Blogher '09 (one of many recaps)

How was Blogher Nap Warden?

Good question!

Here's the thing...(and I did wrestle with some bad moments, but largely they were GREAT moments)

One of the first things that happened to me...I ran into a blogger I have read from the beginning. I comment on her site, she has been to mine...I don't know, in the blogger world, I kind of look at that as a relationship...right?

I pulled up my big girl pants, extend a hand and introduce myself. I'm telling you right here and now...girl looked at me like I was VAPOR:P Now, I know I'm not a blogging star...I do. That said, I think if you have had many comments from Nap Warden...you kinda remember the name?

Truth be told, I really didn't let this bother me. I just walked away thinking to myself "If that's the way you want to play it Sister Soldier, you just lost a reader:P" That's the truth...I won't be coming to her trailer in the blogoshpere any time soon.

Yes, I did notice other bigger bloggers than me...who KNOW me...acting like they had no time for me (a smaller blogger). There were folks walking around like their sh*t don't stink. As I thought about this, I realized...We never leave this high school mentality. This isn't just reserved to the blogoshpere...

My last job (the stock exchange) was full of egotistical, a**holes who thought they walked on water. That's just the way the world is. Straight up...I'm cool with it. Do I act that way. I sure as heck hope not! I talked to newbie bloggers, I talked to the cream of the crop bloggers, and everyone in between. Isn't that the point...to meet other folks who live in Blogland?

The way I look at it is...if you want to put on an air of "I'm the shizzle nit, and I don't have the time for the little guy..." Good luck to you. All you are really doing is alienating your audience...so have at it:P

I had a marvelous conversation with Pioneer Woman (about as big as the big dogs get)...take a lesson from her. She was gracious, easily approachable, and took time out of her busy day to talk superhero illustrations, and sh*t kicker boots with me. Yay team! I also attacked The Bloggess to tell her how much she rocked the Humor Writing panel...and she was wonderful in real life. I don't think it kills anyone to be nice...ya know? The worst you can get out of that is a fan, right?

There you have it...my two cents on the high school mentality that some folks call the Blogoshpere. You can't just limit it to the Blogoshpere...it's life, some folks suck:P The best thing you can do is...not read them. Read folks you love, folks who make you laugh or cry or think. That's what I'm doing. If they made you feel bad at Blogher...f*ck 'em...don't read 'em (that's hitting them where it hurts)

As far a swag...I really don't get it? I didn't knock folks over to get another free grocery bag:P Some folks were highly aggressive...obviously, it was WAY more important to them than to me...so have at it. I got a cool gym bag from the EA Games folks (thank you). For the most part...I got some stuff that the kiddos loved. (I don't know who gave away the Prima Princessa dvd, but my kiddos have been watching it nonstop...so thank you) If you asked me (which nobody did) I don't think it's a great idea to have 500-1000 folks at a party and only have 100 bags on hand. Just my two cents...perhaps raffling them off would mean less noses out of joint? What do I know...the world is in a recession...companies have smaller budgets for this kind of thing...and I'm sure it's probably a major pain in the a** to organize these events. Straight up most of the parties I went to had great food and free drinks...I'm REALLY not complaining:)

Did Blogher rock the house?

Absolutely, 100% yes!

Will I go next year?

Ummmmmmmmm........Hell. To. The. Yeah!

Now, I gotta go away and organize my business cards. Some of you had great ones, and being a designer, I gotta do a post about that...

51 comments

  1. WOW.
    I'm so sorry that you had that experience and even sorrier that you're not sharing who those MeanGirls are.

    It was lovely to meet you! See you next year.

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  2. well, you know exactly where i stand on the whole rock star attitude that some of the bloggers had. geez!
    it was awesome hanging with you!!
    xo

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  3. It was great to meet you, and my Sh*t definitely does stink. For the record...

