I went to the second day of the BlogHer conference this weekend, at Navy Pier; and had a really great time. I met some new friends, went to some awesome talks, and got a whole bunch of free swag (score!) It was a lot of fun, but it left me super exhausted. I'd hoped to write up this post after I got home Saturday, and it's Monday now! LOL
I started with the breakfast talk on artificial intelligence, which was a bit less sci-fi than I was expecting. The speakers did touch on our universal fear of both technology and the unknown, but didn't really expand more on that. One commenter wondered what was to be done about how Google indexes pages, after her reproductive rights blog was indexed as porn, and blocked in India. Internet censorship is an issue that's very important to me, as I'd be very disappointed and angry if I couldn't voice what I think here.
Next, I went to a talk on turning your blog into a book; which was particularly interesting to me right now, as I'm putting together projects and writing one! I was hesitant to announce it here, for all the world to see, somehow it felt safer when I was just bouncing ideas off my family. Surprisingly, I think it might be easier than I was expecting, not in that it won't be a lot of work; but that I have more options in this the age of self-publishing. For those of you who might be curious, my book is about using materials on hand for home decoration. And before you go and lump me into the "thrift-craft won't look good in my home" category, I'm focusing on getting high-end results with quick & simple projects. Luxurious home items made from recycled and repurposed materials - is the feel I want to impart, although I'll admit trying to come up with titles has me stumped. They all sound so silly when I say them out loud. LOL
After lunch I caught the craft-blogging talk, although I'll confess it was mostly stuff I've read/heard/learned myself already. Don't under-price your work, it harms the market and you. Come up with a story to "hook" your buyer, so they can't not buy it. Experiment with photography to come up with your own style. I knew I should have stood up & asked where the panel thought craft-blogging might evolve into, or go next; but I had a headache starting, and so I left a few minutes early and missed meeting Amy Sedaris and Natalie Zee-Drieu. Oh well, I'm sure I'll go again next year, it was a lot of fun! (Oh, and I was a lazy bum-ass blogger and didn't take any pictures. Something about how many women were whipping out digital SLR's made me want to appreciate the conference in my own way, with my visual memory. Google for pics, there was lots of ladies taking tons of pictures!)
ETA: I just realized my header's been down for more than a week, the domain I had it sitting on expired. Ack!
Wow! I love the idea of your book. I definitely need some luxurious home items to spruce this place up. :) Sounds like conference was fun too!
ReplyDeleteOooo, you're working on a book? How exciting!! Can't wait to see the projects in it. That conference sounds like it was fun. Wish I could have gone.
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