BlogHer Summary: Then Liz Blew Pepsi Out Her Nose

I arrived at the BlogHer conference on Friday around 4pm, which was just in time for a “snack” break. (Thankful for that since I had barely eaten all day.) I then attended the “State of the Momosphere” session, which turned into a bitch session about advertising and PR pitches. I’ve posted more about that on my new blog - please check it out!

When the moms were done slamming conference sponsor Pay Per Post and at least one blogger left the room close to tears, it was time for the cocktail party. Woo hoo! I met some awesome grrls and we hung and bonded and drank and ate and stuff.

Saturday I headed to the conference to attend some business blogging sessions. I’d write a comprehensive summary of everything I learned, but Jenny has already done a superb job of it. And it’s really late. And I’m tired. So I’m just gonna like point y’all to Jenny! In fact, she’s also written a great post about the lunch session we both attended. Jenny, I’m so lovin you right now.

Elizabeth Edwards was the closing keynote speaker. While I agreed with nearly nothing she said, I did appreciate the cozy Q & A atmosphere. The BlogHer ladies did an awesome job!

Next I took a stroll down Chicago’s Navy Pier and took advantage of a few moments of solitude to drink in the sunshine, the beautiful sight of the boats on the water, the music, the entertainment, and the fun, relaxed atmosphere.

Saturday night’s cocktail party rocked hard! It took place in a children’s museum which was kinda fun. So many friendly and accessible bloggers, good eats and drinks, music, dancing, free photo booth photos and make-your-own T-shirts. Amy Sedaris was there, although I really didn’t know who she was and kinda made a fool of myself by asking her. While I met a lot of wonderful women, I wish I had been able to spend more time talking to some of my favorite bloggers. And then there were some I didn’t even see that I really wanted to meet. Next year…

When the cocktail party wound down, I met up with the grrls and we hit the food court. On the way there I passed the IMAX theater. Harry Potter. In IMAX. Yeah, baby. I bought a ticket, wolfed down half of a sandwich, then ditched the grrls in favor of sitting alone in a theater wearing big goofy 3-D glasses. And it was AWESOME.

Sunday morning I packed up, checked out, and headed to the BlogHer “Unconference.” I have to say this was a big disappointment. The concept was excellent - let the participants decide what they want to discuss, then break into groups and hash it out. The problem was there were not enough participants. But I did talk with some nice people, checked my email, called my family, and ate a little lunch before heading to the airport…

…where I spent the next 5 hours waiting for my flight to leave. Luckily, Liz was on the same flight, so I had some wonderful company. We hit Chili’s for dinner, and let me tell you about the excellent customer service we received! When Liz was less than halfway through her soda, our server whisked by and set another full soda on the table. Liz thought it might have been meant for someone else and pointed it out to the manager who was passing by. The manager told her about the free refills and Liz politely declined. (Who needs two mugs of soda before getting on an airplane?) A few minutes later, the server whizzed by and slammed another glass of soda on the table. And yet, he hadn’t once asked if I wanted more water. We got the giggles and couldn’t stop laughing until Liz blew soda out her nose.

BlogHer 2007 was an inspiring, exciting experience. Can’t wait for 2008.

My BlogHer photos are here.