12 things you need for #CyberMummy11

CyberMummy is almost here, but getting ready for the big day is easier than you think. Here, our top tips of what to bring on the day.

1. Business cards – You’ll be handing out loads and here’s a tip: write down a note to yourself on the back of other people’s cards to jog your memory when you’re back home. (I’m always grateful when going through a stack of card I find little notes like “met at lunch” or “writes about kids’ clothes” or whatever.) If you don’t have cards already, get quickie ones made at a copy shop or print some out yourself.
2. A handful of pens – Because the first one you grab will always run out ink.
3. Fully charged phone, laptop, iPad, camera, etc – You’ll want to tweet, blog and snap your way through the day and you don’t want to run out of juice.
4. A soft, collapsible carry bag – The good news is that we’re giving out goody bags at the end of the day so you won’t have to lug it from session to session. That means you’ll need another way to keep together all the cards, brands’ info, giveaway goodies from CyberMummy Central and so on. Toss a fabric shopping bag into your handbag and you’ll be set. Come to think of it: Last year’s CyberMummy bag will work perfectly…
5. Chequebook/credit card/cash for the bookshop – It will be so easy to pick up essential reading and get it personalized during the our book-signing sessions so don’t miss out! We’ll have a mini Waterstone’s in the lobby selling books by Sarah Brown, Sophie King/Jane Bidder, Rachel Johnson, My Daddy Cooks’ Nick Coffer and other bloggers. You can buy one with card, cheque or cash when you arrive then get it signed during the day. (Dad blogger Tim Atkinson will be selling his own books and signing in the afternoon too, so bring cash to buy directly from him.)
6. A light cardigan or scarf – We’ll be doing our best to keep the conference spaces the right temperature, but it’s always good to have something to hand so you can self-regulate.
7. Comfortable shoes – It’s going to be a exciting, jam-packed day. The last thing you want to think about is blisters or aching arches. Choose comfort over style.
8. Casual clothes –There’s lots of talk on Twitter about what to wear. We say, whatever it is, just make sure it doesn’t bind, poke, squeeze, pinch or ride up. By the time the Three Party rolls around at 18:00 you’ll be glad you skipped the tight pencil skirt and blouse that slips down to expose your bra strap. Which leads on to…
9. Your party mood – The official CyberMummy party is sponsored by Three and will kick off immediately after the Crowdsourced Keynote. No need to dress up or make-up – just turn up…and be ready to mingle and relax. There will be wine provided by Naked Wines, soft drinks, a few crisps and such, some announcements from Three and the Passport prize draw. The perfect end to the day.
10. A list of the five people or companies you really want to talk to –If you’re desperate to finally meet Blogger X in person or are dying to talk to Brand Y about working with them, write it down so it sticks in your mind as a goal of the day. Seek them out early and you’ll feel good about ticking them off your list. (Better yet, Tweet them ahead of time to say hello and possibly arrange a rendez-vous time.)
11. A one-sentence description of you and your blog – This is something that allows you to easily describe who you are and what your blog is about to the scores of folks you’ll be meeting. “Hi, I’m Amy. I live in Lincolnshire and I’ve been blogging for 8 months about raising my three kids” or “I have a picture-oriented blog about my two passions: my family and gardening.” You get the idea.
12. A sense of fun -  Beyond the brands, the high-profile speakers, the food and drink, CyberMummy is about bloggers getting to know bloggers. It’s a friendly crowd and everyone you meet at the Brewery on Saturday the 25^th is there to say hello, swap stories and connect. You’ll be able to walk up to any group, introduce yourself and immediately join the discussion. So get ready to have some fun.

We’ll see you there!

A guide to live-blogging by a real live blogger

The first event I live-blogged was a football game. American football. I grew up in France, know nothing about football, and was woefully unprepared for what was going on. I sat there, Idiot’s Guide to Football in hand, and tried to follow along, blogging my thoughts on the game every few moments.

I can guarantee that my thoughts had precious little to do with the actual tactics or fine points of the game. They might have had a lot to do with surprising properties of certain uniforms.

While I didn’t learn much about the game, I did pick up some live-blogging tips that served me well when I had my first official live-blogger gig at BlogHer in 2008. I took notes, you know, in case the uniforms had the unexpected effect of causing me to be so distracted that I forgot.

