Photo by Veronica Foale

Below are ten dot points of things I learned or reflected on at the Aussie Bloggers Conference on the weekend. I didn’t really have a great time and so I’m a little nervous of writing my honest thoughts down about it but decided, after talking it over with a couple of friends and Sean, that I can only tell my story, my perspective. I mean no offence or to have a go at anyone. It’s just my perspective. And it’s a little longer than I normally write in a post but I had stuff to cover. Stick with me if you can.

1. A lot of people had an amazing time and I don’t want to dump on that. A lot of people got a lot out of it. A lot of people found their kin. I didn’t. But then I wasn’t the target audience.Even though we’ve now established I’m a personal (knit) blogger, the conference was primarily for and by a large group who all know each other (online at least) very well – or at least many of them do. They were speaking to each other. It felt a little like eavesdropping sometimes.
2. For the most part it felt like a big meet up of nearly 200 online best friends. That’s ok. Online friends meet up and have amazing real life experiences together. But they should call it a meet up, not a conference. Maybe. Especially since a lot of people have declared they were more interested in meeting their blog friends than the content. Maybe next time it won’t feel like 150 best friends getting together for a big weekend because it will be targeted at all Australian Bloggers, not just a niche group.
3. Since I wasn’t there to meet 150 friends I’ve known for years (good for those who were), I was really hoping the content had a lot to offer. In some ways it did. There were some moving stories told; There were some cautionary tales I found alarming and challenging about online privacy and how things can go wrong when you lay yourself out there. Take home message: the internet is forever. Be warned. (Side note: at the same time as this event was on, a similar event called BarCamp Canberra 2011 was held – same number of people, same discussion about social media but with a focus on open government and social media. I do kind of wonder if I’d have been more at home there. Look out for its sister events in other major cities if you’re interested).
4. I learned that, just like the knitting blog community, the mummy blog community derives great strength and inspiration from its members. I learned years ago that linking up to like minded people, sharing ideas and inspiration, just telling our stories is a powerful thing. Find your tribe and make the most of it. Just remember, there are other tribes out there, too.
5. There was a real sense that blogging is changing in Australia, that it’s growing in scope and diversity. I do really wish that diversity was more represented there. There were many references to the power of Australian blogging. That power lies both within and beyond the borders of mummy and personal blogging. It’s in food blogging, political blogging, Indigenous blogging, tech blogging just to name a few. Great writers everywhere are writing outside the mainstream media and doing amazing things. No one says you have to read blogs from all over the place, but please don’t lay claim to being the core Australian blogging community. That was probably the biggest sticking point for me from the day.
6. The fact that I wasn’t a mum was only part of my discomfort on the weekend. It wasn’t painful, at least not in the way I thought it would be, it was only a bit frustrating that so much conversation was peppered with references to ‘our kids’. An outsider with fertility problems can’t ever really feel at ease in that environment. Frequent reference to practices and styles of parent blogging was made all day and that was fair enough, given the audience, but for a non-parent blogger, it felt like visiting a foreign country. The conference was apparently styled on the US version, BlogHer. I hope next year they make it more about women in blogging generally (if they want to keep it gender specific; although there were a couple of men present: I imagine they felt even more like a fish out of water). Organisers, if you’re reading: it was really lovely of you to say ‘sure, people outside the core group are welcome’ but I think it was a mistake.
7. It made me imagine a knitting blogger conference. I imagined the Yarn Harlot standing up there talking about knitting as wonderfully as she does. Even as a fabulous communicator who is open, intelligent, welcoming and oh so funny, much of what she would speak about would go over the heads of anyone from outside the knitting world who stumbled across the conference. Even just referencing Ravelry, knit alongs and any of the big fibre festivals would go over the head a non-knitter. She would probably get up, walk out, decide it was all like listening to someone speak Mongolian. That’s how it was for me. Only I didn’t leave.
8. There are bloggers out there who are really, really earnest about it. They have strategies, goals, the need to grow and achieve a lot with their blogs. They’re hoping to make money, start new careers, conquer some part of the world and use as much online media as is available to them to do it. Now, I love blogging. You can probably tell. I’m serious about it in that i like to write well, I’m pleased when I’ve put something out there that’s engaging. I’m serious about being part of an online community and celebrating the blogs I love to read.  I decided I’m not earnest about it. Good for those who are, but I learned there’s a difference.
9. I learned that trying to knit, listen and follow along with the concurrent twitter discussion all that same time was silly. I gave up, even though I felt very cool using our new iPad to do it.
10. I learned that if you stand aside at the dinner dance because you don’t dance, eventually you’ll find someone else who also doesn’t dance, but wants to drink wine and talk for ages about anything and everything. Thank you Susan, from Reading Upside Down. That was great fun!

So, you know, it wasn’t all bad. I had a great time with my friend Ally on the drive up and back (let’s not discuss my map reading skills….) and appreciated the stopover at the home of Gabfran (not her real name) of Law and Shoes. There was much late night hilarity there involving lessons in corsets and vintage stockings.

