The Great Salt Lake
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I'm back from frozen Salt Lake City where I had a real eye-opening experience at Altitude Design Summit. It was inspiring, anxiety-producing, and so very well executed. I have NO idea how the organizers were able to produce such a niche-specific blogging conference. I never wanted for anything the entire time I was there. I walked amongst pretty girls with top-knot buns and heavy rimmed glasses, blow outs and booties, in rooms with chandeliers the size of Volkswagen Bugs. I returned home with a suitcase full of business cards, some packed in confetti-filled glassine envelopes, and an Etsy Treasury of swag. This is not a dig, I'm telling you, it was a sight to be seen and experienced, and I am grateful. There were a few straight shooting presenters that have given me a lot to work with, and I met some incredibly genuine people.
I am a blogger with a modest, but loyal following. What you learn at Alt is that the social media component to blogging is complicated, and absolutely essential. Like any other industry, blogging is both collaborative, and competitive. There is an etiquette. I have the tendency to hide behind the pictures and the posts otherwise known as content, because I just love to make things and share them, but at the same time I want what most of them want, a career. There were some well-established bloggers and personalities at Alt, and I sometimes felt like the new girl at school trying to fit in. I am quite certain I was not alone in that. I know it will take me weeks to decompress, and to put into action all of the relevant information that I scribbled in my pretty notebook. It will take me even longer to figure out what it all means to me. Thankfully I have my sweet little distractions back at home, and a few new friendships to cultivate, and a renewed sense that not all that glitters is gold.
Will I return to Alt? I'm not sure. Probably. I can tell you this, if you are an aspiring blogger or trying to get to the next level, Alt is where it's at.
