Confession: I was really nervous about attending BlogHer last week.
I’ve been to plenty of other blog conferences. But the timing or logistics or both of BlogHer have never worked out before for me to attend.
And my little introverted self was mostly okay with not going in past years, due to the sheer size of the conference. I’m not sure what number is accurate: I hear anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 tossed around for this year’s attendees, but in either case, it’s MUCH larger than the other blog conferences.
Plus, more than any other conference, I’d heard about DRAMA. Bloggers who were rude, who snubbed others, who went crazy over swag.
So I was very anxious about attending BlogHer. But I decided to go, just to have the experience and because so many bloggers I knew and who I wanted to meet were going to be there. And really, while I love all the blog friends who live in my computer, there’s nothing like getting to meet(or see someone again) in person.
Now that it’s all over, would I go to BlogHer again?
The Bloggers
Pros: Because of how many people are in attendance, this is the conference where I had the chance to meet (or see again) the most bloggers. BlogHer brings so many people together from all over that I met people who haven’t attended other conferences. In addition to seeing those on my “must-meet” list, I also met people completely new to me.
This was the highlight for me and enough of a reason to return another year. I’d list everyone I loved meeting, but this would turn into a monster-length post if I even tried. I was moved to happy tears more than once by getting to meet another blogger.
Cons: There were so many bloggers at the conference that I didn’t get to meet, including some I really wanted to. But with so many people there and with how spread out everything was, it’s impossible to meet everyone at the conference and of course it will happen that you’ll miss someone you’d hoped to meet. I’ve found this happens even at smaller conferences though.
If there were bloggers there snubbing people, I didn’t see it or experience it. Then again, I’ve been to enough conferences that I get that bloggers want to spend time with their friends and I don’t look at it like they are excluding others, but just spending time with people they only get to see once a year.
I did have one awkward encounter, but whatever. Five thousand women and one awkward moment? Pffft. Plus I’m so CLUMSY that I had a moment in front of a few bloggers when I’m pretty sure my face was flaming red from embarrassment, but unless someone got video of that moment, I’m going to pretend that wasn’t me and we’ll speak no more of it.
The Brands
Pros: There are more brands at BlogHer than at other blogging conferences. SO many people to talk to and such a wide variety. In addition, there are private off-site parties with additional brands(these are not affiliated with BlogHer, however I did attend some that I was invited to that were a fit for my blog: the Sweet Suite which had so many toys my boys would love, the Lifetime event which was so smartly branded and enjoyable, Yoga with Yasso, and the Disney events were my faves). I learned about some new brands and products and came home with some goodies.
Cons: Now the next few weeks could prove me wrong, but I felt like more of the brands in the expo hall just wanted us to fall in love with their products and gush about them to our audiences more than they wanted an actual relationship with us(C’mon, brands, prove me wrong and email me). I felt like it was the brands who had off-site, unofficial parties who seemed more interested in keeping in touch afterwards. This was the impression I got at the time and would be happy to be proven wrong.
The Swag
Pros: Wow, did I come home with a lot! A lot of useful things(though this was intentional- if I knew it wouldn’t be used, I either didn’t take it in the first place or gave it away). Though my absolute favorite did come from wins I had in the expo hall: a Roomba from BestBuy and a bag of goodies from Universal Orlando(which I’m hiding from my boys and going to surprise them with when we head to Universal later this month for Family Forward).
Cons: If you grab up everything you see, you’ll end up with way too much and things you won’t use, but if you’re thoughtful about what you take, this won’t be an issue. I didn’t see any of the infamous swag-hags, though I heard a bit about it on twitter, with the ULTA swag bags. I was off getting a meal when those were given out because I’m like a toddler getting cranky if I go too long without food, so I didn’t witness that personally. That was probably the only swag I missed out on(other than the prizes being given away) that I had a greedy little moment and wished I’d gotten it, because I do love me some ULTA. But even with that love, I wouldn’t have shoved or grabbed to get one and am happy that I didn’t witness any of that.
Bottom line on the swag: if you are going to BlogHer just for the swag, you are doing it wrong.
