#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)

*****

#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.