Blogher 09 Changed My Perspective

I’m home. I am so, so happy that I’m home. Don’t get me wrong, Blogher was probably the singular most eye-opening experience of my online life (in a good way) but I’m ecstatic to be back at home with my kids, my hubby, and familiarity.

I have already seen a lot of Blogher posts popping up. Many positive and several negative, mostly talking about the insanity that was the swag situation. And insane it was. Oh, and the craptastic WiFi that never worked from my room.

Don’t get me wrong about swag. I love a bag stuffed full of freebies and goodies as much as the next gal. But am I going to shove a mother wearing her baby or crash an event I wasn’t invited to just to get free things? Not on your life. Even if Blogher had been a swag free event, it would have been well worth the trip. If you didn’t get more out of the weekend than the things you stuffed into your extra suitcase, I really am sad for you.That’s all I have to say about that.

The loooong drive home from the airport (all. by. myself.) gave me time to reflect on the weekend that was such a whirlwind. As I ran down the events on my mind, my thoughts came to a screeching halt on the words of Heather Spohr during the community keynote. In a nutshell, she explained how during the loss of her daughter, her online world and “IRL” world crashed into each other and became one. Her friends are now just friends, with no need for an online versus real life distiction.

The same epiphany happened to me this weekend, though on a somewhat smaller scale. Of course, I’ve always known that the person on the other end of the words I read, the Flickr and Whrrl streams I see, the videos I watch are real people, dealing with real problems, and sharing their real emotions with a world of virtual strangers. But in my conversations, I kept them separate from my IRL friends.

In Chicago, I chatted with ladies over breakfast coffee and giggled with them over late night cocktails. We talked about missing our kids and how great it was to be away for a bit, all at the same time. There were hugs when we recognized each other after seeing nothing but still pics and avatars for 3 years.

I bared my pain and tears to women I didn’t even know, talking about the loss of my mom. I hugged others as they cried over their own pain. These women have always been “real” to me, but never as much as they are now.

After Blogher, I don’t have any “online” friends anymore. I  just have friends…sisters. The chocolate and peanut butter that I kept separate for so long has collided full force, and I will never be the same.

If you have never done a conference or a tweetup, do yourself a favor and make the extra effort. Your outlook on your own online community will change drastically, I think. I know mine has, and the deeper connection that I came away with will change how I interact within my community.

To those that I spent time with this weekend, thank you. My life will be better from just having seen your smile.I don’t even want to begin to try to list the names, for fear my jet-laggy brain will leave someone important out.

To those who I haven’t yet had the chance to meet, I cannot wait until the day when we have our chance.

I truly do love you all!!