1. Name your post and type a short paragraph explaining that you’re live-blogging, what you’re live-blogging, and that you’ll come back after the fact to clean up your spelling, grammar, and cohesion.
2. #1 can be done ahead of time and saved as a draft. In case of live-blogging for conferences, I’ve often found it helpful to paste the blurb about the session and to hyperlink the names/sites of the speakers ahead of time. Saves precious time later.)
3. Select all. COPY. Save. Publish.
4. Open a blank Word (or equivalent) document and “paste” what you have “copied.” (Save this document to your desktop. This will allow your computer to auto-save.)
5. Go back to your web browser, click “Edit blog post” and add the next paragraph.
6. Repeat #3.
7. Repeat #4, #5, and #6 until session or event is over.
8. It’s probably a good idea to decide ahead of time if you’re going to post every X minutes or when you feel there’s a clean break in the action.
9. Trust me when I say you should NEVER forget to “select all and copy” before you hit either save or publish. Ask me how I know this. Or rather don’t. I don’t think I can relive it.
10. When the session or event is over, take a minute to go back into your post to clean up grammar, spelling, and typos. Read over what you’ve written to see if you can make sense of what you wrote. Edit for clarity and flow. Once you’re happy with the way the post reads, delete the apologetic intro paragraph and save the post one final time.

Despite the stress of sometimes playing “Where’d the wifi network go?” live-blogging is a really fun way to share a conference or event with your readers. It’s fun to let them see what’s going on through your eyes and in your words. You know, as long as you remember to copy what you write before you post.

Jessica Rosenberg is an aspiring novelist and freelance who blogs almost daily at It’s My Life… and posts frequent(ish) reviews at The Lemonade Stand. Join her to follow her journey to becoming a published author! You can also follow her mad tweets at http://www.twitter.com/kikarose

CyberMummy Sponsor: Garofalo

The team at Garofalo are delighted to be part of Cybermummy again this year and to have seen how it has grown since the first event last year as more and more Mums get involved and the power of blogging has come into its own!

It’s not easy to establish a new pasta brand in the UK and we’re really grateful to all the Mummy bloggers who’ve helped spread the word by giving us a try and telling all their readers about our Signature range. We’re still working hard to persuade more people that Garofalo pasta is the one to choose and we will have lots more exciting news later on this year that we hope will interest the Mummy blogging community.

We’re just about to introduce our new range of children’s pasta, La Giostra dei Bambini, to the UK, so do look out for it when you shop with Ocado and in your Goody Bag. To celebrate the launch we’re also running a competition for one lucky family to enjoy a weeks holiday in Sorrento at a top hotel, you’ll find more details in the Goody Bag and online soon at http://www.pastagarofalo.it/

In Italy we work very closely with food bloggers, who are keen recipe posters and passionate about sharing their pasta tips and favourite meals. We’re keen to start working more closely with Mummy bloggers in the UK, to encourage them to share not only their personal favourite pasta recipes, but also their children’s.

Everyone at Garofalo is passionate not only about good pasta, but about good food and nutrition starting from the earliest age,  we’re also passionate about working with the wonderful Mummy blogging community and to learn their thoughts on views on our products as well as what else we can do to ensure we’re their favourite pasta brand.

Speaker: Rachael Lucas

Rachael Lucas started Tales from the Village in May 2010. The blog details her adventures with cake, jam, chickens and gardening, as well as interviews with well-known authors including Katie Fforde, and is following Rachael’s experiences as first time novelist moving from blog to publication. Rachael has had interest from several literary agents after publishing an excerpt of her novel on the blog. Tales from the Village features regularly in the Wikio charts, and has reached the finals of a 2011 national blogging award.

Tales from the Village is about to take a new direction, as Rachael, her husband and their four children are moving to Canada this summer. Follow Rachael on twitter at to hear all about her experiences.

Rachael will be one of the speakers sharing her valuable insights in how to promote your writing through your blog in the Blogger to Blogger Inspiration session from 2:20-3:10.

CyberMummy Sponsor: Three

At first glance, having a mobile network at a blogging event for parents might feel like a bit of an odd marriage. We sell smartphones, dongles and tablets – what can we bring to the UK’s biggest conference of this kind?

Well, quite a bit we think, especially as the world of data, apps and the mobile internet seems to be erupting around us.

Back in March this year we carried out some research which told us that nearly half of all UK mums – 48% in fact – admit to going online in the depths of the night just to get everything done. And while the 3,000 mums we surveyed were pretty internet savvy (28% of them spend an hour a day online), the research also suggested that mums thought they could save 135 hours a years by making the most of the web while they’re out and about.

So that’s where we come in…

Last month we hosted an event with nearly 200 busy mums talking about how smartphones, powered by a strong 3G network, can help them to save time.

