Bloggers and Brands : #SoDelhiConfluence 2015

I was super excited about Saturday (Yesterday) because I was looking forward to the first-of-its-kind So Delhi Confluence.  A unique concept where bloggers and brands were supposed to come under one roof and interact informally. Honestly, it sounded quite promising to me.  I have been following SoDelhi for long on twitter and I felt this was a great initiative on their part to take blogging to a new level. Delhi needed a bloggers club and I thought the time had arrived.

The buzz started from filling a form and then getting shortlisted in the elite 150. Yes, this was the final number of invitations sent across Delhi-NCR as told by So Delhi. This was my another reason to be there because I absolutely support filtering process. Don’t call me if it is not for meant for me but call the serious people please! The venue looked centrally placed and the day in the weekend was well chosen.  Lets read what happened next… what made the day… and what messed it up entirely!!!

Thumps Up!!!

• In partnership UBER offered guests Rs.150 in credit (approx. 8 – 10 Km in distance) to and fro from Summer House Cafe. ( Personally I dint avail it because there were no cars available when I needed it but I am sure it made travel hassle-free for many)
• The event was an exclusive invite-only meetup. Among many applications,  there were only 150 bloggers who were shortlisted for the same. Yes, this made it a coveted one because the chosen ones were active bloggers of Delhi/NCR.
• Thank God it wasn’t called a bloggers meet! A new name meant something new!
• There were more than one brands and this showed the seriousness of brands to work with bloggers.
• Some good performances did happen! (Claps for the lady who played the violin)
• Lots of photographs were being clicked all around.
• Enough water, cold pressed juices, light snacks, one complimentary drink was meant for all.
• Lucky draw for some lucky ones!
• And best of all, a Bagful of Goodies, discount coupons, product information to bring back home.
• Met some of my good pals from the blogging fraternity, chatted my heart out and made new plans for more fun. They actually helped to breathe through the event.

Thumps Down!!!

• The event that was supposed to commence at 3 began after 4:30.  The crew at the registration counter had no idea how to hand over the id cards. I stood for like half an hour before I got my own identity badge.  Why wasn’t there someone to see that the queue was followed?
• Was I at a confluence or a Marriage party? The stairs to the venue suggested otherwise.
• It did not even take a minute to realize that the venue was just not rightly chosen. Overcrowded with people, it marred the enthusiasm with noise and high pitched voices.  (I have a high pitch voice too)
• The badges had colors, red, blue, orange- Someone at least tell us what they mean! Later a friend came and told us that blue meant the brands.
• Okay, so how do we start, we just go about walking to the people with blue brands and telling them I have a blog… I have a blog when there is so much noise in one side of the cafe. Also bloggers were supposed to write, most of them I know are not very outspoken. Its tough to start a discussion. I mean I feel too awkward. Maybe this one was not for me.
• The mobile network sucked and the wifi did not work. I mean who doesn’t look into this when you call a crowd of social media influencers. Not being able to vent out made me full of disappointments.
• And where were the seating arrangements for 150 people. I mean how long can you stand in a four hour event? Or it was assumed not all will turn up or half of them will not be on time or leave before the end? Whatever be your calculations, the arrangements have to be made for the invited  number of people. No? Yes?
• When a sequence of events is planned, why wasn’t everyone asked to keep quite and listen. I mean at one point of time I was wondering where was I standing- A fish market?
• The acoustics and the mike system made the emcee of the event sound totally bizarre. It was difficult to comprehend what she said.  And it was difficult to move in the front because there was no space to stand or breathe properly.
• Amidst so much noise and with no seating space, how does one network?And when the agenda is to network, why were performances happening simultaneously? Why were things not spaced out? Why were so many things were happening under the same roof? I am still looking forward to these answers!
• What competitions happened, what questions were asked, din’t get to hear anything. I waited till the end to meet some people from the brands, but seriously exchanging cards in the chaos dint work for me at least.
• Overall, dint get to experience the agenda of the meet! Somewhere I felt the team and crew themselves gave away the whole seriousness of the event that could have been one of the best event of the city.

I will refrain from saying anything around Food and Drinks because I wasn’t there for them! To each one their own choice and taste.

My point is ‘I returned disappointed and with a feeling that my Saturday got wasted. When something so good was planned, why was it not arranged in a manner that could have been enjoyed by all?

I met 20+ familiar faces (bloggers) and honestly each one had the same view of the event as mine. Some odd 5- 6 have voiced it honestly on twitter. But if you look at the hashtag of the event it will speak some other story. OMG, what an event! etc, etc. Really? I had a good laugh while reading the tweets from the ‘real’ people. One Goodie bag, (which is no doubt awesome) can do so much to the views.

I believe the good much be appreciated but the flaws much be pointed out too. No doubt, SoDelhi deserves an applaud for the first time effort but they messed it up badly. With such nice partnerships and brands together, a memorable event could have come up but someone just forgot to look into the logistics and operational aspects. Huge scope of improvement  lies for the next one.

A lesson for me! Not all events that look good turn out to be good.

BLOGGERS and BRAND CONFLUENCE

And I have something for the other organizers who may plan such events in future, please don’t take bloggers for granted.  Free drinks, free lunch, few discounts here and there, cheesy bites and a Goodie bag is not we look far, we look for good initiatives and serious passion!