DISCLAIMER: I took like 4 pics the entire weekend, sorry yall. Next conference I will be sure to have my phone or camera out and in action a LOT.

Oh BlogHer12, what a weekend you gave me! Thank You!

I was lucky enough to join 5000 other bloggers in my beloved NYC for a whirlwind of blogging info, networking, brands, fun and goodies! It was my first ever conference and I’m so grateful I was able to go.

I won’t dare bore you girls with a play by play style review, so I’ll just plop a few aspects of the weekend into mini recaps for ya:

Personal Highlights

• learning so much outside of the sessions from one on one convos
• winning $250 at the retailmenot booth
• getting even more comfortable traveling solo with Sharkie
• meeting some of the bloggers I dig so much
• doing an on camera interview with Kate Geagan for Earths Best
• winning a toy pack at Hasbro to give to my niece
• advocating for breastfeeding w/ so many of the women I spoke with
• seeing and discussing natural hair with so many women of all backgrounds

Sessions

Maaaan, at every time slot there were about 3 sessions I wanted to attend. It was very hard deciding what to do since everything looked so good. I took sessions regarding media training, vlogging, connecting with brands, protecting your blog and had to pass up sessions on SEO, social media, and passion blogging. I heard that all sessions were taped for us to view later so I’ll definitely be taking advantage of the recordings.

The sessions had good content overall, some better than others. I’ve been blogging for a while but am a newbie when it comes to blogging as a business. Some sessions were so basic I just had to leave and try something else. Bigger spaces would’ve been great, loads of sessions got filled to capacity quickly.

I came to learn and despite the basic level info in some sessions, I learned a ton. I’ve already started implementing some of the gems I learned in the vlogging session. (my fave session btw)

Speakers

Oh man, Blogher really gave us some great speakers!

OBAMA – Need I say more? – You can see that talk HERE if you’re interested

Martha Stewart – I respect her for all she’s done and how she’s done it, but I was never really a Martha Stewart fan. After seeing her be so charming at Blogher I see her in a much more positive light. It felt like she was trying to be well received, but not trying too hard… if that makes sense. She was still Martha. One thing I liked that she said that I’m adopting in my life is that she tries to learn something new every single day.

Katie Couric – Exactly as I thought she’d be…charming, sweet, smart, relevant… I could go on but I wont. She has a talk show starting on Sept 10 (best day ever) and I plan on watching. She seemed so warm and real on stage, I’m sure she’ll bring that signature style of hers to the show.

Soledad Obrien – I have a girl crush on this woman. She is such a pro. So smart, charming but with such a fierceness about her as well. After sharing the good work she’s doing with her nonprofit, she moderated a talk with the women below about their philanthropical endeavors:

Malaak Compton Rock – ::sigh:: I was underwhelmed and just felt bad for her. She just couldn’t “get right.” She was either dealing with something internally or just incredibly unprepared. I won’t put her business out on the street, I’ll let my bloggie friend Weather Anchor Mama do that. She’s far more eloquent than I. Click HERE to read her review of the Malaak incident.

Christy Turlington Burns – I didn’t know anything of this woman other than she’s strikingly beautiful and I’m jealous of her height. Turns out, this model’s got a brain and a big heart too! She spoke about her foundation that focuses on mothers and was a welcome presence on the stage to counteract Malaak’s messup.

Attendees

One very special attendee was my lil man. And can I tell you…ALL THE, ALL THE LADIES LOVE HIM (you aint F*kin with his dougie).

The event was 99% women. I loved the “girl power” feel of the place. Majority of the women were friendly, smiling as they passed by, cooing over the baby, chatty and outgoing. Some seemed shy, nervous or tentative… And some… Well…some seemed like they’ve never seen a black woman in real life before. I got a few hair comments/questions, but nothing rude. But I got a lot of stares, and not the “boy i want to join that convo but I’m too shy please notice and include me” stare… more of a… “omg look at those black women all in a group. Are they a gang? What are they up to” stare. Not cool.

Check out Luvvie’s experience with one of the women at the event HERE. You will die laughing. Don’t take a sip of anything while reading.

Parties

Thanks to Quiana at Harlem Love Birds I was invited to a Hasbro party during BlogHer and had a great time. I even won a whole mess of toys in a name that tune game! The party was fun despite a long slow line to enter and noise about limited gift bags (I got one! hehe). I just wish it was smaller, or more conducive to networking. I wasn’t really able to chat with anyone except for the fab women I came with.

Trina at The Baby Shopaholic invited me to her event Lipstick & High Heels at Pranna sponsored by Eden Bodyworks. This was a wonderful networking event and I got to meet tons of great women bloggers, some that I already stalk follow. This event was more my speed than the Hasbro event. It was smaller, more intimate and I was able to speak with most of the women there one on one, even briefly.

Overall

 Despite being overwhelmed, tired, and achey after this weekend, I LOVED the Blogher conference and cannot wait for the next one! I learned a lot, and left feeling so inspired. I had intended on learning what I can, connecting as best I can with other bloggers and brands…and that’s just what I did. However, I didn’t expect to be as inspired as I am now.  I left the conference with a mind bubbling over with ideas for my blogs, my vlog, and how to integrate my coaching business with my writing and even with my blogs!

Before the conference I was excited about this year because I’m able to stay home with Rohan for a bit, but now I’m excited about the year professionally as well. I’m on a conference high yall.  I cannot wait for the next one. I’m hoping to wrangle sponsorship to attend BlissDom in March and BlogHer13 in July.

Have you ever gone to an event that totally inspired you?

If you’re interested in real (read: better) recaps of the event check out:

• Lipgloss & Binky
• Harlem Lovebirds
• Weather Anchor Mama
• Pookahs Mom

Or you can go to #blogher12 on twitter and click on one of the billions of reviews from other attendees

Girls, I just gotta share, I’m SO SO EXCITED to say, that I am going to be attending my first blogher conference in just under a month!  I’m heading to BlogHer’12!! It’ll be in NYC so it’s super convenient for me.

I’m psyched to meet tons of bloggers I follow, learn tons of great blogging info, make new connections, network and finally do something to take my blogs more seriously. I’ve got a few party invites too, so that’s cool.  I’m going to meet a million interesting and inspiring bloggie people! YAY!

With this being my first conference, I’m a lil nervous and have so many questions:

• what do i wear?
• do i need business cards?
• wtf do I say to the brand reps?
• how do I wrangle guest blogging opps?
• how do I wrangle brand relationships?
• who will I sit with?

Most importantly:

• How will I style my hair?!

Just kidding….

Most importantly:

• Can I do this with a 2 month old in tow??!!

John is home on the first day of the conference so he’ll be watching Roey…but on Saturday he’ll be working so I’ll have him.  Is it smart to take a baby to a blog conference? Is that just a mega bad mommy move?  Should I just register for Friday’s sessions and stay home on Saturday? Do other people bring their babies or will I be the lone mommy weirdo?

SO.

Many.

Questions.

Then there’s the nagging low-blog-esteem question of do I even belong there?! What business do I have going…I have a tiny lil personal blog and a tinier hair blog. The women going are Mom Ambassadors to amazing brands and have fifty eleven readers and twitter followers who support them. Should I even go?!

::sigh::

Underneath these doubty questions is a simmering “hell yes i belong there!” which is why I’m registering lol. I’m truly excited, despite all the questions and nerves. I’ve got about a month to get myself together.

What all do I need?

Any BlogHer conference vets out there with advice to give?! How was your experience at BlogHer? Are you going this year? IF so…YOU BETTER COME FIND ME SO WE CAN CHAT! (and take pics )  Should I bring the boy?!  Help!