Whether it’s using Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Recipes app to find a quick healthy mean for dinner, or using a photo app like Snappy Snaps to send pictures you’ve taken on your phone straight to print, your smartphone and everything it’s designed to do can make everyday tasks just that little bit simpler.

We’ve spent years investing in a 3G network that’s designed for the mobile internet (and that’s award-winning), and we’re the only network to have launched plans with truly unlimited data – all-you-can-eat data in fact – for complete peace of mind.

If you want to find out more about how to get the most from your smartphone, we’ll be on hand throughout the day at CyberMummy 2011. Head to our stand for tips, tricks and advice – and you can check out our On the Go tab within our for useful videos and a competition to win a family holiday.

We’ll be looking to enlist your help at the event too. We’ve been working really closely with five mummy bloggers to generate ideas for a super-efficient time-saving app. We’ll be announcing our shortlist of five app ideas at CyberMummy, and we need you to vote on the idea that’s your favourite. We’ll put the winning app into production in July for everyone to enjoy!

Make sure you keep your eyes peeled on the CyberMummy newsletters for detail about our exclusive CyberMummy smartphone competition too. If you’re attending CyberMummy 2011, you enter our Busy Mums competition on and insert a special code within your 50 word entry (you’ll find the code in an upcoming CyberMummy newsletter), and you stay for the evening party on the 25^th, you could be heading home an iPad and a MiFi!

Lots going on, and we can’t wait for the 25^th – if you can’t either, don’t forget to tweet us with the hashtag #MumsonThree!

CyberMummy sponsor: Emla

The team from Emla will be at Cybermummy to show you how Emla Cream can help manage the pain of immunisations and other needle procedures, such as blood tests.

Our free booklet, A Parents’ Guide To Immunisations, includes lots of top tips and advice for mums and dads, as we know how anxious parents can become before taking children for routine jabs. Recent research conducted by Emla showed that nearly half of all mums are anxious about immunisation, with roughly the same number believing that immunisations were worse for them than their child. Worryingly, 1 in 8 younger mums delayed vital vaccinations due to fear of the needle.

We also have some very exciting news to share at Cybermummy – for the first time we’ll be unveiling the Emla Parent Planner – a free iPhone app which helps busy parents keep track of important dates such as doctor appointments and play-dates. Simply input your child’s date of birth and a personalised immunisation schedule will automatically be created. The app will send you reminders a week before the immunisation is due so you and your child can prepare for the appointment. The Emla Parent Planner also includes a milestones calendar, perfect for recording all those special moments, or adding notes or even a photo for that moment in time to captured in your calendar. The Emla Parent Planner can hold details for up to eight children, making it easy to keep track of even the biggest families!

To celebrate the launch of the Emla Parent Planner, we will be giving away an iPhone at Cybermummy, so do come along to enter the prize draw, and of course, say hello to the Emla team!

Emla, available over the counter and from your local pharmacist, is a convenient solution to needle pain. When applied 60 minutes* before the procedure, Emla works to numb the skin, reducing the pain of the needle – ideal for the 1 in 10 of us with a needle phobia.

Essential information
- Emla is a topical anaesthetic cream containing a tried and trusted formula of lidocaine and prilocaine that can help numb needle pain. Apply 60 minutes before the procedure. This time may need to be reduced depending on age, body area and prescription. Available from your local pharmacist without prescription, Emla costs £5.10 (RRP) for a two-dose pack and now includes two occlusive (watertight) dressings. Always read the leaflet.
- Consumers can visit www.ihateneedles.co.uk for more information and tips on coping with immunisation and other needle-based procedures.

CyberMummy sponsor: Ubisoft

Visit the Ubisoft Stand at CyberMummy 2011 and you could win a Nintendo Wii!

Have you got the power? Is ABC as easy as 1,2,3? Are you a cosmic girl or just a sister doing it for yourself?

If you recognise any of these questions then you have to come and visit the Ubisoft stand at this years’ CyberMummy. Thought video games were just for teenage boys? We guarantee by the end of the day we will have changed your mind forever.

At CyberMummy we will show you our fantastic selection of video games which are simple, ridiculously good fun and made for you.

We know that as a busy mum, time is at a premium and getting a bit of ‘me time’ can be very difficult. So what can you do for yourself when you’ve got 10 minutes to spare or if you’re planning a girl’s night in? Well we have the answer for you.

