Photo courtesy of Alt Summit[/caption] Inspired by our friend, fellow Californian, and official Sarah Drake photographer Julia Franzosa's recent blog post about unplugged weddings, a recent conversation with my husband about the importance of making the effort to see family, and all of the time we all spend "connected" on social media, I felt it was really important to just share a small reminder of how important it is to truly connect with people, in real time, face to face. What better reminder of this was last week's Summer Altitude Summit in Salt Lake City. For those of you who don't know, Alt is a conference held by bloggers and designers for bloggers and designers. There are break out sessions, design classes, amazing speakers, and roundtable discussions on everything from publishing a book to tackling wordpress. I just got back, and already, I'm blogging. (If you're paying attention, you'll know I haven't posted in about a month, which is far too long- I'm sorry!) 
To further foster the importance of connection, it's a tradition at Alt to share business cards.[/caption] So many bloggers/designers/entrepreneurs I know are overwhelmed. They are working crazy hours, trying to juggle family and clients, while striving to remain their best possible selves. There's so much pressure (usually self inflicted) to be the best in our fields, produce amazing work, and look chic (or at least have a cute mani) doing it. But, it sort of turns out we are all pretty similar. Even the people with the shiny websites and perfectly styled living rooms, tens of thousands of followers, and big press pages have insecurities, dirty laundry and bad days. We are all part of a like-minded community together, but unless you get out from behind the laptop, you may not know it. (almost) EVERYONE I met at Alt was friendly, open, eager to share their knowledge and experience, along with their contact information, to follow up. EVERYONE wanted to learn, have fun, and be honest. 
New Friends, Christina and Kristen. The most important thing I took away though, was something I already know: for me to feel sane running my business and being a mom, is to make the effort to stay connected with real people, in real time. You don't have to fly across the country to do it though. Later this week I'll be sharing ideas for entrepreneurs to connect with like-minded people in their community. Thanks, Alt Summit!
Great post! Thank you and it was great to meet you..