I'm amazed how the two day conference Mom 2.0 Summit had such a profound effect on me in such a compressed period of time. The combination of being in close proximity to 300 inspired digital women mixed in with the elegance and stress-free vibe of the Ritz Carlton was a catalyst for a ton of new ideas.
The schedule was jam packed with so many unique speakers, I could barely process one talk when the next one had already started. I was frantically taking notes, muttering to myself I should be outside enjoying the Miami sun, but the hits just kept on coming.
In order to truly digest all that I learned at Mom 2.0, I put together this list of some of my favorite learnings so we can all be inspired together. Here are 8 ideas that stayed with us from Mom 2.0.
Take Back Your Happiness
Brene Brown's TedTalk about shame and vulnerability has made her a star on the speaking circuit. Much of her Mom 2.0 talk focused on happiness and living in the moment. She directed us to visualize one of our happiest moments, then asked how many of us immediately started thinking of a worst case scenerio that could destroy that happiness. Y'know, thinking about how much you love your son? Suddenly your mind flits over to the imagined tragic car crash that may, one day, take your son's life and leave you a broken mom. Crazy, huh? We are so afraid of being in that vulnerable state of happiness, we destroy it with our negative thinking before it can hurt us. Her advice was simple and true. Revel in your happiness, enjoy those moments of joy and push your demons of negative thinking away. I'm trying!
Inspire Your Teen Girls with This
Dove had a big prescence at Mom 2.0 Conference, reminding all the moms in the room about the importance of being mentors and agents of change for our daughters. Jess Weiner works closely with Dove's Self Esteem program. She recommended the online teen mag NewMoon.org as a great resource for girls, so I'm setting my daughter up on it. Feel free to do the same with the girls in your life.
The Dying Art of Commenting
I admit it. I'm not a big blog commenter. I prefer to tweet someone's post and comment via Twitter. But veteran blogger Liz Gumbinner, creator of Mom-101.com and CoolMomPicks made me see the light. Liz reminded us that every time we leave a comment, we're leaving a piece of our legacy. Our comments are gifts of understanding, compassion and sometimes humour. They remind the writer that 'we hear you'; that what you're saying is affecting us. Just as there are different kinds of bloggers, the voice of commenters are equally eclectic. Because of this talk, I'm are making an effort to leave our thoughts on blogs I read more often. You should too. Like on this post. Just saying.
Power of Play
This one was simple. Meredith Sinclair, creator of Hoo-dee-Hoo.com, jumped around on stage reminding us how important it is to play - and we're talking about mom playing, not the kids. This really hit me right between the eyes. I work too much and play too little. Since coming back from Mom 2.0, I'm making a concerted effort to make fun a priority, both with my kids and on my own.
So You Wanna Be a Spokesperson
If you follow Kathy Buckworth in social media, you'll notice she never has a bad word to say about anyone or anything...excepts maybe Crocs and hockey. Other than that, she's positive and professional online. Her talk reminded the audience that brands are always listening and watching. So if you want to have a career in social media as a brand ambassador, remember anything you say online at anytime can and will be held against you. You've been warned!
Fill Up Your Tank
Probably the most famous blogger in the room, Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess, gave the best advice in terms of inspired writing. Despite her mega success, she admitted how there are times when she just can't create. She gets depressed and runs out of ideas. Her solution is to fill up her tank - she stops writing and starts listening - music, television shows, whatever makes her brain tick. So the next time you're uninspired, remember even The Bloggess gets writer's block. And this too shall pass once your tank is filled.
Take the Invisible Path
Liz Lange is an entreprenurial inspiration as the Target's maternity designer for the last decade. In her talk she quoted Steve Jobs, "It's much more fun to be a pirate, than to join the navy." She encouraged all of us to "take the invisible path" where no one has gone before and blaze our own trails.
It's Not About Bloggers Anymore
Part of Mom 2.0's mandate is to connect brands with moms. One of the guest speakers was Adam Keats from Weber Shandwick. When asked who PR companies and brands choose to work with, Adam surprised alot of us in the audience by answering that they are no longer looking for "just bloggers". The new catch phrase in social media is "Influencers." When a company is deciding which digital moms to work with, sure they look at your blog, but they're also looking at your Twitter stream, Facebook page, Pinterest interaction, etc. So, if you think you were spending alot of time online, are you prepared to devote even more of it to get noticed by brands?
Thank you to all the amazing women who pulled together this year's Mom 2.0 Summit in Key Biscayne. It was worth leaving my family for four days and immersing myself in the digital space.
Speaking of mom blogging conferences, when I went to Blogher last year, I had a different kind of aha learning moment.
What kinds of big learnings have you had at conferences? Do you think they're worth investing the time and money?
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