I wasn’t going to go. There really wasn’t a point, after all. I mean, I don’t do reviews. I don’t really have time to make IRL friends out of the people I already talk to online. And my spare time should be dedicated to that getting famous/book deal thing I’m kinda invested in, so do I really need to be spending a weekend with a bunch of women I probably have nothing in common with in the name of networking and social media at something with a cutesy name like Bloggy Boot Camp?
Answer: You bet your ass.
Here’s the deal: When you have familiar avatars and scary-impressive numbers attached to every tweet your send out, it’s bound to intimate the little fish in the pond who might wonder if responding to something your super-famous-self said or if you are even going to see the comment from not-so-famous us. So we follow. We lurk. We type and delete and then figure we’ll try again later when our numbers get just a bit bigger.
But those avatars are tricky little fuckers. They’re teeny. They can be grainy. They might not look so much like the In Real Life you. And that’s when people like me walk up to people like you and forget about the numbers and the followers and the influence and just smile and say “hello” and tell people like Loralee that her purse kicks absolute ass before realizing who I was talking to.
Because it’s that easy.
And that hug Tiffany said she wanted before bloggy boot camp? Ya know…the one she sent me a tweet about? Yeah, she remembered!
And ya wanna know what happened when I opened my mouth? (Aside from making an ass of myself when I heard Katja speak and realized it wasn’t just a cute red head at my table but Katja herself, that is. Because that’s when I turned back to Theresa and loud enough for Katja to hear and said, “OMG. I just realized who I was sitting next to! She’s Katja!” Which I’m sure is a moment Sugar Jones can relate to. Ask her about Patrick Duffy if you weren’t at Bloggy Boot Camp.)
I connected with people. I laughed with them. I learned I wasn’t the only mom-writer there who thought it was going to be a waste of time and left totally high on renewed energy and lots of new dreams.
Then there was meeting Carolyn McCray for dinner on Saturday after the conference and before the cocktail party and showed up with my heart in my throat while trying to not sound like I had no clue what I was talking about with her, Dee Dee and Piper Heiney. I’m thinking I survived, but I may need that vodka Dee Dee provided in her little swag bag to get over any glitches in my portion of the conversation that now make me do some face-palm action.
I was only there because Dr. Lynne Kenney thought it might be a great idea to give it a try and I reluctantly signed up. (And I can’t thank her enough for making me try something new.)
I may have been the picture of confidence but I’ll tell ya a secret. I freaked before I got there. Becca, Melanie, Michelle, Chelsea, and Shey were okay with the fact that I packed a week’s worth of clothes so I could have choices and blend when I got to the Xona Resort, which was nice because I seriously looked like an asshole next to the people flying in from other states with those adorable little over-nighter suitcases. (Note to self: I will not be repeating this mistake next year.)
(Okay, that was a total lie.)
I may not give a damn about SEO (mainly because thinking about it makes my head hurt) or have plans for monetizing the blog. But I did learn to keep an open mind when entering into each and every new situation. Because as I listened to authors who blog talk about making their dreams a reality and to presentations on vlogging and branding yourself, I realized I fit right in with every other mom blogger in the room with me as we work on leaving our marks in the world with our words and figure out how to stay sane while doing it.
Meeting you at Bloggy Boot Camp was one of my highlights
I think I just fainted a little, Katja. ;D thanks! You are seriously adorable in person.
Francesca! Done! Grab the camera and let’s strike a pose together, babe! I had a great time, and recommend this conference for ANY mom with a blog!
Such a fantastic blog post! Tiffany’s right. You definitely moved me to tears with your description of how much the weekend meant to you. I couldn’t agree more. Mighty wonderful women were in attendance.
Next time, I want a picture with you, though.
-Francesca
Sara, I think your hug from @vdemetros was probably the sweetest bit of the whole weekend for me! I had no idea it was coming, and couldn’t stop smiling afterward. And thank you! I appreciate the vote of confidence!
Pauline,
I’m so glad you came to Bloggy Boot Camp. It’s amazing how many of us thought ‘nah, I shouldn’t go’ but realized how much our lives would be lacking had we not. And the fact that I was starstruck made it even that much more difficult to concentrate or to walk up and say hello.
So I tweeted about all I was learning. And had it not been for that I would never have met you through our mutual friend @vdemetros. Truly a small but lovely world we bloggers live in sometimes.
Looking forward to reading more and watching you succeed in your writing.
Julie, I’m ALMOST at my year mark on this blog and it’s already been a wild ride. Of course, it’s all relative, but I totally know what you mean now. Social Media forces you to get to know people from the inside first. Their words and their personalities connecting with your own instead of that whole high school experience that sucked for well, me. LOL.
Bloggy Boot Camp was my first opportunity to see the other side of that equation and actually see those I already knew (or knew of) but had never seen in person.
I was scared shitless. But I got over it.
And it was awesome.
Wise Words Darling…..
It is amazing in three years where my blog has gone. I think it took this past weekend for you to see how blog friends are REAL friends. I look at my e-mails and Facebook now. Almost all of my contacts are bloggers, and that is ok….
Bloggy boot camp was da BOMB and no, I normally don’t try talking like that, but it works here. The best part was the connections. Seriously. I love my new bloggy friends. LOVE it.
Love your writing girl! I’m so glad we met! I too left feeling renewed. And hung over. What kind of fun was that? All kinds of fun! Will be sending you email about the dad book. xoxoxo
I often wonder what one of these things would be like. I’m really glad to hear that you had a good time.
Woooooo! I made your page twice! Flippin perky me! Seriously… loved meeting you. Contact me and we must do something. I feel like I said this already. I did. Hiking. Yeah. Loved this post. Love you. *something about rainbows and farting unicorns*
xo
Kelly
I’m all teary-eyed.
It makes me so happy that I was a part of an experience that made women feel included and connected.
I am scared to be photographed without you at this point, as you seem to bring out the best in me!
Can’t wait to see what this year brings for you, my friend!
Bloggy Boot Camp rocked! I’m sad we didn’t get more time to chat personally, but I am glad we met! It was the lift-me-up my spirits needed. I felt a little silly that I didn’t know who a lot of the “bigger bloggers” were, but was excited that everyone I met was so darn nice! Dedicated-SEO-Monetizing-Gung-ho blogger or not, I think everyone benefited from this awesome weekend.