Blogher Conference 2014 San Jose: Day One

It's been awhile since I've posted, but that is one of the reasons why I am here in San Jose, California.  I'm attending my first Blogher conference.

For those who don't know about Blogher, it's a community for women bloggers.  Their website is blogher.com.  They hold a conference each year to help women bloggers become better at blogging.  Of course, they don't bar men from attending, but the focus of Blogher is women centered.  One of the things I hope to be doing with this blog is to be consistent about posting.  I'm also curious whether I'm doing this blogging thing right.

The Blogher Conference held at the San Jose Convention Center is a big event and offers numerous sessions over the two days it's being held.  I've attended the Fundamental Blogging sessions because I consider myself a newbie.  Yesterday was my first day of the conference and it started off very smoothly.  There was a newbie breakfast and the buffet offered was delicious.



Blogher Breakfast Buffet had everything you'd want: danishes, croissants, muffins, pineapple chunks, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon...YUMMMM!

There were introductions to one of the founders and one of the conference organizers, and we even had a veteran blogger at each table helping to facilitate.  Everyone had business cards with their blogs on them.  It didn't occur to me to even have a business card for my blog.  So this is one thing I know I have to address.  The conference had bloggers from all parts of the US and even from Canada, the Philippines, and Turkey.  Everyone I've met is friendly.  Afterwards, we went to the welcome keynote presentation.

 

The keynote sessions were well attended.

The conference also has an expo and the sponsors were varied. GoDaddy, Dixie (makers of paper plates and cups), Lysol, Angelsoft (toilet tissues), Glade, Bridgestone tires, and Skype were some that had big displays. It's pretty much domestic products-centered and tech-centered because Blogher was initially founded by what are called mommy bloggers. Meaning, these are the stay-at-home moms who started blogging to create a community to discuss ways to address challenges they encounter at home. Since the moms are at home, domestic product companies like P&G and Johnson&Johnson were some of the first supporters. They saw this mommy blogging community as another chance to address the decision-makers for domestic products. Pretty soon my conference bag was full of swag. In fact, I spent so much time at the expo that I was late to my first session.

The Angel Soft display was popular.  I got a coupon for free toilet tissue.  I don't know why I get excited over that but I am.  Did you notice their hashtag, "Sheet Happens"?  They wanted to feature that they offer more sheets of toilet tissue than Charmin.

 

Lunch offered vegetable wraps, roast beef sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, salad, and those gorgeous-looking fruit tarts.

Of course there was a break for lunch and another keynote presentation, and then cocktails for the evening with another light food buffet. I ate and tried everything...okay, I pigged out.Then there were suite parties that you could go to that were held by various sponsors.  By the end of the day yesterday, I was exhausted,stimulated, well fed, and ready to return to my hotel and sleep.  I'm writing this early in the morning Saturday because I woke up according to my normal wake up time -- inNew York.  I can't wait for the day to begin.