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  4. great post - I'm not sure if I had a great time - I am still processing- I didn't find anyone I "know" - there were so many people!!!! I kept getting lost trying to find damn rooms (was I the only idiot there??) I met tons of women who didn't have blogs or whose blogs I didn't know existed - but no one I know - so I am disappointed there! My day started out bad when that damn man(with the weird eye) at the registration said I didn't have a badge and I had to stand in line for another 40 minutes to only have the girl look down and say oh Tiaras & Tantrums - here it is - AND I gave her my name (real name) not T&T - so I was a bit miffed!
    I'm glad you had a great time - but where there hell were you? I would have loved to have met you!

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  5. Good for you for calling it as you see it, and for voting with your eyes/feet/mouse...you know what I mean. Ugh. high school

    Looking forward to finally meeting you next year. And now that BlogHer 09 is over, watch for an email about my blog... Instead of playing in Chicago I have been thinking about a few ch-ch-changes!

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  6. I don't get the mad rush for shwag. When I look at all that stuff - I just see it all going into landfills. What do people do with it? And I'm not sure it really helps the sponsors. Although my girls are crushing hard for their strawberry shortcake dolls. So glad I got to meet you (even briefly!).

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  7. You know, you should totally tell us who the meanies were! That way I won't have to visit their blog again, either! Seriously, WTF? You write a blog, people! We are all the same! Who cares if you have more followers or whatever? F*CK! I hate mean people! Expose them! Or email me who they are! ;)
    Glad other than the insecure "I think I'm better than you" bloggers (hello... you're a blogger... not a celebrity!) you had fun! And I'm so going to NYC next year to meet you and I promise, I AM NICE IN REAL LIFE!

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  8. Damn. So I should have TOTALLY avoided you? Crap - why didn't anyone tell me??


    YOu rocked my world, and will brag about you until the day I die. so there.

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  9. And tell Ann's Rants I do NOT want to test that theory.

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  10. Wait- MATTHEW?? That ;s ME!!!!! VODKAMOM!!

    LEt me fix that.

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  11. there, that's better. And what the heck was GB doing on GMAIL?????


    when I get my hands on him................

    anyway- Matthew's comments are MINE.

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  12. You were at the EA party?? I was too! I can't believe we didn't run into each other until Sat. night. So glad we did though! And so sorry about that other blogger who had stupid issues...

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  13. Well, I would have loved to have gone to meet you!! Maybe next year -- I hear they are already selling tix to Blog Her '10!!

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  14. When I first started blogging, I got that feel for some bloggers having a "i want to be in the popular crowd" on their sites and in their comment threads. Your post made me realize what I would not have liked at blogher.

    In all walks of life I think it is important to remember the cyclical nature of everything. Or as the old saying goes, "be careful who you fuck over on the way up, or while you are at the top; because someday you might pass them on a stubmle down."

    All else aside, hell to the yeah that I want to go next year.

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  15. It really miff's me when people act like that! Sister Soldier cracked me up!!! Love your blog!!

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  16. I would have known who you were. What's funny to me is that I've read about a lot of people excited to meet their favorites, obviously with lots of talk about certain bloggers.

    But me, I'd want to meet the bloggers I read everyday that I enjoy that are just like me. Is it weird that I don't get giddy about any bloggers?

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  17. I'm glad you had a good time despite the high school mentality. And just so you know, I would have killed to meet you and shake your hand. I think you rock girl!

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  18. Lady, you are totally the shiznit. I loved hanging out with you and if I have to go to Blogher 10 just to make that happen again, I will. You're that cool. As for the snooty types. I had one longtime reader/blog "friend" who absolutely ignored me. Then Sunday afternoon I got an email asking to get together. WTF? Everyone cooler had already left and she was dragging the bottom to find someone to hang out with? Needless to say, she is OFF my reader.

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  19. I heart you....but you know that!!!!!!!!

