Getting Ready for BlogHer 2006
BlogHer begins in 4 days. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing to get ready (in no particular order):
- Choose sessions! (Day One) here and (Day Two) here. So many things look interesting and I’m not sure how I’ll manage to be in more than one place at a time. I’m really hoping that all the sessions I don’t end up going to will be podcasted so that I can catch them later.
- Pack. Am I really going to get up that early for yoga? At least I have the change in time zone going for me. Only with that on my side do I stand a chance. And all this talk about tiaras and ball gowns – yikes!
- Plan what to do for the extended vacation before and after the official conference. Yelp.com: (San Francisco) and (San José) is good for this and so is 43places (San Francisco) or (San José).
I know I want to go to Sunday Lindy in the Park – anyone else? Every Sunday there’s a free Swing dance/Lindy Hop in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco from 11 am – 2:00 pm with a free beginner/refresher lesson at 12:30. I love swing dancing (any dancing for that matter) and outdoors in California sounds like the perfect venue. Maybe there’ll be swing dancing by the BlogHer poolside. Now that would be cool BlogHer style networking.
I’m still looking for good Thai, Indian and other vegan-friendly restaurants – please leave a suggestion in the comments if you have a recommendation. Will travel for good food!
Other things I’m hoping to do include basking in some redwood shade and maybe hitting a beach or two (the second link may be nsfw). My friend Marilyn from Oregon says Muir Wood is too over run by tourists so I’m leaning towards Mount Tam. Rob isn’t afraid of tourists I guess since he wants to check out Fisherman’s Wharf.
See how easy it is to get distracted from work when a a trip like this must be planned? It’s so easy to get lost surfing all the cool things there are to do when you go travelling. Only problem is that if I don’t finish the work that needs doing before I can leave I won’t be able to leave! Back to getting ready . . .
- Eat all the food in the fridge so that there’s nothing stinky or scary greeting you at the door when you return. Clean the toilet. Same reason.
- Download and listen to all of last year’s podcasts from the BlogHer sessions. Especially if you couldn’t attend you might want to catch up and see what you missed. Offerings include:
- Try to pack but get sucked into World of Warcraft because you just learned some really cool tailoring recipes and people at the auction house reeeeeeeeeally need new clothes. Anyone up for creating a BlogHer WoW guild and going on a raid at the conference?
- Water the garden (put it on a timer maybe?), arrange for someone to look after the children and pets, let students and employers know that you will be out of town and unavailable Until Further Notice (or sometime next week, whichever you prefer).
- Set some clear goals for the conference. Remember when you first started your blog or registered for the conference? Why did you do it? Has that changed at all? Use this to figure out what you want to gain from BlogHer 2006. Maybe it’s technical skills? building some community? making new friends? something else specific even if it’s only to step away from the computer? Meet up with your favourite bloghers maybe? Change the world? Dismantle patriarchy? No goal is too large for BlogHers united.
Be prepared to answer questions like:
- Who are you?
- Where do you blog? (i.e. the URL, though your hometown works here too.)
- What’s your blog about? and the follow-up: What’s that?/What does that mean?
- and the 20-million dollar question this year: Why do you blog?
It might also be helpful to have a list of questions to ask people in those awkward moments when you’re side-by-side and frozen by shyness and cannot think of anything to say. Tuck a cheat sheet into your sleeve or get a tattoo if you’re really worried. Here are some ideas:
- Who are you?
- Where do you blog? (followed by, “No, I mean what’s your URL?” unless you really were after their hometown.)
- What’s your blog about? and the follow-up: What’s that?
- Why do you blog?
and of course
Questions not to ask and things not to say:
- Have I ever read your blog? ~Really, how would anyone know that but you????
- You’re not at all what I pictured! ~You’re likely to send a blogher into fits of self deprecation for not measuring up to audience expections if you say this. Don’t do it!
(I will do my best to not say any of these things.)
I really want to have a clear and concise answer prepared for when asked what my blog is about. I also need to make some more contact cards. Hmmmm.
Add to list:
- Bring contact/business cards
Further things I know I have to do:
- Charge camera batteries
- Empty flash cards
- Clean up laptop and flash drive, backup important files
- start a list of all those last minute things that can’t be done until the last minute that I don’t want to forget.
- and very important! update the blogs!
Only 4 more days!!!!
24 July 2006, 3:12 pm
Hope I can meet you there. Should be fun!
24 July 2006, 4:19 pm
Definitely!