I wanted to wait before I wrote my BlogHer 2012 recap post to put a little distance between me and the conference. Sometimes my thoughts and opinions can be a little impassioned and I wanted to make sure that I was representing the conference in a fair light and not just in an embellished state of exhaustion.
Let’s start with The Ugly. Professionalism. Some bloggers need to get some. (FYI, I’ve already had to delete and start this paragraph over.) There is a low barrier to entry for blogging, which means anyone can do it. Some people should not, and if they do they should remain in the privacy of their own homes while doing it. In my opinion, they give bloggers a bad reputation. I’m going to leave it at that. I’m sure you can find more information about this in other places around the web.
The Bad. At the opening ceremony, they announced that just over 5,000 people were in attendance at the conference this year. Managing that number of people takes a tremendous amount of planning and effort, and I have to say that they failed. I’ve been to a lot of professional conferences, and this was by far the worst in people management I have ever attended.
I’m not sure when the planning for BlogHer 2012 started, but I truly hope that they did not realize the attendance would be that large and still plan to have it in the venue they chose. The Hilton New York is not a convention center and was in no way prepared to handle the number of people attending this conference. The sessions, which were held in meeting rooms, were overcrowded and I was only able to attend one of my choosing. Additionally, all sessions ended at the same time which created a mass of people trying to enter already congested areas. The first day we came off the escalator into the lunch area and just packed on top of people that were already waiting.
The largest parties were held in an L-shaped room that was too small for the number of people. You were basically crushed into a room with people drinking, dancing, and trying to talk, which was impossible because the music was so freaking loud that you could not even hear yourself think. Last year the parties were held in a ballroom where you could actually get away from the music and sit and talk with your friends.
Which is actually a nice segue for the The Good. By far, the best part of going to a blog conference is seeing the people that you’ve come to love online live in person. I sat in the Serenity Suite and saw one person on one side of the room look up and see an online friend on the other and yell her name, and then they almost ran to each other and just embraced and the love was so strong it still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. No amount of negative experience will ever outweigh that feeling for me.
me w/ @ShannonLazovski, @JulieDutch, @Elainea, and @bargainshopmom at dinner before Elaine, Julie, and I went to see Chicago.
with @ByWordsMusings, @MamaTrack, Elaine, @KirstinPiccini, me, and @Kpugs sitting on the floor outside the sessions chatting away.
Me with @buriedwithkids and @RachelVoorhees while they took a break from shaking what their mommas gave them at SparkleCorn. (I can’t believe this is the best photo of us. I’m going to have to talk to my photographer about that.)
And that is just the tip of the friend iceberg. Big, squishy hugs and long talks over meals and just sitting in our room chatting… all of that is just the absolute best that anyone could ask for. Take a good girl’s night out and multiply that times about a million. That’s BlogHer. And that’s why I will be in Chicago next year.
All of the photos are from Elaine. She does a great job of getting photos, and I do a horrible job of getting photos. This is why she has to go with me and be my roommate every year.
Next year I will have a baby, but I would like somehow, to be able to make it to BlogHer, seeing as it’s only a few hours away from my house. Even if I have to bring the baby and miss out on all the parties, etc. I don’t know though. That seems kind of stressful.
I’d really like to read your initial paragraph before you rewrote it.
You can totally do BlogHer with a baby. There were a ton of babies there this year. I would not take a baby to the party (some people did) because of the noise, but there is so much more going on that just the parties. Plus I will be there and I can give you big hugs.
I totally agree with this: “Take a good girl’s night out and multiply that times about a million.”
I’m excited BlogHer ’13 is in Chicago because it’s only a 4.5 hour drive for me from Michigan! Hope to finally meet you there
it seems like you already know some of my Michigan blogger friends in the first photo – Shannon and Melissa.
And Melissa Brodsky and Christina Strickland… I do know a lot of Michigan bloggers.
Melissa (Bargain Shopper Mom) was my roommate last year and I LOVE her. And next year we definitely need to meet. I need to make a list of all the people I want to meet so I don’t forget when I get there and get totally overwhelmed.
The best part of any Blogher is in getting to spend time with our online friends. Being able to actually sit down with “those people who live in my computer” never ceases to thrill me. Love the pics of you with your friends
Here’s hoping that Blogher 13 provides more of the types of experiences you were hoping for!
I think part of it is that 2011 in San Diego was just so awesome and I expected the same type of experience. The friends part was the same. The conference part was not.
