My BlogHer 2010 Recap

BlogHer seemed to fly by again this year, and I’m physically and emotionally exhausted after so much networking.  I’ll be sleeping off the exhaustion over the next week, but in the meantime, I wanted to recap the brands and parties that stood out.  I also wanted to thank the Hilton New York, which did a great job hosting all of us, and my dear friend Whitney who roomed with me and my swag.

Parties:

As you may have heard, Thursday night was jam packed with parties, which made it difficult to do everything.  While there were many parties I wasn’t invited to, there were several, including the UL Roof-top party, the Martha Stewart party, and the Hood Simply Smart party that I wasn’t able to attend.

I started off on Thursday with the Hanes party, where I was inspired to clean out my underwear drawers.  I’ll be working on that over the next week (as soon as the aforementioned exhaustion has past).  I also had the opportunity to hang out with some of my friends including Jo-Lynne, Whitney, Colleen, and Jill.

Then, I went to SocialLuxe.  The line was pretty long, and I didn’t have a load of time, but I did get the chance to chat with the Avery folks (who gave out a fabulous survival kit), and see a few of my other friends.  In line, I met Cecilia, who was also heading to the next event with me.

As a Ralph Lauren ambassador, I was invited to the ambassador-only cocktail party, along with the regular party at the reading room at Ralph Lauren headquarters.  It was amazing to see that gorgeous room, and to meet David Lauren (Ralph’s son), and learn about the history of the company.

On Friday, the actual conference began.  I think the food this year was so much better than last year, and the hotel was so much better prepared to deal with the onslaught of tech-savvy women (although the internet access was still spotty).  I really loved the Chevy Volt recharge lounge, because it was the perfect location to meet up with people, and to recharge my constantly drained iPhone without going upstairs to my room (the elevators took FOREVER).

Jill and I went to the first session of Getting Gorgeous and I loved it.  There were loads of great companies, and I always love seeing Audrey’s wonderful family.  It was also where I caught up with a lot of my favorite blogging friends.  I won a pair of Sketchers Shape-Ups, but have had some problems actually getting them (first I was sent to the 5th Avenue store, which turned me away, and now I’m waiting for an email response back).  Boo…

On Sunday, Loews’ Hotels offered a delicious brunch for a group of attendees.  The food, from sushi to gourmet cheeses, was absolutely fabulous, and it was a great chance to learn more about Loews’ Hotels.

Sessions:

Quite honestly, I wasn’t too excited by the sessions.  There are some things I really would love to learn, and those things weren’t represented.  I think it’s hard for the conference to cater to both newbies and experts.  The sessions I did attend were standing room only.

Brands:

This year, many brands on the expo floor shoved video cameras in faces – not cool.  But in general, most of the brands did a great job.  I especially liked the promotion Pur did, where they offered a reusable water bottle to the attendees, along with filtered water.

Did you attend BlogHer?  What stood out for you?

Disclosure: My entire trip to BlogHer 2010 was sponsored by Balloon Time!  They have a great content starting August 23rd, and I’m going to be one of the guest judges!

Tagged as: BlogHer