AJ Feuerman

Publicist | Social Media Strategist | Brunch Fanatic

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Friday Favorites – OMG IT IS JUNE

June 1, 2018 By AJ Leave a Comment

Uh….. Happy June? Happy Summer? Where did the time go? So much in today’s Friday Favorites. I’m a little all over the place, but c’est la vie!

Friday Favorites

WHAT I READ

  • For those of you in my field, or if you’re just an avid Facebook user, it’s important to read up on their latest update; they’re doing away with trending topics.
  • I read about this nine year old who is living the dream. His Twitter account is solely dedicated to all the dogs he’s pet. I followed and turned on mobile notifications.

Friday Favorites - OMG IT IS JUNE

  • I loved reading this interview with Asana Founder, Justin Rosenstein. Who better to get organizational tips from than the creator of the leading organizational project management platform? (Note, he recommends this book, which I immediately downloaded to my Kindle and look forward to reading.)
  • I have become absolutely obsessed with Reese Witherspoon as an entrepreneur. She is the change we need. Read more.
  • Former Obama photographer Pete Souza continues to establish giving shade as an artform. He is mastering it.

OTHER BLOGGERS & INFLUENCERS

  • A Beautiful Mess offers this refreshing recipe for The Bramble Cocktail.
  • Wendy talks about the value of playtime. I whole-heartedly agree. Even for us grown ups. Especially for us grown ups.
  • A lot of sudden tragedy in the blogger community this week and my heart is broken for Pam, who lost her husband, and Chelsea, who lost her sister.

EARLIER THIS WEEK

  • My obsession with grandiose bookstores continues. I started a Pinterest Board for it. Enjoy.
  • I saw Beauty & the Beast in concert at the Hollywood Bowl starring Zoe Deschanel, Kelsey Grammer, Taye Diggs and…. Rebel Wilson as Lefou. She managed to go off book and work in a beastiality joke, leaving dozens and dozens of parents in the audience asking “HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS TO MY CHILDREN?!” (But overall, a really fun evening.)

  • Roseanne has been condemned and her show canceled. Deservedly so. Samantha Bee got a little carried away on a point that was actually valid and apologized for it. Both cases prove that too many people do not know what racism actually is. And also what the side effects of Ambien actually are. I roll my eyes at these people.

People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.

— Sanofi US (@SanofiUS) May 30, 2018

  • You probably saw it on Twitter. Or the news. Kim Kardashian met with Donald Trump to discuss prison reform. Except that’s not really what she did. She’s lobbying for the pardon of a Grandmother serving time on drug charges. And to be fair, I agree with Kim that Grandma needs to get out. But deeming herself a spokesperson for prison reform is a stretch and deceptive. There is not a selfless bone in that woman’s body; I’m sorry.

Whenever she does something “selfless,” it’s just another photo opp. I can’t take her seriously. She has set herself up to have zero credibility. Which makes her pretty perfect to partner with Trump.

— AJ. (@ajfeuerman) May 31, 2018

 

VIDEO SPOTLIGHT

  • Hearts Beat Loud comes out next week and I think it looks really sweet. Not a story I’ve seen told before and surely a different type of role for Nick Offerman.

  • A couple of REALLY strong action movies are on the horizon and I am HERE FOR IT! I love big screen ass kickings. Next week, Hotel Artemis:

  • And also, this September, we get out “Sydney Bristow” era Jennifer Garner back with Peppermint:

Filed Under: Pocket Fridays Tagged With: Beauty & the Beast, Facebook, Hearts Beat Loud, Hollywood Bowl, Hotel Artemis, Jennifer Garner, Justin Rosenstein, Kim Kardashian, Peppermint, Pete Souza, Rebel Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Roseanne, Samantha Bee, Taye Diggs

Why I Loved BlogHer 2016 — And Why I Did Not

August 8, 2016 By AJ 5 Comments

BlogHer 2016 was a bastion of both happiness and predictability.

Remarkably, 2016 marks my 14th year of blogging. Sometimes I can hardly believe it. But at BlogHer 2016, I really felt it – in ways both good and bad. The good: Walking up and down the halls, I ran into a lot of familiar faces and brand reps; people from all over whom I’ve seen at conferences over the years. Lots of smiling, excited hugs and selfies. The bad: A tipping point has hit — blogging is not what it used to be. We live in an economy of “influencers” now and straight-blogging doesn’t seem to mean much anymore.

Why I Really Loved BlogHer

  • I know a lot of people! And it was AWESOME to see them. I prioritized hugs, hugs and photos.

Why I Loved BlogHer 2016 -- And Why I Did Not

  • My tribe. I am part of a “Blogger Tribe” and a lot of them were also at the Conference. I was at my happiest with these women.

