5 Ways In Which BlogHer Food 2010 Was Sumptuous
As I entered the morning welcome to BlogHer Food 2010 on Friday (shame on me for just signing up for one day!), I came upon a very young child crushing blueberries in a bowl with a small glass jar of honey. She was sitting on a brightly colored rug outside the Intercontinental Hotel’s ballroom. This set the tone of un-convention-ality that characterized a whole day of things that were delicious to the tongue AND mind.
- The connection between food and community was absolutely apparent among all attendees I met and chatted with. I attended alone, but never felt alone in my interactions with complete strangers.
- 6 years ago, I didn’t know what a Foodie was. I didn’t know how I’d ever afford to dive into such an identity. After having Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman sit down at my table, I know I am now a Foodie for sure. She’s a cookbook/food blogging celebrity.
- I got pretty fired up in the post-lunch Storytelling session moderated by Diane Jacob . The Journalism 101 feel of how the session was led bugged me. Storytelling in a blogger’s world is not about just words anymore. Words are still important, yes, but sometimes images, video and sound function as the lede now. Jacob acknowledged this input, but it took me a couple of tries to get past the big journalism mentality. My question felt argued with. I was trained in that; I don’t always engage that training because blogging is more about expression for me. Thank you Michael Procopio for your support of this “blogger as artiste” point of view.
The mike wrangler told me later in the day that she thought my comments were thought provoking. I feel a bit disempowered about chasing down my issues with this session precisely because I don’t always abide with a hook or lede to draw my audience in. Do I suck? Maybe, but in the end I was still able to take away good reminders for how to be more creative and engaging with my voice. I do too much with social media stuff for the day job not to be passionate about this point of view though. Those traditionally trained writers need to realize that we all struggle to come forward into this (still) brave new multi-medium world.
- Limited, delicious sponsors. I really enjoyed talking and eating the food of the sponsors who were present. A few were a little out of place, like Kraft (not giving away samples- smart of them, really). But they admitted they were there to learn something about sustainability/organic ingredients/ethics around food, so I spent time telling them why those things are important to me. I learned a ton about the Nature’s Path philosophy and business ethic. And finally, Scharffen Berger was a lovely one to see (again) promoting their Chocolate Adventure Contest which was originally started by Lisa at Tuttifoodie. I’d attended the amazing and fun preview tasting event the night before at Orson.
- The connection between food and community was absolutely apparent among all attendees I met and chatted with. I attended alone, but never felt alone in my interactions with complete strangers.
- 6 years ago, I didn’t know what a Foodie was. I didn’t know how I’d ever afford to dive into such an identity. After having Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman sit down at my table, I know I am now a Foodie for sure. She’s a cookbook/food blogging celebrity.
- I got pretty fired up in the post-lunch Storytelling session moderated by Diane Jacob . The Journalism 101 feel of how the session was led bugged me. Storytelling in a blogger’s world is not about just words anymore. Words are still important, yes, but sometimes images, video and sound function as the lede now. Jacob acknowledged this input, but it took me a couple of tries to get past the big journalism mentality. My question felt argued with. I was trained in that; I don’t always engage that training because blogging is more about expression for me. Thank you Michael Procopio for your support of this “blogger as artiste” point of view.
The mike wrangler told me later in the day that she thought my comments were thought provoking. I feel a bit disempowered about chasing down my issues with this session precisely because I don’t always abide with a hook or lede to draw my audience in. Do I suck? Maybe, but in the end I was still able to take away good reminders for how to be more creative and engaging with my voice. I do too much with social media stuff for the day job not to be passionate about this point of view though. Those traditionally trained writers need to realize that we all struggle to come forward into this (still) brave new multi-medium world.
- Limited, delicious sponsors. I really enjoyed talking and eating the food of the sponsors who were present. A few were a little out of place, like Kraft (not giving away samples- smart of them, really). But they admitted they were there to learn something about sustainability/organic ingredients/ethics around food, so I spent time telling them why those things are important to me. I learned a ton about the Nature’s Path philosophy and business ethic. And finally, Scharffen Berger was a lovely one to see (again) promoting their Chocolate Adventure Contest which was originally started by Lisa at Tuttifoodie. I’d attended the amazing and fun preview tasting event the night before at Orson.
- The food safety, policy and equality panel was really good because it brought writers and ideas to the panel and room I wanted to follow (Fed Up with School Lunch , 10 Reasons to Eat Local ) and gave me lots of inspiration about future topics (genetically engineered salmon , The Food Environment Atlas) I want to address.
Looking forward to going next year and for those of you contemplating it, it is worthwhile, delicious and a lovely community to connect with.
Thanks for mentioning my blog! Just found the link! Did you get a chance to introduce yourself?
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