BlogHer12 has come and gone. As you may have noticed, this post has taken me a few days to write. It’s really hard for me to explain why, so first, let’s just cut to the chase and talk about the conference and my experiences, and then I can whine about the aftermath. If you stick around, awesome. If not – that’s okay too, I get that really, unless you’re a blogger, no one really cares about this nerdy conference in NYC.
First, let me say that I spent a year doing research on and trying to prepare myself for this trip and conference. BlogHer12 was something I literally started working towards while BlogHer11 was still going on. I read pretty much every one’s recap posts, I tweeted/stalked veterans of BlogHers of the past … I made lists {OH – the lists}. And yes, while some of this helped and I felt prepared going into it – I was in no way prepared for the entire experience.
Keeping that in mind – here are some overall impressions I came away with from 5 days in New York City in the midst of 5,000 other women:
-Meeting bloggers that I loved and admired was amazing, but meeting new people I didn’t even know existed out there in the Blogosphere was hands down the coolest part about this whole shindig. You guys, I met the PIONEER WOMAN. And what’s even more amazing? I had people come up to ME in the hallways and say, ‘Hey, I know you! You’re Tottums!’ {whoa}
-I went to 2 Geek Bar sessions and 3 regular sessions. I walked out of one session. I laughed so hard I cried in another session. I skipped a fourth session I wanted to go to in order to take a nap. <-- and all of this is/was OKAY.
-I expected way more from the Expo Hall. I hear this year’s Expo was not as good as previous years though … so hopefully next year will be better.
-New York City is amazing. I wish I was rich so I could live there … it was so full of life and culture and raw beauty.
-I hope BlogHer has realized that they have outgrown the Hilton in NYC. It was in no way big enough for the mass of women they had attending this year. 2,500 people waiting in line for soup and sandwiches, people sitting on the floor to eat lunch and hear Martha Stewart speak, Expo Halls that felt like the ceiling was going to cave in on top of us … and not to mention my room that felt like a cold, damp swamp every time I set foot in it. Never again.
-The swag was ridiculous. I literally came home with an entire suitcase of STUFF {and this is after I gave at least half of it away prior to leaving}. To be honest though, it wasn’t a ‘good’ as I thought it would be. I feel like 80% of the items I received were really not that great. I wish I had spent less time at ‘private’ parties trying to score swag, and more time sight-seeing or just ‘being’ with friends that I probably won’t see for another year.
-The ‘official’ BlogHer parties were way more fun than any of the ‘private’ invitations I received. Period.
-The 5 days and 4 nights I was in NYC for this thing were the most exhausting of my life … and I’m not being dramatic or exaggerating here, folks. I still have not fully recovered. The ‘BlogHer Hangover’ rumor is REAL, yo.
I’m going to get a little sappy right here and mention that this was truly the very first time I feel like I’ve done something for ME. Something that I’ve worked towards and made myself do for purely selfish reasons – and it felt good. At one point, I came out of a session and started tearing up because I felt so awesome about where I was and what I was doing. {No really, I was getting misty-eyed while standing in line for the bathroom and tweeting @growingupgeeky about whether or not I should get in line for lunch, because no way in hell was I sitting at the back of the ballroom for the Katie Couric Keynote like I did for Martha Stewart’s interview}. I walked around that hotel and I felt like for once, people ‘got’ me, I felt like I was with my tribe. It was a good feeling.
friends pictured: @babyrabies, @growingupgeeky, @simplystavish, @bebehblog
I’m going to do a ‘BlogHer Tips’ post probably next week, but I still need to get my thoughts in order for that one. If this post all seems to be a little ‘word-vomity’ to you {that’s a new blogging term, I swear}, I’m sorry. I’m honestly still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I DID this. I went to BlogHer12, and I survived. And I fucking loved it.
Seeing you in the lobby right at the beginning when you said “Suzanne????” was seriously one of my BEST moments. I’m so sad I kept loosing you (for stupid private parties, no less) and didn’t get to be your lip-sync partner. Maybe next year? Or hell, maybe we’ll just share a bed next year!