BlogHer Overall
I was extremely pleased not to see any of the behavior I’d heard complained about in past years. And while there are probably posts out there this year that talk about the bad, after experiencing it myself, I realize that with that many attendees, there will be people who have bad experiences(this happens even at the smallest conferences) and that it’s usually those negatives that get more attention: people tend to retweet and share those OMG-that-was-bad-and-just-listen-to-this types of posts more than they share the oh-that-was-so-fun types of posts. But just because the negative can seem the loudest, it doesn’t mean that it’s the most representative of everyone’s experience.
I’m glad that I went and experienced it for myself. And yes, I will go again another year.
I love reading positive posts, because it’s a conference I’m seriously considering going, and it’d be of huge expense for me, so I want to know it’d be the right thing to attend. And so far, I’m reading YES, GO. 🙂
Glad you had an overall great experience! And, see you next year?
If you are going to make that long trip for any conference, this would be the one I would recommend, just because you’ll have the opportunity to see the most people.
I’ll definitely go again another year, though location will matter(that sounds weird since I know you’re coming much further than me!).
So sad I didn’t get to meet you! This is a great recap! Alison- I will count the days until I get to meet you!
Thanks for linking up, Shell!
How did I not meet you??? 🙁
I was very busy making an ass of myself.
If I ever recover from my embarrassment, I will tell you my terrible moment that actually had bloggers pointing at me and laughing.
I wasn’t even drunk. (that was later in the night)
TELL! TELL! I vlogged my embarrassing moments!
I was there! I almost tweeted at you to meet up…but my experience was very different from yours since I had an infant in tow. I wrote up a review yesterday; I will NOT be attending BlogHer again in the future, but only because I learned a lot about myself there this year.
You should have! That seems to be the way that I found most people.
I read your recap. I actually didn’t attend any of the sessions, just walked around talking to people. I’ve learned that I feel less stressed that way, though there were a few sessions I would have liked to attend.
I was a little nervous going to BlogHer but ended up having a great time too. There were moments but overall it was a lot of fun.
Another example of not meeting someone I would have liked to!
Glad you had a good time!
I’m so glad you had a great time…and thanks for being honest about your experience! I know I would be intimidated with it being so big!
Because of how spread out everything was and how many different things were going on at the same time, it actually seemed less crowded and like there were less people than some of the other conferences I’ve gone to!
I’m so glad you had such a wonderful time, thank you so much for coming! Your final paragraph is very spot-on. Last year, for example, there were almost 4,000 BlogHer ’12 recap posts. We read them all and did “sentiment analysis” on them all, by human, not algorithm. 100 were negative in tone. That’s 2.5%! But even *I* can remember those 100 much more clearly than the thousands! I think it’s human nature.
Elisa, thanks for all your hard work in putting on such a massive event! I imagine you take about a week to collapse and probably jump right in to planning next year’s!
I don’t know why we end up remembering the negative. I try really hard to remember that it’s not fair to let a small negative minority be more important than the positive majority. xo
Thank you 🙂 And you know, i will try to work on this trait, it’s really not that helpful!!
What a great and honest review of the convention! Thanks for that. I have not yet attended and have had intentions of doing so, but never have.
I’ve had intentions of going for the past few years but something was always working against me. I’m glad that I finally had the chance to go. I will definitely go again, though I’m hoping it’s not west coast, which will make it really hard for me to go.
I have no been to any blogging conferences though I dearly want to go to one! BlogHer kind of makes me nervous though because it is so big. Maybe next year I will be able to swing going to one of the smaller ones! 🙂
It definitely didn’t feel as big as it was. Everything was so spread out and there was so much going on at the same time. It actually felt less overwhelming than some of the smaller conferences I’ve been to where there are 600 women all in the same room.
Yeah I can see how that would make a difference, never thought about it like that.
I hadn’t either- until I was actually there and realized oh, this isn’t a big deal, you never see everyone all in one place! I had been imagining these crushing crowds.
There were a few of the official parties that were held in venues that were MUCH too small and that felt totally overwhelming. But I left those after a few minutes.
