Conference Recap, Part 2

Yes, here I go again. Talking about BlogHer12.

I feel like I need to give more of a recap, and I am quite sure many of you are tired of reading about it, hearing about it, etc. I'm okay with that. After all, blogging is for me as much as it is for you, so it's all good.

The first session I attended at BlogHer12 was titled Blogging for the Love of it.

This is me. I'm not all focused on blogging for money. I want to get my voice out there and be heard. I want to write. I love to write. I write because I absolutely must.

And yet - I love my audience. I feel good when people comment that they have read what I have written.

I've come to understand the change in blogging audiences. I myself am one of those members. One who reads a blog post and comments back on twitter or Facebook. It's different than it used to be. It's changing and growing. It's slowing down. And yet it's a way of communicating with each other - through the blogging world.

I didn't necessarily gain all of this knowledge through BlogHer, but it was certainly discussed and touched upon. And therefore tangents with my thought process, I suppose. It kind of is how it goes, with respect to writing just to write, writing for other reasons, looking for a future in blogging and your audience.

So many of us find it meshing together. So many of us balance the love of writing and the hopes and dreams of turning it into something that helps us thrive. Whether it be professionally, or financially, or in a way that is beyond the rush we experience when we take pen to paper, or as in most, fingers to the keyboards.

Another session I attended I truly loved. It was about pricing yourself with respect to those looking to work with you. I sadly had to leave that session early because I had an appointment to learn about Media Kits. A critical requirement if you want to work with brands, companies, etc. So while the women of the session were telling me I MUST have a media kit, I slipped out somewhat gracefully to attend that private Geek Bar session.

Sadly, the remainder of the sessions didn't work for me. I either didn't make them for timing reasoning, or because they were or seemed so crowded that it just wasn't anything I could make happen.

BlogHer is serious. It's intense. It's real.

It's not for everyone, and it may or may not be for you.

It was for me this year, as it was held in NYC, my hometown. I knew coming home would work for me to attend, and I wouldn't have missed it. I can't say that in the future I will go back. I think it is too soon to tell.

I may have had issues with a lot of the experience, but I also loved the opportunity to meet so many people I would not have had a chance to connect with. My blogging friends from across the interwebs I had the chance to chat with up close and personal. As you can tell from a previous post, that matters most. For now, I think I'll stick with smaller conferences, as I prefer an easier way of connecting. Will I stay away forever? I don't know. Maybe if I approach the conference with a different way of thinking it won't disappoint. After all - I did get to listen to President Obama address us all, AND watch as the women of BlogHer interviewed Katie Couric (which was pretty awesome). I missed out on Martha Stewart as it was too jam-packed, but I survived and was smarter the next day with an early arrival to catch Katie!

Also, I took this shot of a beautiful piece of artwork by the incredible Robin Plemmons at the Come As You Are Party.

It was quite possibly the first time all weekend that I felt this AT a party there. The other parties were fun. I found time to connect with friends like Lora from fever and my sweet roommate Amy from Somebody's Parents, but I also felt a little bit lost in the mix of it all. This party grounded me. I wish it had happened earlier in the weekend, honestly. I needed it!

I'm sure I have more to say, but in the meantime I have lots of friends who have written about their own experience, and you know me, I like to share and promote my peeps. So check 'em out!

Robyn of Robyn's Online World

Jen of Jen has a Pen

Erin (one of my fabulous roommates!) of A Parenting Production ... you can read more from her here, too.

That's just a sampling of the bloggy love I have to give post-conference. I'm sure I'll hit you all with more soon. In the meantime, mwah! Chat atcha later.

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