This is the part of the week where I normally post some blogging tip or trick that I think you’ll find useful. If you’re looking for those, click here. If you’re okay with me stepping up on my soapbox for a minute, keep reading.
This year’s BlogHer’14 was a mixed bag for me. Spending time with my ah-mazing blogger friends? Awesome. Brand reps who were mostly uninterested or unengaged? Not so awesome. Kerry Washington as a keynote speaker? Well, I’m currently binge watching on Netflix if that tells you anything. So yeah. I’m all over the place with that.
The one negative thing I just can’t seem to shake is this photo (or, really, its caption), posted on Instagram the last day of the conference.
There are a few things that disturb me about this post (which has since been deleted from IG).
- I am a fan of Khloe Kardashian . . . for Khloe Kardashian. I mean, does it really matter how she came into the public spotlight? She’s still a real person and deserves to be treated as such.
- The blogger that posted this image was chosen to HOST a party at BlogHer this year. It seems uncool for her to publicly shame someone making an appearance on behalf of an official conference sponsor.
- One of the comments on the photo was written by a person who considers herself a feminist and is known as a leader in the field of social media. This IG post is decidedly un-feminist in my opinion and, quite frankly, I’m disappointed in the support she threw it’s way.
- The photo caption included #keepingupwiththekardashians, a hastag with 80,000+ posts attributed to it on IG alone, as well as the official BlogHer’14 hashtag. Someone with the social media following of this blogger knows the power of a hashtags in general and those hashtags in particular.
- I wasn’t willing to wait in line to meet Khloe, but I did hang out at the booth across the way (with the nice folks from CJ who were neither uninterested nor unengaged) so I could snap a pic. Not your thing? Fine, but there’s no reason to be a jerk about it.
Not long after that first post, another photo appeared. And I still can’t decide which is worse.
Because, really, what living creature deserves to be referred to as “that shit”.
It’s just so . . . disappointing. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course. I just feel like, as women who blog, we have a responsibility to be a little nicer, set a better example, do the right thing even when we’d rather not. And, you know, maybe these posts were just that blogger being real for a minute, but I have my suspicions given the high traffic hashtags that were used.
So I guess my message here is that we probably all need to stop and think a minute before posting. Ask yourself if you’d be okay with someone posting what you’re about to post in reference to you or your friend or your child. If not, maybe it’s better kept between you and your besties.
Wow! Just, WOW. Good for you for writing this!
Wendy recently posted…Easy Peasy Lentil Dip Recipe
This needed to be written and said out loud. Thank you for doing it. There was such a division at the conference between the positive energy that supports and builds up women (Kerry Washington, YOU), and negative ego that was painful and felt so destructive (like this).
Thank you for writing this!
Anna recently posted…Bloggers Day 7 | Melissa of Melrosa Avenue
Thanks for calling me out. I appreciate a chance to think more about what I commented on that photo. It was crass and rude, I agree, and I probably shouldn’t have said it.
I don’t have a great excuse, except to say that I have a fair amount of loathing of celebrity culture and all things Kardashian. I don’t have a TV, but my mom watches the Kardashian show and always tries to describe the plot summaries to me, so I’m pretty sick of what I hear. It sounds amazingly stupid. I also get impatient that more people will stand in line to see a celebrity at BlogHer than someone from our community like Awesomely Luvvie, whose 10×10 talk was sparsely attended.
Suebob recently posted…Lay’s Chicken and Waffle Potato Chips Review
You make a good point about the 10×10 talks, BUT I don’t think those ever had a shot at bringing in big numbers. They were timed poorly, IMO, and not well publicized.
I’m very impressed by your grace, Suebob. As an outside reader, I appreciate that you had the chance to be defensive, and instead you are thoughtful and kind. A great example!
Kristin Shaw recently posted…Because
Great post. I feel like this needed to be written about a lot of elements of BlogHer, not just Khloe. Attendees were bashing left and right after the conference was over (and during!) It’s okay to voice an opinion, but you can do so nicely. Or if not, perhaps save it for the survey? But I guess “nice” doesn’t get blog traffic…
Melissa @ A Wide Line recently posted…If you don’t think cliques exist in adulthood, you’re probably in one.
Thank you for that. And yeah, I could have said more. I will admit to being frustrated with the conference, but I feel like there’s a difference between lashing out at an event and attacking a person, you know?
I haven’t fully sorted out my feelings about the conference, but I’m proud of you for writing what you’re feeling. And also impressed by Suebob’s comment up there.
This is a great post… and I love the Anne Rice quote. After reading some of the comments I’ve read about other bloggers – who are not celebrities – it’s almost made me want to shut down my blog altogether because people can be so MEAN online. I just don’t understand it.
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People can be mean online but I truly believe that if they are, they are probably also mean in real life. Which makes me sad. Don’t you dare stop blogging, though. We need all the positive energy we can get in this space.