BlogHer Boston Bonanza

I had a bloggeriffic time Saturday at the BlogHer Boston conference. The best part was networking with other women bloggers, some of whom had backgrounds very different from my own. I even went to a session on food blogging just for the heck of it. (I actually have a secret desire to be a food blogger, but not enough time. I love to cook, but sometimes I’m lucky if I get a pot of water boiled for pasta during the week.) I also enjoyed chatting about the business and marketing side of the online world, stuff I worked on as a full-time professional before becoming a mom.

BlogHer is for women bloggers, not necessarily LBT ones, but I know I wasn’t the only queer in the room. Regardless, it was a place where my sexual orientation, while not in the majority, was still accepted. Not in a “OK, you’re a lesbian, but there’s no need to talk about it,” kind of way, but in a “Hey, you’re doing something neat for the LGBT community, let’s have you talk on a panel about blogging and social activism because we know LBT women are part of our community,” kind of way. Those BlogHer gals are an inclusive bunch.

Bloggers I met included BlogHer founders Elisa Camahort Page, Lisa Stone, and Jory des Jardins; fellow panelists Beth Kanter and Isabel Walcott Hillborn, Sarah Dopp, who ran the Geek Lab sessions and deftly answered attendees’ technical questions, Sandy of Momisodes, Megan Smith of Megan’s Minute, Roxanna of Miguelina, Kayln of Kayln’s Kitchen, and Alex Elliot of Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting (whom I had met previously). There were many others, but if I try to list everyone I spoke with, I’ll inevitably leave someone out. Some of these women blog on topics I normally wouldn’t read about, but it’s been fun poking around their sites and exploring some new areas. Good for all of us every once in a while.

If you have the opportunity to attend a BlogHer event in the future, I encourage you to do so. There were sessions for both newbies and old-timers, lots of networking, and plenty of munchies.

I also have a few items I picked up from the sponsors’ tables that I’ll be giving away in the coming days. Stay tuned.