I loved the BlogHer conference because I did it for me, and it was all about me, and not for my job or for money. It wasn't, for example, the scintillating U.S. Postal Service Convention. It was not a cliquey performing arts trade show. Not a conference about management of storm water. It was the first conference I went to where I didn't have some kind of guard up, as evidenced by my dirty dancing -with Mrs. Potatohead- while drunk on gin at one of the cocktail parties. I never would have done that at the "Direct Marketing to Senior Citizens" conference.
There's a lot of scuttlebutt around the BlogHer sponsors and how bloggers were bought and sold and shmoozed and showered with swag and celebrities. Writers who use their blogs to earn income may have had their travel costs or conference wardrobe sponsored, and they may have disclosed this, or not. I wasn't even invited to invite-only sponsor parties where there were alleged swag wars.
But to be completely "transparent," this is how I handled the sponsors' romancing of girly bloggers:
Ragu: Pushed how healthy their sauces are and how you can make delicious family meals. I'd already been sold on using Ragu - they have a "light" verson and and "organic" version and the huge sculpture of vegetables making the form of a jar of spaghetti sauce did not influence me.
Pepsico: Oy. This is a big one. Not just beverages but snack foods galore. This is the video that set me on the path of this blog post.
object width="425" height="344">I remember this guy. He gave me chips. I'm a little pissed at him and a little thankful for voicing what he observed. But his comment about the food buffets - dude, this was the best conference food I have ever had. Fresh fruit and greens alongside cheesey meaty dishes? I'm not ashamed of partaking, and the food did not make me feel gross.
I also agreed to participate in a video interview where the marketing person asked me what I thought of the new portion-controlled snacks and "healthier versions" put forth by Frito-Lay. New flavor of SunChips...mmmmm ranch. However, I told her that the marketing line about FritoLay saving the country 59 billion calories or whatever it was didn't make any sense to me, personally. "It's still junk food." I told her. "It's got nothing of nutritional value in it but I don't look to Frito-Lay products for nutrition. That doesn't mean I don't eat them, I do sometimes, but I consider them junk food." All the free low-calorie guacamole-flavored corn crisps won't change my mind.
Tide/Bounce: I grew up on Tide so that is one of the iconic brands of my upbringing. I don't use it now. The new Bounce stick-on dryer bar thing is gross. It so stanky we used it in the hotel room bathroom as an air freshener. However, I am thankful to Tide for introducing me to Tim Gunn. He's a brilliant soul. However, my tip for retaining color in your clothes is using minimal detergent (any brand) cold water, and air dry.
Playskool: I picked up cute little toys for the babies in my life. And I harassed Mrs. Potatohead. Thanks Playskool! And I will always love Play-doh, so, whatever.
Ann Taylor: Pretty clothes that don't fit me right now. Nice free USB drive though.
Suave: I used to use Suave all the time when it was cheap but haven't noticed it lately. I got my hair curled and fluffed by Luke O'Connor, who also gave me tips on dealing with my frizz issues. Then they loaded me up with appropriate-for-my-hair-texture products plus some new fancy-smelling Degree deoderant that reminds me of Designer Imposters. I'll try 'em out but I'll still buy whatever I have coupons for. I was just so excited to have hands that have touched Olivia Newton-John's scalp on me.
Sobe LifeWater: The lizard-with-a-boner on the dance floor was creepy, and it's not as good as Vitamin Water - or as good as plain water. I didn't try the LifeWater and vodka martinis because that would be like Kool-Aid college punch. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the cocktail party with open bar, karaoke, photo booth, potstickers and chair massages. All good things wrapped together.
HP: The cocktail party with gushing chocolate fountain did not influence me, but, seeing the minis in person did. I'm back to wanting a Vivienne Tam-designed Mini. I wish I would have won one. Perhaps I'll be able to buy an inexpensive laptop at Wal*Mart...
Wal-Mart: The biggest suite on the exhibit floor, with Paula Deen and Rick Bayless cooking demos and meet-n-greets. I ate with gal pals at Rick's Frontera Grill the night before, even reluctantly tasting his specialty chorizo and beef tongue tacos which were delicious! Anyway, Wal-Mart cameras asked me and Michelle for our opinions to present to the Marketing CEO. Hellls yeah. I told them that Salty D. and I consider Wal-Mart to be hell on earth. I gave them other advice that they paid almost nothing for. They fed me some Paula Deen dessert and I just sang for them.
Elf cosmetics: Had a private suite where they threw new makeup items at us and introduced us to the concept of hosting an Elf party where they would send like $200 worth of makeup and you and your friends would test it and then blog about it. I was all impressed at first - pretty colors...pretty toys.... but think about it, that is the cheapest market research and buzz marketing a company could do! Are we that easy to buy? Watch your blogs next month because 10 bloggers will be doing these makeup parties and blogging product reviews.
Microsoft: hosted the MicroSpa lounge where I got an awesome hand massage and chilled out a bit. I still hate Vista.
McDonald's: sponsored the crazy Cheeseburgherz party which was a freakin' riot. Plus I was drunk so I didn't mind eating one two cheeseburgers. It's crap, though, no matter how many "look how healthy apple slices are" tent cards you put out. But still, aren't there times when you're so wasted you just really want a little cheeseburger?
Pork: I'm ambivalent about the pork presence. I mean, Chicago is the pork capital, and I like the pig anyway, and the girls at the pork blogger stand were very nice and not pigs. So yeah... pork.
Kiwis: are apparently a wonder-food. Have you ever had a golden kiwi? They're pretty good and the flavor is like papaya-green kiwi blend. This sponsor served to remind me that kiwis are out there and are not hard to eat, unless you are eating them while standing in an airport while holding bags and trying not to get juice everywhere. There's a time and a place for kiwi.
Chevrolet and Bissell: Well....these may be the two most influential sponsors, for me. I'm in the market for a new vacuum cleaner. I'll definitely look at the new Bissells (which are cheaper than Dysons and they gave us $100 coupons.) And after driving the brand new hot yellow Camaro through the streets of Chicago, I can't help but want one. It felt really good. I've been thinking about a new car and while a Bumblebee Camaro is not exactly practical, it's more practical than other choices.
So, dude in the video, I didn't meet women who were blown away by Ragu or Propel or Nikon. If we gushed over the products bestowed upon us, we were just making the p.r. people feel good and saying "thank you" for doing your jobs, supporting BlogHer and helping to keep the conference fee to just $200. Or expressing our opinions, like, "This oatmeal mudslide tastes ok but I'm sure is full of calories and there's oat detritus pooling in the bottom of the cup." We're a bunch of talkative, observant, inquisitive, opinionated smart women. Out of the 1400 attendees maybe like 2% of them were suckered.
And I'm very disheartened to hear that the recycling bins set up by Pepsi were simply emptied into the trash. That has to be fixed if that's true, because that's really shitty.
I went to the conference to learn more about the business of blogging, and to find my flock. Mission accomplished.
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