We kicked off BlogHer Food '14 in a big way on social media today. I followed the hashtag on both Twitter and Instagram, and let me tell you, I got pretty hungry. The food looked delicious. The quote-ables coming out of session inspired me. And the #BlogHerFoodSweepsEntry photos made me so glad that we have fun, interactive sponsors to help make our conferences both fun and informative.
If you couldn't attend or just want to see what the day looked like today, click on through. Many thanks to the Instagram users who allowed me to embed their images!
First...
Breakfast, and a Welcome from the Co-Founders
One thing we pride ourselves in at BlogHer Conferences, and especially at BlogHer Food, has to be the variety of foods available. We heard good things about breakfast this morning.
Excited that I got so many fruits and veggies for breakfast!! #vegan #BlogHerFood #BlogHer14
— Lisa Le (@alimentageuse) May 16, 2014
And we saw them too:
NEXT: {ON TO LIGHTNING LESSONS!} -->
Lightning Sessions
Lightning Sessions are a highlight at conferences, giving attendees a lotof information in a short amount of time. Each of our speakers brought their expertise to a topic that surrounds blogging to expand our understanding just a bit more.
First up was BlogHer Editor-in-Chief, Stacy Morrison, talking about the ins and outs of being a boss. A key takeaway from her presentation:
Wise words at #blogherfood "Managing is not telling people what to do, but helping other people excel" by @bklynstacy
— Lauren Pawell (@laurenpawell) May 16, 2014
Next up was BlogHer Co-Founder, Elisa Camahort Page, with many important tips on how to handle the media as you move into that next step of blogging. Janice Person took this away from the segment:
You really do not need to fill the silence just because a reporter has asked you something - @ElisaC #BlogHerFood pic.twitter.com/WOyHW1nTKN
— Janice Person (@JPlovesCOTTON) May 16, 2014
Following Elisa was BlogHer Community Manager, Denise Tanton, talking about the importance of understanding copyright to protect and defend your work. Shannon McCook tweeted this important piece of advice:
How to track down copyright violation #BlogHerFood pic.twitter.com/BWIDKa13nb
— Shannon McCook (@shannonmccook) May 16, 2014
Rounding out this important segment was BlogHer Co-Founder, Jory Des Jardins, talking about what brands want from bloggers in 2014. Rashmi Prilani tweeted this takeaway from Jory's presentation:
Valuable to Brands: Authentic, Amateur Video UGC! @JoryDJ #BlogHerFood
— Rashmi Primlani (@PrimlaniKitchen) May 16, 2014
Overall, the general consensus on these Lightning Session was that they were a valuable addition to the conference as Daniel Kamys pointed out:
These lightning lessons are great. Learning so much in such short time . #blogherfood
— Daniel Kamys (@DKamys) May 16, 2014
NEXT: {LUNCH AND A SUPERFOOD KEYNOTE, SPONSORED BY MCCORMICK!} -->
Lunch and Keynote: What Superfoods Are, and How They're Going to Change the Health Destiny of America, brought to you by McCormick
First off, let's peep this food, shall we? Because social media exploded with photos of lunch.
The explosion continued as Moderator, Stacy Morrison, Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen, Dr. Melanie Palomares of City of Hope, and Dr. Wendy Bazilian of The SuperFoods Rx Diet sat down to talk superfoods. The tweets ranged from general interest to happy sharing of individual superfoods (chocolate was a happy cry) and other important health-based tweets.
Couldn't have said it better: "How we share around the table really impacts the health and wellness around us" @EatMoveBe #BlogHerFood
— LMH Blog (@LMHBlog) May 16, 2014
Superfoods = mushrooms, grape seed extract & blueberries! #BlogHerFood
— The Core Blog (@TheCoreBlog) May 16, 2014
Superfood is something we can grow in backyard says @steamykitchen #BlogHerFood
— Rachel Cheatham, PhD (@DrCheatham) May 16, 2014
NEXT: {BREAKOUT SESSION #1} -->
Breakout Session #1
Jadah Sellner and Laura-Jane Koers discussed Turning Online into a Product Line with moderator Julie Van Ullen. Two big takeaways from their panel about taking what you've created to the next level included:
“You can’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” -@therawtarian Good to keep in mind. #BlogHerFood
— Alyssa Galella (@woodlandalyssa) May 16, 2014
"Connect and meet your audience where they are." -@JadahSellner #BlogHerFood
— Sift & Whisk (Maria) (@siftandwhisk) May 16, 2014
Julie Ross Godar of BlogHer taught the importance of adding some creative flair into your food writing. (Liveblog forthcoming.)
"Try to evoke, rather than describe." #BlogHerFood Great advice for storytelling #agchat
— Jennifer Kiko (@TheFarmgirl) May 16, 2014
#Writing gives rise to writing @Honeybeast @BlogHer #BlogHerFood
— BlogsRelease (@BlogsRelease) May 16, 2014
While we don't have liveblogs from our demonstrations, as they're more about watching and hands-on, we do have some photos of both Kelly Jaggers making pie crust and Hannah Crum making kombucha.
