Last week, around a 150 Australian mum and dad bloggers came together over two days at the Digital Parents Conference 2013 aka DPCON13. Not only was it a great occasion to learn more about emerging trends in the blogosphere, mingle and network with peers, seek mentorship from some of the best but also to be inspired, humbled and touched by the most heart breaking and moving stories of loss,heartbreak, love, hope and strength.
Also, for so many of us first timers, DPCON13 presented an opportunity to finally be able to meet in person with so many of our favourite bloggers/friends. I must admit, the lead up to the event had been a very messy one for me, very messy indeed! So I may have been part consumed with mother guilt for those two days in Sydney.
Feeling overwhelmed, excited, proud, nervous all rolled into one, I made my way into the nothing short of magnificent Curzon Hall that first day.
What a grand venue!
Being greeted so affectionately at the registration desk by the very lovely Tina Gray of TGDM was such a perfect way to kick off the conference.
Once inside the main hall, the anxiety of being a first timer slowly peeled away. The ambience, warm, happy and vibrant. Smiles everywhere you turned to look. I knew I was amongst my own. I also knew for the next two days, I could be glued to my phone/laptop/social media streams and it wouldn’t be considered rude. Win!
And so I tweeted and tweeted and tweeted.
Not at all limited to these but some of the sessions that I enjoyed incredibly were :
Can Blogging Increase Kindness – Jono Fisher from Wake Up Sydney kicked off the conference with a great keynote on the power of kindness. How a simple act of giving has the potential to go a long way. Pay it forward, make kindness contagious!
Blogging Through Adversity – 3 strong women and their stories of heartbreak and loss. How do you find the strength to cope with losing the ones you hold dearest? Hats off to these women for baring their hearts and souls.
The Myth Of Having It All – Asking the question , what does “all” really mean? A fantastic discussion with some great thoughts all around . I will share a couple of sentences that were said which struck a real chord with me.
Make what you have matter rather than trying to have it all.
Most women give up their powers because they think they don’t have any.
Thought provoking stuff!
Speaking of girl power, here are some uber awesome chicks I got to hang out with at the conference!
clockwise : Rhianna from AParenting Life , Salz from Salz Dummy Spit and Dea from Mama Stylista planning cheeky exits, Dea,myself, Ang from School Of Mum and Salz, Catherine , myself and Salz,Dea and myself at the photo booth, beautiful room with a stool, Salz and Dea pretending to read, Johanna from Strawberry Communications and CJ from 10%inspired, The castle in all its glory.
{Guys, I wrote this piece very late into the night and never got around to asking if it was okay to feature your pics but if anyone would like to have their picture removes, please feel free to email me – Thanks 
}
Another great session was My Blog, My Story. I was a bit late for this one but so glad I made it. This is where bloggers come on stage and share a post on how they began their blogging journey. Some regaled us with their humour and brilliant expressions while others were courageous in sharing stories so close to their hearts, they reminded us to be so grateful for all our blessings and then some. By the end of this session, I doubt that there would have been a dry eye in the hall.
Sometimes life gives you a pretty crappy hand but we must learn how to play it well..
Through tragedy, I found my path.
Two other sessions I found particularly impressive were to do with monetising your blog :
Charge your worth.
Marketing to Digital Parents. Win / Win / Win Collaboration with Brands
Some fantastic tips there too!
The event came to a final close with everyone getting together for a grand gala dinner preceded by some exquisite canapés and drinks at the castle rooftop garden. Great company, delicious food, awesome music and guess what ? My kids have renewed respect for me thanks to the DPCON13 harlem shake ! I promise you it makes us mummy and daddy bloggers look like rock stars.
Alright! So what did I learn from DPCON13? Let me try and sum it up in 5 I mean 8 short points.
- Kindness is a way of life.
- Blogging is not broadcasting, it is communicating ( Thank you Nikki Parkinson – Styling you)
- Sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be and sometimes they are much more than you originally thought.
- You may lose track of day, time and significant political happenings while engrossed at a Bloggers Conference. Hey at one stage, we thought Julia Gillard wouldn’t be PM anymore.
- Every time you stumble, every time you hit rock bottom, remember that there is someone else out there who has had worse than you. Be strong, be courageous, stand tall. Be YOU.
- Never, never, never give up.
- You do not attempt to wing cupcake decorating. Ever.
- Purple iPhone chargers are the best thing to happen to iPhones. No seriously.
I came away from DPCON13 even more overwhelmed than I had felt while going in. So many emotions, so much to take back, mull over, countless inspiring stories and a head buzzing with ideas on how to go forward. It has taken me a good 4 days to finally emerge from my dpcon13 happy bubble but I come away deeply humbled and grateful, much more aware of my weaknesses but also my strengths. I come away more determined to go places. And I suppose that’s not such a bad thing after all!
So thankyou DPCON13 for this fabulous celebration of the blogger community. Brenda Gaddi, Melissa Gassman and the rest of the team , great show guys!
I leave you today with a picture that is special to me. She exudes warmth and humour in her words. She surprised me with her considered compassion as she hosted the very emotionally charged Blogging Through Adversity session and she had me in stitches when she spoke of Defriending Grandma. She’s funny, she’s witty and a truly wonderful girl inside out, I am so glad I got a chance to hang out with her for a bit.
The lovely Grace from With Some Grace
Linking up with Grace ofcourse for FYBF.
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