BlogHer 13: Trepidation and Advice

Oh geeze. I just realized I’m flying to Chicago for BlogHer 13 on Thursday. Groan.

I mean, woohoo. Woo hoo.

I know I’m supposed to be excited about this. I’m sure it will be fun. It’s three nights in a hotel room with a couple girlfriends in one of my favourite cities. Of course it’s going to be fun. But when I calculate the cost of airfare, hotel and my conference ticket, I really need it to be more than fun.

This business of making BlogHer make good business sense is where I’m feeling a bit less enthusiastic. When I attended BlogHer in New York city three years ago I was blown away by how much fun I had and how many valuable contacts I made. The assignments I have gotten through contacts made on that trip have paid my expenses many times over. The personal and professional relationships I have developed since that conference are invaluable.

So, yes, if anyone was wondering if it’s possible: You can turn a massive conference into professional windfall. And I was a relative nobody, a mere blip in the blogosphere, going into that conference.

The difference is that almost all the contacts I made were with local Toronto people. It may seem funny to have to travel to New York to network with people from my own city, but it makes sense that people will congregate with people they may already know and that they have connections with when they are away from home in a sea of strangers. It’s also one of the rare times when everyone is able to be together in one place for any length of time. So hey, a nugget of advice for BlogHer newbies: Find your local peeps and start networking from there.

It also helps that Toronto happens to be the media capital of Canada, of course. But now, heading to Chicago, I can’t help but feel like I’m already pretty well-networked in Canada. I mean, it’s always helpful to solidify those relationships and to meet new people, but I’m not sure I need to go to BlogHer to that. I don’t think I got nearly as much out of last year’s conference, for example.

So here I sit, figuring I should probably start thinking about packing and maybe even put together a media kit or something. I haven’t bought any new clothes for this conference. I have only RSVPed to one off-site party. (It’s the Mom Central Canada Cheverolet Canadian Party, by the way. Find me to say hi!) I haven’t looked over the agenda nor do I have any official role to play.

I guess this is the part where bloggers are supposed to confess to an all-consuming social anxiety disorder that chains them to their computers. Well, I don’t have one. I did used to have an almost paralyzing shyness but I decided that’s not who I wanted to be and worked to get over myself by the time I started high school. But that doesn’t mean big crowds aren’t intimidating or that I won’t be nervous introducing myself to new people. That’s completely normal. And there ARE most definitely delicate social norms to dance around. Don’t let anyone tell you all bloggers are in the same boat and that everyone is friendly. There are, like, 5000 people registered for this conference and some of them are going to be assholes. And some of them you won’t be interested in talking to and some of them won’t be interested in talking to you. It’s a tricky and delicate situation, being genuinely friendly and open with someone but also try to disengage so you can go out for dinner with a only a few of your closest friends. Try to be aware of the other person’s situation no matter which side of the equation you fall on. I know it’s hard.

So let me end this rambling, self-indulgent post about how I’m not as excited about my trip to the giant blogging conference as I should be — god, how whiny can a person get? — with some goals:

1. Have fun and see a bit of Chicago. Because even if it’s a bust on the professional networking and learning front, at least it’ll have been a good trip.

2. Meet new people. Duh. But it’s really easy to kind of cling to the people you already know and really hard to introduce yourself to others. And Imma be completely honest here and say I’m only interested in spending time with people with whom I have shared interests and sensibilities. That means that no matter how super nice that coupon blogger from Georgia is, I really don’t think we can do much for each other.

3. Learn stuff. This blog has been around since 2007 so it’s tempting to think I already know everything there is to know about blogging. But I don’t; not by a long stretch. There will be sessions where I’ll learn about SEO, new apps and tools, and have discussions about the existential meaning of blogging and where we all go from here (or about what brands want, whatever.) I will attend those sessions.

4. Always say yes. I’m inspired my friend Daniela who turned a last-minute work trip into the adventure of a lifetime by following that simple rule. Do I want to go out for dinner with this group of people I barely know? Yes. Do I want to take a 2am cab ride to some part of the city I’ve never been to with a group of bloggers? Yes. Do I want to meet so-and-so or help with whatever? Yes, yes, yes.

5. Remember the best way to network is to meet someone and then become friends with them. Okay, so obviously you can’t go around becoming instant friends with thousands or even dozens of people in one weekend. But you can take the time to develop stronger relationships with a few kindred spirits. I’m convinced that making two new friends is more valuable than handing out hundreds of business cards.

Okay, so I’m off to pack and Google “How to build a media kit.” Please, please, please seek me out if you’ll be in Chicago. I’d love to meet you.