In Which I Compare BlogHer2006 to the International Quilt Festival

This year, I told myself that I was not going to spend a bajillion hours reading every blog post I could find that discussed BlogHer.

Oh well.

I have to admit that before I read so many of those posts, I would probably have written a post with more complaints. But god, the blogosphere has been there and done that. So my bajillion hours were not wasted, for I am now writing a more thoughtful, less snarky post than I would have otherwise.

(Full disclosure: I spoke on Day 1 of this year's conference, for which I have been told I will be paid back my conference registration fee. Whatever.)

The sponsorship and marketing of BlogHer2006 is being widely criticized. First, the MSNSpaces train wreck so eloquently described by SueBob. I have to say, though, that the VP of Whatever who introduced the Janes was just as offensive. Her presentation was completely tone deaf. Hello, you may be the biggest blogging service in the world but you're taking to a room full of people who use other tools. Hello, when you mention all the women in other countries whom we could inspire by telling our stories, maybe you want to include a country in Europe or Japan or something so you don't sound like SUCH A FUCKING COLONIALIST. And just for kicks, maybe mention that those women might also have a thing or two to tell us. I'm just sayin'.

Second, the Trojan Elexa people. Basically, they included a size Medium t-shirt in all the gift bags. I saw someone, don't remember who, saying "well, it's hard to order t-shirts for a group when you don't know the size, I think they did the best they could." Um, how about don't do t-shirts? I'm sure you can find something else to brand. Less widely discussed is their presence at the Feminism Birds of a Feather small group meeting in which one of the women made some shockingly racist remarks and then clumsily tried to take over the discussion.

There are also folks who are dissatisfied with having a condom included in the gift bag, as if it assumes that they are sleeping with a man. However, one of the lessons I gave as an HIV educator was that a cut-up condom makes a perfectly serviceable dental dam, so I'm not convinced.

Then in general, there is a lot of commentary about how the sponsor and advertising presence was overwhelming and that BlogHer felt like it has sold out.

At this point, you may be thinking "Princess, that's all well and good. But you told me you weren't going to write a big post full of complaints. Also, I read the title of this post and I'm not seeing how this relates to the International Quilt Festival."

Good points. Let me explain.

The International Quilt Festival (IQF), for those of you who don't know, takes place every year in Houston and Chicago. The company that does it - yes, company - also does a show in Europe. I can't speak for Chicago and Europe, but the one in Houston is huge. The entire Houston convention center huge. Part of it is a quilt show, part of it is hundreds of classes that people pay to take, and part of it is a giant store with hundreds of exhibitors' booths. Sections of the quilt show and some of the other events during that week are sponsored by manufacturers of quilting products, such as Bernina and Husqvarna Viking, both of which make sewing machines.

You see, quilting is a hobby that usually requires the purchasing of materials. Fabric, batting, tools, etc. Yes, it's possible to get a hand-me-down sewing machine, find fabric at thrift shops, and use an old blanket as batting, but many or most people who quilt as a hobby rather than to keep their families warm are buying stuff. And the businesses know there is money to be made, so they are all over the place.

But quilting is also a medium for self-expression, for creativity, or just for the pleasure of making something with your hands or giving a special gift to a family member or a friend. It can be a business opportunity, for those who make quilts to sell, teach, or write books, or open a quilt shop. But most of the people who do it will never make any money off of it, they just do it because they like it.

Blogging has much in common with quilting in that way. It shares one additional key characteristic: most bloggers depend on businesses to provide them with the raw materials. It has one key difference: many bloggers get those raw materials for free. Think about it. Anyone who is using Blogger, Flickr, most Movable Type plugins, sidebar widgets, etc. is being given raw materials for free, and the company that gives it away is still trying to make enough money to keep the lights on and pay its employees enough so they can eat and have a place to live, clothes, etc.

So why are people so pissed off about the sponsors at BlogHer? I've never heard anyone complain about all the shopping at IQF, or even the sponsoring.

I think part of it is that a good number of the sponsors of BlogHer this year were tone deaf. MSNSpaces was the worst example. At IQF, we know and like many of the companies who are there because we use their products - but also because the people who work for them and come to the event are just as excited about quilting as we are. Many of them are quilters themselves. They understand the "market" not from the outside, but from the inside and they're excited to share.

I enjoyed interacting with the folks from FilmLoop, ThisNext, BlogBurst, and Brandimensions because I could tell they were really into blogs and blogging and they wanted to talk about it with us. I'm sure they'd done market research, just as I'm sure the vendors at IQF do market research, but it doesn't show. They participated in the community rather than targeting the community.

BlogTalk Radio also sent a rep, though they were not a sponsor. She told us what the company did, then settled down to participate in the conversation as a regular person. She offered helpful tips from the audience at one of the Day 2 panel discussions based on her experience as a blogger, even though they had nothing to do with her company. She added value to the community (and gave us post-it notes) and I am intrigued to see more of what her company does.

For the sponsors who didn't add value, does that reflect on the BlogHer organizers and advisory board? Hell no. If MSNSpaces or Trojan wants to write a big check to the event and then show up and embarrass themselves, so what? It's on them to do their homework, and it's on them to send representatives who are good ambassadors for their companies. They didn't. Hopefully they'll learn from the experience of an entire audience ignoring them and do better next time.

Even if they don't embarrass themselves and it's just a slightly boring commercial, nothing says you have to pay attention. Trust me, there are quilt people who are inappropriate or boring as hell too, and you just have to laugh the 15th time they say "and I made this with my Flying Geese Tool (tm) too!"

Nothing was stopping anyone from leaving the room during any of the BlogHer sponsor pitches, and the majority of the conference attendees had laptops with them and could often get internet access. Plus, other bloggers were sitting all around you, and some of them were bound to be interesting. So entertain yourselves otherwise for 10 minutes and then they'll get back to the regular programming. Like any other speaker, they need to earn my attention by saying something interesting or useful. If they don't, too bad for them.

(As for the idea that we should be in a space free of advertising or marketing unless we choose to seek it out, I think that's a little hypocritical given all of the free tools that many of us take advantage of in our blogging. The Intarweb giveth all for free, but heaven forbid that the folks who make the stuff should get 10 minutes of our time in return. Especially when we are drinking their booze, eating their food, and enjoying the parties and wireless they paid for.)

Tags: BlogHer | BlogHer06