July 27, 2009

BlogHer '09

The only conferences I've been to before have involved either Spock ears or learning Dynix shortcuts, so I may have had some misconceptions about what BlogHer '09 would be like. Here are a few quick thoughts I wanted to get down before I went and read everyone else's blog entries on this last weekend.

The BlogHer conference is great for some people. I'm not one of them. I wasn't interested in growing my search engine optimization market social media network, and I don't write about my kids. That didn't leave a whole heck of a lot. If those are your interests, though, I bet you would've had a good time.

The conference was too big. I had hoped that any random woman I introduced myself to would be doing a project I wanted to hear about. Although every single person I met was friendly, a whole hell of a lot of them were doing things that were uninteresting to me. A lot of PR people. A lot. Marketing this, marketing that. I'm sure the SEO people were all charming, but that's not who I was hoping to have cocktails with.

If I go to another convention for bloggers, I'll make sure that the participants are working in fields I'd actually like to hear about.

#blogherhumor. I've asked BlogHer before to have a "humor" category for blogs. I think my blog gets filed under "entertainment," possibly "DIY," but whatever it is it really doesn't have much to do with the content of my writing. It turns out I'm not the only person to have requested this; several people mentioned it at the Humor panel. Are they afraid of offending advertisers? Shouldn't the sheer number of people who are interested in reading and writing humor blogs be an indication that it's a market?

That panel discussion, by the way, was in a teeeeny room:

That's it about ten minutes before it started, when it got even more crowded. We like humor!

...or maybe we don't. This was me at the "Birds of a Feather" lunch, waiting for other humor bloggers to show up. And waiting. And waiting.



(The sign says "HUMOR." Eventually the table filled up.)

I liked the Geek Lab sessions I went to; they were helpful and interesting. And popular; people were sitting on the floor at most of them, just like at the humor and pop culture panels.

The marketing was alienating. I understand that ticket sales don't cover the cost of the convention, and that corporate sponsors are necessary. But man, I felt condescended to.

Chicago is a beautiful city. When I realized the convention wasn't the right place for me, I went out and had a good time being a tourist.

Things I would've liked: more tech talks. Bloggers and Fair Use. Marketing that was relevant to me (e.g. the Shutter Sisters's Lensbaby walkabout, which I loved -- and look, it worked, I'm linking to their product).

This all makes it sound like I was miserable, and I wasn't. I was disappointed, though. I had hoped I would find my people. I would've been interested in more discussions that were relevant to my bloggerly interests. And that one waiter at the BoF lunch was wicked rude. But the women (and few men) I talked to were all pleasant, I saw a friend I hadn't seen for years, I met up with my sister and her wife for the first time in ages, and I got to see a teeny bit of a new (to me) city.

Finally: the memory of a Ms. Potatohead and a giant lizard dancing together to a karaoked "We Belong" is one that will stay with me for a long time.

Enough! Off to see what everyone else thought.




*** ADDENDUM ***

Some more thoughts, which I just put up at the very interesting discussion at the main BlogHer page:


My problems with the marketing

I was surprised by how much advertising there was there. Not just the swag (some of which my kids liked), but all over the place. HP outside one conference room, the orange juice booth in the main lobby, Strawberry Shortcake outside another conference room, Pepsi being praised from the main stage, Ragu all over the first lunch, someone dressed as Ronald McDonald posing for photos during the same lunch, the junk food 'n' soft drinks corner downstairs, the dryer sheets sinisterly appearing in my hotel room... there was no avoiding it.



I understand the need for corporate sponsors, I really do. But the irrelvance of their products makes me think that BlogHer conferences aren't for me. I felt like I was walking through an issue of Women's Day.



I would've like to have more emphasis on my interests as a blogger. Yes, I'm a woman; yes, I have kids. But I didn't go to Chicago because I'm a mother, I went because I have a website.

10 comments:

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

O.k., the photo of you sitting at the table by yourself cracked me up... not because it's funny to sit alone at lunch. BUT because that's the sort of photo I'd take if I found myself in the same situation. :)

I'm not sure that BlogHer would be the best place for me, either. But I've enjoyed reading people's perspectives about it nevertheless.

expateek said...

"I felt like I was walking through an issue of Women's Day." Classic! Very thoughtful post.

Supa Dupa Fresh said...

I felt the same way about "grieving" as you did about "humor." Although, I could probably fit under both labels on a good day...

X

Supa

Laurie said...

I think this is one of the BlogHer recap posts that most resonates with me. BlogHer is a great event, but it was not what I expected nor was it even close to my ideal. And I do blog about my mommy life somewhat! Live and learn I guess!

You Suck at Craigslist said...

I thought about going but registration was full by the time I thought about it. (Yeah, I'm slow sometimes.)

Let's start our own convention. We can be sponsored by plastic chair companies and "chiwawa" breeders.

Sara said...

Excellent idea, You Suck! We'll hand out samples of bedbug spray in the swag bags.

Stephanie said...

Oh I loved reading your honest recap. Thanks for sharing.

The Glamorous Life Association said...

I am hoping by now you also read my re-caps. Ones which sound a lot like yours...

And the humor table? I picked that catagory at sign up. I mean I had a blank page and filled in the words HUMOR. I then said to the guy who was responsible for the sign up lists "oh man. What if no one comes?" and he looked at be blankly and said "well. That would be FUNNY."

Yeah. Not so much.

Here are mine.
http://marcywrites.com/2009/01/oh-my-blog/
and MY alone photo...
http://marcywrites.com/2009/07/the-ceiling-and-i-go-everywhere-together/

(if you have already seen these and commented..just ignore me like the crazy lady I am.)

Leaning Shanty Farm said...

I hear ya! I went to BlogHer last year and was sorely disappointed. I made a few friends...one of which I still keep in touch with...but other than that, the only thing I got was a big credit card bill. And I didn't even have to fly anywhere since it was in SF, just right down the road from me in San Jose.

Here's my take on last year's conference:

http://indulgelaughcreate.blogspot.com/2008/07/blogherhuhwell-it-was-something.html

Knatolee said...

You know, I figured this wouldn't have been my cuppa tea, and I see I was right. Haven't been, won't go, and I appreciate reading your perceptions of the whole shebang.