An Awesome BlogHer '10 from a New Yorker's Point of View

New York, New York--it's a helluva town, and last weekend it was a helluva BlogHer town.  If I must say so myself, I thought New York did a first class job of hosting the biggest gathering of women bloggers in the world, but as a native New Yorker, I'm biased.

From the Battery to the Bronx, BlogHers were all around the town, taking in all the Big Apple had to offer.  Some did it in tutus, walking and running for a good cause, while others partied like it was 1999.

The hub of activity of course was the New York Hilton on 54th and 6th Avenue, where the conference took place.  The Hilton and I go way back.  One of the first Star Trek conventions ever was held there and as a kid, I ogled William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei in the Hilton's hallowed ballrooms.  Ah, the memories!

BlogHer '10 Has Arrived, and I Don't Have to Pack

BlogHer '10 has arrived but it feels like BlogHer '09 was just over.  Where does the time fly?

This year as y'all probably know, BlogHer '10 is in my home town of New York City. 

I can't tell you how strange it feels to read everyone's tweets and Facebook entries about packing and traveling when I'm not doing any of those things.  I'll just be hopping on my usual Manhattan-bound commuter train.

Besides the lack of traveling, this year feels a little strange for me in other ways as well.  Though I'm excited and eagerly anticipating seeing my fellow BlogHer Contributing Editors, a whole bunch of bloggers that I read throughout the year, and new bloggers I haven't even heard of yet, I'm a little apprehensive. 

This year, for the first time, I haven't had the time to immerse myself in the blogosphere as I would have liked.  Life and work changes, some good, some bad, yet all of them time consuming, have gotten in the way.  It makes me feel a bit cut off from my usual blogosphere connections.

Also, and this is highly unusual for me since I'm a bit of a ham, I'm feeling a bit shy about being around the nearly 2200 people who are attending. Yeah me, shy!

Who'd a thunk it?

Now, I'm certain all of these weird feelings will go away the minute I throw myself into the mix.  I'll be live blogging a couple of sessions for BlogHer Business tomorrow, so that alone should warm me up nicely for the big event on Friday and Saturday.

But feeling weird or not, I wouldn't miss it for the world, and I expect that by the end of the weekend, I'll be exhausted, yet re-invigorated about the power of blogging and where it might take me next.

I'll be sure to let you know!

Ideas For Fun in NYC During BlogHer '10

Ideas for Fun in NYC During BlogHer '10

New York City is my hometown so I'm beyond excited that within a couple of weeks, bloggers from all over the world will be arriving for BlogHer '10.  And though a lot of time will be taken up with conference events, hopefully many of those attendees will explore some of the fun stuff the Big Apple has to offer.

First off, if you're going to do some sightseeing, get yourself a Metrocard and a CityPASS.  The Metrocard is for public buses and subways all over NYC.  The CityPASS is a booklet of tickets to six of New York City's most popular museums and attractions and will save you a total of 45% off the regular admission prices. 

Now, here are some of my favorite NYC experiences. 

Go Hunting with Watson Adventure Tours Scavenger Hunts

My cousin first introduced me to these fun scavenger hunts when she gave me one as a birthday gift a couple of years ago.  It was a murder mystery hunt through the Metropolitan Museum of Art and my friends and I had a ball. 

In addition to their museum hunts, Watson also organizes scavenger hunts in Chinatown, Central Park and even one in Greenwich Village that features locations from "Sex in the City."

Hunts start at around $25/adult and can go up to $40/adult for museum hunts.  Check out the Watson website for schedules and prices. 

Slip Sliding Away on "The Amazing Race"

It's only fitting that after coming back from a week of travel, my first post should be about a travel TV show, "The Amazing Race."

And though I know I'm a week behind, can we just talk about Mika and Canaan for a minute?  You know, one of those "newly dating" couples the Race is so fond of.

Mika was the 22 year-old from Hazard, Ky, whose fear of water and heights kept her from going down a six story water slide known as the Leap of Faith, in Dubai.  Because Mika couldn't bring herself to close her eyes, think of England, and fling herself down the chute, she and boyfriend Canaan were eliminated.

Problem was, while Mika was flapping her floaties in terror for a good 25 minutes, the Globetrotters had time to catch up.  Once the Globetrotters arrived Mika and Canaan had 2 minutes to take the plunge or else they had to make way for Flight Time and Big Easy.

Blogging While Brown: An Interview with Cheryl Contee of Jack & Jill Politics (Video)

As part of my BlogHer coverage of the 2009 Blogging While Brown conference in Chicago last weekend, I did several video interviews with attendees.  Up first is an interview with Cheryl Contee of the blog Jack and Jill Politics.

