Recap: Blogging While Brown Conference 2011

I met these dope ladies at Blogging While Brown: (L to R) Renae Bluitt of In Her Shoes Blog, Luvvie Ajayi of Awesomely Luvvie, and Marie Denee of The Curvy Fashionista)

I’m baaaaaack! And while I’m exhausted, sunburned and temporarily stuck in a cross-country time warp continuum, it was all worth it. Blogging While Brown was the most inspiring conference I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to a lot – ya’ll know Black people like conferences. It was #6 on the infamous list of Stuff Educated Black People Like.) But this one was different. It made me want to be better. And do better. And listen. And take notes that I would actually read and implement in my business plan at a later date. And actually make the aforementioned business plan.

Though there are countless moments that I could tell you about, I’ve condensed my experience into 6 of my most memorable moments from my weekend in Los Angeles.

1. My Inaugural Ride in a Convertible

I say inaugural because this is not the last time you will see me in one. It’s official. I’m hooked. I’ve already started crafting the inevitable argument with my future husband as to why a vintage chameleon-painted 1959 Cadillac convertible with rims and hydraulics a la Snoop Dogg is an investment in the futures of our children. It’s not even a celebrity “look at me” feeling that you get when riding because A) Unlike New York, there are plenty of convertibles driving around and B) I was in a Mitsubishi. I mean really. But there’s this rush of adrenaline you get the first time you hit the highway with the sun beaming down on your shoulders and nothing between you and the world but a windshield. It did for me what motorcycles do for most men, without the whole out of control speeding, pop a wheelie on the freeway impending death foolishness.

2. Manhattan Beach

I expected to be greeted by a sea of bleach blond, cosmetically crafted Barbies bouncing around the beach hoping to land their next spot as an extra in some random film but I was pleasantly surprised by the laid-back vibe of this pristine beach. Before setting up camp on the dunes, I checked out the Aquarium and Cafe at the end of the pier, where all the marine homies chill out in their shady little tanks and stare out at the grimy fingers of kids plastered against their respective windows. In the ocean below, surfers laid stomach down on their boards waiting for the next “big one” to stand up and ride into the nearby shore. It was the perfect place to unwind from my cross-country trek and reflect on all of the blessings that got me to Los Angeles in the first place.

3. A Crash Course in Innovation

So, don’t even ask me why I’m an Art Director and went to LA with not a single business card for my brand. Just go ahead. Throw tomatoes. Slap me on the wrist. It was a prior planning fail. But since I had never been to this conference before before, I didn’t think it was a big deal…until I got to Game Night on Friday and every single conversation ended with “Do you have a card?”

*face palms* OMG!! Everybody has a card but me!! And these weren’t some raggedy generic Kinkos cards. These were shiny custom designs with rounded corners, metallic inks, and QR codes. The last person who asked me for a card was Divas and Dorks publisher Christen Rochon, and I replied “No, but I’ll have one tomorrow.”

I suppose 7 years in advertising served me well that evening because my creative juices immediately kicked into high gear, trying to think of something I could do in 12 hours that would leave a lasting and professional impression. The resulting tags were a huge success and well worth my risking being arrested by the TSA for stalking the luggage tag bins at 5 busy airline counters in Terminal 6 (adrenaline is a helluva drug).

4. The Blogging While Brown Technology Keynote

Have you ever been in church and felt like the preacher was all up in your mind? Speaking directly to your situation like he had a little talk with Jesus about your personal shenanigans right before church? Well I was ready to do a praise dance right there in the Marriott because Scott Hanselman and his co-pastor Adria Richards were preaching a good word about Information Overload Online. They taught us about psychic weight (your mental to-do list that interferes with productivity), triaging your inbox, internal and external interruptions and scheduling work sprints. According to Hanselman, Usain Bolt can’t break records while tweeting so he encouraged us to stop trying to multitask (i.e. Twitter + FB + Google Reader + Email +  Texts + GChat, + Voicemail + Tivo + Anything That Doesn’t Make You Money) and focus on our goals. You. Betta. PREACH Scott! *waves church fan*

5. Random Encounters in a Virtual Reality Vortex

In the world of social media, often times you have no idea who the people are behind the blogs you read on a daily basis. And rarely are these writers identified by their government names. So this weekend was like swallowing the blue pill and being sucked into the Black social media matrix. When @luvveig (whose real name I still don’t know) walked into the game night on Friday I had to laugh because she looked like a walking breathing version of her Twitter cartoon avatar. At lunch I sat next to the creator of Me, My Hair, and the City who turned out to be the organizer of a major hair event in Atlanta, who knew me from Curly Girl Collective here in New York. When I spoke with her about my interest in writing professionally, she casually mentioned to me that I was sitting right next to the Deputy Editor of TheRoot.com, encouraging me to seize the opportunity (which I did:). These are the types of random connections that happen at Blogging While Brown and the #1 reason why I plan to attend next year. You never know how the people around you can have a positive influence on your side hustle and help catapult it to a career.

6. Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles

LAWDAMERCY!!!!! Why nobody warned me? I mean for real? Ya’ll just let me wander up in there unprepared for His goodness and mercy smothered in the most incomprehensibly foodgasmic butter and syrup I’ve ever tasted. One forkful of this delectable creation and I was prepared to miss my flight back to New York just to savor each morsel. I’m convinced the chicken was prepared by an old woman named Bessie from the back woods of Georgia who still wears a jheri curl and sings old Negro spirituals while she cooks because AIN’T NO WAY somebody born in California can make friend chicken like that! I inhaled my 2 pieces chicken so fast that my brain didn’t get a chance to register that I was full, so I ordered an extra leg to go, which my waitress wrapped in foil for me to take on the plane. Any establishment that allows it’s customers to wrap their food in foil to go is my kind of place and even if I never get to go back in this lifetime, I’m positive that Roscoe’s has a booth at the breakfast buffet in Heaven.

Stay tuned for my next post about the best experience of the entire weekend – my bucket list adventure along the Pacific Coast Highway. For more photos from Blogging While Brown check out the photo gallery on Facebook.