I went to CyberMummy and had a good day, these are my thoughts …
I do not think CyberMummy knows what it is or who it’s audience is. Ironic when the a key message from the conference was “know your niche”. A tough one though, I admit, when “cybermummys” blog about such a wide range of topics and are all women. The conference was without doubt exceptionally produced, it looked fantastic and it ran very smoothly. It did, however, mid-afternoon leave me feeling a bit hollow and I wondered if I had fallen out of love with blogging – dare I say it, as a Mum. Is CyberMummy about parenting, about writing, about working with brands, about making money from your blog? But … if (as was the conference consensus) you cannot make money from a blog alone but only from a wider business of which a blog is just part of your product mix, then why are we all here and should we really be at a conference about launching an online business? How do you speak to an audience as wide as the stay at home Mum, the entrepreneur (not Mom-preneur), to the C-level executive? Perhaps we are all the same but I am sure we want to hear different things. The challenge to lead all bloggers, all women is a tough one but is one CyberMummy set itself.
Maybe my expectations were too high but if you start a conference with key-notes from a Facebook Director and Sarah Brown you do set a certain bar. To follow such a strong opening with workshop sessions from Mummy bloggers themselves just did not seem to cut it. (Hang on, stay with me) This is no critism of the Mummy (and Daddy) blogger speakers at all. In fact when I realised the conference was not going to be quite what I thought it was I focused on listening to Mummy bloggers tell their stories and I loved it.
What did I expect? I expected experts, serious hard hitting experts. I also expect that when you add an event – CyberMummy – to your online business – www.britmums.com, that it offers something that cannot be found online, for me the day of workshop sessions did not do this.
Maybe the conference was the natural sequel to last year’s event (I did not go I was 41 weeks pregnant) but it did not feel like it delivered as required when the room has grown to 450 delegates. Now, I questioned whether I was being far too harsh – expecting too much – and I went off to check the conference’s strap-line on the signs about the venue. The CyberMummy strap-line was “Leading the UK’s blogging revolution.” Leading? This is the crux of that hollow feeling. This year’s CyberMummy conference did not lead, it represented the state of Mummy blogging today, the workshops were/are us now. I wanted to be intellectually challenged, to learn, to be inspired and to debate what Mummy blogging can be.
I wanted and expected to listen to seriously impressive experts, leading bloggers (and actually not Mummy-bloggers), industry experts putting blogging and social media into context (e-consultancy maybe?), about writing and getting published (maybe a famous published author), about parenting (Ellie Lee from the Centre of Parenting Culture Studies was fascinating but wasted and scheduled wrong), and from high profile career Mums about how they make it work. When the one thing that joins all Mums is the need to retain the “self” how about a master coach talking about ways you can approach that?
And please, let us not use the Mom-preneur word. You are an entrepreneur! The Mom-preneur is not a real word and nor should it be, it is anti-everything women and self-limiting. You are an entrepreneur, say it, be proud and dare to play – side by side – with the men. And CyberMummy please, when you give us female entrepreneurs please cast your net wider than businesses about crafting, baking and buying baby products. These are all valid and great businesses but if you “lead” you need to break the stereotype.
Some events at CyberMummy led me to question whether I am the CyberMummy target-market. I have concluded I am, I blog, I went and I paid my £100 to do so. The diversity of the audience is a great great thing and should be embraced. Future conferences need to consider how sessions are streamed to the differing wants of the beautiful mix of people in the room.
The potential of the CyberMummy conference is clear, and I truly to hope it becomes an influential, powerful, “leading” force. Next year, maybe?
I will see you at the front.
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Hello again! Remember me from the after-after-party at all bar one… I have only just been able to show my face online again
My favourite part of the conference was the blogger-to-blogger bit – I enjoyed this aspect more than the more serious workshops about marketing and money making. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to meet lots of other bloggers – you included
I did walk away feeling very overwhelmed by it all, but this is probably because I am a newbie and didn’t really know what to expect. I started what I thought was a hobby blog and was left feeling this wasn’t never going to cut it in the big bad blogging world. I am definitely over that now though and have found my happy blogger place again.
