Random Thoughts - The BlogHer'13 Edition

Traveling to Chicago from Tucson is easy, for the most part.  Tucson International Airport (you can fly to Mexico) is teeny and I didn't have to worry about parking because TBG dropped me off at the door.  I checked my bag, for free, at the Southwest counter; there was no line and I was through security ten minutes after I left my sweetie at the sliding glass doors.  The TSA agents were friendly, and I must have been walking very well because no one offered me a loaner cane to help me step through the x-ray machine.

And then, I saw her.  A slim, black, woman with a maternity TSA uniform. I was not allowed to photograph her, for security reasons, I guess, but that couldn't spoil my joy.  There was a tie in the back of the blouse, to allow for her ever expanding girth. Her pants were stretchy. TSA provided it all.

I am so in love with my government right now. What a change from 1951, when G'ma was forced to resign from the NYC Public School system because I was growing in her womb, and the kindergarteners she taught had to spared the sight of her blooming belly.
*****
I sat in a line of readers as we waited for the plane to arrive.  Three girls to my left, a woman and her husband to my right, another, older, woman to their right, and none of us had anything electronic in our hands.  No cell phones, no Kindles, no iPads or pods.... just magazines and paperbacks and hard covered library books (that would be me).

It gave me hope for the future of print media. It also made me smile, since I was on my way to a mecca of the electronic transmission of ideas.
*****
I tried The Geek Bar, because I wanted to learn about SEO's and meta-tags and categories.  All the other bloggers at the table used Wordpress as their blog platform; I'm on Blogger and there's no connection between the two.  I didn't stay long.  Little Cuter and I went back to the Expo and collected some more swag.

I did get one take-away, though:  Reboot - a good computer lesson, a good life lesson
*****
Guy Kawasaki was one of the original Apple evangelists, spreading the word and growing the flock. He's moved on, telling us on Friday that Android is beautiful, that "editors are like buffalo; they run in herds and keep their heads down," that Google Plus is the place "for your passions."

He likes the phrase "artisanal publisher" rather than the more prosaic "self-published" book.  His newest artisanal work is APE - Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. It's a daunting task, promoting and selling a book.  All along, I thought creating the content would be the hardest part.
*****
Sheryl Sandberg's leanin.org has 250,000 members. That's a lot of women who are trying to conquer their fears. Men rule the world, she confirmed, as she explained, her voice dripping with sarcasm, how her feminist perspective was received by those in charge:

They love being told that the world they've created is broken.

She asked the audience of women (and 4 men, who, she says, will get a pass when the revolution comes), if we had ever been called bossy. Two thirds of the hands went flying into the air.  None of the men, none of our sons or brothers, were reviled in that way.  She encouraged us to approach the subject this way: your daughter is not aggressive, she has leadership skills.
*****
I was across the street from Barnes and Noble in Naperville today.  I thought of going in and buying Lean In.  I drove away.  What does it say about me that I am unwilling to buy the book? Am I really that afraid?
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I want to be Majora Carter when I grow up. She has redefined the notion of environmental equality, creating the first waterfront park in the Bronx since the 1960's.  Her twitter motto reflects her goals - "You don't have to leave your neighborhood to live better." She's trying to keep the best and the brightest at home in their communities.

She's made enemies as she's gained notoriety since, as the dean of a high school in Hunts Point says of her critics, "it's easier to run your mouth than run a business."  She is obviously not afraid.

I want to be her, and not just because of her MacArthur Foundation grant.
*****
GRIN will be fundraising soon, now that we have our 501c3 status.  Kerryn Gerety led a panel which covered Kickstarter, Indigogo, and her own firm, Fundraise.com. She's promised to help me, and just those few words made me less afraid.

Am I starting to lean in already?
*****
At the end, before SIR came to whisk us away to Greek Islands for saganaki and taramosalata and chicken riganati and more bread than any three people had any right to finish, there was Gale Ann Hurd. She was the executive producer of Terminator, Aliens, and, now, The Walking Dead.