I’d love to go to BlogHer mostly for the learning experience but also because of blog friends and a chance to see something new. The cost is, unfortunately, too high for this gal. If it happens to move to the west coast next year though there’s a stronger possiblity but it will, of course, depend on several factors.
I also read about the rudeness and the swag hags but heard a lot of positive as well. People are people so you’ll have both good and bad there.
Glad you had a great time!!
And I’m hoping for east coast! West coast is way too pricey for me, which is why I didn’t go when it was out there!
I really think that the positive outweighs the negative but that the negative voices shout so we get the wrong impression that they are the norm.
I knew I could count on you to tell it as you saw it! It sounds like you had a great time.
It really was a fun time!
It’s just like with reviews for sites/stores– most people if they like something don’t really take the time to leave a review (unless they totally love it)- it is those who were upset for some reason that will take the time to leave a review.
Glad you had a great time– I am hoping it is in CA next year and maybe I will finally make it to one.
That’s very true. On product sites, it usually just is those that had an issue who take the time to leave feedback.
I would love to get to meet you- though I was selfishly hoping for east coast. West coast is super hard for me and it will depend on where BlogHer is next year as to whether I’ll go next year or have to wait another year.
I will definitely go back! And I agree that I did not see any of that bad behavior that I’ve read about. I was bummed to not have more time to spend with certain people – like you! But There is so much and so many, that I think having a “go with the flow” attitude is what’s needed to enjoy – because it’s almost as if you can’t do or see all that you want to. Too much and not enough time!
Definitely way too much to do to be able to do it all!
Happy I at least got to hug you. And soon you’ll be nearby! 🙂
It really was a great conference, and I did not experience any of the drama or negatives either. It was definitely large and overwhelming at times, but I loved it. And, so far, I mostly agree that the brands from off-site parties are the ones who have emailed me to talk about working together, far more so than any of the official sponsors. At least so far. I hope that the next few weeks prove that wrong and we hear from everyone, and there are a few companies that I will likely reach out to myself because I had a great connection with their reps at the expo hall. Hopefully I’ll get to meet you at one of these conferences eventually!
I figure it’s still early after the conference so maybe we’ll hear more. And there are brands I’ll be reaching out to, for sure. But just as a general impression, the brands in the expo hall seemed more about sharing them and less about hearing who the bloggers were and why they might be a good fit.
See? There’s a con- not being able to meet everyone we’d like to! I really need to be better at making a list and tweeting at people to meet up. Next time!
Getting to a conference is on my to do list, for sure. However, I don’t know that I’ll start with BlogHer. I think I’ll probably start with something smaller like BBC from SITS and then go from there (although I have half an eye on Blissdom ’14 depending on circumstance). I really appreciate your review, it sounds like you got a lot out of it!
BBC is a great one to start out with! I’ve been to several of those. And Blissdom is so much fun, too. I was amazed that BlogHer didn’t seem as crazy big as it sounds- because there is so much going on at the same time that you don’t ever see everyone all in one spot.
–Shell,
happy to hear about your positive experience at BlogHer. I’m surprised that some bloggers would be rude…WTH is that all about? I would have loved to gone to some of the workshops there. Xx
I don’t get it, either!
it really was a good experience, though I didn’t actually get to any of the workshops!
I didn’t go, but I love reading about people’s experiences who did. I’m glad you had a good time. 🙂
Thanks! It was fun!
Yay! I’m so happy you will go back. Next year I will make plans to come find you. But yes – so hard to see everyone we want.
And I probably would have liked you even better after seeing your embarrassing moment. 🙂
I didn’t realize just how impossible it would be to see everyone I wanted to! Next year, for sure!
I wanted to yell out “I’m not drunk!” when I had my moment. Though that probably would have made it seem like I was.
It truly is all about the friends for me. And getting a few things to take home is just a bonus.
So glad I got to see YOU! 😀
Was so happy to get to see you! xo
Like everything, BlogHer is always what you make of it – so glad your experience was a positive one! And hope to see you next year. 🙂
You weren’t there were you? I’ll totally kick myself if you were and I didn’t get to see you!
