Monday 13 February 2012

Event Review: TOWIB Part 2...

This is part two of my TOWIB Event Review... For part one click here. Please understand that everything I've posted in this review is my own personal opinion and there is no malice intended. I have the utmost respect for the organizers and I generally had a great day. However, there were elements which I didn't enjoy as much as I could have done so to give a balanced review I am going to be honest. This is just the way I saw the event, and I'm sure many out there saw it very differently and that's obviously fab! Just wanted to give that little disclaimer so as not to become a big part of the big Twitter debate where some people have been ungrateful, disrespectful and classless.

ANYWAY! What happened after the PR session?

 

We had a break for a little while as everyone 'digested' (aka. gossiped about) the information which we'd learned as there was a fresh batch of teas, coffees and water available as refreshment. This was the stage when no-one could help realizing that there was two very handsome men stood at the front of the room. Amidst whispers and swoons, Hayley made it clear that we were about to have an eBuzzing experience involving these Sex Gods. Unfortunately, this experience was nowhere near as arousing as it sounded. The lady who was supposed to be conducting the first half of the presentation was absent meaning that a hunk with a Kiwi/Australian (I'M NOT AN ACCENT EXPERT OK???) had to literally wing it. It was apparent that Hayley wasn't impressed with his presentation as about fifteen minutes in she actually stood up and gave him advice on where he should have started his speech. This was slightly awkward and despite the fact that the dulcet monotones of him and his sexy colleague were sending most of us to sleep, I still felt kind of sorry for him. After being called out in a room full of women who essentially just wanted the simple facts, this poor guy had to continue with his colleague for another forty-five minutes, and by the end of the hour I sadly felt that although the concept which he was discussing (making between £80 and £130 per blog-post HELLO!!!) was obviously very attractive at first glance for most bloggers, at least two thirds of the room clearly decided the event wasn't worth hanging around for as they made a rather sharp exit once the session was over (with a handful even leaving during the presentation which, whilst being widely considered rude, was understandable.)  I will be doing a post about eBuzzing in a couple of days with some of the key points which the handsome men went through, although I promise I'll try to make it less sleep-inducing and cringeworthy than the whole interrupted palaver was yesterday.


This was the time of the day that we'd all been waiting for... Tea and scones. Although most people had already drank a waterfall of tea, since it was what we'd paid for people virtually climbed over each other in order to grab another cup. As before I opted for water as I don't drink hot drinks and no alternative was on offer, and I also helped myself to a scone with jam and clotted cream (do you pronounce it scown or skon? One of the most thought-provoking questions of the event...) a meringue nest with whipped cream and raspberries and a cupcake with what seemed to be coconut on top. Now, this has been a bit of a taboo subject from the event. Many people have (fairly) argued that considering the event began at 12pm and finished at 6pm, there perhaps should have been food on offer if only a selection of little sandwiches and crisps. Others have argued that the tickets were only £5 and considering the amount of benefits we've 'reaped' from the event we could hardly expect there to be a gourmet three-course dinner on offer. At risk of sitting on the fence (which I usually hate) I agree with both. Our £5 got us six hours of blogger-chat in a four-star central London hotel. However, I would rather have spent £15 and had lunch, because six hours is really too long (especially when the event falls across lunch-time) not to have anything more than some tiny scones. Having said that, the scones were delicious but there didn't seem to be enough. This meant that many who were not scared away from TOWIB by the sexy men, were about to collapse from hunger so they left to eat.

After the scones-session, Vikki asked if we could leave, but despite the fact that I have absolutely no interest in wigs whatsoever, I begged her to stomach the hour-long session with Annabelle's Wigs as I was really eager to see one of my favorite bloggers A Model Recommends in the Q&A bloggers panel session at the end. I will post about Annabelle's Wigs at a later date, although I must admit that this session was in no way useful to me (or most bloggers) at all. The founder of the company conducted this presentation, if you could call it that, but again her voice didn't carry very far and as much as I hate to say it, the presentation was not very polished. This meant that she struggled to command much of the audiences attention and I did feel kind of bad for her. 


Nonetheless, we endured the wig session, took it with a pinch of salt and eventually managed to have a bit of a laugh with it. Can't say I wasn't happy when that session was over though. Now for my big disappointment for the day. Although I absolutely love Get Lippie who sold me her ticket last week, I was kind of gutted when the organizer of TOWIB, Hayley from London Beauty Queen explained with a couple of throwaway comments that A Model Recommends actually was unable to attend and I worked out that Get Lippie was perhaps her replacement. Now this is something which I'm absolutely not positive of, but I do know that Get Lippie was roped in at last minute about a week ago as she originally had bought her own ticket before being invited onto the panel and no longer needing said ticket sold it to me. If I am right in thinking that she was A Model Recommends' replacement, then this tells me that Hayley may have been aware a while ago that my blog idol wasn't going to be able to make it. Had I known she wasn't coming, I may not even have purchased my ticket to begin with, or at the very least might have left with everyone else for lunch! 