Wow- looks like so much fun! I am a social retard in person- I am afraid I would either a) just smile and drool, unable to speak or b) open my mouth all cool and pull a Dirty Dancing (aka “I carried a watermelon.”). I hadn’t heard about the ugly part- is is just very badly behaved people?
Pretty much, yeah.
I’ve heard that about the size and it affecting things. Hopefully, the venue will be larger next year or they will close it off after a certain number of tickets sold.
I think the larger venue will make a huge difference, but I also think they need to put some serious thought into queuing and how they will move people through the sessions and events.
Oh, wow…I’m glad the good outweighed the bad and the ugly.
You look fabulous, too. Just a doll. =)
It definitely did.
PS I saw Lesly too and got a big hug, but the photo didn’t turn out very well.
I went to BlogHer last year, and I can totally understand what you are saying about The Ugly. So many bloggers just didn’t represent the blogging world as a professional organization, which hurts those of us who consider it that way. The grabbing for samples without listening to the PR people for at least a few minutes, acting entitled and that stuff.
But I love that you still had fun with your friends, and I see so many of MY favorite faces in your pictures! BlogHer is a force, that’s for sure…and it took me quite some time to sort through my feelings about it last year.
Last year it was just such an amazing experience. I think I had a lot built up in my head about how it would be this year.
Oh C’mon, that’s a great photo! Show’s how much fun you girls have together!
It is a great memory that’s for sure.
I”m glad that you mostly had a great time.
Did you see Martha?
This was a very well-done post. I have tried to read everything I come across about the conference, as I was not able to attend. I watched via Twitter, of course!
Anyway, I have to be honest and say that while I would like to get to Chicago next year, I do wonder if smaller conferences might be more my speed.
I would really like to try Type A or Blissdom, but I don’t know if it will work.
I still wish I went.
And….I wish it would be held in Toronto.
Just sayin……
You are closer to NYC than I was! LOL
Someone fell off the bed at Cheeseburger. Now, THAT is ugly! I missed it, but the recount I got was hilarious. I mean, um, bad.
Man… I always miss that good stuff. And how are there no photos of us this year when last year there were a bajillion?
Would love to go to Blogher. I think with any type of conference or large group of people there are always a few that tend to give the whole a bad name. Glad you had fun with your friends.
That’s true. I think this year I just witnessed it on a larger scale than last year so it had a bigger impact.
First…that vibrant orange color is totally fantastic on you. Just sayin’. Second, thank you for sharing an honest perspective on Blogher. I will say, that I’ve read Chicago may not be as well planned either in that the convention center is separate from the hotel…which might be a bit annoying in the travel department because they apparently don’t have fantastic transportation options and will be running shuttles. I read that from a local blogger somewhere….I should totally have bookmarked that one…but alas…I will probably still try to go as well
Great post! Hope to see you soon!
I’ve heard that about Chicago too. I’m really interested in how the shuttles will work. Will they be running all day? Will they have a constant stream of them? I think they need to put some serious thought into how they are going to move 5,000+ people back forth in an effective manner.
I so loved rooming with you and totally agree with you on all of this. The ‘conference’ itself was very poorly planned and executed but seeing the lovely ladies like you make it all worth it! Yay Chicago! xo
I love how you put it that because there is no barrier for entry, well,… there is no barrier for entry. Hopefully some of the less-than-professional attendees will get the hint. Fingers crossed!
The paragraph I deleted was all about the barriers to entry and consequences of that. And yeah, pretty much I’ll just leave it at that.
I’ve got be honest…the price of going is worth it just see all of the people that I read and feel are my friends. Maybe we should just all get together and set a place, date and have a girls weekend?! We could make our own blog conference.
Either way, I am going to shoot for BlogHer next year. I’m just shy of blogging for a year and I want meet you!!! It has been long enough!!!
The price is TOTALLY worth it. And how cool would it be to just pick a spot and invite all the bloggers you love and just have everyone show up and hang out? Totally awesome.
Pretty sure we were in that same one session. I do hope they work on logistics for 2013 better but overall, I was satisfied. It was my first year so I had nothing to compare it to. I’ve heard that the hotel and convention center aren’t necessarily close so I have no idea how they’ll work that out. If it’s walking distance…maybe?
You look beautiful in that orange, definitely your color.
And this BlogHer, it is a blur.
I don’t even remember being there.
Curious to see how Chicago will work, I do love being on site for the parties and sessions…not so sure how they will get all those people where they need to be ON TIME with shuttles.
I mean, if elevators were ALWays packed and passing me by, how is it going to be for a shuttle?????
thanks for sharing your blogher experience and the great pictures