Why I Loved BlogHer 2016 -- And Why I Did Not

  • Hewlett Packard. When Chris Lam (What I Run Into) texts you and says “come over here,” all you should reply with is “Okay.” In this instance it meant I got to spend time in the HP suite, which was absolutely lovely, and I got to take home my very own HP Deskjet Compact All-in-one Photo Printer. I AM SO EXCITED! I never get invited to the “cool kids” table at blog conferences so this was a massive treat. The HP reps were so wonderful, and I am very grateful.
  • Mayim Bialik and Tig Notaro. There were a lot of celebrities present at BlogHer. These two were my favorite. They are smart, talented, provocative women who are worthy of the term “role model.”
  • My smart friends on panels. Seeing Xenia (Raised by Culture) talking about politics and social media and seeing Anne teaching people about Pinterest marketing was wonderful. I only had a few minutes to spend at Tiffany Romero’s media kit workshop but I still learned a ton in that short time. I mean, I know my friends are the smartest, but now a few more people do, too.

What I Didn’t Like About BlogHer

  • Greedy swag hoarders. There I was, listening to a very smart woman from the AdCouncil talking about all the causes bloggers could potentially align themselves with, when a blogger interrupted to whisper to me “don’t worry, I’m not cutting in, I just heard there were free shirts here.” I find that sentiment and motivation to be far too present at blog conferences.
  • Believe it or not, the biggest trainwreck at the Kim Kardashian keynote lunch was not a Kardashian. It was the mismanaged lunch preparation and the behavior of incredibly rude, tacky bloggers fighting over plates, which were in short supply.
  • I loved Tig Notaro’s event — we got to watch the pilot episode of her new Amazon series, “One Mississippi.” But it took 20 minutes to figure out how to stream the show. Did no one think to put it on a DVD? Or do a test run? And she was in the room. People were snickering at the horrid tech as I was slumping down in my seat, embarrassed to be there.
  • The Expo Hall.  Dear lord, what happened, BlogHer? This used to exist in a convention center, now it exists in a ballroom. With some really unappealing, unrecognizable brands, might I add. Even more sad, less than halfway through Saturday, some of the brands had packed up and gone home.

Why I Loved BlogHer 2016 -- And Why I Did Not

What Was Predictable About BlogHer

  • Cliques. I saw a few posts and tweets about unfriendly people at BlogHer 2016. It’s a heartbreaking truth. I learned at my very first conference that this is the reality of attending these things. People hang out with the people they know and I’ve found that is the only way I meet new people — through the people I know. There will always be “mean girls” and “popular girls” in a giant crowd of women. I say that as fact, not as a judgement.
  • There was never enough water; there weren’t any snacks between meals. And what there was, was only in one ballroom.
  • The sponsors are still very mom-heavy. Lots of breakfasts and activities did not apply to me. Many expo “hall” vendors wanted moms. Lots of take-home items were for kids. When I got home, I found fertility vitamins in my giftbag. (Not to mention Vagisil — ew.)
  • The panels were filled with other bloggers and I don’t need to pay what BlogHer costs to hear from other bloggers. Especially as so many bloggers are monetizing and running their mini miedia empires as full-time gigs. We all know what we’re doing now. There has been a pervasive rumor for years that BlogHer may soon break out into smaller, more niche conferences and I think that would be a smart move. A conference for newbies, a conference for pros, a conference for full-timers or part-times. There’s a lot of ways to do it; to break the mold. This many years into the conference, it surprises me that as an organization, BlogHer still refuses to up their game and set themselves apart by recruiting notable brand reps, publicists, social media practitioners and marketers to present on panels (and yes, I’m really frustrated that the same people keep getting asked to speak year after year and I am always passed over). Blogalicious does this well. ConnectHER does this well.

Anyway….

From a business standpoint, I must concede that attending BlogHer is still a good experience. Buy the networking badge and collect business cards. Get a feel for the climate of the blogging universe. Walk the Expo and see what brands are doing to work with influencers. BlogHer is reliable for that. It’s clearly not the giant it used to be but it’s still valuable in this sense. And perhaps as they further integrate with SheKnows Media, we’ll see a new incarnation of the event in years to come that will blow our minds. I sincerely hope that is what happens.

After BlogHer 2014 in San Jose, I declared that I would never attend another BlogHer. I made an exception this year because it was here in Los Angeles. If it is elsewhere next year, which is likely because it does rotate, and it remains stagnant, I’m resting back on my post San Jose declaration again. But I had a really, really terrific time seeing friends and colleagues at BlogHer 2016.

Oh — and meeting Tiny. Obviously.

Why I Loved BlogHer 2016 -- And Why I Did Not

Filed Under: Pro Tips Tagged With: AirBud, Blogalicious, Bloggers, BlogHer, ConnectHer, Hewlett Packard, HP, Kim Kardashian, Mayim Bialik, One Mississippi, Pupstar, Tig Notaro

"Today I will be classy and elegant. Or, I will spill on my shirt and trip over things."

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