I was just really glad to get home and think about all that happened and why I would think twice about going again. Great work by the organisers, really. In terms of logistics the day seemed to run beautifully – professionally and with no visible or serious glitches, other than some time constraints. So that deserves thanks and acknowledgement.

But on the whole, it really wasn’t my kind of day. That’s ok. You get that.

Bells

For the last few months you may have noticed in the sidebar a button indicating I’m going to the inaugural Aussie bloggers Conference in Sydney on March 19. As the day draws nearer, I’m pondering more and more some of the concerns I’ve had about the conference from the start. I think it will be interesting, but to say I’ve not had doubts about attending would be a fib. 

My friend Ally of ActingLikeAMama invited me last year and I said yes right away. The plan is a good one. We’ll have a road trip to Sydney, stay overnight in the hotel where the conference is being held and have a fabulous time. In the evening we’ll attend the dinner and drink wine and let our hair down.

At some point I actually looked at the website. Probably I should have done that right away but I didn’t think I needed to. A conference about blogging? You bet! I love talking about blogging in the same way I love talking about knitting or my chickens or any other subject close to my heart.

When I looked at the list of attendees and their blogs and the FAQs I had a sudden, sinking feeling and one I’ve struggled with ever since. The conference is being run by a group who identify as Mummy Bloggers and it’s aimed specifically at Mummy and Personal Bloggers. The organisers said for the first conference they’ve aimed it at their own community and that they hope to expand it in future years. I hope they do. I understand they welcome people who blog outside that sphere, and that’s great, but my concern is less about how welcome others are and more about how well will other bloggers, like me, fit in content wise? What is our shared experience of blogging and is it enough to give us common ground on the day? I’m really not so sure.

If you’ve been reading here a while you’ll know I’m neither a Mummy Blogger nor a Personal Blogger. Even if I could be a mum, I don’t think I’d ever be a Mummy Blogger. Nothing against them, per se, but I’m pretty sure as a mum I’d want to still keep a blog that was primarily a knitting blog. If I had children I’d need that creative outlet as much as I do now. I’m certain of it. It’s how I started my blogging life and it’s the niche in which I fit most comfortably, even if I do stray from time to time. And  yes I do post pictures and stories about my niece and nephew but only when it relates to my core subject matter.

For the most part I don’t read Mummy Blogs either since stories about sleepless nights, tantrums and breastfeeding have no relevance to my life and to be frank, it’s a bit like picking a scab that’s healing nicely. So I just don’t go there.

Like the knitting community I’m part of, their community is obviously an important part of their lives and any place where we find like minded friends and acquaintances is a good thing.

I’m not a Personal Blogger either. Telling stories about the minutiae of my day to day life isn’t really what I’m about – small details slip through yes, but on the whole only in as much as they relate to the knitting, the garden that sort of thing. It’s never the full picture. Just a glimpse and I try to write universally.

I very nearly pulled out of the conference. Were it not for the fact that I was, and still am, looking forward to the weekend away with Ally, I might have. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m going to be a little bit like a fish out of water there, not least of all because I imagine on meeting a room full of mums I’ll get the inevitable ‘how many children do you have?’ question. That’ll get old really fast.

I think knit-blogging and mummy blogging are quite different and so it seems to me like we’ll be talking at cross purposes a lot of the time. There’s not a lot of push in the knitting (or other creative activity) communities to get on board with advertising, sponsored content or ‘monetising’. We just don’t do it. We write about our creative journeys, photograph our knitting, sewing or crochet and tell stories about how we love it and derive great personal pleasure from it.

We write to inspire and be inspired about a pretty specific subject.

Have you ever tried explaining a knitting blog to the uninitiated? It’s hard. We write about the gentle things in life and how they relate to our knitting. How dull that must sound to someone who doesn’t get it but I don’t actually care. I’m not writing for the broader community and neither, I’m sure, are you. Just as the Mummy Bloggers (and the subset – the dieting bloggers) are really only writing for an audience who shares their experiences. We can’t and shouldn’t write for everyone. If we did we’d never write anything meaningful.

I’ve taken some comfort from the fact that there are a small number of bloggers attending who don’t identify as mummy/personal bloggers – but even most of those are mums (and a few dads). On the day I really hope that we’ll all have something to contribute and learn from each other that crosses the divide of our content differences.

I’m not sure I even know what I’m hoping to get out of the conference. I’m not out to learn about incorporating paid advertising into my blog. I’m not needing help and advice on growing my readership or creating better content because frankly I’m pretty happy with the status quo. All I can do is show up, be myself, hopefully meet some nice people and talk about how fun it is to write and read blogs of interest. That’s really what got me to say yes, simply the thrill of being in a room full of people who love it like I do. I don’t feel the need to be too earnest about it.

It’s only blogging, after all, you know? It’s possible to be serious about blogging without being Serious, if that makes sense.

If you’re going to be there, I’ll be the one who knits through every session. If you knit or crochet, will you bring something to keep your hands busy? Between now and next weekend I’ll be planning what to knit. That’s the big question for me right now and I have some exciting ideas brewing.

Bells