"Ladies and Gentlemen, Please Note: Due to security concerns for the speakers, there is no video taping or photography allowed for this session. If you're caught doing either, your equipment will be confiscated"
It was a strange thing to hear at a BlogHer conference. This is a conference where sharing is not only allowed, it's encouraged. 2400 women bloggers and attendees blog, Facebook, Tweet, FourSquare and Flickr their asses off.
But not at this session. These speakers were the International Activist Blogger Scholarship Recipients. They came from countries like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. For the women on stage, preventing their images from appearing online was a matter of life and death.
That really brought it home for me - why I was attending BlogHer 10. In the elevator, someone asked me what the conference was all about. My answer - women who are changing the world one blog post at a time.
Blogher 10 Key Takeaways
- It's not about saving the world, it's about "Micro-Activism" . Gina McCauley used this term to describe what she does. She's all about taking action that gets results. I heard this theme throughout the conference - tackle problems where you can create tangible change. Focus on small things that have big value. Ask your readers and network to do something specific - sign a petition, call a switchboard, recycle a water filter. People take action when a goal is achievable.
- Develop emotional scar tissue. If you're going to share your truth, you must have courage. People will come after you, whether it's with a nasty comment, a personal smear campaign, or a death threat. It doesn't matter if you're blogging about women's rights or raising your teenager. Hang on to your passion and stay focused on the positive effect of sharing your truth. There's nothing more powerful than a reader saying, "Wow, you too? I thought I was the only one."
- Advertisers and brands need bloggers more than bloggers need them. Don't get me wrong, I see the relationships between bloggers and advertisers improving. What's changing is, women bloggers have a better understanding of their value/worth. Established bloggers are turning away from "journalistic opportunities" to create free content for others. If they're doing all the work, they want to be compensated. Respect needs to come from both sides. That said, BlogHer had some terrific sponsors this year who deserve a shout-out.
- Transparency rules. When it comes to FTC rules, brand/blogger relationships, reviews, endorsements - the best policy is transparency. Bloggers AND their readers value disclosure. If you're being compensated, let your readers know.
- Sleep deprivation does nothing to improve spelling. I think this is sefl-expanatory.
- Women are frickin funny. Almost every session I attended was full of laughter. Quadruple that in the parties, hallways and ladies rooms. These women were witty, articulate,and spit-out-your-appletini funny I wish there was a BlogHer comedy channel on TV. (hint hint)
- Lisa Stone, Jory Des Jardins and Elisa Camahort Page should run our country. Seriously. Can you imagine these three descending on Washington? They'd have it whipped into shape in no time. Every year I'm even more impressed with these women and their ability to organize, inspire, communicate and handle adversity with grace and courage. I watched Lisa Stone take down a mal-intented media correspondent so tactfully and so efficiently it left me in awe, awe I tell you. You guys are my heroes. (And I know you were at the White House Project encouraging women to run for office. You were listening. Nuff said.)
Favorite Blogher 10 Quotes
Yes, these women are writers so you'd expect them to be quotable, but there were so many great quotes, I couldn't keep up. I've done my best to attribute quotes. If I have a quote from you and it's not properly attributed, please let me know.
(About blogging) "Find some way to honor your life" - unknown
"Give me 10 people I can take down anybody" Gina McCauley
"A blog is like a snowball. You start it then your readers push it down the hill til it snowballs into something big." Gina McCauley
"If you go on for too long, it will not go well for you." Melissa Silverstein, moderator extraordinaire warning those long winded questioners who don't really have a question (you know who you are)
"it wasn't us vs. Clorox. It wasn't a battle. We were simply showing Clorox what their customers want." Beth Terry explaining that writing letters to Clorox to get them to find a way to recycle their Britta filters was a way to partner with the brand, not attack it.
"You walk through brick walls every day" audience member commenting on a particularly courageous blogger.