I'll have more video interviews, photos and posts on the conference up and running as soon as my little fingers can type them. Stay tuned.

Blogging While Brown: Touring Chicago

How does the song go?  "Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town..."

Well the last couple of days I've been toddlin' all over Chicago, using my valuable sightseeing time, before covering today's Blogging While Brown conference for BlogHer.

Even though I was in Chicago once before, this is my first real trip here.  The last time was only a hurried taxi ride around the city during a two hour layover at O'Hare. 

The weather hasn't been very cooperative, but even with all the rain and thunderstorms, it's still raining less than it was in New York when I left.  And I can't complain too much because I got enough sun yesterday to get in an architectural boat tour of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan in a Seadog speed boat.

Our tour guide was Heather, an English major at the University of Chicago.  She writes her own material and she was not only informative but very funny.  She told us about the "black and boxy," "boxy and black" style of architecture, but also about all the other creative designs that trim the Chicago skyline.

There's the triangular shaped building that's a prison with an exercise yard on top, the three cloverleaf-like Lake Point Tower, the twin corn cob shaped towers that make up Marina City, and of course the third highest building in the world, the Sears Tower.

After seeing those buildings from the water yesterday, it was great to see another perspective of them today from the top of the Sears Tower itself. 

I got there before the skies opened up so the visibility, though not ideal, was good enough for an exciting experience.

Call me naive, but for some reason I was startled by the airport-like security we had to go through to get to the observation deck.  Of course, I shouldn't have been, but it caught me off guard.

I paid the extra $5 for the audio tour and I'm glad I did.  It helped identify all the important Chicago landmarks. 

Several of those landmarks I've seen from the back of Chicago Transit buses the last couple of days.  Yesterday I took the bus to the very cool Navy Pier and today I took a ride through the South Side of Chicago to the Dusable Museum of African American History. 

I figured since it was pouring rain when I left, a museum day was just the ticket.  But of course as soon as I spent forty-five minutes on the bus getting there, the weather had turned bright and sunny.

Two women got into a fight on the bus, which made me feel quite at home.  The bus driver made me pay twice because I took the bus in the wrong direction to the end of the line and then wanted to take the same bus back.  Considering I only went about seven stops the wrong way, I thought she might have given me a break.

The museum was interesting, but just okay.  I get the feeling it's still a work in progress and hopefully their collections will expand after their new wing is opened.  Most of the exhibits were either African in origin or displays of artifacts from the civil rights movement.  There was also a tribute to blacks in the military and a small gallery showcasing paintings and sculptures by black artists.  I was disappointed because I thought the exhibits of paintings and sculptures would be more extensive.

The most startling thing at the museum?  A moving, life size, seated figure of the late Mayor Harold Washington that at first appeared to be real.  It scared the life out of a six year old who started screaming when she saw it and I sympathized 'cause an animatronic Harold Washington wasn't at all what I'd expected.

That's enough for now.  I'll have more on my Chicago travels, and of course the Blogging While Brown conference later today and tomorrow. 

Here Comes BlogHer '09 and Blogging While Brown!

It's hard to believe but BlogHer '09 is only a little more than a month away.  It seems like only yesterday I was writing posts about last year's community keynote and fabulous meals in San Francisco.

But all of a sudden BlogHer '09 is here and I'm getting myself ready for another rip roaring weekend with the BlogHers and BlogHims of America and beyond.

Since this year's conference is in Chicago--a town I've only seen for ten minutes from the back of a taxi cab during a layover at O'Hare--I'm jazzed to get to know Chi-town a lot better.

In fact my first real trip to Chicago won't be BlogHer '09, but Blogging While Brown '09 which is being held June 19-20th.

Coincidentally, this year's BWB is also in Chicago.  BlogHer is one of the sponsors of BWB and I'll be representing them and publishing several posts from there beginning next week.

But back to BlogHer, in the next two weeks there are going to be pre-BlogHer meet-ups in several cities for attendees to get together before the conference and last weekend I had the chance to meet some amazing women from the NYC area. 

The meet-up was only supposed to be a couple of hours but we were having such a good time, we went far beyond that. We talked about movies, TV, politics, technology and of course blogging!

We organized the meet-up via the NYC Area BlogHer Group which now has 49 members.  Be sure to join if you're a NYC blogger and would like to stay in touch with other gotham bloggers.

Here's a list of the attendees at our meet-up and their blogs.  Definitely check them out!

The Bronx Bohemian of the blog:  Bronx Bohemian

The Evil Slutes of the blog:  Evil Slutopia

Bri of the blog:  Unwellness

Jena of the blog:  Jena Wellness

Steph of the blog:  Steph Unwired and Next Steph

Jennifer of the blog:  Connect With Your Teens Through Pop Culture and Technology

I've never had so much fun with a bohemian, evil sluts, the unwell, the well, the unwired and the connected!