It was definitely one of MY best moments too! It was so cool to get to hug your neck – and yeah, totally not against sharing a bed with you next year. {rawr!}
I am so freaking happy that you got to go, you worked so hard to get there and I am so damn proud of you!
*I* and so proud of you! You made it happen. And you rocked it! I’m so glad you had a great time.
I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it in the post, but I couldn’t/wouldn’t have done this without you. Much love to my bloggy mentor!
Looking at your photos and knowing we were are the same exact events, I still cannot believe I never saw you ONCE. I was so hoping I would be able to yell out “TOTTUMS!!” Sadly, this didn’t happen. Oh maybe because there were 5,000 billion people there! I’m glad you had a great time! I felt the same way last year!!
I KNOW! I kept seeing you checkin places and wanting to find you. Next year, we’re planning that crap out in advance
We kept being mutual friend adjacent, but never really had a chance to talk much! I’m so happy you had a great time.
You’ve got me giddy just reading this post! Glad to hear Blogher was an amazing experience. Like you last year, I started researching the conference while all of you were there and committing to myself that I’ll be there next year! Look forward to your tips post
hope the hangover fades soon!
I am so so happy for you! I’m glad you had an amazeballs time and that you did something for YOU! Also? I think BlogHer has some serious rearranging to do before BlogHer13. They’ve really let the private parties and other stuff outshine the sessions and learning aspect of the conference. I’m starting to waiver on BH13 because of it.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the sessions. I walked out of one not because it wasn’t done well, but because it was a very basic class on utilizing FB/Twitter and I felt that I knew everything try we’re covering. I really wish I had gotten to the Pinterest/google + session, but I had scheduling conflicts. I could write a
whole post about the private parties, but I didn’t go to any that conflicted with session times – I only chose to do those that were in the evenings. And honestly, BH doesn’t have any control over those. My biggest complaint was the venue space they chose, and they’re definitely addressing that by having the sessions/expos in a separate REAL conference center next year. I’m really excited about Chicago!
I’m so glad you had a good time. It is really overwhelming but being in a place where everybody “gets” blogging is really something else!
Im so proud of you and all of your hard work!! Great job!
Hey! It was great meeting you and Growing Up Geeky at breakfast on Friday morning. I’m still experiencing the BlogHer hangover and am so impressed by everyone who has gotten posts up already! Great job on ‘SEOing’ (yes that is a real word that I made up) your post. I’ve worked in SEO since 2002 so I love to see people incorporate it the right way
LOL – can you tell I did it correctly? Because I’m still not sure …
Title, Meta Data and IMG ALT look good
Let me know if you have any questions!
First of all, I missed the Pioneer Woman and I was so upset!!!
Okay, other than that, I pretty much had the same experience. I would add that I “commuted” from Staten Island to the conference, and I wished I had stayed in the city because the back and forth of commuting really added to my exhaustion. But otherwise, I really liked it and will try my darndest to get to Chicago next year – and hopefully meet you and even more bloggers!
I so adored reading things because I can literally hear your voice speaking to me in my head. This recap is just so you! I agree with you on many points. I’m glad that I skipped the one party I’d RSVP’ed to and didn’t do other parties because I was out and about in the city exploring restaurants, which is my favorite part of visiting any new place. I too was underwhelmed by the Expo Hall, but I hear BlogHer was too! And I skipped the Martha Stewart thing because I also was appalled by the lunch line. I looked at it as an opportunity to see what NYC streets look like on a Friday during lunch (suits! suits!) and tried a Whole Foods-like cafe with my laptop by my side. I felt very city girl!
Great recap
your pictures look like you had a blast! I never saw if you had a sponsor or anything?
I am very glad I met you, although your cringe when I said you were “so cute” is forever burned in my brain!! But you freaking are! <3
I’m glad I’m not the only one who teared up in the middle of 5,000 other women thinking “this is MY moment, these people are MY people”.