AND YET despite my irritation that this might have been the case, I am glad in the end that I stayed as the Q&A blogger session actually was very informative as introduced me to the fabulous King's Road Rocks! blog and allowed me to experience some of Get Lippie's amazing personality. Not to mention that by this point, about 75% of attendees had left leaving a more intimate atmosphere. 

Then that was it! Hayley the organizer bragged a couple of times that she had to dash as she was going to an Ollie Murs concert and checking the time I decided it was definitely Nandos o'clock so Vik and I headed off after signing the guest book and having our photos taken by ASOS (all very glam!).

So my overall opinion of TOWIB was that it was a good value for money event where I met a lot of awesome girls and learnt a couple of tips. If I had organized it, I would charge more, serve food and have a bigger room. I would also make sure that each of the sessions was relevant and of interest to the majority of guests, would corroborate the presentations of each of the sessions as there were a couple of contradictions throughout the event (eg. when one of the PR ladies was saying she dislikes seeing that bloggers have been paid for posts... when our next session was with eBuzzing; a company that specializes in paying bloggers for posts... awkward...) Finally, I'd finalize the itinerary before tickets went on sale and make everyone aware of any changes to the itinerary as and when they happen just to avoid disappointment and let bloggers know exactly what it is that they are paying for.

To conclude, Hayley put on a fab TOWIB for my first time. I will attend again if I find the sessions relevant and the price reasonable (going to London from Stoke is a trek if I'm not even interested in what will be discussed). Although there were some statements which were made which I found offensive and unprofessional, I'm not sure exactly what people expected from a lady who is only charging each person £5, works a full time job on top of blogging and is putting on an event for over 100 strangers. Hayley, I salute you.

So thanks TOWIB for a great day :) And thanks to all the beautiful bloggers that I met at the event! 

Do you call it a skon or scown? Did you attend TOWIB? How do you feel about events like this?

Let me know :) 

Love
gabriellasofia 
x

16 comments:

  1. Both parts of your review are fab! Nice and honest. I'm so glad we didnt leave after the yawn fest of ebuzzing as it was much more fun once so many people left! I dont understand how so many people can whinge about a £5 event! The only crap part was ebuzzing, but even then im sure it was useful to some. Although the room could have been wider rather than long, as I think alot of people couldnt hear or see, or even sit! I agree though that the schedule should be given before the ticket sales xxx

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    1. Thanks Vik! Hope others see it that way too, rather than get all hopped up on 'controversy' and begin bashing at me. It was generally a good day, and I can't for the life of me work out why certain ladies felt it was necessary to be so rude about their opinions and in a blogpost too, I mean, I'm sure there's never been a better reason for the 'unfollow' button.
      Love you
      gabriellasofia x

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  2. I didn't go to this event but my twitter timeline was full of awful things over the weekend. Hayley organised this on her own time, the backlash has been terrible. There are some parts of the blogging community I dislike & that's why I stay out of it and just get on with my blog the way I want to.

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    1. I know right? It's been mad. Like, I understand that not everyone enjoys every event and it's fine in my opinion for them to say that in a blogpost (that's the whole point of posting a review, right?) However, some girls have really gone all out bashing the hell out of Hayley and the girls and it's just not fair! If it was up to me they wouldn't be allowed to come again and there have been a couple of blogs I know I would have unfollowed since reading their reviews if I was a follower in the first place.
      Its all good fun jumping on the trolls bandwagon, but I'm shocked that some girls have done it so openly and at a detriment to their blog and professionalism. It's quite clear that many girls have used this cheap tactic purely to gain a bunch of traffic and comments, but I'm sure that once the row has blown over they'll be much worse off than they were before. I think it's really sad when people don't respect one another.
      Thanks for reading and your comment :)
      Love
      gabriellasofia
      x

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  3. Hello! It was really lovely to meet you at the end of the day, I'm glad you found the event helpful!

    Just to clear up one thing, I was announced on the blogger panel the same day as A Model Recommends, I wasn't a replacement (I most certainly could never replace Ruth!), and it certainly wasn't last minute! But I'd bought a ticket for the event anyway, as I didn't want to just turn up for free! Hayley actually asked me to sell my ticket so that another person would be able to use it.

    I was also disappointed that Ruth couldn't make it, as she's one of my favourite bloggers too.

    PS: Skonn.

