I've got lots to do, including at least two posts about my stopover in Monterey (before we headed back home to Los Angeles).
But I am still digesting BlogHer 06, as are many of the other participants, judging from this excellent wiki begun by Amy Gahran. I've spent much of the day reading the impressions of others who attended - both those I had the good fortune to meet, and others I missed (not surprising, as there were over 700 people in attendance this year).
At the request of Jenn, who I believe is on the BlogHer board, I dashed off some quick impressions before I packed my things and drove home yesterday. I think I did so too soon -- for one thing, my comments had more to do with the logistics (hotel, meals, wi-fi) and nothing with content. Perhaps, because in my opinion, the program put together by Lisa, Jory and Elisa was exactly right -- I am not by any means on the cutting edge of womens' issues, web business or the blogosphere, so rather than be able to notice anything missing, I found that their program introduced me to trends and ideas I had no idea were occurring.
As a live blogger, I did not have the luxury of picking the sessions I would attend - except for one workshop and the "Birds of a Feather" networking period, these were all assigned for me. Therefore, I found myself attending one assigned session I thought would be ho-hum - "Is Your Blog a Gallery or a Canvas?" - and it turned out to be absolutely fascinating (yes, I'm linking to my own live blog of this, because I think it turned out nicely). At the same time, I missed a lot of sessions that sounded fascinating -- and have begun reading those live blogs.
Ironically, I found the "Is Mommyblogging a Radical Act?" session a lot less engaging than the similar one last year. That's not the take of others in the blogosphere, who did get a lot out of it. I am prone to attribute my lack of excitement over that session to the fact that I didn't really hear anything new this time. New voices, yes -- but nothing that lived up to the assertion that what we women who write (and happen to be mothers) are doing anything radical. Or maybe it was the fact that this room was PACKED. And HOT. And definitely not as intimate as last year's session, which almost brought me to tears.
Some of the commentators seem angry at the mommybloggers -- they seem to think that this year's BlogHer (and the sponsors) were targeting mothers at the expense of everyone else. I find this ironic also, as last year I was not the only one who felt that we moms were being marginalized by the hip, business/political bloggers who get all the press. This year, there seemed to be a lot of offense taken by the fact that the swag bags included both condoms and a bib. I loved the reply of Denise:
"Should Blogher completely ignore the parents in the group because we wouldn't want to offend the childfree or the lesbians or those unable to conceive or adopt? Swag isn't a political statement or a social statement."
One other woman I knew from last year confessed to me that while she was enjoying the conference, it wasn't MAGICAL, like the first one. I don't know if that's a fair reason to be disappointed. Your first time is always special -- and last year's BlogHer was the first one ever, put together within a few short months. I'm still amazed that Lisa, Jory and Elisa pulled it off -- and continue to find the trio inspiring. They are the women I'd like to be when I grow up (never mind that I've got a good 20 years on them).
And, reading the blogs of some of the 500 women who weren't fortunate enough to be there last year and so were first-timers in San Jose -- the magic was there for them. And even if I didn't feel it -- I definitely felt the love. And I had fun. And I learned.
I am so ambivalent about this year's conference. I miss the intimacy of the first one... but am excited and proud of how enormous this one became. (Because even though I am not a member of the BlogHer staff, I still feel like a godparent or something, because you know, I was there for the birth...) Too many sponsors? Nah - I appreciate the fact that the organizers got so many deep pocket companies to offset the costs and make the conference something I could (almost) afford to attend.
BlogHer is no different from any other collegial experience -- you get what you give. If you went there and focused on the negatives -- the heat, the spotty wi-fi, so-so food... that's what you are going to remember. I prefer to think of the highlights: friendly greetings by women bloggers whose careers have EXPLODED in the last year (me? envious? You bet. But these women are such amazing writers - they DESERVE it)... and getting to meet others I've only known virtually. Oh yes, and stalking Heather Armstrong and posing for this picture with Arianna Huffington.
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