Nope! But thinking I will be next year. 🙂
Thanks for sharing, I’m hoping to make it next year! And OMG – Optimus Prime – my son would LOVE to see that. A picture of me and ol’ Optimus would have made me the COOLEST mom ever. Next year!
Optimus Prime was way cool. He was gigantic and moved and talked! I sent my boys video and a pics- they thought that was so cool- though they were disappointed that they weren’t there with me.
I agree with everything you mentioned. Thanks for your honest and thoughtful review! The only warning I’d had was that it was large and potentially overwhelming. True and true. But I never encountered any of the negative you heard. If anything, the experience made me want to return.
I think it actually helped having the different venues(I thought that would be a pain) but it made it easy to step away and find quiet. Plus I did meals with much smaller groups, people who understood if I needed to just be quiet for a while!
I’m hoping next year’s location is somewhere I can get to!
I feel the same way…. exactly how you wrote this! As I walked through the expo I didn’t get the feeling that a lot of them wanted to work with us… Dodge? Coke? There were a couple though that I did make connections with and am happy about those.
And Ulta had swag?? I just thought that they were there chatting… that’s all that happened when I was at their booth. Oh well.
I’m glad that we got a chance to meet though.
It really did just feel like they wanted us aware of their products, not that they wanted to work with us. I hope I’m wrong. And some were neat to learn about, but I do value more the ones that I can do something with.
I learned on twitter that Ulta had swag bags on the chairs at the fashion show, but I wasn’t there for that. Their booth didn’t have anything.
So glad to get to meet you, finally!
I will have to keep this in mind as I am just getting my blog under way. I would love to learn from those who have been blogging for sometime. As a fellow introvert I hear ya when it comes to a big crowded event, but well worth it if I come out with great new info.
And I managed to find time when I could step away. It’s totally doable.
I so agree. It was an amazing event and I didn’t see any negatives. It’s a drag to see negative comments from people because it’s such an enormous undertaking – so much work – and I know I wouldn’t be able to put together an event of this scope – no way. So why would I even begin to criticize? Glad you had a great time. I’m going back too. 🙂
With so many people there, of course there will be people who aren’t happy with some of it. But I really admire those who put it all together. I imagine they are already planning next year’s!
I would love to go to BlogHer! I wish they’d announce a Dallas or Kansas City venue…that’s close to home & I could start saving & planning to attend. Thanks for the revue, great post. 🙂
Love,
Rose
Oh, Dallas would be awesome! Keeping my fingers crossed for anything but west coast.
I’m glad that you did decide to go and had a positive experience. I really wanted to be there but maybe next year?
WOW Shell- it sounds really great! Thanks for giving us your review- as it is so helpful to me!! I really want to make it next year. I would LOVE to meet you!!!
Maybe I’ll go if you let me come tag-along with you! 🙂
Soooo fun running into you! I always love my BlogHer experiences for the simple fact that I am able to connect with both brands and bloggers… and so many all in one weekend. What’s not to love?
Can’t wait to see you in less than 3 weeks at Family Forward. Yayyyyy!
I would definitely go again. Hands down, getting to meet my online friends made it worth it. It was my first conference and I was totally overwhelmed but it was my own issues holding me back. I didn’t know what to expect with the expo so I just stayed by the I found all but two people very friendly and am already counting down until I can see friends again. 🙂
I so loved meeting your sweet face, Shell…I recognized you as soon as I saw you! Until next year…
Great post, Shell. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Katja was there.
I so loved spending time with you last weekend..and I’m glad you liked Blogher! It’s truly my favorite conference. xo
I would love to go to a BlogHer conference. Maybe if they ever bring it to Seattle, so I wouldn’t have to travel.
I am glad to hear you had a good experience. If I were to go back after last year I would have to have a totally different mindset. All depends on where it will be, of course. 😉
It’s a shame I’ve always allowed the sheer enormity of the conference deter me from attending, because I really would love so very much to connect with blogger friends and see them IRL. That being said, you can’t expect there won’t be a few bad apples, and I’m glad you didn’t allow this to ruin your experience. i’m glad to hear you had a great time!
XOXO