BLOGALICIOUS 2011: It Was All About Las Mujeres

Wanna grow?

I had a wonderful time at the Blogalicious Conference in D.C. this weekend. Educational content, inspiring keynote speakers and sponsored events aside, what I loved most about it was finally seeing in person many of the women I've met through Bicultural Mom and Multicultural Familia this year. 

The truth is that I was more than a little nervous about going there. It probably didn't help that I had to get up at 3:00 a.m. to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight (when I'm afraid of flying) ... or that I discovered on my way to Logan airport that I'd booked myself into Dulles (an hour away from the conference) instead of Ronald Reagan ... or that I'd be rooming with three women I'd never met in person.

(L-R) @Latinaish, Me, our santitos bracelets, cupcake from American Cancer Society Cupcake Party 

My worries vanished as soon as as I arrived at the conference and tracked down my roomies, @RubyDW, @LaFamiliaCool and @Jendalynne, women who warmed me with their good-humor, kindness and generosity. I was also thrilled to meet the blogger responsible for bringing out the Spanish in me @Latinaish and was surprised to see that we were both wearing similar santitos bracelets (one of which I now own : ).

Helena from @PinkGuayoyo (dancing feet) is every bit as outgoing and savvy as she comes across on her blog, @NewLatina is intelligent and inspiring, @MamiTalks, @ITYCPodcast and @BrownGirl were as classy in person as they are online. I also made two new friends @NewYorkChica and @Latina_Sweetie, two vibrant women from NYC who laughed alongside us.

An unexpected surprise to me was that I had a chance to meet the brains behind Latism, @AnnaRC and @ergeekgoddess, two uber-accomplished women, who educated me on the mission and goals of the organization: to promote Latinos in social media. I was happy to hear that there might be a chapter coming to the Boston area! I'm hoping to be able to get involved. : )

(L-R) @BiculturalMom Me @RubyDW
We couldn't wait to meet Chantilly!

The conference pace was frenetic. We did not want to miss anything and literally ran ourselves into-the-ground. In case you're wondering about the rooming situation, it was hysterical. We laughed to the point of tears. No shyness in this group.

One person I wish I'd been able to spend more time with was @BiculturalMom, who was busy with sponsors from the moment she arrived to the moment she left. She's a superwoman who's accomplished so much by launching two successful blogs in less than year. I see good things coming her way.

Top Left (L-R) @LaFamiliaCool @RubyDW
Bottom Left (L-R) Me @PinkGuayoyo
Top Right @NewYorkChica Me @Latina_Sweetie
Middle Right (L-R) @Jendalynne @RubyDW Me @ReneSyler @LaFamiliaCool @NewYorkChica
Bottom Right (L-R) The Jenda & Ruby Show @Jendalynne @RubyDW

If you care about diversity and want a engaging social media conference to attend, I recommend Blogalicious. A word of warning, though, the blogging piece is secondary to the social aspect. The women is where it was at! My hope is that we'll be able to get more of our hermanas on board to participate.


Think you might go next year?

The Gaylord Hotel, Washington D.C.