"Give them something small enough to do that they can actually do it and see they have made a difference" Gina McCauley
(About the inevitability of negative commenters) "You can blog about kittens, and someone will be anti-kitten." Gina McCauley
"Education is the key to solve all the world's problems" Freshta Basij-Rasikh, Afghanistan, writer for the Afghan Women's Writing Project
"My goal is to piss off as many dictators as possible." Esra'a Al Shafei, Bahrain, publisher at www.mideastyouth.com
(On creating an About Us page for a younger audience) "No one is going to read 3 or 4 paragraphs about you. No one gives a s--t." Esra'a Al Shafei, Bahrain, publisher at www.mideastyouth.com
(Her solution? Create comics that tell your story instead -brilliant.)
"If you're going to piss off a lot of people, you better do it very well" Esra'a Al Shafei, Bahrain, publisher at www.mideastyouth.com
"Don't write your point of view. Write what your eyes have seen." Freshta Basij-Rasikh, Afghanistan, writer for the Afghan Women's Writing Project
"Write about small issues with big value. Pretend you are the hero and the healer." Freshta Basij-Rasikh, Afghanistan, writer for the Afghan Women's Writing Project
"A lot of people are comfortably numb, and that's dangerous." One of the International Activist panel members.
"Never give up!!!! It's our world!!!" Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai, Sri Lanka, publisher of Humanity Ashore
(On how today's parents choose a baby name) "When we were naming our son, one of the first things I did was register a domain name with his name. (You need to be proactive about these things.) We found there was a male porn star with a similar name, so we went with something else." Julie Marsh
When I got a book deal, I was worried what my friends would think - "Oh, I'm so happy for you, (you f--ing bitch). So I tell them I'm an overnight success that took 10 years." The Bloggess
"My penis is so confused right now." Dad blogger Jason Mayo.
"I wrote a book about women and their vaginas. the title is What's Up Down There? Questions You'd Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend. I wanted to title it Cootchie Confidential, but my publisher wouldn't let me." Lissa Rankin, M.D.
The following are quotes from the closing keynote panel:
"The cultural perspective of women who are not mothers needs to change."
"Don't get mad, get elected."
" Question: are mothers still discriminated against in work force? Answer: do you have a month for the answer?
"Change starts with conversation, and those conversations are happening in the blogosphere."
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What a GREAT recap!
This was my first BlogHer but not my last no way!
A very inspiring experience!
Thanks so much
Carolg
Posted by: parisbreakfast | August 08, 2010 at 08:13 PM
Count your age with friends but not with years. Good luck to you!!
Posted by: Jordan 8 | August 09, 2010 at 02:57 AM
Really great recap - and some wonderful quotes too.
It was my first time, so what I wrote was more of a lessons-learned and no where nearly as thought-provoking or touching as yours.
I'm loving reading the recaps.
As for that one quote - yeah, what's the deal with people standing up to ask questions that aren't really questions at all? I found that REALLY annoying, myself.
Posted by: JustLinda | August 09, 2010 at 09:59 AM
Thank you for this write up. I didn't know I was so quoteable. It's all a blur when you're up there on the panel. I love the recap.
Posted by: Gina McCauley | August 09, 2010 at 10:14 AM
So grateful you wrote up the notes I scribbled and the ones I missed, too! Great recap.
Posted by: KarenMW | August 09, 2010 at 03:05 PM
Thank you for this fantastic post - especially correlation of exhaustion with spelling. Was at the conference and loved every minute of it. Reading your post was like watching (reading) a highlight real.
Posted by: Susan Woolf | August 09, 2010 at 03:10 PM
This is the first post I have read that describes the actual seminars, workshops and speeches instead of the parties and swag. It inspires me to continue blogging and making a difference.
Posted by: Beth | August 09, 2010 at 03:41 PM
This is a great recap post. Bravo!
The male porn star quote is wrongfully attributed to Julie Marsh. It was her session, but the quote was from a commenter... we just need to extrapolate from the gay porn star name to find someone with the same last name. Can't help you beyond that.
Posted by: RookieMom Heather | August 09, 2010 at 03:48 PM
The baby with the registered domain whose mom was there and blogs on that site is Ian Stryker: http://ianstryker.com/
I had the pleasure of meeting the mom and the cute baby boy in the elevators. Perhaps the best 2 hours of my conference. (OK, we weren't REALLY in the elevator for 2 hours - it only felt like it...)
