I think Jenn has done a pretty good job of giving everyone snapshots from our 4 days in NYC – in her articles for EdenCafe: part one is here and part two is here . So I thought it would be cool to tell you what I was thinking from a work perspective – as most of you know, I am the Marketing Director at Eden.

You can see awesome photos on our company Facebook, check it out here.

(and become a fan while you’re over there!)

EdenFantasys seemed like the perfect fit for BlogHer , in my eyes. We are all about community, and openness; we feature so many women’s opinions and stories. I was excited to be working on this. I was full of optimism. So, months ago, I started planning – making sure we had the supplies, the signage, the paperwork, all of it. Brainstorming with our beloved Bloggess on how to have the most awesomely craftacular sex toy party ever. I reached out to our great friends at Doc Johnson, Evolved Novelties, Pipedream, Wet Lubricants, Hathor, System JO, Extase, njoy, Lelo, Jimmyjane, and Bust Magazine to ensure that our panel table would be full of great demos and take-aways, our swag bags would be exciting, and our post-BlogHer prize packs would be stellar. Thank you everyone! I also collaborated on ideas with Anne of ASCNYC.org to fit condom crafts into our party plan. And we were all set. We had a plan!

Day one came upon us quickly, and as Jenn mentioned in her posts, there was a lot of hustling and rushing and coordinating. We handled it, but I worried a bit about everything running smoothly. Thanks to two hardworking Eden staff members, Ilya and Arthur, we pulled off all the loading and setting up. On our first night out at parties, we were very well-received. People had heard of Eden, were SexIs readers, and had found us through the reviews, giveaways, and the Bloggess’s column. My hopes were confirmed – we were definitely a good fit!

Meeting The Bloggess in person, after all the work we have done together in the last year and a half, was wonderful. We hugged and wiggled and squealed.It was perfect. Seeing her every day for those 3 days was great, and is something I could get used to! She even told the ‘SexIs controversy’ story during her ‘Where is the line?” panel, and used working with Eden and SexIs as an example of how to work with good companies who support the writer and care about the relationship. It made me so proud of her – she has a true balance of humor and grace. She had everyone laughing, but it was heartwarming too. And it made me realize just how much our relationship means to her. Then hearing so many women tell us how much they love the site, how they want to work with us, that they love the columns – it made me feel really warm and really proud. Hearing the stories behind their blogs, about their families, about their hopes, made me feel connected and fortunate to be in this place where I could listen and share.

The ‘Bringing Sex Out of the Closet’ panel was a smashing success – the panel was packed, we were swamped, everyone was excited, everyone wanted toys and magazines. It was incredible. They were interested in SexIs, they wanted to play with the Delight, and the Kissa, and the Pure Wand. They smiled and laughed when pushing buttons on the Siri and Iconic Rabbit. We pretty much lost our voices from talking about adult toys so much. What a great moment for this industry! We were embraced! Even now, I am finding dozens of new mentions all over the internet daily – about the table, the swag, the panel, the toys, the magazines. Oooh, and the swag – what a hit! Everyone wanted an Eden tote bag full of swag! I saw them later being carried around during the conference, and I smiled to myself, knowing that we had made many women happy.

Yes, you’ve heard we met the Pioneer Woman, and I got her into the Expo Hall when the security guy was clueless, and she asked about my hair…but, she also asked us for our cards, and she said she reads SexIs Magazine! And did you know that she joked with us about toys? And that when we took the photo with her, she said “Ok, everyone say sex toys!” – that was pretty awesome! Ree also asked about what I do for Eden, and joked that it must be so hard working with sex toys all day. She was wonderful and gracious. I am even more of a fan of The Pioneer Woman now than I was before!

