Compartment 14B
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Yes, I went to BlogHer '10 - don't be jealous. 2010-08-13 - 11:11 p.m. I did not love BlogHer 10. It�s no fault of the conference itself � it was not like high school, and everyone seemed friendly enough � it was definitely me. Sure, I made the mistake of going with my husband � a non-blogger � and thus spent the weekend with a foot in both worlds, i.e. during time with him I felt like I was missing out on the conference and while at the conference I felt like I was missing out on exploring New York. But really, it ran deeper than that. The fact is, I was totally unable to find my tribe. It was like being at an anti-Weetacon. I have decided that, while attendees come in an almost infinite variety of stripes and colours, the average attendee is really nothing like me. I do not sparkle. I don�t really wear makeup. I don�t do my hair, or my face when I get up in the morning. I don�t wear Spanx. The clothes I bring for the evening gala are less dressy than those worn by others to the sessions. In the unlicensed airport limo, I�m the only one with a seatbelt on, while others are lolling on the banquette and asking the driver how do we get some champagne up in here, yo? I swear to God, I sat down at a table with my lunch hoping to join a conversation in progress, only to find that said conversation centered entirely on hair: what cut looks good with straight hair, what to do with curls, what product would work on what hair type� it did not stop the entire time I was there. I get my hair cut at a discount chain twice a year; I truly did not have anything to contribute, but no way to beat a hasty retreat. And I�m a bit of a dinosaur, apparently. I still ask what a person blogs about rather than what their twitter handle is. I rather quaintly suggested to a couple of people that they ring my room and leave a message if they wanted to coordinate a meal or something, only to get the response that they would �tweet� me when they were getting ready for dinner. I think I was the only person there with absolutely no way to send or receive tweets. Not that it mattered because when I checked my twitter at home it didn�t appear that I missed any dinner invitations. Yes, I went to BlogHer �07, so surely I would have known what to expect at BlogHer �10? And I didn�t really love that conference either, but it was much smaller and I managed to make some connections. This time though, I felt like everything rushed around me while I tried and failed to look as though I belonged. There were no cozy chats about photography on the floor with Jen Lemen or over lunch with Tracey Clark. There was no Zoot to introduce me to Marilyn or split a pizza with in her room. I didn�t meet a Weetabix who�d think me interesting enough to invite to an event in her hometown. I don�t think anyone found me interesting at all, to tell you the truth, though one woman was gracious enough to find me charming when I forced her to look at pictures of my kids. The high point of the whole conference was when I spotted Linda of All & Sundry not long after I arrived at the hotel. I walked up and introduced myself, and she was as awesome and funny and approachable as she seems in her writing, and she even knew who I was! Sadly, I did not manage to run into her again. A close second was spotting my image that I had on display as part of the gallery at the Gala on Friday night. I hadn�t seen it printed out before, and it was pretty cool to see my work displayed amongst that of Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks and Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman fame. Am I glad I went? Well, sort of I guess. I�m glad I got that 48 hours with my husband and no kids. I�m glad I went to New York and I�m glad I experienced BlogHer �10, even if my experience didn�t measure up to that of a lot of the participants. After all, if I hadn�t gone, I would have never known that really, I wouldn�t have missed much. So now that I've got a 50/50 track record, the question is: do I break the tie at BlogHer '11 in San Diego?
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