I have been reading review posts of BlogHer10 and felt compelled to write the following post. I might make a few people mad, but oh, well, here goes:
There are lots of people who are unsatisfied with the conference. The main complaint is that the conference was catered to Mommy Bloggers. Well, duh! Have you ever heard of BlogHer before you attended it? Have you ever read any other reviews of past conferences?
Assuming that you lived under a rock and have never tried Googling for info on the conference, I’ll ask something more basic: Have you ever heard of blogging?? I’ll be you have! Now, have you paid any attention to what the media connect blogging with? The answer is Mommy Blogging! Well, that and Perez Hilton.
Lots of companies have at least one mommy blogger on their site – for example, The Today Show has mommy bloggers, Lifetime has mommy bloggers, The View has mommy bloggers, I mean, seriously – do you want me to go on? Because I can sit here all day and list out the companies who have affiliated themselves with mommy bloggers.
The BlogHer Conference is catered to mommy bloggers because Mommy Bloggers are the biggest voice in blogging. Plain and simple.
You can argue with me if you want, but think about it. When was the last time you got a new car, new camera, new whatever simply because you blog? Were you invited to any of the private parties at the conference? Were you shipping home boxes and boxes of swag? No? Well, guess who was? Mommy Bloggers were!
The well-known mommy bloggers have already figured out the stuff that BlogHer told us at the opening and closing keynotes. Remember those? Remember learning about how the female blogger is the most powerful voice out there? Remember learning how we can make a change if we blog? If we band together?
So why not do that if you are so unhappy with the way female bloggers are seen? Be the voice you want to hear!
How do you do that? Well, here are a few ideas:
Find Your Tribe – If you don’t assimilate well in the mommy blogger community, find a community that you do fit into, or create your own community.
Make It A Point To Connect With Your Tribe – The Mommy Bloggers have Twitter Parties, ning communities, and go to lots of conferences throughout the year to connect with each other. Start finding ways to connect with your own community!
Form ONE Voice – Once you connect with your community, form a collective voice. Not all mommy bloggers want the same thing, but they all want some of the same things. They want what is best for their children (even if they disagree on what the ‘best thing’ is), they want to be taken seriously, they want to be heard, they want to be seen as individuals and contribute to society and to the decisions that are being made around them.
Demand What You Want – Decide what it is that your community wants out of BlogHer and demand it. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Tell the BlogHer staff. If you want more advanced sessions, tell them. If you want to see more of a craft or food presence, tell them.
Create What You Want – If you are not getting what you want, create it yourself. You don’t have to compete with a huge conference like BlogHer, you can start small. Create your own virtual conference. I did it – it’s not that hard. Yeah, it’ll take work and effort, but is it worth it to you? If so, do the work and make it happen. If not, then shut up and be satisfied with the choices out there.
Like I said, I have read a lot of reviews today and I know that many of you are requesting to have a non-mommy blogger themed conference. So band together and make it happen! Don’t wait for someone else to do it. If you want a change, then you need to be the change.
Loved your post. I am proud to call myself a mommy-blogger and I was disappointed that I got a late start and missed the boat with Blogher’10. I will definitely be at Blogher’11. I have seen the complaints and I have seen the praise. I believe you get out of it what you put into it.
Kudos Crissy! I agree with you on creating what you want and not waiting on someone else to do it and otherwise shutting up about it! I discovered your blog and BlogHer just last week. I am very new (just born) to the world of blogging. After reading lots of advice about blogging from men, I was refreshed and inspired by indiebizchicks!
Best,
Trisha
Great post! I don’t think you will make people mad… well, maybe… There are a lot of attendees being really negative about BlogHer and I think complaining is easy. Being positive is a bit harder, and making positive change is even more difficult! I want to go to any conference that you are a part of! 🙂
Thank you to all of you for the positive comments!
Carolyn – Mommy Bloggers are a force to be reckoned with! They truly understand the power of the blogging medium. You should definitely go to San Diego next year for BlogHer 11!
Trisha – I am glad you are enjoying my site! Your compliment made my day!
Rachel – Making a change can be hard, and not everyone will make the effort to do it. It’s a lot easier to just talk about it. Hopefully, this post will inspire at least 1 person to put some effort into the things they want to change. There are a few conferences I am thinking about going to next year… I’ll keep ya posted!
As usual, Chrissy, to the point and so true. Thanks for the follow-up! Enjoyed it. Sorry I missed BlogHer this year.
AMEN!!! People just need to complain. I wish they’d stop complaining and do something. I have a motto that I wear on a bracelet. “Be the change you want to see.”