Next was our party – which turned out amazing. We had been inviting people for 2 days, it was also on the Bloggess’ SexIs post and on her blog. People knew, but still, I worried. And we rushed! We did it all DIY – no catering, no services. Just us and Anne of ASCNYC. And we kicked ass. That suite looked great, the crafts areas were fabulous and full of so many things to use, the food was delicious, and the booze was plentiful. The party was so much ridiculous silly fun. It was loud with laughter. It was packed with enthusiasm…and people! Why did I even worry? We had more people than we could fit, I’d say 200 or more came through in under 2 hours. And the photos and video from the party are still making me laugh today. Afterward, we all headed to the Volstead, then onto Sparklecorn. It was an exhausting end to a whirlwind long weekend. Covered in glitter and sweat, and maybe a few sequins, I passed out that night feeling satisfied and excited to have met so many new and wonderful women.

We are definitely doing BlogHer next year – and I have many notes on how to make it even better. I paid attention, I listened, I noticed things. And now I am fully confident that we will make an even bigger impact next year, in a way that is meaningful for everyone we meet, and all of our friends that we hope to see again!

Saturday started off a little nicer, with Victoria and I sleeping in until about 8:00am. Then we rushed to get dressed, made it over to the Hilton in time for breakfast and a brief stint of socializing with bloggers, before regrouping and heading over to Personal: Where’s the Line or the Lie: Storytelling, Memoir and Poetic License, a panel all about authenticity and great story-telling and writing in blogging. The lovely Jory Des Jardins (also a BlogHer co-founder!) headed the panel, and co-moderation was provided by Julie Marsh and our very own Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess. As expected, the panel was interesting, insightful, heartwarming, and provided its share of laughs and echoes of “Oh, I’ve been there/said that/done that!”.

After the panel concluded, Victoria and I made our way back to the food trough, where hundreds of other bloggers were already swarming for lunch. We weren’t really hungry, but we were curious to see what would be dished up, and mealtimes are always great times for meeting new people – especially since BlogHer is such a big event and attracts so many bloggers that it’s nearly impossible to find an empty table to sit at! As expected, we table-crashed once again, this time meeting up with Erin, whose lovely roommate was Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman! We were on our way out and she was on her way in, only she was stopped by a door guard for not having a pass (c’mon now, The Pioneer Woman so does not need a pass!). Both Victoria and I were all, “Dude, don’t you know who this IS?”, and then begged her for a photo. She complimented Victoria’s hair, mentioned that she reads SexIs, and took our business cards!

The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur of taxis and food and cupcakes and decorations, as Victoria and I hustled to get the food and last minute decorations prepared for our dildo decorating party, which started at 6:00pm. By 5:00pm Anne West-Church of AIDS Service Center NYC showed up with tons of supplies for condom decorating, as well as white-, milk- and dark-chocolate pops molded and colored to represent penises, vaginas and breasts (complete with nipples!) (to Anne and everyone at ASCnyc.org – thank you so much for your contribution!).

The next two hours flew by! We had a steady stream of women (and the occasional man, including Techy Dad) coming into our hotel suite, and both the dildo decorating table and the condom decorating table were a hit. Colorful dildos and condom earrings mingled with cupcakes, cheese on crackers and a variety of mixed drinks (courtesy of Victoria, our informal bartender). We had several demo products on hand, including our signature Kissas, which our guests were delighted to find in their swag bags. We talked, we chatted, we passed around the demo products, and talked non-stop about sex toys, better sex, and of course, BlogHer and NYC.

At 8:30pm, after the final guests had trickled out, Victoria and I freshened up, threw out whatever trash that was within reach, then headed over to The Volstead, which is a sophisticated restaurant and lounge located on East 54th Street. There we saw The Bloggess again, enjoyed a few drinks and some chit-chat, before we all decided that our time would be much better spent at one of the most highly anticipated BlogHer events, Sparklecorn. Sparklecorn, as the name suggests, is an event that is all about glitter and unicorns. We heard rumors of a unicorn cake, and weren’t disappointed at what Charm City Cakes produced for the event.