Posted by: JustLinda | August 09, 2010 at 04:23 PM
Thanks for correcting the Ian Stryker baby name quote - that totally cracked me up.
Gina - you didn't know you were quotable? Really? I was, like, writing down every other sentence. You must be a talk show host dream
Thanks to all- it was an amazing conference. So many smart articulate women in one place. Wish I could have recorded every word.
Posted by: Holly Buchanan | August 09, 2010 at 05:58 PM
Our first ever BlogHer event (or really blogging-related event) and couldn't have been more impressed. Such an amazing, diverse group of women...and of course some men too!
We just posted a BlogHer 2010 Top 10 Questions quiz on our site that has questions ranging from # of hotel roommates or drinks consumed to the more serious panel attendance and key takeaways. It just went up but will share results when we have more answers.
http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/top10/questions/35/BlogHer_2010_Top_10_Questions
Posted by: Eden Godsoe | August 09, 2010 at 06:34 PM
This looks like so much fun. I just read another BlogHer recap post that was more critical of the event, saying it was more about connecting brand sponsors with free advertising than it was about promoting and empowering women bloggers. In any case, it will be interesting to see how big corporations and advertising dollars affect this influential medium.
Posted by: Kelly Watson | August 11, 2010 at 03:45 PM
Holly, what a terrific recap of BlogHer! I could feel the energy from the event in your summary and quotes. Thanks so much. Hope you are well. Best, CB
Posted by: C.B. Whittemore | August 14, 2010 at 11:11 AM
Thanks for sharing the quotes with us. This post is highly impressive as well as interesting. Great recap of BlogHer it was an amazing conference with much smarter women. Thanks for sharing with us...
Posted by: Carol | September 01, 2010 at 02:00 AM
Thanks for sharing the quotes. The recap of Blog Her was just amazing.
Posted by: Suzanne | September 02, 2010 at 12:58 AM
Wow, great recap. Thank you for sharing. Really appreciate it.
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Posted by: domain web hosting | February 23, 2011 at 01:04 AM
That was a very serious that the cameras could be confiscated. Isn't that a bit over reaction?
Posted by: lage hjemmeside | August 07, 2011 at 12:20 PM
This is excatly what I was looking for. But I really didnot wish to let him stay alone at home because he is just too cute and sweet. Now we can plan ourweekend accordingly where he may also enjoy.
Posted by: Flights to new York | March 20, 2012 at 08:48 AM
Well usually i let my wife to make the accounts and stuff like that because she better on that than me, and she really seems to enjoy, when i meet her a few years ago she never work in administration but know she's working in one HP offices as administrator and she never make studies or something related, she's just good at it.
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he Digital Lowdown will focus on the challenges facing artists and labels in the world of digital music distribution and is written by veteran industry expert Steven Corn.
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of Social Media blog has used Community Maps to create a party map for @blogher11. c2a0Kerri used an eembdded map with a custom layer for the party info all managed from a Google Docs spreadsheet. c2a0The blog also has a feature called Social
Posted by: Erivelton | September 23, 2012 at 02:25 AM
Three cheers for Skype!! Great ineontivn, no? I actually used it for a work conference call the other day when my phone died (story of my life). We no longer have a land line, so when my cell is out it proves to be a little tricky.And this is totally another reason to go to BlogHer, no? Skype after parties Kristie Price recently posted..
Posted by: Akim | September 23, 2012 at 03:45 AM
Great post, MJ. Elizabeth Edwards was a fighter for hlateh care for everyone because she believed in America as a just society. This simple fact about her is more important than all the news about her husband's infidelity.
Posted by: Ana | September 23, 2012 at 04:43 AM
I hope you make it. I'm toying with the idea baeucse we'll have frequent flyer miles, but have to see how things go in Water Polo for my son. It's the same weekend as Junior Olympics and if his team makes it that's what I'll be doing.I think it would be a great thing for you.
Posted by: Jemaa | September 23, 2012 at 01:27 PM