Thursday, July 23, 2009

Blogher

So I'm going to Blogher this weekend. I am kind of nervous. I read Swistle's entry today and thought it was interesting. Why did I not go a couple years ago when it was also in Chicago?

First of all, my blog is really more of a place for friends and family to catch up on my life. I am not a great writer, I am not a great photographer. I share a bit, but there are many things that I don't put on this blog about our life. I censor myself perhaps more than I should, and have major trouble trying to write about honest struggles and things that go on in life for fear of offending/angering people or jeopardizing me or Hubs' jobs. In addition, I have never really tried to be a "big" blogger. I am comfortable with the niche I have - and the blog gives me a great way to let people who don't live in Chicago know what we've been up to. For all these reasons and more my blog is not followed by a ton of people. Which, again, is OK with me. But the fact that I am not a "big" blogger makes me feel like a bit of a poser at a big conference like this.

This year I convinced Michelle to come to Blogher with me. The main reason I didn't go to Blogher two years ago was because I couldn't convince anyone to go with me. I'm typically pretty decent in social situations, since I have components of both my mom (who is sweet and can put anyone at ease) and my dad (who could talk to a brick wall) in me. However, I get super nervous when it's just me and a bunch of people I don't know. I don't like to force social interactions, and I feel that is what ends up happening when you are somewhere by yourself - you feel like you HAVE to talk to someone so you don't look like a Loser.

Another reason that I get a bit nervous about going is that I feel like I am a fun and social person already, and meeting these new people (many of whom already know and have fun with each other) feels a bit contrived. Like, "Hey! I am fun! I swear! Just give me a chance!" I mean, I know a TON about these people b.c I read their blogs, but they know nothing about me. So they don't know how fun I am, not to mention that it's SUPER weird to want to try to make real-life friends with someone you feel like you already know. To want to make them want to know more about you. No one wants to be that idiot fangirl. Why would they want to know more about someone they don't know when they already HAVE friends? So weird.


Anyways, I'm going to make it a goal to go up and say hi to at least a few bloggers that I read. I mean, what can go wrong?

On that note, I should make a mental note to ask questions and listen, since I can tend to talk someone's ear right off when meeting them. Note to self: shut up!

We'll see how it goes!



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