Momma Told Me: #BloggerConfessions: Week 3- Blog Conferences

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#BloggerConfessions: Week 3- Blog Conferences

#BloggerConfessions the only Blog Hop where bloggers can dish the down and dirty of blogging, and readers can get an inside look at how it's all done!
Do you have a favorite blog? Of course you have several; and are perhaps even a blogger yourself. Have you ever wondered from time to time how they do it? Or does everything on your end of the screen seem so flawless your perspective on your own life gets a little fuzzy? Well I am here to tell you that blogging is not the perfection perceived- it is most often crazy hours, emails in the wee hours, and balancing on chairs in hallways to get the perfect light. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes before that URL can hit the internet, and myself and a group of bloggers are here to give you the down and dirty secrets of #BloggerConfessions in a new weekly blog hop that invites you to confess on a new topic each week.

Whether you're looking for a fun hop you can fill an organic content need with(yes, us bloggers worry about that), or are simply a reader looking for the juicy, and often hilarious, truth on blogging- you're invited. Bloggers, feel free to post your response to each week's topic any day of the week (Thursday is the feature day) and link up to the LINKY at the bottom of this post. Be sure to grab the button while you're here! Readers, sit back, relax, and prepare as we demystify blogging one dish at a time!
#BloggerConfessions Blog Conferences Tell All #SoFabCon14
Week 3: Feeling A Little Shy? Conferences and More!

Prompt: Have you ever been to a blogger conference? With BlogHer 2014 just a few weeks passed, what better time to dish about the behind the scenes craziness that goes on at your favorite blogging conferences. Whether you have a story about your 'first time' to share or just a fond memory, let's hear it!

What happens at a blog conference stays at blog conference, right?

It's actually quite the opposite, right? If there is any conference where people are encouraged to dish every moment, including the down and dirty, it's at a conference designed entirely for social networking and amplification. Sure you go to COMIC Con or D23 and you take a million pictures and Facebook yourself next to R2D2 and Jack Sparrow, but at a blog conference you're not the only one sharing photos of you. There's the thrill of spotting a blogger you've been reading for several years and finally get to gush to in person, *cough Lena Burkut, Way 2 Goodlife* and there's the sponsors who stage elaborate events and activities designed to get your guard down while media and your peers snap away at sharing stations. If you expect to visit a blog conference and walk away without permanent evidence in the Cloud you are in for a surprise, my friend!
#BloggerConfessions Blog Conferences Tell All #BlogHer14
It took me 4 years, blogging every day, sometimes twice a day, to get my but to a blog conference. Why? Because I fall into that large margin of bloggers with social anxieties that enjoy being seen and heard from the other side of a computer screen. Let's face it, blogging is a controlled world- it's intended to be a glimpse into our lives, but at the end of the day we decide how raw that glimpse truly is. I can talk up storms in Google Chat or Facebook Groups, but I'm hesitant to own myself in public crowds. It's something blogging has actually helped me with tremendously.

I won't lie, however, when I won a scholarship to #SoFabCon14, in Arkansas, this past Spring I was more terrified than excited. The group of bloggers attending was much smaller than, say, BlogHer, but they seemed much more outgoing and active in general. People were grouping up to plan costumes for parties months in advance, and even sharing their suitcase wardrobes online. I half anticipated I'd die on the first day and never leave my hotel room. Luckily, Alyssa of Giveaway Overload, was my roommate and the perfect match for me anxious personality. While I don't have kids yet, we had a lot in common and spend the majority of the event awkwardly growing together.
#BloggerConfessions Blog Conferences Tell All #SheetHappens With Kangaroo Mama
Having recently just left #BlogHer14, in San Jose, I can't say I was any more comfortable walking into the 4k+ blogger/writer/entrepreneur event. It was much larger than SoFabCon, but thankfully spread out over more events and a larger space. Once again, having the right roomie saved the day- fearless Kangaroo Mama was the perfect clean and respectful roommate, that helped motivate me to stay active an partake in the conferences events. At one point I caught the above photos of her sitting on the toilet dishing all her #SheetHappens secreted to Angel Soft! You never know what you'll see at a blogger conference! As it turns out, I'm considering charging to be my roommate at the next event; Kangaroo Mama won a Dolce Gusto Espresso Maker prize bundle, and my SoFabCon roomie had also won a several thousand dollar prize pack!
#BloggerConfessions Blog Conferences Tell All #BlogHer14 Laughs With 247ModernMom
Yes lots go on at blogger conferences, but, perhaps nothing as important as the lifelong connections that are made hugging and greeting between those badges. Super blogger Alicia Gonzalez, 24/7 Modern Mom, showed me what it was to be Mom and Roar when she was determined to attend the event with all 5 kids in tow. This woman is a rock star ya'll! And she even won a Ferrari (okay, that's not a Ferrari, and she didn't win it, but you never know what you'll find at a Blogger Con!) I suppose this blogger conference thing gets easier with each go- but, for me, it's the people you attend with that rally make the difference!

