As a member of the Y! Motherboard I was invited to attend a summit in the sunny and COOL Bay area of San Francisco from July 15th-17th. I was thrilled to get to meet so many people I admire, and see the Yahoo campus. I went into the trip excited, and knowing that Yahoo would do a great job putting together content, and fun networking for us, but I was completely blown away by the setting, the information, and most of all the people. I was especially glad to spend time with my traveling buddy and business partner, Julie.
- Jessica, Kim and MJ at Nola
pictured above: Jessica from It’s my Life, Kim from I’m not the Nanny(my encouraging crafting coach), & MJ of Chicagonista
Jeanne, and Amy (our fearless leaders) worked tirelessly to put together the summit, and you could tell, not only did they understand what bloggers need (wifi, plugs, caffeine, and plenty of time to talk), but they also knew things we didn’t like how important a good hotel room can be.
- Hello, bed.
Yahoo Motherboard Summit Sessions
I learned a lot about Flickr (which I will start using more), Yahoo Shine (more on that soon), and so much more. My favorite moment was stopping to talk to the Yahoo accessibility team and learning about how they ensure that all of Yahoo’s sites can be used by people with different disabilities. I was shocked to learn that 7 of 8 people who have disabilities are not born with them. One of the team members was blind, and he told us how shopping for groceries online is one way he can be more independent. I think of it as a convenience, but realized how huge that could be for someone who would otherwise have to arrange for someone to take them to the store. I was also thrilled to learn that as a small site owner by labeling my pictures, I’m not only improving SEO, but I’m allowing someone who can not see the photo to know what it is when they are reading the site. For a much better description, read Tech Savvy Mama’s post on Yahoo’s Accessibility Lab.
Another wonderful session was the online safety session. The session was moderated by Jeanne, panelists included Yahoo’s Catherine Teitelbaum (Yahoo’s Policy Director for Child Safety & Product Policy) and Anne Toth (Yahoo’s VP of Privacy), and Holly Lawerence (Sunnyvale police officer). Catherine showed a video that told the story of a local family whose daughter took her own life after a text photo she had sent to a boy was passed around to other students. It was a sobering story, and really opened my eyes to how connected our kids can be. While my kids are still too young for cell phones, and we constantly monitor their computer use, they are getting older. You can learn more about online safety and kids at Yahoo’s Safely or you can find a media agreement for your kids at Common Sense Media.
I had planned to write up summaries of each of the sessions, but coming home to a heat wave and a houseful of kids made that tough. Instead I’ll direct you to Kimberly Coleman’s smart write ups of each of the Y Motherboard sessions. I really need to learn to live blog. I blame having the attention span of a gnat.
Palo Alto and the bay area
The weather was amazing. I can’t tell you the number of times I had to stop and just feel the wonderful breeze, I am so over seasons.
If I could have moved into the Four Seasons hotel I would have. It was honestly the best hotel stay I’ve ever had. the staff was fantastic, the beds were amazing (I didn’t wake up once), it was quiet, and then there was that bathtub. I had 3 baths while I was there. At home we don’t have a bathtub that’s conducive to relaxing or bathing if you’re over 5 feet tall. I brought home the bathroom goodies from L’Occitane and even purchased the hair dryer that made my hair stick straight, but it’s just not the same. I fear I’m forever spoiled and every hotel stay will be held to an unreasonable standard.
There must be something in the air, or water in the bay area since I had two anxiety causing moments at the airport and the security staff at SFO, and the US Airways team at the gate were AWESOME. Jerry and Tim (I think that was his name) were awesome despite my nerves being completely frayed.
The food (and drinks)
- Lavendar sidecar
We had an amazing cocktail party the first night, and it was wonderful to get to know new people, and meet some people I talk to regularly online, but the food really was a huge highlight. I wish I had taken more photos of all the deliciousness. I’m honestly not that picky though-as long as I can sit down and eat my meal without having to correct manners or get up to get something forgotten in the kitchen, I’m thrilled. It’s also nice to have an adult beverage (or two) at the end of the day.
Photos from Y Motherboard Summit
Disclosure: Yahoo covered my travel and hotel expenses, and provided us with meals, and some useful swag including the Yahoo Style Book. I was not required to tweet, or write this post, and all opinions are my own.
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