Comments on: SwagHer ’09

By: Typology of the Mommy Blogger

Typology of the Mommy Blogger — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:39:29 +0000

[...] posts like I’m Calling out the Carpetbagging Mommybloggers (with more than 250 comments!) and SwagHer09. Some do Blog with Integrity, but those that don’t…well, they seem to get all the [...]

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:19:43 +0000

You, are awesome.

Also, thanks for the shout-out – you speak for many of us.

By: donna

donna — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:12:35 +0000

Yeah, seriously? Why the push for the swag? I don’t get it. It was just more crap to carry home. I was thinking about this as I was going through all the stuff to figure out what to take and what to toss in the hotel, and wanted to let sponsors know that NO ONE NEEDS ANOTHER FLASH DRIVE! but then I thought, don’t make these bags any more valuable because it is far too competitive.

Sadly the sponsors make the tickets somewhat affordable. I know $200 may not be affordable to some, but without those sponsors and their swag, tickets would be far more and far fewer people could go. So sponsorship is here to stay.

I mentioned in a post that the whole thing is what you make it and if you don’t care about the swag, you are far less likely to get caught in a melee for it. The simple fact is that whenever that many people gather in one place, two things happen. First, the statistical probability that you’ll meet an a**hole increases exponentially. Second, it’s easier to hide and feel like your bad behavior will go unnoticed, or at least that it can’t be pinned on you. Because seriously? no one seems to know who that Crocs person is and you can bet she’s not going to out herself.

I would not see the swag as a reason to stay away, just another fact to file away about your expectations.

Great site, can’t even remember how I got here, but I love it!

By: MamaHall

MamaHall — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:32:19 +0000

i’ve never been to BlogHer, and now that i’ve heard about all the nastiness, it kind of makes me not want to go. ever. yall should be ashamed of yourselves…and you know who you are. PS: maybe BlogHer will change things up a bit to try to take such major focus OFF sponsor swag…somehow. maybe.

By: Rebecca Self

Rebecca Self — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:31:02 +0000

This was my first BlogHer and I have to tell you — the media were painting this story before it even started. The FTC regulations were brought up by the founders of BlogHer onstage on Thursday, the journalists were already taking about it, the sponsors were already prepared with their busloads of swag… it wasn’t the participants that created the fiasco you’re describing, though I can understand from the coverage why you’d think that. Instead, the whole event seemed like it was organized to deliver the Mom market to advertisers (understandable given the demise of huge, traditional media markets). I was interviewed by a journalist and am a former journalist and former journalism and media law professor myself. I point blank said to her — THIS IS NOT THE STORY HERE, DO YOU SEE THIS GOING ON IN THIS ROOM? but she was dead-set on only asking me questions about FTC regulations, sponsorship, swag, etc. Anyway… if you’d been there you’d have been able to see that it wasn’t the participants who did this… it was created before we arrived.

By: Many posts in one

Many posts in one — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:25:04 +0000

[...] Because I couldn’t end on too heavy a note tonight, I want to shout out to one of my best blogging pals Tatiana 1. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and 2. No shit! [...]

By: kim/hormone-colored days

kim/hormone-colored days — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:43:51 +0000

Thanks for the the blog link above–I’m honored.
To Cara’s point: I witnessed some of this behavior firsthand. It was embarrassing; definitely not one of the prouder moments in women’s blogging history.

By: Cara

Cara — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:36:46 +0000

I’m really surprised at the brouhaha that has erupted over this. What I would like to know is how many people who are railing about this bad behavior ACTUALLY saw it happen. Because no one I have talked to did. Yes there were probably a few bad apples (yes, I read the croc story) but come on people. Why are we making such a fuss because maybe a half dozen out of 1500 people behaved badly? Why is this indicative of anything other than that statistics are generally right. Were those that did this sort of thing reprehensible? Of course. But continuing to harp on it only draws more negative attention to what was a mostly enjoyable experience. I’m betting there were a lot more real stories about bloggers who were shitty to people than there were of swag stealing/hoarding/brutality.

By: magpie

magpie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:52:59 +0000

Somehow I missed most of the crazy drama. And somehow, the crazy is what everyone can’t stop talking about. There was a lot of fun and good and nice, which is why I went.

(Yours is the first blog I’ve seen with a blank for Twitter ID.)

By: Lucretia Pruitt

Lucretia Pruitt — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:34:26 +0000

Love.

100% dead on the money.