Link up your Blog Conferences #BloggerConfessions anytime between now and next Thursday!

Prompt for Week 4: (8/14) Blogging Nightmares- Okay, it's time to dish about that sponsored post, blog hop, complicated recipe, or just generally rocking post that almost didn't happen. We want to hear about computer mishaps, missed flights, Blogger mysteries and that time when your perfect post was much more of a quest to tackle than anyone could have ever known!
Momma Told Me

33 comments:

  1. This is so fun. I have not been to any major conferences but I hope to one day.

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  2. I hope to go to one of these conferences in the near future! I'm a new blogger, so I'll probably wait a bit!

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  3. OMG!! I also have that issue with social anxiety, which is probably part of the reason I haven't been to a blogging conference. I need to take the plunge!

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  4. I would totally love to go to one of these conferences one day. Maybe in a year or so :)

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  5. I have to admit that I get nervous months in advance. It certainly doesn't help when you are part of the team putting on the Conference and every detail needs to be perfect. Every decision needs to be the right one.

    It only gets worse as people come up to me and know me when I am clueless as to who they are. Thank goodness for all the pets at the conference that you can just ignore the owners and say hello to. The conversation flows freely from there and the ice is broken and everyone becomes fast friends.

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  6. I went to a one day conference about 3 years ago and was so overwhelmed that I never went to another one.

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  7. I only went to my first conference this year - BlogPaws - and I had a lot of fun. The right roommate does make all the difference. It helps to have one that is experienced so they can ease you in.

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  8. Our local area blog conference is coming up.. For the past few years I have wanted to go, but it hasn't been in my finances.. I am vowing that I WILL go next year, even if I have to move my schedule all around to accommodate it. :)

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  9. ha it's so true - you act differently online that you do in person!

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  10. I've never been to a blogger conference but I think I would love it!! Wish I could take the family though, since I like to travel with them.

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  11. I'm hoping to go to a blog conference in my area in October I'm really looking forward to. At least I know I won't be the only weirdo with a camera strapped to me and my iphone out to capture every moment LOL

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  12. I can totally relate to those bloggers with social anxieties. I attend conferences but have a hard time mingling with other bloggers. I'm working on that though!

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  13. It's fun to see more behind the scenes of the conferences. I haven't been to one yet...I really hope that changes next year!

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  14. OMG. I love this post so much. I wanted to enter to win a chance to SoFabCon but my freaking anxiety revved up and I decided not to enter. LOL I am such an introvert and I get overwhelmed but your post makes me want to go next year!

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  15. I love reading your blogging confessions because I can so relate. I've been blogging for over four years now, and haven't been to a conference yet. It's mostly finances, but I am fairly shy as well (especially in large groups). They sound so fun though; I really want to go one day!

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  16. i have not yet been to a US blogger conference, but we have get togethers here in Singapore often. I love reading about people's experiences at these things! Must be nice to put an actual face to a blog!

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  17. I usually don't miss missing BlogHer, but I sorta do this time - but I do hear about axiety!

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  18. I get anxious around a bunch of people so conferences aren't for me!

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  19. looks like a blast. i would love to go one day. i have been blogging for about 3 year. hope for next year.

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  20. Hope to go to a conference one day! Only been blogging for a few months so I have some work to do yet!

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  21. Yes, there's something really special about meeting people in person. The relationships can definitely turn into good friendships.

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  22. I have social anxiety, and I find blog conferences to be very tough. I make myself go to them, though, because it's a great way to network. Besides, once I'm there it's a blast.

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  23. I would be so nervous to go to a conference... but I want to SO bad!!!! I hope I get to one in the few years!

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  24. I want to go to a conference. I am so shy, but it would be good for me to put myself out there.

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  25. LOL I don't have any conference confessions, so to speak. I went to one BlogHer in 2012 and that was enough for me...

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  26. yes I have been to my fair share of conferences and events. They are a lot of fun! I haven't been to blogher in a few years but I loved going to meet up with old friends and network.

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  27. I cant wait to attend some blog conferences! And hopefully to make some crazy memories too. I hope I get to read these stories!!!!

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  28. Sounds like you had an interesting 4 weeks! Busy and fun!

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  29. I have been to Blogher the past 3 years and I am attending Blissdom Canada for the second year in Oct. I love attending blogging conferences.

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  30. It's SO true. Blogging conferences everything is shared non-stop. I see people on their devices more than heads up. :)

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  31. I love conferences and wish I could attend more. I just attended my 4th Blogher but would like to attend something different.

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  32. I love conferences. I sometimes attend and sometimes speak and present. Like you said, the relationships you make is what matters most.

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  33. I was also nervous about going to my first blogger conference. But there was so much to do and enjoy. Plus I connected with some great people I still know years later.

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