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    1. Ahhh ok, well that's reassuring at least, although I still would have liked to be informed of the fact that she couldn't have made it sooner, even if it was just an hour before! Lol. I was like, begging my friend Vikki to stay because I was dying to meet her. We would probably have stayed anyway because I have a thing about one I've paid for an event and come out for it, I want to stay until the end so it wasn't a 'wasted day' and I can review it properly. Nonetheless, as I say I'm glad we stayed anyway as the panel Q&A was my favorite part of the day. Glad people left tbh because it was way more intimate and comfy asking questions in a more relaxed atmosphere. Either way, I'm sure you can understand where that thought process came from!
      AS IF YOU SAY SKONN!!! Lol. I'm a definitely scowner. Nom. Wish I'd smuggled a couple of them into my handbag as I could go for a scown right now.
      Thanks for reading, sorry you've all had so much bashing about the event, it was generally a good day, and it was lovely to meet you!
      Love
      gabriellasofia
      x

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  4. Very well said, I did leave before the wigs cause I was hungry but I never expected to be fed at the event for the price I paid, the food provided was more than adequate, perhaps a break in the events so people could fetch lunch would have been easiest! Either way they drama stirred up on twitter last night was so very off-putting its nice to read an accurate and well balanced review :)
    x

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    1. I ate a big ton of sushi before I got there at like 11am so thankfully I wasn't too hungry but I know there were those who were definitely expecting to be fed. It's a bit of a torn situation because the general consensus is that people would have rather paid a bit more and had a sandwich selection. However, nowhere in the advertising were we promised food so people should have contingency planned like I did and stocked up on a big meal before!
      Thanks for reading :)
      Love
      gabriellasofia
      x

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  5. I think I say scon. I'm sitting here saying scon, scown, scon scown like an idiot. I was at the event too (I think I took your photo with Aimee from Dreamincolour?). My only reason for going was to meet other bloggers which happened (obviously) so it was worth the fiver and train fare to me. I met some lovely people actually!

    I was honestly shocked when those negative tweets started yesterday. Maybe I was a bit naiive but I really wasn't expecting anything like that. I felt a little bit awkward that my tweets with the towib hashtag were showing up in that timeline.

    Anyway, this is getting a bit rambling...I'm going to read more of your posts now.

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    1. All you posh southerners and your SKONS! Oh how I loathe you all :P I definitely remember you :) I think the event was worth the fiver too, although next time I'd prefer to know the itinerary before tickets went on sale just so I'd know what I'm paying for and getting for my money.
      Your blog's quite new at the moment isn't it? Haha, you'll soon see that people love being bitches on the internet! Twitter, blog comments, facebook, they all provide a place for people to whine and complain about things they would never say in person. It's pathetic. That's why I don't allow or post anonymous comments and ignore mean tweets and facebook messages. They're just pathetic!
      Don't worry about rambling, as you can see, I do it too. A LOT lol.
      Thanks for checking me out. Going to head over to your page now and follow :)
      Love
      gabriellasofia
      x

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  6. hey doll, thank you for commenting on my post, i am actually already a follower of yours and we did meet briefly in the ladies loos! (if i remember correctly, you were explaining how you realised at the station that your skirt was a tad see through so had to get a mate to bring you one to wear underneath last minute?!) i read your first part to TOWIB and just now the second and think you have written a brilliant review of the day! i can't stop perving over the pictures of your cakes, i am in SERIOUS need of some food counselling! i say skon fyi!

    i wish i had known beforehand that you were going and remembered your face better, i'm so sorry, but hopefully another time another place :) i think i'm followng you on twitter now so hope you'll say hi some time! xxx

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    1. OH GOD YES I remember you now! Haha, yeah trust me to get involved in such a simple fashion faux pas. LOL. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. Mmm. I love looking at pictures of food. I call them Food Porn haha! BAH why do you all say SKON??? It's not even spelt like that!!!!! Lol.
      Of course I will say hi. I love meeting bloggers and getting to know them better so I'm all over it :P
      You going to any other blog events coming up? Where are you based?
      Love
      gabriellasofia
      x

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    2. FOOD PORN! ha, i love it!

      i'm from Eastbourne but currently in Canterbury for uni! i used to say 'skown' until everybody took the piss for being too posh and ever since i've said it 'skon' haha! your' it's not even spelt like that!' statment made me laugh, one of my best friends is from liverpool and she always goes on about haw 'bath' and 'grass' aren't spelt with an 'r' after the 'a' so we all say it wrong down south!

      i haven't got naymore events in the pipeline unfortunately although would have loved to be going to the london lunch, how about you? X

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    3. YES IT'S DEFINITELY A BATH NOT A BARTH. Lol. I just get confused like how people introduce and remove various letters for virtually no reason out of words. Like, who started that? Haha.
      There is an event in Sheffield which I'm thinking of going to, it's just lunch and shopping apparently but I think it's all booked up according to everyone who I've mentioned it to so I'm not sure you'd be able to come. If you type 'Beauty Bloggers Afternoon Tea' into facebook then you should find more details, would be lovely to meet you and actually know who you are this time LOL.
      Thanks for reading baby.
      Love
      gabriellasofia
      x

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  7. Cor I didn't even go to this and I can feel the tension. At least the Ebuzzing guys were hot, it could have been worse. They could have looked like Wayne Rooney. Enjoyed reading your posts :)

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    1. LOL yes, that would have been unforgivable :P Thanks for reading, there were many awkward turtles and elephants in the room during and since TOWIB unfortunately :( Everyone knows that elephants and turtles don't mix LOL.
      Thanks for your comment Sweet Pea
      gabriellasofia
      x

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