Monday, May 20, 2013

Why I go to blog conferences.

If you follow me on twitter you already know I spent part of this weekend in Charlotte for Bloggy Boot Camp with the SITS girls. Dayum, people, it was pretty awesome.

I met a bunch of peeps. I learned a bunch of stuff. And I have a lot to say, but I'm still fried. Or slightly fried. So I'm going to share pictures instead. Mostly.

These shots don't cover all the peeps I got to connect with, but they include a small handful. And that's okay. The cameras didn't have much time to come out, as this one-day-intensive was all about blogging.

So much so that I want to go to Dallas for their business intensive. Damn.

Anyone want to send me?

Think I'm kidding? Check the hashtag. I'm SO NOT KIDDING.

Anyway, like I mentioned, omgahhhh! I met some friends!!!

I met the Dose Girls. If you don't know my friends over at The Dose of Reality then you are missing out. These ladies are some of the funniest women in the world of blogging. For serious. They're also so damned sweet. And I adore them. So much so I have two pictures to share. And sorry, I cut out two new friends from the Diva shot below because I needed to focus on my girls. But I am excited to have made some new friends, too. I just needed to show you me and this duo close up, m'kay?


I adore them. And you know how we feel like people we only know online are like floating heads? I mean, we only see their twitter and facebook profile pictures, and even if we're friends on facebook we usually end up with shots from the neck up. Well, see above. ^^ They're PEOPLE!

But, of course, taking our own picture - our selfie-trio? We're ALL floating heads together.

*Snort* I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. We're cute, though, aren't we?


I also got to spend some quality time with Jen of Jael Custom Designs. Jen was amazing enough to give me a ride to and from Charlotte. And we were roommates for the night, and I don't think she got sick of me, so that's a good thing. We're practically neighbors and yet we don't get to see one another nearly as often as I'd like. Hopefully we can change that and do lots more bloggy-business together in our area.

One of the cool things about this conference was that the ladies of SITS planned it so all attendees were assigned tables for the first few sessions of the day, and through lunch. And then you were able to be "free" to connect with your "friends" - this guaranteed you a chance to meet people you'd never even heard of before that moment in time. So Jen and I were together for our first table (oddly coincidental, perhaps?) and then after that we didn't see one another til after lunch. So we met different people, made different connections, and had totally different experiences.

And yes, we surely would have anyway, but you know there are people who go to conferences and ONLY sit with people they know. And they have their set experience planned out. This was kind of cool and different in that way. No cliques, no seat saving, etc. I liked it.

Anyway, here we are as the conference came to an end. I think we look pretty good after a day filled with learning and networking!


 I also got to meet two local bloggers who I hadn't yet met. Apparently we had to go all the way to Charlotte to connect. They are Allison and Sarah, two of the ladies over at Mom in Chapel Hill. Allison also writes at Go Dansker Mom and wrote an incredible post about the BBC experience that's already up. (Overachiever!) Sarah writes over at 2paws Designs and also, apparently, has a recap post up. (Y'all are too speedy for me!) And I got to reconnect with my BlogHer12 roommate, Amy, of Somebody's Parents. Who - geez - I might not have seen SINCE August? What the heck? Seriously. She lives here, too. What is WRONG with me? Why don't I connect with people IRL when they are RIGHT HERE? /note to self: change that ASAP. Here we are taking a picture below:


* Note - I did a lot of tweaking with picmonkey on these shots. I sadly left my Verizon Wireless Blackberry Z10 home this weekend because it was missing when I was packing to leave. Of course I found it hiding on my desk when I got home - but my pictures suffered from the lack of it.

Lastly, I got to take a quick shot with Deirdre of JDaniel4sMom. We did not get to spend as much time together as I would have liked, but it was still awesome to connect with her. If you're looking for ANYTHING to do with your little one? Anything at all? Head on over to her place. You won't regret it. I promise.


Are you tired of my name-and photo-dropping?

Yeah, I am, too. I suppose I could have done a recap instead and been done quicker.

But if you haven't seen my tweet AND my #BBCChar facebook post about the most important way to sum up this (and any other) conference, I'll fill you in on why this was critical for me to share.

First off, I've done so several times before. I've talked about the amazing people I met and hung with at Type-A Parent Conference 2012. AND at Type-A Parent Conference 2011.

And then I also shared how I was SO excited to meet some of my friends in NYC at BlogHer last year! For me, that was the most important part of BlogHer12.

So it should be no surprise that I'm giving you a post like this again.

And the last reason why is a quote that comes from the incomparable Tiffany Romero:

"Conferences are invaluable for meeting people face-to-face."

Yep. Yes. THAT is why I go.

Sure - I go to learn. That's a given. But the people? They are why I keep going. And probably will continue to. So - who will I see at Type-A Parent 2013 in Atlanta in September?

14 comments:

  1. I'm so glad I got to see you in person, even if it were only for a few minutes here and there. I'm also glad you found Jen. I was worried she was lost. :) xoxox

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  2. Squee!! There is nobody we'd want to be in a trio of floating heads picture with more than you, Andrea!! But I must say, a yellow boa does kind of make everything more glamorous!! I'm glad you included both!! (and meeting you was a real highlight of the whole day!!)

    I could not agree more with you on this conference and in general why they are important. I also loved how they had half assigned seating and half free. It was great to have that mix.

    We can't wait to see you in Atlanta for Type-A!!! --Lisa

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  3. Dude - I've been stalking you for ages. :) Can't wait to meet IRL.

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  4. The Dose Girls AND Tricia! That's it, we are taking a road trip. I am driving! :-)

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  5. So much fun! Glad I got to meet you in person finally (thanks for the shout out!) and bummed that I know I missed a lot of people too. Guess it's time to plan for the next conference? ;)

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  6. Love this post & love your spirit. So privileged to meet. Tots next?? :)

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  7. Oh looks like so much fun! Thank you for letting me take a glimpse of how exciting it is :D

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  8. It was so great to meet you at BBC Andrea! I loved going for the same reason and I could not agree more about the Dose Girls. They are the best!

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  9. I had a great time travel buddy, and there is no way I got sick of you! Lol! I hope we can connect more and work on some cool blog projects together. Can't wait to do it again, that was too short! ;-)

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  10. Awesome recap! I agree. Conferences are almost a non-negotiable for bloggers. It's great to make connections online and then carry them over to real life and vice versa

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  11. I was thrilled when I found out you were going to better. We never get enough time to thoroughly chat.

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  12. Andrea,I am feeling nervous about BlogHer '13, and your post reassured me. I want to meet people face to face, and I will get a chance to do that.

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  13. Nice sitting across from you at lunch..it was great meeting people face-to-face. I plan on being at Type-A Parent this year. Maybe I can photobomb your post for that? :)

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  14. MaY have to check out type A now myself!!! Also a CLT blogger and we didn't even get to connect. Maybe next year!! And my recap isnt even going up until tomorrow!! Just too much!

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