Notes on Planning BlogHer--the Fifth Time Around

Prepping for BlogHer is, for me, like prepping for a wedding. You hear of what all of your guests are doing, packing, wearing. And yet for you it's like being in a bubble, even among throngs of people. You have to make sure you are getting things done. It's utterly anti-social, which is challenging for a social being.

And there are so many things to plan.

• Speaking notes--check
• Press meeting schedule--check
• Sponsor engagements--check
• Special events before, during, and after--check
• Underwear--seriously, I have forgotten before
• Booking info

For me, BlogHer is like a wedding because it's a coming-together of some of the most disparate groups. I recall at my own wedding seeing my California buddies chatting with my brother (who had never been out of the Midwest) and my business partners and thinking, "Where will I ever see THIS again?" BlogHer can feel very similar. Of course, you have your blog peeps, but there are the blog peeps I first met because I was a hard-core blogger and met them through reading them, and there were some I met later, as BlogHer grew and developed, and whom I got to know through the business. There are the employees of BlogHer, many of whom have embraced the community but have entered it in a different way. There's my husband, who agrees every year to this surreal experience of being around many women and asking us, "What do you need?" There's my mother, a long-time member of this community, and my twin sister, an absolute newbie, who will be there. There will be old friends from traditional media who have begun to embrace blogging, press, and of course sponsors--a group you can divide many ways, from small start-ups dipping a toe in the space to larger companies bringing throngs of people to work their booth and be exposed to the event. There will be women that I don't know but who will know me and introduce themselves, and women I've met but can't remember when I met them--what year, which conference? There will be women I'm close to now but don't recall exactly why; just over time it worked out that way. There are offline friends who are going for the first time, and offline heroes who, now online, will be speaking. There will be investors and partners and hotel staff and celebrities and ... breathe.

You can't plan for all that. Like a wedding, you just have to know your lines, try your best to take it all in, and, if possible, remember to eat and not accidentally tuck your skirt in your panties when you come out of the bathroom.

A few years ago I realized there is only so much you can plan. Sure, you have to know your obligations, but if you try to plan too much at BlogHer, you will be disappointed. You have to see what carries you. One year, I vowed to go to sessions, and I ended up in discussions with women I met in the hallway. It was time well-spent. For me, it was a needed catch-up with the community.

It's also important to have your own experience. I love "losing" Elisa and Lisa for a day. We often wander in our own directions and then have totally different stories to share with each other from the event, from conversations within panels to late night karaoke.

Some "Favorites" I've developed since the first BlogHer in 2005:

Favorite Day of the event: Saturday. Friday is usually spent running around and making sure everything is all set. Saturday I usually get to sit in sessions and have an extra glass of wine that night.

Things I never plan: meals

Things that get planned the weekend before: What I'm wearing, my schedule

Things that get planned a few days before: What Elisa, Lisa and I are going to say in the opening session. Though once it was the day before. Never again.

Biggest regret: I never get to do any of the hands-on sessions, and as a result I'm still at the blog skill level I was at in 2005.

Biggest anxiety: I forget to thank someone.

Thing I promise to do every year: Party more; stay up, and yet somehow sleep more.

Thing I forget to include in my schedule: Seeing people and catching up; spontaneous interviews.

Thing I've stopped doing for sanity's sake: Trying to troubleshoot sponsors' tech issues. Trying to memorize sponsor announcements without my notes; hold business meetings onsite. 

Things we always promise to do better next year: Not run out of tickets, be even greener.

Things I always promise to do better next year. Bring more comfortable shoes; not overbook myself.

Thing I've finally done this year that I should have done in the past: Scheduled a few days off immediately afterward.

Comments

[Marilyn]

Jory, I've been mostly away from blogging over the last year, so it's lovely that as I jump back into my reader to find this post (out of all that I might see). How on earth can it be possible that this will be the FIFTH BlogHer?! :) I remember finding your blog shortly before the first one. It's been wonderful to watch your community grow and flourish. And even tho I've sometimes voiced objections to things about the community that bothered me (and thankfully always felt welcome to voice them), please know I couldn't be happier for your success. Please give Joy a HUGE hug for me and tell her that I miss her. Will hope to stop by her blog soon and start reading/commenting again. Have a fabulous week! Enjoy the experience! xo

[Adventures In Babywearing]

Jory, I never think about your perspective, as a blogger I have such a different way of looking at the event- and holy cow I don't know how you do it all. Amazing. It is something I look forward to- and I so
agree about letting yourself be carried
thru the conference vs. Too much strict scheduling. My favorite parts last year were the more intimate spontaneous conersations that happened in the background.

And after it was over, I couldn't wait to start thinking about the next one. Thank you so much for all you do to make this happen.

Steph

[Joy]

We're all getting excited honey...just a couple more days. You're here in Chicago now preping for BlogHer Business...so close, but I still won't see you until Friday. Julie and I will be there bright and early...bags in hand. Thanks again for the room sweetie. What a great weekend it will be. Can't wait to see you ladies kick it all off at the breakfast. Congratulations on all your hard work. Good Luck...and I love you.... ~Mom xo

[Tre ~]

So...perspective....365 days goes by way the heck too slow at times and too fast others...and methinks i 'get' better now why the annual connection matters. Um. yeah. Like totally much. It's with a lotta missing you like if we were saying goodbye at camp that I'm feeling right now for choosing to self care this year a bit...really in ways wish i could have figgered a way to get there...be there...see my bloggin sistahs :) and yet, still, when the heart speaks, we hug..virtually and otherwise. Ya'll were in my thoughts of course all wkend and surely much throughout the day 2 day. Loved your prepping post...Here's to the value of those 'intimate spontaneous conversations in the background' you mention..and being there to experience them :) hugs. C U Soon :) somehow...

[Kathy]

Hi Jory! This is a major blast from the past... We were in Esande together in high school at ETHS, when you were a senior and I was a freshman. I still have so many happy memories from those dancing days. It's been awhile but I think you were also a senior at U of I when I was a freshman and we saw each other now then that year too. Didn't you even write a column for the DI?

I have been blogging for over two years now. I started when my husband and I were struggling with secondary infertility and beginning our first IVF cycle to keep some of our family and close friends up to date on what was happening. Anyway, over time I slowly discovered that there was a whole corner of the "blogosphere" devoted to people dealing with infertility, loss and adoption.

To make a long story short, though I have never been to a BlogHer conference, even this recent one in Chicago, as a participant. I did drive downtown on Friday to meet some blogging friends for the first time in real life for lunch. One of them is encouraging me to try to come to the conference next year or someday. So I went on the BlogHer website just now to read a bit more about the conferences and BlogHer in general and saw that you were one of the co-founders!

Anyway, I followed a link to your blog and had to comment and say "hi!" I think it is awesome all that you have done for the blogging community! I hope this finds you in good spirits. It's good to know that you seem to be doing well and to be back in touch after all these years.