She started out by moving past her fears, as she learned that, in Hollywood, you cannot be liked and respected at the same time. Roger Corman, king of the B-movie, taught her the business, allowed her to produce, and never made her type.  He did start her out at the bottom of the ladder when she was ready to move toward producing her own film; she emptied chemical toilets and made coffee and learned an important lesson: Never kiss up, or kick down.

Her production company does not carry her name, as do those of most of the men in the industry. Time has passed and some change has occurred, but it's still tough to be a woman in Hollywood today.
*****
"Girls can do anything."

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

"Give yourself a break."

"Be proud of what you do."

"Find your inner super hero."

I am going to repeat all of that to myself every day. Perhaps some of it will even sink in.

BlogHer '13 Redux

Yesterday's post merely scratched the surface.

I didn't tell you about the swag (Stuff We All Get) or the hotel or the travels or Chicago.  

I didn't tell you about nearly falling down the escalator or Lourds.

Don't worry, all that and more is coming in this post. Since you, denizens, are the reason for The Burrow, it seems only fitting that you share in the joy of the largest blogging conference in America.  If you couldn't be there with me, I'll have to bring you along by the written word.

That picture shows the stuff we got on the first day. Moo Cards offered freebies if you pre-ordered in time. I used the opportunity to spread the word about getting involved.

I now have the ability to provide immediate assistance when my companion is at a loss; the card shows how easy it is to make our voices heard.  The cards come in a reusable, sturdy, little, white box (it's in the front on the left with the blue wrapper) which fits neatly in my purse to keep the cards pristine.  The worker bee had noticed my name in the drawer; she went right to it when Little Cuter and I approached the booth.  

I love freebies, especially when they help me shout about my passions. So does Little Cuter.

Most of the exhibitors in the Expo section were promoting businesses, but some were promoting love.  My girl got her fix of puppy love, not once

 but twice

as the ASPCA and the Chicago Humane Society brought tiny beasts for her to cuddle.  She was a rock star at the booth once she told them that she and SIR found Thomas, the Wonder Dog, at their shelter.  "Good for you!" "Yay!" "You are so wonderful!" "That's great!"  If she didn't know how special she was before then, the message was reinforced loud and clear.

We played with carpet washers

and ate less-than-noteworthy breakfasts

and found new and interesting ways to embarrass my son.

Love is found in many incarnations. Although Big Cuter is dismayed to have this image in his head ("Some things cannot be un-seen" he wrote on Facebook), 

the Trojan booth had a short line so I spun the wheel.  Along with a variety of lubricants (who knew there were so many?) I won a special toy.  I will not be sharing a picture; this is a family friendly site and (my) children are reading. I can tell you that I annoyed my daughter all afternoon by laughing about the huge, five speed, three settings item in my bag.  The package included batteries.  'Nuf said.

Did you think you were seeing things in my hair?  You were.  On Saturday, Ren put a blue feather in my hair, along with the yellow and gold and turquoise chalk highlights.  This was my second time in the chair in the Windex booth; as Little Cuter pointed out, the colors coordinate with the product. While she was gaga over Windex's new pump sprayer

I was in heaven over my new look.

People stopped and stared; I smiled back.  I can hardly wait to get back to Tucson and add them in a more permanent fashion.  These were painted on with a brush, wetted and taking color from a pastel stick.  It washed out in the shower, which is why I needed to go back to Ren on Saturday for more, and the feather.  The feather is still with me; she says it will last for three weeks. I forget that it's there until the wind blows it into my eyes.  

I love it. It makes me feel like a superhero, which is what Lourds encouraged me to feel.  

Click through to her site.  She is amazing.  There was smoke rising from her bow as she accompanied her musical biography. She played classical violin with touring orchestras at the age of three.  At seven, she jumped from the stage and joined the audience, playing her heart out. The conductor told her she had affronted the classical community and was no longer a part of it... at all.  She was alone... at seven.  

