BlogHer’09: The hangover

OK, so I fibbed a little. I wasn’t quite done talking about my experience at BlogHer in Chicago after all, but this piece was originally published elsewhere, so I didn’t really count it in with all of the other BlogHer’09 posts last week.

Party girl Like a substantial number of women bloggers – including some that I actually have met, and many others that I’ve gotten to know online – I recently attended the BlogHer conference in Chicago. Unlike an unknown number of the women bloggers who were present, I actually attended the BlogHer conference in Chicago. I realize that statement sounds a bit judgmental, but I really don’t mean it to be; however, it’s known that there are some people who go to these things largely for the parties that take place surrounding them. That’s not why I was there.

I’ve never been a party girl. The fact that I was already married and a mom while I was still in college means I missed out on some of the prime partying years, so I haven’t had much practice. But on top of that, I tend to feel out of place in crowds unless I have someone (or a few someones) to make the rounds with me, especially when the party is in a dark and noisy venue and I can barely see who else is there, let alone hear them well enough to have a conversation. If I’m mostly on my own, and I’m not well acquainted with many of the other people there…well, it’s just not my idea of a good time. I decided to go to BlogHer for the conference content – to see what I might learn that could make me a better blogger. I promised myself that I wouldn’t avoid the parties completely, but they certainly weren’t the main attraction.

It’s not that I’m unfriendly, but I do find it difficult to initiate conversations with strangers, and I’m not particularly good at small talk. One reason I’ve been drawn to the online life is that I’m not nearly as intimidated by communicating with people in writing, and it gives me the feeling that I already know them when, and if, I get the chance to meet them in “real life”. (I’m married to someone I met that way, actually…but clearly, that one had nothing to do with a women’s blogging conference.)

Please pop on over to the Los Angeles Moms Blog to read more about how I’m Just Not a Party Girl.

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7 comments

  1. I was glad I had a roommate to go to the parties with me. Otherwise, I tend to go, but stay in corners and just blink at people.

  2. Cathy – That's part of why I like hanging out online; it's been so much easier to find people like me :-)!

    TexasRed – I didn't actually go to many of the parties alone, except for the "official" ones on Friday and Saturday; I just ended up on my own pretty soon after getting there. Then I decided that if I was going to stay in a corner anyway, I'd just go find one somewhere quieter :-).

  3. I would have been the one camped out in my hotel room, watching a movie or reading. Unless, as you said, I knew someone well enough to spend the evening with at some of the more social events. Like Cathy said, you pretty much described me in your post.

  4. Wendy (Literary Feline) – And is it a coincidence we're all book bloggers? I suspect not :-). But at the same time, that's part of why I really want more book bloggers to go to BlogHer next year – we can have our own non-party party!