So keep an eye out for my posts from Blogging While Brown and BlogHer and if you're going to be at either conference, let me know so we can stay in touch!

I Had A Blast At BlogHer Boston '08, Part 2

You've already heard about my trip to Boston, or rather to Burlington for BlogHer Boston, now it's time to get to the nitty gritty, the conference itself.

First thing in the morning, I got my name tag, introduced myself and plopped down at a table up front in the ballroom.  The breakfast spread had plenty of choices:  from fruit to pastry, to cereal to egg sandwiches to excellent coffee.

I was pleased to meet Candelaria Silva since I've read her thoughtful comments on BlogHer and have checked out her blog as well.

I took a look at the sponsor tables and got a bit of swag.  Katie Greene of Playtex was there.  She was one of our pub mates from the night before in Fitzwilliams.

I Had A Blast At BlogHer Boston '08, Part 1

Yes indeed, I had a blast at BlogHer Boston.  I learned a lot, I recharged my creative batteries and I also got to chat with a diverse group of smart and energetic women.

Though the conference was on Saturday, I'd planned to take Amtrak up early Friday.  The conference was being held at the Burlington Marriott, right outside Boston and since I'd never been to Beantown before, I'd fully expected to get a chance to tour the city.

That didn't happen.

You see, I called the Marriott weeks ago to find out how far it was from central Boston, and was told it was about 9 miles and a $20-$25 cab ride.

Very doable, I thought.

BlogHer Boston '08: A Little To Whet Your Appetite

I arrived home from BlogHer Boston yesterday with ideas and inspiration. 

The conference was a big success, if the women I spoke with are anything to go by and I can't wait to give you all the details, but...that'll have to wait until tomorrow.

My BlogHer weekly post is due today and once I finish that, I'll sit right down and give you a blow by blow of my BlogHer Boston experience---have I got some stories for you!---and a blogroll of the great women bloggers I met there.

In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures to tide you over.

BlogHer '08 Day 2: Meet-ups, Card Swaps, & Dooce

I've returned to my native coast from BlogHer '08 and dude am I tired!  But it's a good tired.

When I left you last, I was basking in the glorious afterglow of the Community Keynote Speeches that closed out the first day of BlogHer '08.

Then it was party time at the club Ruby Skye.  It was sponsored by TNT and had as special guests Gina Ravera who plays Detective Irene Daniels on "The Closer," and two of the writers, Talicia Raggs and Roger Wolfson of "Saving Grace."  Gina is pictured here with reporter Rauhmel Fox.

BlogHers shook their groove thangs to the rockin' music and there was good food and drink aplenty.

Day 2 of BlogHer '08 involved more sessions on subjects of interest to aspiring bloggers and experienced bloggers alike.

It was also the day I led a session for women of color bloggers.  I didn't quite know what to expect, but I was very pleased by the end of the session.  I had the pleasure of chatting with about twenty-five very bright women about what kinds of things they wanted to see at future conferences---a women of color Mommybloggers session was suggested by Sandie Angulo Chen to discuss raising multi-cultural children.

Sandie was accompanied by her own adorable child, little Jonah and almost every time I saw him he was comfortably asleep in his Mommy sling.

One significant point brought up by BlogHer Contributing Editor Gena Haskett was to advise the bloggers to fill out their profiles on BlogHer.  We can't link to them if we don't know who they are and what their blogs are about.

The day before, I had the pleasure of participating in an entertainment bloggers meet-up hosted by myself and Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood.

BlogHer '08 Day 1: The Community Keynote Rocked!

Last night, the first day of the BlogHer '08 conference ended with what has been the hit of the conference so far:  The Community Keynote Speeches.

And I say that not just because I happened to have the honor of being involved.  That's right, last night I got up on stage in front of a grand ballroom full of people and read one of my own posts:   "Michelle Obama Enjoys "The View:" A Recap."

I nearly didn't make it because I got caught waiting for the elevator and then got turned around trying to find the grand ballroom.  By that time, our mistress of ceremonies BlogHer's co-founder Elisa Camahort was calling for me from the stage.

Embarrrrrasing!

Anyway I was third up on stage and once I got there, was very happy I spent all that time in front of the mirror practicing my delivery.  I'm a bit of a ham at heart anyway and I wanted to give the audience their money's worth.  I'd carefully chosen my outfit and felt very comfortable up there in front of the lights and the blur of faces.