    New York 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  20. hummm, of course now i am trying to figure out who was a meanie, does trailer have anythignto do w it. part of me never wants to go to blogher so that i don't get that bad taste in my mouth. but pioneer woman rocks ass, and to hear she was nice makes me happy. since NYC is the next blogher i think i have to attend giving i live in tri state area

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  21. can't wait to see your post on the blog cards...

    glad to hear that all in all you had a good time and jealous to hear that my IRL friend Elaine got to meet you. hopefully i can attend next year! at least i know that you will say hi to me even though i am a pretty ordinary blogger..no where near rock star status that i would give to you! :-)

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  22. I enjoyed meeting you! I think it sucks that you had to interact with people who acted like asshats, but I'm glad that your overall take is still very positive and you're not letting it ruin your experience. :)

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  23. I was so glad to meet you and hang out with you. I am dying to hear about your next flash dance, so be sure to blog about it, because I'll be keeping up over here!

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  24. You met Pioneer Woman?! WHOOT!

    I'm glad you had a blast. I've read a lot about the swag-troversy. That's kind of nuts.

    I may go to NYC...I'm seriously considering it. Yea!

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  25. Our encounter was much too short, I would have LOVED to get to know you better, but hopefully we will be able to through the wonderful world of blogging. *Hand extended right back at ya!* Heck, make it a hug!

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  26. I would love to meet Pioneer Woman! That trailer comment was a hint wasn't it? But the 2 bloggers that jump to mind have been so freaking awesome to me in person it can't be either of them.

    I'm glad you had fun and I agree - the high school thing is just people - people every day everywhere. Sucks but it's true. I love your attitude about the whole thing!

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  27. NO...the trailer comment was NOT a hint...really, not. I do love that you all are ready to be my posse though!

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  28. Hi,

    I was so thrilled to read your bloggin today about Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake! I am the co-creator of Prima Princessa (along with my fellow mom friend Mary Kate) and we donated more than 500 DVDs to our beloved bloggers to share with their kids at blogher '09. I am a stay at home mompreneur of 4 little kids and nothing makes me happier than hearing how your daughter watches our show non-stop, for our goal is to get kids up off the couch and twirling around the living room with the world-class ballerinas that they are watching. We released Swan Lake last year and are coming out with Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker for this Christmas. We will be getting it from the manufacturer next week, so if you would like a copy just email me at stroeller@comcast.net or visit our website www.PrimaPrincessa.com

    Have a great day!!

    Stephanie Troeller
    Co-Owner Prima Princessa Productions, LLC

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  29. Great recap!!! With honesty!! I have had some trouble with a bitch of a blogger too!!! I do not even really blog with the person. I think she wanted me to say something mean about her on my blog to get her some more readers??? I don't know. I was shocked that we have "bitches in blogland" I thought about making that a post. But I try to keep my posts light and funny.

    I am glad that you stopped by for a visit. I clicked follow for us :-)

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  30. I loved your honest recap. I feel the same way on so many levels. And I really hope that blogger wasn't me! Because I LOVED chatting with you :)

    There were quite some egos stifling the air in the place weren't there? I had a few encounters as well.

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  31. Ummmm...no Sandy, you are a total doll...LOVED meeting you!

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  32. great post. I love to hear the "real" of it all. I am not sure I'd enjoy Blogher. I just can't stand all the competition crap.

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  33. I'm sorry we did not get to meet. I think it's very difficult to get 1400+ women together nad not have cattiness or drama. It's sad, but (IMHO) unavoidable. I agree that the bad parts are totally overshadowed by the good.

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  34. Hmmm....that first part sounds scary to a timid, small time blogger like me. I always thought bloggers would be completely friendly and without hierarchy.

    Good that you still met lots of cool people and enjoyed yourself.

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  35. It was so much fun having a chance to meet you "in real life." I had the time of my life but found that my entire time there was like a whirlwind with so many things to do and not enough time to do it. I am glad that our paths crossed on more than one occasion. Sadly, I won't be at BlogHer10 but am glad that I made it to my first one this year.

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  36. I don't know about everyone else here in the comment section but for me? When I meet a blogger, the first thing I think is "What can this person do for ME? Can she or he increase my traffic? Get me free stuff? Make me famous?" These are the only things that matter to me.

    NOT!!!

    I know you know I'm kidding Nap Warden....holy holy, I ran into a few of the kind of bloggers you mentioned but overall, bloggers are cool! And you are one of the coolest! I totally dug hanging with you - you are awesome, crazy talented, and you crack me up! SO hopefully we can hang more in the future but where? I guess NYC or get your butt to LA sometime for some beach time and a Disney trip for the kids....

