My first BlogHer is over, and I may have just ruined my reputation forever.
1. I didn’t take enough photos. Especially lacking the photos of me posing with celebrities and on the red carpet. (I did pose with the darling Paula Deen and there might be one photo with Carson Kressley too).
2. I gave out less than 50 business cards. I gave cards only for those people who asked for one, and frankly, that wasn’t too many. I think I was just busy hanging out with people I already know, but I might be wrong. I figured that if people really want to know me, they will find me and ask my card without me promoting myself too much.
3. I didn’t attend many sessions. I had meetings with people I have worked with before and will start working in new projects. I had amazing conversations over lunches, and on the hallways of Sheraton with bloggers I respect and have been wanting to meet for a long time. I hung out with people I love.
4. I didn’t hand out swag. Apparently those who gave out fab swag are the real queens of BlogHer. But dear Lord shield those people whose swag bags were less than fabulous and had too little products, the negative PR will haunt them for the rest of the month (or year). So at least I am saved from not being slaughtered because my swag bags weren’t as fab as someone else’s or I ran out of them. Sorry if I disappointed anyone for not giving you free stuff. Somehow I was hoping you’d like me for.. um, me. Silly me.
5. I didn’t bring (or buy!) an extra bag to carry my swag home. So I gave away everything I could not carry home with my two hands.
6. I said no to meeting celebrities and having meetings with PR people that I hadn’t met before. But come on – I got to hang out with people like
Naomi,
Steph,
Erika,
Renee,
Mrs. Flinger and so many other amazing women, who totally kick booty.
7. I talked and hugged way too much and way too many people. I totally ruined the opportunity to ever be seen as “somebody” by taking the mystery away, and showing what a hugging-babbling-weird-foreigner-dork I am. Dammit, at least I could have pretended I was something else.
8. I didn’t drink enough free booze and was never drunk. I’m a Finn for Pete’s sake, what’s wrong with me??
9. I didn’t attend every party I was invited to, and didn’t thank all of the hostesses of the parties that I attended to. Sorry, there was just too much, and I can only be in one place at once. By next year I will promise to check into cloning myself.
10. I cried when I met some amazing women with warm hearts, like
Amy and
Stefanie. And even more embarrassingly in the front of John Andrews of Collective Bias, when thanking him for doing something very nice for some bloggers, who deserved a change to show what they can do (and stupid me, I wasn’t even talking about myself, really John, I’m thankful for the opportunities you have given for me too).
UPDATE:
11. I didn’t tweet, whirrl, livestream, nor share my BlogHer experience in real time at facebook nor here. Thanks for
Daria for reminding. I love social media platforms, but I liked to be in the moment, not tweet the moment.
Despited the realization that I suck at self-promotion (while at the same time I try to promote myself as a PR consultant), I loved being at BlogHer.
Oh well, better luck next year. Maybe I need to take Pimpology 101 before attending any more conferences.