I used the time adjusting the microphone to take a couple of deep breaths and then plunge right in.  It was fantastic fun.  The audience laughed where they were supposed to, I got tongue tied only twice, but plunged ahead anyway, and by the end of my reading, I felt such a sense of gratification, because little did I know when I started Megan's Minute a year and a half ago, that last night I would be reading my words to a room full of fellow bloggers who were appreciating what I had to say.

That's heady stuff.

Afterwards, I sat backstage in the tiny Dressing Room A with the other keynote speakers and we had a great time supporting each other, tweeting our thoughts, and making jokes about the very strange "zombie bathroom" as Deb On The Rocks dubbed it.

We listened, we laughed, we cried and we bonded in a way that was very special.

BlogHer '08: A Sumptuous Lunch and BlogHer Preliminaries

Yesterday in San Francisco was action packed.  Since I was so crazy before I left home, I had no time to get the manicure/pedicure that I wanted so I made an appointment at the Westin Hotel spa.

Nothing against my local CiCi Nails, but having your nails done in a spa is the height of luxury.  The New Agey music was playing, the scented candles were glowing, the massage chair was massaging, and Wendy, my pedicure practitioner was treating my feet to a world of pampering.  Ahhhh.

Afterward, I showed off my pretty nails on the #38 city bus.  I took it all the way to the end of the line and the Cliff House.  The last time I was in San Francisco many years ago, I had lunch at the Cliff House overlooking the Seal Rocks.  It was my first trip to California, my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean and my first delightful experience seeing and hearing barking seals.

Well yesterday after I got off the bus and walked down the hill to the water, imagine my surprise when I realized the Cliff House I remembered had been replaced by a modern Frank Lloyd Wright-esque building of multiple levels.  It turns out the building was renovated and reopened in 2004.  As for the seals, the gentleman who seated me told me that about an hour before the last big earthquake, the seals left and the basically haven't been back since.

What hadn't changed was the gorgeous view of the Pacific and nearby Ocean Beach.  I had lunch at Sutros, one of the two new restaurants and it was amazing. 

Big News At BlogHer '08 & I Made It To San Francisco

There's big news at BlogHer '08 and the conference hasn't even started yet!

But first some tidbits about my travel day from New York to San Francisco:

*I never want to fly any airline but Virgin America again.  Their new high tech, mood lit planes are a pleasure, their cushioned leather seats with the adjustable headrests are super comfortable, and they left on time.  What more could you ask for?

*I took the BART from the San Francisco airport thinking, I'm the big, bad New Yorker who can maneuver her way around any city on public transit.  And I could.  The problem was, when I got to my stop I discovered the "quick" five block walk to the hotel was all uphill.

*I took my first cable car ride and it was thrilling.  Riding by and watching the locals walk up and down those hills, makes me think SF has got to have the fittest population in the world.

*I took the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf, got some dinner, got some sour dough bread for the room and got a cup of Starbucks to go with my peanut butter square of Ghirardelli chocolate.

All in all a very successful travel day, especially considering last night I got a total of three hours of sleep.

As for BlogHer's news, a joint partnership was announced today between BlogHer and NBC Universal.  The agreement will involve NBC's properties iVillage.com, BravoTV.com and Oxygen.com.  It's a partnership that promises to bring more exposure to BlogHer's talented group of women bloggers and all of the blogs in the BlogHer Ad Network.

More details can be found here.

Daisy Tells BlogHer To Stuff It

Daisy's not real happy about BlogHer '08. 

Or more to the point, the fact that I'm going.  You see Daisy's in her twilight doggie years and change of any kind in her routine is greeted with civil disobedience. 

Hunger strikes, sit-ins, candlelight vigils, she's done 'em all.

I've tried to explain to her the importance of this trip, but all I get for my trouble is maniacal barking and lasting views of her backside.

It doesn't help that I was away for three days last week on a trip with my mother and stepfather to Newport, Rhode Island.  Even though I enlisted my cousin as doggie sitter, Daisy was not amused.  When I got home, I'd finished unpacking the car, airing out the house, showering and changing before she even looked at me.

Then I told her about BlogHer and she had a doggie fit.  She was not impressed by my going to meet a bunch of women who sit around all day blogging while ignoring their families, friends and especially their long suffering canine companions.  She was quick to point out she doesn't go running off to Dogster Conferences at the drop of a doggie bone, leaving me alone to fend for myself.

Oh yeah, I thought, paying for Rena, her personal assistant, having my cousin stay over to sit with her, and then having no less than four other backups to take care of her every need...that's leaving her alone.

As you can see Daisy's a big believer in the power of the guilt trip.   But I'm not falling for it.  I'm going to BlogHer '08 tomorrow and Daisy will just have to deal.

And another thing...er, oh sorry...I gotta go, she's barking for me.  For those of you going to BlogHer, see you in a couple of days.