This woman is not going to Blogher

It may seem counter-intuitive. I'm a woman; I'm a blogger; I'm even in Chicago; plus they're bound to have more swag than a concierge convention (been to one of those - I know!). So why aren't I attending the largest collection of female bloggers in the country? 

Because I'll be speaking at Social Media Bootcamp in Rockford, Illinois.

Social Media Bootcamp (or SMBC) is bringing some of Chicago's top social media practitioners to this city two hours northwest of Chicago. We'll be talking about blogging, of course, but that's just one of the breakout sessions. Others will be on best practices, SEO, Flickr, Twitter, and even the ROI of social media. Basically, it's a boot camp (hence the name): an intensive two days of immersion in social media, how to use it, and why.

I'll be speaking at two sessions. One is "Telling People Where To Go: Destination Marketing Using Social Media" and the other is "FB = For Business: Using Facebook for Marketing Service and Sales".

This choice was obvious for me. I love social media; I drink so much of the Kool-Aid I've stopped patching the wall that little bugger keeps busting through. Ah, see, there I go - if you're not in the social media world you may not know that "drinking the Kool-Aid" means that you've become an evangelist who tells anyone who will listen how great it is. By speaking at this conference not just once, but twice, I get to praise it from the pulpit to a congregation that's yearning for the message.

Am I missing out by not being at Blogher? Nope. For purely selfish reasons, yes, there would have been an opportunity to introduce TLT to all of these people coming in from scattered parts of the country. But I'll be meeting a whole slew of people from Rockford. They live two hours away and are a quick shoot down I-90. Instead of using The Local Tourist once a year, if that, they can use it on a much more frequent basis.

Yes, there would have been an opportunity to meet all of those women bloggers. But, at SMBC I'll be meeting - people. Now, I don't have a problem with female-focused events and have even led a few. However, (and this may get me in hot water) I prefer co-ed. I like girl-time,  and I see the benefit of networking with women, but when it comes to professional events I'd rather include than exclude. 

Which also goes for the ideas behind the conferences: one is specifically about blogging, with some information about other aspects of social media; the other covers a broad spectrum. At this point in my professional career the latter makes more sense. It's not to say I know everything there is to know about blogging - far far from it - but I've begun spreading my entrepreneurial wings and at this time a convention that covers a breadth of topics is more helpful. Since social media is about the most economical marketing method available, I choose SMBC.

These are all personally specific reasons. Now, the real question is, if SMBC weren't an option would I be at Blogher? You betcha. So, have fun ladies, and maybe I'll see you next year!