Sparklecorn was exactly what we expected: loud, energetic, hip, and sparkly. Very sparkly. I was sporting glittery nail polish, glittery makeup, a shimmery shirt and sparkly headbands, and for good measure I threw up a handful of loose glitter and let it rain down on my hair, face and body prior to leaving the hotel room, so I fit right in. Glow sticks and miniature Microsoft swag bags accentuated all of the glittery goodness, and loud music from the 80s and 90s got people up and moving on the dance floor.

[pictures 0834, 0836]
And believe it or not, we ran into The Pioneer Woman again! She was just as sweet as the first time around, despite looking a bit tired from having such a long day.

As Sparklecorn began to wind down, so did we. It wasn’t even midnight, but it suddenly exhaustion hit us, and so Victoria and I made the rounds to say goodbye to people we recognized and even those we didn’t, and then made our way back to the hotel. On the way in, we ran into our favorite doorman, William, who had been nothing but sweet and gracious to us since we first arrived, and on a whim we tipped him with an EdenFantasys swag bag that was overstuffed with extra goodies.

Finally back in our hotel room, the two of us collapsed in front of the television for a little while, and then began the process of throwing out trash, cleaning up after the party, putting supplies away, and packing. The conclusion of Sparklecorn basically concluded our stay for BlogHer, so it was now time for us to get ready to go home!

From time to time, you remember something you wanted to put in a review that you’ve just published.  For up to 2 weeks after submitting a review you can edit your review using these steps…

See more on the EdenFantasys blog!

The Alumina line, from Tantus, has been around for awhile – and it is SO under appreciated!  You hear all the time about stainless steel toys and how awesome they are but people seem to forget that aluminum – especially the anodized, aeronautic grade this line is made from – is just as nice.  Nicer, in some ways!

Aluminum dildos are all that steel are; hefty, solid, firm, amazing for g-spot massage (or p-spot!), excellent for temperature play, sterilizable, body safe and plain old fun.  On the plus side, they’re a little bit lighter than steel -meaning you get less tired out using them and they come in colors, not just silver.

The Alumina line comes in a gorgeous shade of purple.  I’m not personally a fan – at all! – of purple but these are beautiful.  The color is deep, no pastels here, just beautiful, deep, magenta-ish purple with a depth to it I can’t even describe.

All three of the dildos in this line have a slightly matte finish – more like satin – with a deep sheen to them.  They are not painted so the color will never chip off.  And they are, without a doubt, built to last a lifetime.

Flow

Let’s start with the Alumina Flow.  The Flow is the most mild mannered of these three dildos, with the least texture but the widest girth.  It measures 9.5 inches long with an insertable length of 4 inches.  It’s insertable shaft is a lovely 1.5 inches in diameter – usable by most, even a fairly new user and enough to keep the size queens fairly sated.

The Flow has a bulged shaft that starts at a tapered tip, bulges to it’s full girth, and then tapers back down where it meets the handle.  The handle is perfect for gripping well, facilitating easy thrusting either by yourself or by a partner.

While the shaft doesn’t curve, I’ve found you can get really nice g-spot stimulation with the Flow and that it seems larger than its diameter leads you to believe it will.  It’s very nicely filling from tip to end of the insertable portion and is amazing to clench your muscles around.

“The Flow is very erotic visually & functionally. Recommend for people who like metal and glass toys” - Gunsmoke, review “Love the Flow“

Motion

Moving on, we have the Alumina Motion.  The Motion is the toughest looking of the bunch, with its pointed ends that resemble a spear.  Rest assured, they feel nothing like a spear!  They’re actually quite nice, both ends – and this one is designed to be dual ended.  The dildo itself is 8.75 inches long with a 1 inch diameter on the shorter side, a 1.25 inch diameter on the larger.

The tips are tapered quite extremely, making this an excellent toy for careful anal use with a partner, since it’s so easy to insert – though I would recommend using caution for this.  It also works wonderfully vaginally, so long as you use caution not to thrust too hard and fast, which can bump the cervix. Many reviewers have stated they get wonderful pinpoint g-spot stimulation from the Motion.

