Cybher 2013

I am sure that anyone who follows my blog, or my Twitter timeline, will know that I was at Cybher this weekend. I was ridiculously excited and the conference didn't disappoint! Last year when I attended Cybher I was still in my first year of blogging and it felt quite overwhelming. I was nervous and excited then, you can read about it here. This year it was different. I was so excited to meet all the bloggers I have met over the past year. To catch up, socialise and to meet people I haven't had a chance to see before. Obviously I was also looking forward to the sessions, connecting with brands and I was a little bit excited about cocktails at the end of the evening.

I walked down to the venue from my hotel with Sarah from Mostly Yummy Mummy. Last year Sarah was one of the first people I met, and I haven't seen her since the end of June last year! It was nice to wander down early. Then it was time to register and choose our Cybher bag, made by the Leather Satchel Company. I adore my bag from last year and it comes most places with me. The bag this year is also very cool. I will post about it in more detail soon. Then time to catch up over a cup of tea and a biscuit before heading to the first sessions.


Siân opens Cybher 2013

I went to the media training session, run by Michael Underwood. It was fantastic and really informative. The group was small and it was easier to ask questions which was refreshing. We were told that when asked about our blog, we should give a why answer, rather than a what! The photography session run by Mario Cacciottolo was really interesting. I learned that props are good and if there are none around then you can use hands! After this was lunch, which was seriously delicious. I was completely famished by this point, so the food was very much appreciated. Somehow I missed the puddings though, but my waist will thank me for that.

Donal MacIntyre

After lunch, I took a brief break from sessions and just sat down and relaxed for a bit before going to see Donal MacIntyre's talk on the art of modern storytelling. He was very good, but it was rather short! I then went to the Pinterest session with  Natalie Lue and Claire Archbold. Again, it was a great session and I learnt about renaming my images and giving them a bit more description too. Following this, I attended the Social Women and Business session which was really interesting. Did you know that women are soon to disappear from banknotes? This is another topic I shall be following up on! The final session basically told us that Facebook is evil and that we shouldn't use online dating! It seemed a bit random for a group of female bloggers.

Social women and businessPinterest session

The cocktail party was brilliant. I think it is a great idea to get a chance to mingle afterwards. It meant I could meet some of the people I hadn't had a chance to earlier. I was also introduced to the world of Sonny Angels! There was a tangible Christmassy excitement when Elaine from Stars and Roses pulled four boxes out of her bag!

Sonny angel

Once again, Cybher was, for me, a brilliant success. It was impeccably well organised and the day ran really smoothly. I sincerely hope that my exams do not clash next year and I get to go again. I can honestly say it is the blogging highlight of my year.