Really look forward to seeing you at CM12.
Have a lovely weekend xx
Smudgerella … recently posted .. Anyone for croquet?
I understand where you are coming from here, it seemed odd because yes there was progression from 2010 but I had progressed far more than I think the talks were aimed at.
PippaD @ A Mothers Ramblings … recently posted .. Secrets of Success – For Kids!
Well thought out. But you left out the part about getting to meet your favorite fellow bloggers. That was the best part for me, especially rewarding after I wandered around like a weirdo looking for your name badge…:-) x
I’m So Fancy … recently posted .. Fancy Foreign Languages
Thanks for your review, we are taking in everyone’s comments on board in order to create a better experience moving forwards.
One thing though… CyberMummy is not part of BritMums.
Sian.
Sian MummyTips / CyberMummy … recently posted .. Bloggers wanted!
Hope I’m in the country for the next one… Sounds like some of it might have been interesting. But my first reaction to CyberMummy was ‘confused’. How the hell can one event cater to every fertile female blogger? We’re not all the same! Think they need to really define the themes and target audience next year…
Lorraine … recently posted .. Where do you go when you press Home?
Interesting point – I thought that there was an element of not recognising how diverse the attendees were, there was very little directed at those of us with careers and where blogging is a hobby rather than something that we are looking to become a big income stream – would like more of that next time (shall I volunteer to speak on it?)
The social aspect was the best bit for me but one valid critisism is that when you have groups who already very much know each other then it can seem cliquey to those who have less friends
Muddling Along … recently posted .. Chick-lit doesn’t ruin lives, it provides an escape
I agree – my favourite part of the whole day was meeting bloggers (friends and new – I have discovered so many new blogs I love!).
I will definitely return for CM12, but I might take a hipflask.
Alice Harold … recently posted .. Mummy’s Shoes
My heart sank initially when I saw that your post was about Cybermummy as I couldn’t face reading another one but I’m glad I read it and I thought it was a frank and much needed post. I went and there were elements I enjoyed particuarly the Blogger Activitist and Ellie Lee sessions. I also enjoyed meeting some lovely bloggers at my table. I did come away thinking about my blog but it wasn’t as good as I had hoped. It depressed me to look at the scramble of people trying to get their free sample of handwash or wipes or whatever was on offer. I’m not sure if I’ll go next year – I think it depends on the speaker line up.
South of the River Mum … recently posted .. WIND IN THE WILLOWS OUTDOOR THEATRE
I didn’t go to the conference this year or the last, precisely because that was my feeling about this conference. That it was more about “where we are now” than “where are we going and how do we get there?” which in my opinion is a much better reason for a conference, both to organize one and to attend one.
But then again – the conference is called Cybermummy, so that in and of itself seems to limit its scope. What about the bloggers who aren’t moms? What about the ones who are moms but don’t include that aspect of their lives in their blogging? Talk about niche. The conference limited itself from the very beginning, when it was named.
And that is why I will be traveling next summer all the way to New York to attend BlogHer – truth be told, I have lots of friends there that I want to catch up with, and I will be staying a week, not just the two days of the conference – but no one will tell you that the panels at BlogHer don’t include info and tips on how to challenge yourself, no matter the area.
But really, I would much rather attend a blogging even in Europe. Maybe they’ll come up with BlogHer Europe at some point?
Elisa … recently posted .. Sunday Trippin’ with Éadaoin of City of Blackbirds and Blackbird & Shell
Sounds like some of it might have been fascinating. But my first response to CyberMummy was ‘confused’. Interesting level – I believed that there was an component of not recognising how diverse the attendees were, there was very small directed at these of us with careers and where blogging is a hobby instead than something that we are looking to turn out to be a big income stream – would like much more of that next time.
Geoff … recently posted .. How to Keep a Man Interested
Interested to read your review – thinking about whether to go to Cybermummy in 2012 so looking for opinions on last year’s. Interested to see that you haven’t posted lately – did it make you change direction?