    :-)

    Great post.

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  37. Damn. I forgot about that dvd. I wonder where it is? Somewhere between the cheeseburger party and my house, that's where. Oh well.

    I sat next to the 2 cutest little boys before I left. They were ADORABLE. And their dad was watching them while their mom chatted, her back to me. "These boys look so familiar" I thought. "I wonder who they resemble?" It finally clicked that they were the Pioneer Woman's boys, and that the handsome man was her husband. I guess I couldn't recognize him from his face. ;)

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  38. Wish I had met you there. I did notice the Junior HIgh mentality of some of the bloggers, but chose to run away from them. All the bloggers I met were great! Ok, 98% of them were great! I will look for you next year!

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  39. I really was disappointed that a couple of the "popular" bloggers acted like they would rather chew glass than talk to people they didn't know, but who used to read them on a regular basis before BlogHer.
    And if I said anything, I'm sorry, I was having a bit of trouble with names. I know there were a couple of people I talked to I just couldn't place.

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  40. Thanks for the candid take on BlogHer. I appreciate it as I was curious about going next year.

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  41. the SAME thing happened to me last year! I was so annoyed especially since these bloggers claim on their blogs they are super nice blah..blah..blah. I avoided them like the plague this year.

    Anyway, so great to see you again. See you next year! :)

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  42. Wait? You're not a blogging star? Really? Wow you had me fooled LOL. I'm still crying myself to sleep over the fact that we didn't meet up on Sat. I would have totally snubbed your extended hand and gone in for a hug. People do suck, you nailed that one.

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  43. I think I'll be going next year. We can be small bloggers together, mmmkay? Because I'm nervous that I won't know anyone and feel like I stink or something.

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  44. I am so pissed that we didn't get to karaoke together... probably because I was off doing important things. Like watching my head spin around like that girl in the Exorcist. What an overwhelming and wonderful weekend. I got to the MamaPop party so late and finally got to meet you and then got sucked away at the Whiskey bar.... BOOOO! I wanted to hang out and actually talk, but I'm not sure that I talked to anyone at that party (except a concentrated few minutes with Ryan to talk photography/Nikon and the bartender)! BlogHer 2010 we will have to set up a date NOT during another party. :(

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  45. I had experiences very similar to yours in that some of the bigger bloggers lost two readers (they ignored/blew off me and my sister at the same time!) but the nice ones I met (big & small) made up for the snobs. I will definitely go again next year and not just because it's in my back yard :)

    I also did not get any really great swag except for the EA Games bag but that's not why I was there so it didn't bother me so much, though I was a little jealous of the video cameras that some got. Free food and drink was a HUGE thing.

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  46. I hate that the "big dogs" forget that they wouldn't be so big without us little dogs (or in my case, "dog who? wha?"). It ridiculous. I love blogging, I love bloggers, but give me a break - I think some folks might be getting a little self-important!

    And seriously - this is one of the reason I have never gone - I would spend the entire time feeling like a doofus who has no business there. And as for your big dog status - I would be nervous about approaching YOU. But I am sure you would be nice, though.

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  47. I think I might know who you're talking about with that first snub cuz she may or may not have dinged me too. In fact, reading your post, it's as if we were actually at the same conference and did many of the same things. So how on God's green earth did we not meet? :-)

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  48. my sh!t smells like flowers.

    How I wish you called out the bloggers, girl.

    I guess I am way nastier when it comes to chicks who are still stuck in highschool.

    Email me the urls and I can be your super secret bulldog. I am really good at it.

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  49. Gosh I love your honesty! Does it make me want to go to BlogHer? Yes! And no! People do suck somtimes, and that would bother me, but meeting people like you has got to rock!

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  50. See, if I were there I would have been all, "OMG...it's the NAP WARDEN!!! SQUEEE!!", because in my blogosphere, you are huge. Hate that some people cannot seem to grow up and get over themselves. Such a shame.

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