My Obligatory Pre Blogher Post

I admit it, I’m jumping on the bandwagon here. It seems everyone is posting their best advice for dealing with the overwhelming days and jam-packed nights of Blogher ’10 and I would throw a little something together, too.

Last year was my first Blogher experience and it was my first ever blogging conference. While it was simply one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I came home with even closer relationships with some of my favorite people online, I know I made some major rookie mistakes that if I had been able to avoid, it would have been even better.

Make plans with friends. My first mistake last year was thinking “Oh, we’re all going to be in the same place. I’ll be able to find all of my friends and chat, no problem!” WRONG!!! Blogher. Is. HUGE. There are a couple thousand people milling around. While I got the chance to hang out and say hi to many of my friends, there were some that I never even laid eyes on the entire weekend. Make a list of your must-see people, get their cell numbers and text or call them while you’re there to make sure that you don’t miss the connection. (I still need to do that for this year…if you want to catch up with me, please email me your cell!)

Make a tentative schedule but be flexible. I think this has been one of the points I have heard reiterated by everyone who has written a Blogher prep post and likely one of the most important. Blogher is a whirlwind of activity, from sessions to official events to off-site, unofficial parties. Anyone, whether on the big time invite lists or not, can create a schedule that will keep them busy from sun up until the wee hours of the morning. Scheduling is a GOOD thing, but be prepared to ditch the master plan in favor of some downtime with an old (or new) friend. You’ll thank yourself for it later.

Don’t even TRY to do everything you schedule. I already know I have planned more than I will be able to do. I’m going to try to do everything that I really want to, but am also going to be on the lookout for my body’s signals telling me that I’m about to hit a wall and stop for some downtime. You aren’t going to end up on anyone’s blacklist if you’re just too tired to attend another party or if you skip a session or two. One of my favorite times from last year was when I simply got overwhelmed and found a good friend or two to go and have dinner with. It gave me a few minutes to process everything that was going on, recharge my batteries and simply enjoy good company.

Stop worrying. While I am sure there are a handful of judgmental people who are sitting around analyzing the fact that I am wearing a pair of cute flip flops with my jeans during the day, the people who really matter are the friends who I am going to Blogher to connect with. They would rather see me smiling in flip flops than hobbling around in pain because the plates in my ankle can’t take stilettos. Your friends won’t be judgy and if they are? Maybe it’s time to reconsider who you’re hanging with…come hang with me. I honestly don’t care whether you had time for a haircut or if all your “good” clothes have spit-up stains.

Don’t overanalyze things, yourself. I don’t think anyone has made this point better than Cecily. It’s not always about YOU. The Blogher experience can be overwhelming for anyone, people still have bad days, social issues and other things that could easily create hurt feelings by someone overanalyzing their reactions. If you have a poor interaction, chalk it up to someone having an off moment and move on. For instance, if you talk to me regularly and I have to read your badge to figure out who you are, please don’t be offended. In a situation as big as Blogher, I am out of my element and occasionally a little distant and foggy-brained. I don’t love you any less, my thoughts are just in six places at once – trying to file information from sessions, thinking about what my kids are doing and missing them, trying to figure out where I’m headed next, trying to remember what I know I am forgetting to do…

Above all else, don’t let one incident define your entire experience. Yeah, last year there were loads of negative comments and posts about party crashers, swag whores and other unsavory things. Did these things happen? Yes. Did it ruin the experience for some? Unfortunately. But it doesn’t have to, even if something similar were to occur again. Focus on all the positive things that you are bound to experience and all of those faux pas will seem so trivial by comparison.

So tell me, will I be seeing you in NYC?