at BlogHer but in everyday life, too! Pushy people suck!!
Great list! Somehow in the four days I was in NYC I failed to eat at a food cart. Boo! Seriously the eating was lacking and by the time Sunday rolled around I was starving!
Yes, I agree. Just in general….you must ignore all the haters! LOL! So true! Thanks for the post. I would love to go to Chi-town for Blogher 2013!
I think mostly I am afraid of the being alone part! I love this post because it’ll help me prepare for that aspect of it! Thanks for all the tips, and I’ll try to restrain myself from clobbering some poor innocent soul whilst grabbing a coupon for lysol. I can’t make any promises though.
If you do get mini-cards and have regrets (me! I did that! Luckily I also had fullsized) then use the mini cards any time you need to drop something in a bowl and not actually have to hand them to a person.
PS…not to worry about those mini cards. I was handed a few of those and I thought they were quite nice!
I went this year. Great tips. I would say that after the chaos of lunch on Day 1 and missing part of Martha Stewart’s keynote because I was standing in that endless line, get in line early unless they figure out a better system for next year. I left the last morning session 15 minutes early and things went a lot smoother. I got a table right up front.
Great tips. Remember to post this again as BlogHer 13 gets closer as the freshman class will definitely be looking for tips!
I think mini cards are totally cute. Plus, they are far less annoying than the oversize business cards!
Two Words = Conference Colon. I should get it trademarked. Seriously, I’ve learned the hard way from not eating properly at conferences. I try to eat what I eat at home for breakfast. That helps me a ton.
Everything you said is true. You have to be pretty impressed that I knew about your blog from first glance on your name tag. Seriously, I have no time these days. It was great to meet you!
Did you learn anything from me? Probably, not! HAHA