If this isn’t your tribe, so be it. But don’t expect the tribe to change for you. You have to find your tribe. I personally had a fantastic time. I am a Mom who blogs about technology, health and digital scrapbooking. I made so many connections and learned so much. But I didn’t attend any sessions. I learned from my tribe. I talked and listened and got so much out if it.
I love this post! I’m not a mommy blogger, but I certainly understand where most of the marketers are coming from. I found all sorts of people to connect with. No complaints from me.
I don’t quite know where my blog fits into the spectrum of things because I really am all over the place, however I completely agree with you. BlogHer is what YOU make of it. There is so much going on that there will be something for everyone and if there isn’t something for you, make it happen. All of these parties, events and sessions were created by someone. They didn’t just get pulled out of thin air by the blogging fairy. Submit a panel subject next year, organize a party, organize your own conference targeted to your tribe. Don’t complain if you sat back and expected things to happen and they didn’t. You have a voice, use it. I don’t consider myself a mommy blogger so was more than happy to turn down a lot of the ‘mommy blogger’ brunches and what not, and I didn’t attend a single session, instead I found things to do that were more relevant to me. I photographed the city. I attended a few parties that were for me. I enjoyed lunch with friends. I walked the 5k for Tanner. And of course I was honored that you asked me to be a part of the Etsy panel. Thank you Crissy.
Again – thanks to everyone for the great feedback!
I personally met several of the people who commented – in person – at BlogHer this year. We don’t all blog about the same things and we all live in different parts of the country. But we all came together for that one event, and that is pretty amazing.
I did go to the sessions, and I was able to meet several people in those sessions – some I have followed for a while on Twitter and some I met for the very first time.
I gained so much enthusiasm from the conference. It was great to meet all of these people and see what they were blogging about. It is very hard to describe unless you are there – feeling everyone’s excitement and love for blogging.
Even if you just sat in the corner by yourself and didn’t talk to anyone, you would be amazed at the amount of people who came together – over BLOGGING. If you can’t see the awesomeness in that – or get inspired by it, that is your problem.
As the ladies above mentioned, there are so many things to do and see at this type of conference. I really do recommend that people attend. Go with an open mind and an open heart. You will learn something – whether it is from a session or from an experienced blogger you meet at lunch or a new blogger you meet in the hallway.
Just go. And have fun with it!
It does upset me that one assumes if a woman is blogging, she must be a mom. Or, if a woman has a work at home business, she must be a mom. I am not a mom, and not through my own choice, so I don’t fit into the “childfree groupies” and I’m at a point right now, where I’m trying very hard to keep a business focus.
Chrissy, this is not an attack on you at all, but I’ve found it extremely difficult to find a niche where I am not constantly bombarded with mommy-type stuff. I want to be a successful female entrepeneur, but almost any resource I find is catered to the mommy.
Suggestions?
Thanks!
Deborah,
Can I ask what blogs you read? And how long you’ve been blogging?
I don’t think that people automatically assume women bloggers are mommy bloggers. But that is because I read a lot of blogs that are not mommy related in any way shape or form.
Women are blogging about all kinds of things – from business to politics to crafts to food and more.
I started Indie Biz Chicks because I saw lots of work at home mom websites but didn’t see any websites offering work at home / business information to women who were not moms.
I do have moms and grandmas who read my site. I will occasionally write about something such as balancing your work and childcare because I know some of my readers have children, but for the most part, the word “mom” is not mentioned on this site at all.
I’m not a mom, and many of the women bloggers I am friends with are not moms, but we are all blogging.
Keep looking for blogs that appeal to you. There are so many blogs out there, that I know you will find some.
And don’t be afraid to start the type of blog you want to see. I mean, if you are looking for it, there are probably other people looking for it, so why not be the change?
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I think the mommy bloggers have just found a way to monetize the blogosphere – and I don’t necessarily consider that a good thing. Or at least the way it’s being done in some cases — I think ‘sponsored posts’ ruin blogging’s grassroots feel and bloggers’ credibility as writers/journalists. M-bloggers seem to have jumped on that bandwagon. That being said, I don’t believe they are the most prevalent bloggers. I disagree on that but agree on many of your other points — finding your tribe, etc.
I almost went to BlogHer last year and read the same complaints – before & after. So BlogHer knows that’s an issue (too much mom focus) but I guess that’s the tone of the conference they choose to set.
Thanks for the post. I’m looking forward to reading what Beth Terry/Fake Plastic Fish has to say about BlogHer but she hasn’t posted it yet! Last year she thought it was too commercialized and from all acounts I read it pretty much was! This year ‘s post is coming: https://fakeplasticfish.com/2010/08/reinvention-fake-plastic-fish-style-eat-your-heart-out-madonna/
Cathryn.