I wrote about about the BlogHer conference last year, specifically disgust over the "mommyblogging" track of the 2008 event. This past weekend was the BlogHer 2009 conference, and judging from the coverage, it's turned into an almost complete mommyblogging conference, family friendly, bloated with sponsorship. It's a nearly useless event for non-mommybloggers (and ad-free bloggers) although the organizers stress that it's not the "BlogMom" conference.
As it usually happens in cases like this, I could care less about the actual event (i.e., the conference), although if I were to attend I would totally wear this "Childless Whore" t-shirt created by Heather Havrilesky of the Rabbit Blog. What I find more interesting is the fallout as reported in blog posts after the event. After reading some of these posts, all I can think is that many of these BlogHer attendees are entitled, pissing-and-moaning, mommybloggers who feel they have some sort of deity-granted right to as much free crap as they can carry.
First, my philosophy/ideology concerning conference swag (well, at least as applied to comic conventions). In 2007, at my first San Diego Comic Con, my roommate and I both shipped back 18"x18"x18" boxes each loaded with freebies and purchases from the event - bags, posters, books, flyers, etc. In 2008, we were able to consolidate our swag and purchases into ONE 18"x18"x12" box with room to spare for extra clothes.
I've become extremely selective in the free swag I pick up at conferences, limiting it to things that actually have use value (e.g., t-shirts, tote bags), are small (pinbacks, stickers for the laptop, small posters), or are reading material (I'll always pick up books). And, yeah, truthfully I pick up some freebies that are just fun to have. Occasionally I'll sell swag on eBay, and do a cleanout once a year and bring the extra goodies to work. So, while I completely understand the appeal of giveaways (and have seen some near smushing over them), I also don't want to clutter my life more than necessary. It's a simple question: Do I really NEED this? And I've never picked up a freebie with the sponsor's expectation that I'm to write about it on the blog.
Apparently, many of the BlogHer attendees spent the weekend picking up as much free stuff as possible, although some insist that "sponsors just handed it to them". Some attendees even "threatened" sponsors when the swag ran out. A blogger who was "denied" her free pair of Crocs threatened the company's marketing representative, seriously saying "Ya know, if you don’t give me shoes – I could totally write something bad about you on my blog". Thankfully the marketing guy shot back saying he "... could pick up my phone here and get in contact with so many people and tell them what just happened that you would be afraid to go near your computer, let alone attempt to blog again". He didn't call out this extortion-blogger on his blog, mainly because he couldn't remember who she was, and even if he had, wouldn't have bothered.
After reading that, I searched the #blogher tag on Twitter, and found many many links to posts about the conference, some critical of how the free swag was handled, others feeling that they deserved all of it. Of course, some bloggers were giving the additional duplicate items they received from sponsors on their blogs. It was kind of sickening to see Tweets like "Did you let your diet go at BlogHer? I'm giving away a pair of Spanx!".
I tried to find some posts that specifically detailed the type and volume of swag given away at BlogHer, but didn't find any itemized lists in my quick search. However, here's a post from an attendee with some photos of her swag. Please note that I do not know this woman AT ALL, and I'm not passing judgment on her swag collection, just using her as an example because she posted photos (it's a pretty good post, too).
Just look at the picture of some of the freebie load spread out on the hotel bed. And then look at the load of freebies she left behind for the housekeeping staff. That is a seriously huge pile of... stuff. Full bottles of shampoo, reusable tote bags and coffee mugs, a useless feather boa, toys, and more that the sponsors probably expect her to write about on her blog.
In fact, some bloggers now want to distance themselves from the label of mommyblogger due to how some of their peers acted during the weekend. Also, Nikon does not hate babies, despite what some mommybloggers want you to believe (read the post, it's an excellent analysis of an incident where a mom and baby were turned away from a private party at a swank, adults-only bar). Seriously, Nikon is NOT going to hurt for business even if a bunch of mommybloggers stage a "protest", no matter how loud you Tweet.
(In fact, it might make me actually consider buying a Nikon.)
4 comments:
Ugh. People get so weird when there is free stuff involved. Some of my coworkers were recently manning a table at a conference, and then they went back the next day for the sole purpose of collecting swag. They all came back with bags full of useless crap(the worst example being a plastic polar bear advertising "green energy"). I'd be willing to bet that within three months they'll suddenly look around their desks and think "what the hell do I need a bank in the shape of the Liberty Bell for?" and into the trash with it. It's just kind of gross.
It's not just conference attendees who need to "Rethink Swag", it's the sponsors and exhibitors, too. At BlogHer, some company was giving away large jars of applesauce. Now, how do you get that back home? If it's over 3oz, it can't go in the cabin with you, and if you put it in checked luggage, there's a chance the glass jar will break and run all over the place. And who wants to spend $$ to ship a free jar of applesauce home? Some of the attendees wondered why companies just didn't give out coupons for items that couldn't easily be transported home or eaten right there (like granola bar samples - lots of people said they only took food freebies like that).
Although, the best swag item I've seen in years was posted on CP's blog... I urge everyone to go over and gaze in wonder at an unlikely stuffed mascot for a highly targeted (and kinda gross) product!
She Never Shuts Up
Free shit is one of the things I hate most about cons.
I cannot stand when people come to your table, poke around, and then ask "what's free?" without bothering to even ask about the product or fake small talk.
SD this year was effing crazy for swag. And the last thing I wanted was one of those WB bags big enough to stuff a mini luchador in with room to spare. And I actually the most of the stuff in my pro bag in the room when I left, including the faunted Blackest Night #0. Feh.
This behavior grosses me out. I worked in a restaurant in high school, and it reminds me of how people act at buffets. Just because it's all-you-can-eat, doesn't mean you really need to eat it all!
People actually bring empty wheeled suitcases to Book Expo. After one day I understood why--I had a deep bruise on my shoulder from the heavy sack of books I ended up carrying! But I’ve read 90% of them, or given them away to people who will, and I only picked up a book if I genuinely thought I’d like it.
I also was so afraid of seeming like I was just hunting for freebies that I ended up spending a lot of time browsing the booths and actually talking to people. And salaries in publishing are so low that free books once a year seems like a reasonable perk.
Ever since I worked in a bookstore and we gave away free (cheap, ugly, white canvas with store logo) totebags, I’ve had an allergy to junk-swag. People were not content with the free-bag-with-purchase policy. They asked for extra bags, “for my mother,” “for my sister.” Then it was as a plaything for their kids, training them in the art of greed and the acquisition of useless junk. Then they’d just march up and ask for the free bag, whether they were buying anything or not, and were furious when we ran out.
Watching well-to-do women (and it was almost always women) get frantic and competitive and just plain nasty over a cheap made-in-China piece-of-crap totebag left me with permanent disgust. I mean, if it had cost 99 cents, no one would have looked at it twice. I wish I'd videotaped the feeding frenzy and put it on YouTube. You'd think they were starving and we were giving away bread...not totebags and keychains!
It also reminds me of those poor people who get trampled to death at Walmart every year on Thanksgiving.
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