A National Spelling Bee contestant, a straight-A student, the good daughter as her father beat her mother, she found her inner rebel, her latent super hero, as she tried to recapture the joy she felt when she was surrounded by those who were listening to her... at seven.  That journey has been turned into a Broadway-bound musical, with a twist.  The musical has a sibling, The Lightning Girl FUN-dation, which will encourage children to find their inner super-heroes through the arts. This is a woman who has leaned in entirely; she is doing what she would do if she were not afraid.  Sheryl Sandberg would be proud.

The whole convention was like that.  I felt empowered and uplifted and amazed.  I was surrounded by people who were reveling in our shared experience, who were learning and leaning and loving every minute of it.  I'll finish the tale tomorrow.  For now, go spend some time with Lourds Lane; you won't regret it.  Then, tell me about your superhero.

#LearningtoLovetheHashtag

(I had serious formatting issues with this post.  I tried and tried to fix them.  I nearly threw Nellie the Netbook through the window. In the end, Little Cuter reminded me that you read my content and don't judge my presentation.  Please remember that as the formatting takes on a life of its own below)

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#BlogHer'13    

was held at #McCormickPlace in #Chicago this year,

and Little Cuter and I were in attendance. 

It was a remarkable weekend of networking and learning and being inspired.  

#BlogHer's founders were there

Jory des Jardins, Elisa Camahort Page, Lisa Stone

as were a host of celebrities.

Little Cuter and I were front and center for #ReeDrummond, #PioneerWoman.

Have you seen her on #TheFoodNetwork?
Neither have I.
I'm not a #cook, nor a #homeschooler, nor married to an Oklahoma cowboy.
I don't live on a ranch,
nor am I renovating an old building in the center of my cute but dying little town.
Yet I was mesmerized by her reinvention - from a NYC ballerina to foodie extraordinaire.

That was the recurring meme for me during the weekend.
Who were these amazing women who created new lives by being unafraid?
I was in serious danger of being inspired.

#SherylSandberg walked the walk as well as she talked the talk.
Before her presentation (for which we were, once again, front and center)
she came down into the audience to connect.

She was thrilled to meet me.
I continue to be astonished at my fame.
Her interest was genuine and her enthusiasm was contagious.
As she spoke to the 5000 women who filled these empty seats

ten minutes after I snapped this photo
I began to squirm in my seat.
What would I do if I were not afraid?
#Lisa Stone (see above, right)'s answer to this question was
co-found #BlogHer.
I want to be that brave.
Perhaps I need to #leanin.

#Queen Latifah emceed the #VoicesOfTheYear presentations,
and she rocked the house.
(I tried to find a link to connect you to these winning posts,
but #BlogHer's new interface stymied my efforts)

#BlogHer doesn't provide a speakers' fee.
It's a testament to the power of blogging women that #QueenLatifah came to us,
to introduce the introducers and to promote her new TV show.
I'm happy to help her by providing the link.
I wish I could link to the post on guns and power;
Little Cuter and I were clutching hands as I was weeping.

Entrepreneurship was a recurring theme.

#BritMorin, #Silicon Valley's new "It Girl" according to #RandiZuckerberg (Mark's sister),

moved from #Apple to #Google to become the doyenne of makers at #Brit.com.

#Makers, you wonder? That is the new name for creativity and DIY and home-made.

She is 28 years old.

#KerrynGerety led a panel on crowd based fundraising.

#GRIN will benefit from her expertise, 

even if she won't drop everything and move to #SanFrancisco and marry Big Cuter.

Little Cuter and I would love to have her in the family.

She took this photo

and tweeted her joy at "seeing (her) fav mom/daughter duo"

Reconnecting with friends is the second best part of the conference

Little Cuter met a grown-up she coached as a child.

I squealed when I realized that my table-mate

was Virginia DeBolt, the #Elder Geek
from Ronni Bennet's Time Goes By blog.