The shaft starts at a taper, bulges to a lovely head, then tapers back in to a smooth shaft on the large end.  The smaller end has the same tapered tip, only smaller, that bulges out, then in, then – bam! – back out again into another little bulge before tapering back into the shaft.  It’s a really nice texture and, because it’s so amazingly smooth and sleeky, it’s not at all obtrusive or painful.

“Exceptional quality, inventive design.” - Average Joe, review “Ladies, Forget the Fingers- Use This Instead.”

Revolve

And, finally, we have the Alumina Revolve.  The Revolve is kind of the middle child in this line.  Curvy, rounded, soft looking despite its firm material.  The Revolve is also the slimmest of the three, measuring in at 8.24 inches long, again dual sided, with a 1 inch diameter on the smaller side, a 1.25 inch diameter on the larger.

The ends of the Revolve are round, spherical, like little balls made of aluminum.  The larger, longer end has a single ball as it’s head which tapers down into a slim shaft.  This makes for excellent, broad g-spot massage and a nifty popping sensation, especially used anally.  The smaller side has three little balls, starting with a small one and gradually working up, bloop, bloop, bloop, to the largest.   An interesting texture, no matter how you use it!

“A beautiful design, sinful shape, and a curvature that you can only dream of.” - Sleeping Dreamer, review “Fly Me to the Moon“

The Collection

All three of these pieces are excellent for temperature play.  You can heat them up or cool them down simply by running them under the appropriate temperature water. You can even tuck them in the refrigerator for some really chilly play!  Just don’t freeze or microwave them, ok?  Extreme temperatures are not good for tender tissues and they’re metal, they’ll break your microwave!  Aluminum retains temperature well, too, so  it tends to stay cool or warm for awhile before either heating to your body temperature or cooling to it.  After a bit of use, these toys actually feel HOT when you pull them out.  It’s really the most amazing thing.

All three of the Alumina pieces are also – get this! – customizable.  You see that black ring in the middle of each? It’s a silicone o-ring and the dildos unscrew in the center into two pieces.  This means, if you happen to have two or more of them, you can unscrew and then screw on one of the pieces from another of the line. So.  Like the big bumpy end of the Revolve and the small, pointed end of the Motion?  Aha! Screw them together and you’ve created your own toy – the Remotion!  Or, perhaps you like the handle of the Flow but the pointy, curvy large end of the Motion.  Screw them together and you have the Mow!  This line is so versatile – there really is something for everyone, even if you only have one but the fact that you can basically design your own toy by having more than one is simply unheard of and amazing.

The Point

Now that I’ve blathered on for an hour or so, I’ll get to the point, if you haven’t guessed it.

This week, we’re giving away Alumina toys!

Not just one.  Not even two.  We’re giving away all three – one each, to three different winners!  (Woot!  That makes your chances of winning even better!)

Enter

So, get busy!  You know how to enter!  First thing is, as always:

• Leave a comment.  Let us know what you like about this line of toys, why you love Eden Fantasys, what kind of pickles you like, whatever – just be sure to include which one you would choose if you won.

Once you’ve done that, you can go hog wild, insane, crazy with the bonus entries – many of which you can do daily, giving you oodles and oodles of ways to enter!

• Tweet about the contest.  Use any words you like, but make sure you @EdenCafe and use a link to the contest page  in your tweet.  You can tweet once a day.  Come back and let us know you tweeted each day by leaving a comment.
• Follow us on twitter.  Not just Eden Cafe, but Eden Fantasys, Eden Reviews, Eden Tube, SexIs Magazine, Eden Mentors and EFCustomerCare, too.  Leave a comment letting us know you follow – each account you follow is another bonus entry!  If you already follow, that’s fine too. Just leave a comment letting us know.
• Comment on any post on Eden Cafe , the EF Blog or article on SexIs Magazine this week.  Only posts from Monday, August 9th thru Sunday, August 15th are eligible.  Don’t forget to come back and let us know you did, each time you do!
• Blog about the contest on your own blog, on your tumblr, your fetlife profile, wherever you do your blogging.  Make sure you put a link in your blog and then come back and leave a comment with a link to your blog post. You can do this on any blog you have so if you have a regular blog and a tumblr and a fetlife page and a myspace blog, you can do it on each and each will be an entry!
• Like our page on Facebook.  Or like EdenFantasys or SexIs Magazine.
• Like or comment on any of our wall posts for this week, on any of the FB pages.  This can add up to a lot of entries, since we each post a few times a day.  Make sure you come back and leave a comment, letting us know you did, each time you do.

