So yesterday I headed off for my first child-free day in eight months and went to Kings Place for my first ever blogging conference; Mumsnet's Blogfest. It felt a bit like the first day of school as I didn't know anyone but I was very excited by the line-up and the thought of using the learning part of my brain again!
It was an exciting, educational and truly inspiring day and here are my top five reasons for why Blogfest officially rocked.
1. The panels: I felt very spoiled as I got to hear from a whole host of writers, journalists and bloggers. From the Fleet Street Fox to Suzanne Moore to Francesca Martinez and Nick Hornby, everyone who spoke was inspirational and left me with some food for thought. My favourite quote of the day ( there were many to choose from) came from Suzanne Moore; ' Writing is about living, live as much as you can'. True words.
2. The masterclasses: as a new(ish) blogger and digital addict I am keen to learn as much as I can about the world of blogging and social media. I found both the 'getting more from Google' and 'advanced social media' sessions invaluable and I'm now itching to get to grips with Google +. Wish me luck!
3. New friends: it was so lovely to meet some new blogging friends and find some great new blogs! It was amazing to see how the internet had brought us all together and I look forward keeping up with with these lovely ladies in the future.
4. The Twitter screen: during the panel debates, the live twitter stream was projected up on the big screen. It was great fun to see everyone's responses to the live debate and it made the discussion feel very interactive. I was also secretly ( or not so secretly) pleased when my comments popped up!
5. Gin & Tonic: the day ended with some well-deserved gin & tonics from Fever Tree. It was a lovely chance to have a good chat before jumping on the train home to see how OH had fared with the little one...
