Oh Alt Summit, how I heart you! Alt Summit is a blog conference for creatives that happens twice a year in Salt Lake City (January and June). Let’s just put this out there… I spoke at a conference (about Google +) where Martha Stewart was the keynote, ahh! That makes this girl freakin’ excited. I kind of love Martha. I’m fully aware of the not so nice comment she made about bloggers (1:47 in video). But honestly, there are some not so great bloggers out there who steal people’s content and claim it as there own. Luckily, the vast majority of bloggers are very talented, real people who share their genius with us fo’ free! I love blog world! Maybe Martha said something she didn’t mean? I’ve certainly never done that, ha! And for the record, I don’t claim to be an expert, I’m just a mom who likes to make really awesome free things. Anyone can do it. Clearly Martha is a genius entrepreneur, and has some mad baking/crafting/party planning skills or she never would have made it as far as she has today! Moving on…
This was Max baby’s second plane trip of his life (we took him to the Dominican Republic). But, this was the first plane trip that I took him on by myself. I was oh so nervous, but honestly all went well! (Coming soon: my tips for traveling with a baby via airplane.)
Max and I took 2 planes and a train to the hotel (no car seat or stroller needed!), we stayed at Little America, the cheaper little sister of the Grand America where the conference was held.
TIP #1: The Little America is way cheaper than the Grand, super nice, and a super short walk across the street!
This is a baby friendly conference y’all! And honestly he was such a good little conversation starter. Everyone wanted to grab his little toes and tell him how cute he was, and he would give them a big smile back!
TIP #2: If you have a little one, bring him to the conference!
Alt sets things up so that everyone gets to attend a sponsored dinner the night before the conference actually beings. I love the Honest company products and was lucky to attend this dinner at Pago. I got a baby sitter for the Max man and had a seriously delicious (baby free) dinner.
TIP #3: Bring that baby, but get a sitter for a few hours here or there. Ask around or e-mail me, I’ve got a good one in Salt Lake City!
He loves his baby backpack, so he just hung out on my chest while we learned and chatted at the conference. This was the first nights food truck party. We hung out on picnic blanket and ate yummy Salt Lake City food truck treats! Maxbaby fell asleep.
TIP #4: If you bring a baby, baby wear! It’s so much easier than a stroller!
I spy me at the Lewis Brothers food truck waiting for my falafel salad. I need more falafel in my life, y’all!
I did not get to attend all of the sessions, Max baby needed naps and nursing. I went with that expectation, and all was well. I actually only missed one session! I certainly stood in the back of a few and had to sneak out when sweet Max started crying. For the most part, he was content just hanging out on my chest and talking to all of the ladies and gents! This was the photo styling session…
TIP #5: Alt has professional photographs, so don’t worry about taking pictures! Just soak up the info and meet new peeps! They upload all of the pictures to a Flickr stream and you are allowed to use them!
Max and I even had some fun at the Bing photo booth! Oh wait, he slept through the fun in this one…
TIP #6: Interact with everything there is to offer at Alt! Even if it means grabbing the sweet girl next to you to snap a picture in the photo booth!
Max and I attended a round table about starting a podcast!
TIP #7: Check out the schedule before hand. Circle the sessions you don’t want to miss! It’s easy to get carried away and forget about the time!
And then I did my Google + presentation with these talented ladies (Meg and Kris)! Our session was called: Media You’re Not Using, But Should Be: TV, Radio, and Google+. If you’re interested in learning more about Google +, here is a little Google + guide I put together for getting started!
So, have you ever been to a blog conference? How do you feel about Martha Stewart? Do you love falafel? Are you on Google +?
(All photos by Justin Hackworth or Brooke Dennis for Alt Summit)
Sounds and looks like it was an amazing time at Alt!
As for Martha, I am just looking at her work, minus comments/business practices/etc. Honestly, I grew up taping her shows on VHS because I wanted to be crafty, but my mom was not interested in things like that. SO, for a girl who would have not been able to learn about expressing her creative outlet otherwise, finding Martha Stewart Living was exciting! Granted, my projects nowadays are nothing like hers, but it was great inspiration.
I agree! Martha is an inspiration!
So great to read your Alt Summit post. I’ve just started to process it all, myself! Wonderful to meet you and baby Max in person!
So fun meeting you too 🙂
We didn’t meet at Alt, but I remember seeing you! I thought you had awesomely braided hair and your baby was so good. Although I don’t have kids, it was fun to read your recap and advice about Alt-ing with a baby!
Oh man! Next year, we’ gotta meet!
LOVED meeting you and thought your class was the best!!
Thank you, Emily! So fun to meet you too 🙂