That's the beauty of #BlogHer conferences.
There is no hierarchy, there are no divisions, there is no reason to be shy.

There is only #community.
*****

Little Cuter said it best: This was the first time in our lives that being on-line while conversing with others was not inappropriate.  In fact, it was de rigeur. Tweeting was rampant; #BlogHer13 was the top trending topic on Twitter. Those hashtags (#) were ubiquitous, and I was a late-but-fervent adopter.  Knowing that I was in the same section of the interwebs as hundreds of other tweeting conference goers was a strangely comforting sensation.  We were truly in this together.  We were making community.  I have obviously had a hard time letting them go.

I'm On My Way

Nerthus is there already.  Little Cuter and I are making our plans for dinner.  I'm remembering to put a canvas tote bag in my giant suitcase so that I can carry around the swag I collect. BlogHer'13 is at McCormick Place in Chicago, and I am on my way.

Chicago is one of the few place to which I can fly without changing planes.  Luckily, my friends and my family are there, too, as are the Art Institute and the lakefront and the library building on Michigan Avenue.  There's deep dish pizza and flaming saganaki and the world's biggest and best margaritas.  Someday, I'll see Shakespeare on Navy Pier; perhaps I can organize an outing to Comedy of Errors which is opening on Friday night on the pier's South Lawn.  Of course, Not Kathy and Dr. K live right above the Pritzker Pavillion, and the music there might be tempting, too.

It Happened One Night is being shown outside, at Belmont Harbor, on Tuesday.  I have an early appointment in the city on Wednesday and will be sleeping on someone's guest bed Tuesday night. I think I've just found an activity to tempt my hosts.

After writing paragraphs like those, I wonder why I ever left the best city in America.

The conference will be inspiring and uplifting and exhausting.  I'll lay eyes on those I've only know by their words, and I'll reconnect with those who brightened the BlogHer's I've attended before. It's an odd feeling to have strangers approach you with questions about people you know they've never met in person ... TBG and the Cuters and G'ma will have their lives dissected by people who have read about them for years.  

I'll be motivated by Sheryl Sandberg and Ree Drummond and most of all by Lisa and Jory and Elisa who founded BlogHer in 2005. Their goal was to empower women.  If I am any indication, mission accomplished.

There's something inherently powerful in being a part of a syndication network that reaches 40 million readers.  There's something delightful about the synergy created when those writers convene in one space.  The San Diego Convention Center was filled with food and friendship and folderol when Little Cuter and I attended our first BlogHer conference in 2011. The distances we covered on foot were substantial; I rested by the Twizzler Statue of Liberty as we entered and exited the hotel on the way to the conference.

I was never tired or lonely or alone that weekend, unless I wanted to be.  There were writers I'd admired and women who made me laugh and a group of match-makers for Big Cuter that still makes me smile, two years later.  I found opportunities to write for print magazines. I learned about SEO's and meta tags and, although I will be at the Geek Bar for a follow-up lesson this weekend, more and more people found The Burrow thanks to the changes BlogHer suggested.

It's this intersection of people and information that appeals to me.  If the sessions don't entice me, there are seventeen interesting conversations happening in the hallways and anterooms.  There is no standing on ceremony.  Everyone has a big name tag and an even bigger desire to connect. There will be fashion shows and themed parties and shuttle buses which will travel on the mayor's secret road to McCormick Place. They will feed us and ply us with snacks and liquids and freebies, and we'll be surrounded by like-minded (mostly) women who have found a voice in the ether.

Last year, in New York City all by myself, I walked outside for dinner at 10pm, strolled half a block to the MOMA, took the subway.  This weekend, Little Cuter and I will see Austenland and listen to Gale Ann Hurd talk about producing Terminator and The Walking Dead.  We'll eat deep dish pizza and watch the lights on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier go round and round.  We'll reminisce and reconnect and make new memories.

We'll be together, with 5000 of our closest friends and associates, in the Windy City.  The plane can't take off soon enough.