At the Pie, More Pie & Pictures of #Pie demo! Yay, bring on the #PIE! @bakingblog #blogherfood #blogherfoodwi #foodie pic.twitter.com/qbxcb6oQi2
— Nancy Polanco (@WhispersInspire) May 16, 2014
#kombucha, "the original soft drink" says @kombuchakamp #blogherfood pic.twitter.com/pSkLfGIRN9
— Sally (@SallyEkus) May 16, 2014
NEXT: {BREAKOUT SESSION #2} -->
Breakout Session #2
Coming back after a great break with our sponsors, JL Fields, Carrie Forrest, Jeanette Chen, and Meseidy Rivera talked about the next steps of a food career.
Inspirational & Informative Session w @JLgoesVegan @carrieonvegan @JeanettesHealth @thenoshery #BlogHerFood pic.twitter.com/HG76QOVlEN
— Rashmi Primlani (@PrimlaniKitchen) May 16, 2014
"Don't cheapen yourself and sell yourself out!" @thenoshery on how to charge appropriately. YES! #BlogHerFood
— Rebecca Lindamood (@foodiewithfam) May 16, 2014
Diana and Eric Johnson talked video storytelling, which we all know is big, big, big in food blogging now, whether you want to work with brands or not.
When creating food storytelling videos, make sure to convey emotions and feelings via @EatingRichly #BlogHerFood
— Ashley Hughes (@AshleyLHughes) May 16, 2014
Intensive on video storytelling #blogherfood #miami pic.twitter.com/QemAOnVvae
— Love and Duck Fat (@loveandduckfat) May 16, 2014
We had two more demos this breakout, meaning no liveblog to share with you, but one photo and one tweet from these two sponsored demonstrations. One of a demo with Giorgio Rapicavoli, a renowned Miami chef and co-owner of the wildly successful Eating House Restaurant in Coral Gables, FL, sponsored by the California Milk Advisory Board, and the tweet from a demo on mobile photos, sponsored by Microsoft.
@grapicavoli @RealCalifMilk Love your tip on mini cheesecakes. "dietitian friendly" & fun. #tinytreat #BlogHerFood pic.twitter.com/BXrmkJjEGe
— Kim Kirchherr (@KimKirchherr) May 16, 2014
Wow the @nokiaus #lumiasol really makes it easy to bring readers instantly into the kitchen with me! @bgg2wl #BlogHerFood #foodie #miami
— Sarah (@BentoMomma) May 16, 2014
Rounding out Breakout #2, Dianne Jacob, Melissa Joulwan, Matthew Lee, and Sally Ekus talked publishing, a subject on many food bloggers minds. We have a video to share with you, courtesy of Penny Sansevieri on Instagram. (Used with permission, of course.)
NEXT: {INNOVATOR INTERVIEW WITH DAVID LEBOVITZ} -->
INNOVATOR INTERVIEW WITH DAVID LEBOVITZ
David Lebovitz is such a big name in the food world. I know Elisa was thrilled to get to interview him on the stage again. He had a wealth of information to share about his experience.
.@davidlebovitz says he's not a storyteller he just has a creative imagination #BlogHerFood
— Xenia (@RaisedByCulture) May 16, 2014
Been looking forward to this all day: @davidlebovitz at #BlogHerFood pic.twitter.com/lLlUr5QEBV
— Carrie Vibert (@PoetInThePantry) May 16, 2014
"Everything to me is a story" @davidlebovitz on inspiration #BlogHerFood
— Kristin Marr (@livesimply_mom) May 16, 2014
"Do you ever publish anything you don't love?" @davidlebovitz "No! No, no, no." #BlogHerFood
— Jennifer Kiko (@TheFarmgirl) May 16, 2014
NEXT: {OH SPONSORS WE LOVE YOU!} -->
Welcome Reception with Our Sponsors
We're always so grateful to and for our sponsors. After David Lebovitz's keynote, the sponsors hosted a lovely reception in the foyer. Here's a little bit of what went down.
This! #BlogHerFood pic.twitter.com/WzohXGFczM
— Vanessa Montes (@vanessamontes) May 16, 2014
Chef Richter made this refreshing watermelon gazpacho shrimp salad w feta cheese. #BlogHerFood Delish! pic.twitter.com/bnLu9kj0sv
— Kim Kirchherr (@KimKirchherr) May 16, 2014
And lots of sponsor interactions, from winning prizes to networking to making new friends. And then more food, because it is a food conference after all.
Right now, you can check out all of our liveblogs. Photos will arrive tomorrow morning. Tomorrow also brings more excitement, more learning, more fun, and yes, more food. We'll be following it all. Hope to see you then!
BlogHer Editor Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom) blogs at Stop, Drop & Blog.