If I truly follow through, my BlogHer recapping will probably take all week. We’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, I have some life lessons from BlogHer…
- Even though we’re adults, most of us are still afraid we won’t be accepted
- Being afraid to join a group isn’t the same as being excluded by that group
- Knowing your goals for a conference is the first step toward meeting them
- Some people just need to complain
- We’re all just people. No need to be star struck or intimidated.
- It truly doesn’t matter what you wear, as long as you feel comfortable in it.
- Exhaustion doesn’t equal snobbery.
- Worrying about what other people think is a barrier to happiness.
- Your conference experience will largely be what you choose to make of it. Choose wisely.
- Pregnant gals can still dance a heckuva lot better than I can.
- Hugging pretty much everyone you meet is a surefire way to have a feel-good weekend.
- Sitting with just the people you know keeps you from meeting new people.
- Keeping an open mind is the best way to find new opportunities.
- Don’t put people on pedastals. They’re bound to fall off.
- I am not the only one who is awful with names and faces.
- Some strange law is in effect so that you will repeatedly run into the same people over and over and entirely miss others for the whole weekend.
- Taking the up elevator may be the only way to ensure a ride on the down elevator. (No, this is not a metaphor)
- Brand events may be fun, but they are never as rockin’ as the official BlogHer parties.
- Cupcakes are oh-so-trendy.
And I want to reiterate this… If you meet someone you admire and they seem stand-offish, cut them some slack. It could be that they are shy, tired, overwhelmed or otherwise distracted. In many cases there is a reverse correlation between the popularity of a blogger online and their comfort with massive groups of people offline.
I do think it was so funny that we didn’t know each other before this event, but then saw each other everywhere! It was so nice to meet you!
Love it! It was great seeing you again even though I thought you would not recognized me. Oh, and so true about the elevator rides LOL.
I don’t know what it was about BlogHer, but at some times I felt like I was the timid kid in High School again instead of the confident adult I am today. Yet, at other times, I was completely confident talking to people I didn’t know a few minutes prior and without anybody I knew by my side. (To clarify, those “high school moments” were completely due to me and not anybody else’s actions.) I still had a blast though and would love to do it next year if the cost to fly to San Diego wasn’t so much.
Oh and I completely agree about having to go up to go down. Sometimes we had to go down to go up also. You just take what you can get and then ride it until you reach your destination instead of passing up opportunities until the direct path to your destination opens up. (Hmmmm…. maybe it is some kind of metaphor!)
Fantastic post! I’m bummed that you’re one of the people I never ran into the entire weekend, though.
So true! Although we didn’t meet, I just saw your link and wanted to stop by — and I adore your blog name!
Good lessons here —
Fabulous lessons from BlogHer! Another lesson I learned, next time I see you I need to stop and take a photo. It was fun bumping into you several times at BlogHer and at Disney as well.
WOW — OOPS! How is it that I’ve been reading (and chatting with) you on Twitter and yet I’ve never been here before? I’m totally embarrassed — no wonder I resonated with your voice
it was great to talk with you on Sunday and meet you in person!
Love all your rules, but especially this one:
“Some strange law is in effect so that you will repeatedly run into the same people over and over and entirely miss others for the whole weekend.”
This happened to me in 08 and 09 as well.
[…] out of a conference, you have to know what it is you want to get. It’s just one of my many BlogHer life lessons. My goal this time was relatively simple. I was all about relationship building, both with brands […]