We’ve got a CyberMummy exclusive! For the first time in the UK you can play Just Dance 3, the latest dance game in the top-selling Just Dance series.  There’s a huge selection of your favourite tunes to dance along to. It’s energetic, hilarious fun and the perfect addition to a night in with the girls.

Do you want to stay in shape but getting to the gym is just too time consuming? Well now we’ve got the solution, with Your Shape, the sequel to the number one Kinect game Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012. Using Xbox Kinect’s revolutionary body tracking technology, you can now perfect your fitness regime within the comfort of your own home. No complicated set up, just the right exercise programme for you when you’ve got the time.

Plus we’ve got a whole selection of kid’s games we can tell you all about, including the fantastic Rayman Origins, Dance Juniors and The Smurfs. Rayman Origins is a fun game full of crazy characters, for kids to play together and really test their problem solving skills not to mention being a great outlet for their mischievous creative minds!

Packed full of songs the kids know and love, Dance Juniors and The Smurfs are designed to get them off their feet and up and dancing. These games are great fun, great for hand eye coordination and general fitness and can be the perfect remedy to kill some time when you’re running out of options.

Need any other reasons to visit our stand? OK, here’s one more. Everyone who visits the stand can grab an ice cool drink and a snack and everyone we meet can have the chance to win a Nintendo Wii and a copy of Just Dance 2 by the end of the day.

We’ve already spoken to some of you this year about our great line up of games and you’ve been fantastic to work with and really supportive of what we’ve shared with you so far. So thank you! To everyone else we’ve not yet met, we’re looking forward to meeting you on the 25^th!

CyberMummy sponsor: Disney

Sandra Van Vreedendaal, Head of UK PR, The Walt Disney Company writes to CyberMummy delegates:

Disney is delighted to be part of CyberMummy 2011 and to have the opportunity to meet so many active and engaged mums from across the UK. In the last couple of years we have seen the art of blogging really come into its own as a communication tool, a force for change and most importantly a way to learn, share and laugh about all the experiences of raising kids.

For Disney, CyberMummy is a great opportunity to get better at sharing with all of you the brilliant things we do that will matter to you and your families. We hope to make it easier for you to share what’s important for you with us. Disney is a big company but we are keen to keep making it easier for you to get in touch with us and enjoy all of the many and magical experiences we create every day.

As a mum of two young boys, I know when I want to find great entertainment for me or my family, knowing I can trust something that is Disney branded is brilliant. For more than 80 years Disney has been telling great stories, creating exciting characters and delivering entertainment that stimulates, excites and informs. In fact we are all about telling great stories and finding ways for these stories to take life in a variety of ways. And this helps me as a mum to have a supply of entertainment ideas up my sleeve to keep the kids busy. So, whether it’s out at the cinema, experiencing live events, visiting one of our truly magical parks or even at home in front of the television, when it comes to creating magical moments and memories for the whole family, you can trust Disney to deliver something really special. I witness it every day when my son does the HotDog Dance in front of Disney Junior, or reads along to The Winnie the Pooh Puzzle Book on my i-phone.

So I invite you to visit the Disney Living Room at CyberMummy and we can show you just some of the ways Disney brings great entertainment and stories to life for you and your family. You can meet some of the Disney team, play games or just take a break during what promises to be a very busy day. There will be some great prizes to win, including a Nintendo Wii and the great new Cars 2 game that lets you race your kids from the comfort of your own living room, and a magical holiday to Walt Disney World for you and your family!

So come and join the fun at the Disney Living Room on the 25th June, we look forward to meeting you! Follow us on Twitter

CyberMummy sponsor: Glam

Glam Media, No. 1 in the Family channel in the UK (comScore March, 2011), are very proud to be Gold Sponsors of the CyberMummy11 Conference. We are very much looking forward to seeing old faces and of course, lots of new ones this year!

Earlier this year we proudly acquired the well known website Babyworld bringing an established leader to its Family and Parenting audience. With nearly 200,000 unique visitors a month Babyworld demonstrates on a daily basis the need that parents have to share their experiences with each other. Through Babyworld and our network of Family blogs and sites, Glam Media is committed to bringing our audience essential, up to date information and support that is in tune with the needs of today’s parents.

Glam Media is looking to develop long term partnerships with authors, blogs and sites to further grow our family content, broaden our reach among parents and families and help Mummy publishers grow their own influential communities. Through these relationships our aim is to provide mummy bloggers with an improved and sustained platform to raise their exposure to our growing family audience across the Glam Media network as well as their profile as professional bloggers.

Please come and visit the Glam Media stand and enter our prize draw. The winner to be announced on the day!