This was my first time to a blogger conference and I was so excited to find a Gilt City deal and get a day pass with a discount. The ticket normally goes for $350 for the day ($500 for VIP…I know!) But with the Gilt City coupon etc I got it for $250! I was excited to purchase it for $100 off. I am all about the bargain!!
Getting back to the event: It starts off at 8:30AM and the signing in was pretty painless and got our badges and track numbers right away. (the only thing about the track number was even though you went with a friend, you might be seperated due to this..which is good and bad…ALSO that I barely saw the people in the Track #2 group) After that we were told to sign in for our “mentorship program” This is where we get to choose who we want to have a sit down with. Its the Mentor and 15 of us, which I would say was probably one of the best things they did at this event. The ones I wanted to get were already full so I went for second best and also wanted a person who was fearless and will tell it to you straight…I chose Gabi Fresh and Bare Minerals Founder Leslie Blodgett.
Then we all head into the main stage area and grab breakfast! This is where the mingling starts! My goal for the day was to meet at least 3 people and exchange information and already by breakfast that was done with. I loved the energy from everyone about being so excited to learn from today!
THEN the classes begin! It was back to back all the way till lunch, but even then you are mingling and trying to absorb what just happened. Def don’t get much alone time! Lunch was also pretty tasty and everything was displayed so nicely. The decor of the event was beautiful! Really liked all of the little touches. Even from the decal on the bathroom!

more after the jump……

In the midst of all this I saw Geri Hirsh hanging by the Mr Kate booth (with Mr Kate) and I went up to tell her how big of a fan I was and that I admire everything she was doing. She then asked me what I was doing there and I told her I have a YouTube channel and I just hit 20K. Then …. an awesome thing happened… I felt like a kid, I was so happy….

Geri gave me a HIGH FIVE!

WUT?! I know!! Inside, my little heart was smiling so big!! lol

There was never a dull moment. You can get your photo’s taken or get your hair and makeup did by salon professionals. You can try on some digital clothes! It was pretty crazy!!
So then we get a 45 min break until the BIG BLOGGERS come on stage and spill all their big blogging secrets, right?!
WELL………….. thats when it kinda felt like it went down hill for me.

So the guests were something like Whitney from the Hills, Julianne Hough, The Fat Jewish and a blogger Peace Love Shea.
This is a “blogger conference” and these peeps are going to talk to us about instagram?! How can celebrities teach us anything about social media?!!(unless its Kim K. lol)They get followers no matter what. Really?!  From the top Whitney says she never reads the comments and doesn’t care what people have to say. Then we have Shea who says her life has to be perfect?! Perfect pajama’s, perfect jeans…etc… which made it all so unreal and feel very sad and surface-y….
And non of the conversations/questions that were happening were really helpful in any way. No app talk, schedules, collaborate, sponsorships etc..nothing…it was like an interview that we can get from any magazine.

THEN! Everyone waited for Aimee Song to arrive. She gets there and the interview was even worse….It really was about what she does on an everyday basis and nothing about how to grow the blog and/or social media advice. When to get an agent, how soon till you place ad’s, how to get ad’s , agents etc…
Her interview felt very rushed too.

The last interview was the Glossier creator Emily Weiss. Her interview was great because of her. You can tell she was thinking outside the box and trying to figure out what everyone really wanted to know and saying it. She talked about how she gets guests on her blog: by cold calling or emailing them. Or even stalking them on the street. Then she talked about the process of starting Glossier and how she got funding for it etc.
Her too seemed rushed (i think schedule was running behind) and the Q&A with the audience is also too quick and half the time we couldn’t hear the questions… right around here is when the audience started to get up and head out.

There was a “happy hour” for more mingling/networking but I think everyone was sorta bummed on the main last three talks that they just started to head out! I bumped into my friend so I stuck around for maybe an extra 20 min, but after that when I was walking out the entrance was almost empty!
The gals I was hanging around were all pretty un-happy and we wanted to write a review for the event…havent taken the time to look for it.

Overall it was an experience and I DID get to meet some lovely ladies! Learned more in the first half then the last (which I thought was weird…the main attraction was the later half) Don’t know if I would attend again.It is pretty expensive for a one day event. I found some other blogging events that are the same price for 2-3 days. I might hit those up and compare. I think if you are new to blogging/social media then you might enjoy this event. It has celebrities, food, free stuff and cute spots to shoot photos!

It is really hard to learn social media on your own.Unless you are always on top of everything, juggling your own blog/youtube/social media…You are not thinking about adding another app or social outlet….BUT it would be nice to have someone teach you new things here and there. And I think I am getting that (as of now) from my podcasts! Weird, I know…but the podcasts give me more info than what I learned from Create and Cultivate. And the podcasts are free. Will have to make a list for you guys!

If you went, I would love to hear what you thought of it!!