So what's BlogHer all about?

If that’s a question that’s crossed your lips, then you’ve got a lot to learn about BlogHer and the ladies (and gentlemen!) who came out en masse for the two-day event in New York this year.

Having this year’s event practically in our backyard at the Hilton made attending a piece of cake – from a geographical standpoint – certainly not if you waited to the last minute to buy a ticket to the sold-out event. Over the past two years, this event has grown significantly and is now the largest of its kind. This year boasted 2,000 attendees and the 2011 Conference in San Diego is planning for 3,000. Co-Founder Jory Des Jardins visited Cohn & Wolfe earlier this year to talk to us about exactly how much the network has grown and about the exciting work they’re doing connecting online influencers with the brands that mean the most to them.  Since I frequently work with influential online Moms and Women, the opportunity to meet some of these women face-to-face and experience the conference first-hand was one I couldn’t pass up.

What did I learn? There’s a lot going on! With panels on everything from being a better foodie blogger to what your site metrics mean to getting a job in social media, keynotes that showcased the diversity of the women in attendance, endless rows of booths in the exhibition hall and even more suites upstairs with SWAG and experts on hand to give bloggers a taste of what they have going on – there was definitely no shortage of activities and sessions. As a PR person, it was interesting to me to see which brands ‘got it’ (I certainly enjoyed my time at the S’mores Snacktivity Suite) and which ones were just there because they were told they needed to be.

What I loved about this conference was that everyone there had the opportunity to make the experience their own. There was structure, but you were free to do what you wanted and participate in the activities that were most relevant to your situation. While the group was diverse in backgrounds, interests, and intentions – collectively they represent a community commanding more and more attention from readers, marketers, and brands based on that diversity and their ability to reach niche audiences online.

I was fortunate enough to meet and chat with three lovely ladies at the conference about their experiences there and their advice for PR pros. Watch my interviews with Chris Olsen of Momathonblog.com, Dr. Irene Levine PhD of TheFriendshipBlog.com, and Sheryl Kraft of Healthy Women's Midlife Matters blog below.  You can also see more photos from the event on the C&W Flickr Page.