And there you have it.  Why are you still here?  Shouldn’t you be entering already?????

Contest begins today, August 10th and ends Sunday, August 15th at 11:59 PM EDT. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 17th.

Good luck!

Read more

EdenFantasys had the pleasure – literally! – of sponsoring BlogHer ‘10, which was held at the Hilton New York in NYC on August 6th – August 7th, 2010. I’m the Off-site Review Program Manager for EdenFantasys, so I was asked to attend in order to network with both current and prospective bloggers. My 10+ years of blogging and vast experience with social networking were an added bonus, and gave me the unique experience of attending BlogHer ’10 as both a company representative and a blogger.

I accompanied Victoria Bowman Steinour, the marketing director and also my boss, and together we arrived and checked in at The Warwick (sidenote: don’t ever stay at this hotel, unless you enjoy paying $400+ a night and receiving poor room service and disrespectful and scornful attitudes from management and front desk clerks) on Thursday, August 5th. We checked out our accommodations – a gorgeous corner suite that easily takes up a good third of the floor we stayed on – and then helped two of Eden Fantasys’ awesome employees unload all of the stuff we needed for panel sponsorship (more about that in a moment), dildo decorating party and general swag giveaways.

Once we were settled in, we changed and then headed over to the Hilton to see what was happening. The People’s Party was set to start at 7:00pm, but when we entered the main lobby of the Hilton there was no signage or any indication of where the party was at. A few minutes and a very nice concierge later, we had directions to the grand ballroom on the third floor, and made our way there.

While The People’s Party was taking place in the ballroom, and was accompanied by delicious food, strong drinks and music, the real excitement was in the bathroom a few doors down, in which The Bloggess had taken up residence. Together, along with numerous bloggers that came and went (some bringing drinks, others bringing Play-doh, almost all bringing business cards, digital cameras and cell phones), we spent about three hours in that bathroom. If I recall correctly, very little excrement of bodily fluids and such took place, as we were all too busy socializing and chatting up The Bloggess.

The bathroom version of The People’s Party wound down, and after finding a cute little grocery store just a block away from our hotel, Victoria and I headed back to our suite, where we unpacked, prepared a lot of stuff that we would need for the weekend, and processed photos (you can view all of our BlogHer ’10 photos on our Flickr Photostream), and by 3:30am were more than happy to call it a night.

Friday started off bright and early, with a brutal wake-up phone call at 6:30am. We jumped out of bed as fast as one can move on three hours of sleep, got ready, and then dashed over to the the Hilton for breakfast (provided by Tropicana and the welcoming keynote. The welcoming keynote was exciting, heartfelt, and definitely made me eager for BlogHer to “officially” kick off. After the keynote came an informal, table version of Speed Dating, which involves bloggers pairing up, introducing themselves to one another, exchanging business cards, and getting to know one another as best as one could do in just a few minutes. Speed Dating took place at each table, which seated ten.

One of the highly anticipated events started up not long after the welcoming keynote and Speed Dating wound down – swag grabbin’ time! In case you’re not familiar with BlogHer, you should know that many well-known and even some lesser-known companies pay substantial amounts of money to be able to set up a booth at BlogHer. The booth remains open during both days of BlogHer, and company representatives are usually present to meet bloggers and talk to them about their company, products, services, and the types of relationships they would like to build with bloggers and social media experts. But the best part, hands down, is the swag. Swag is just a fancy term for the freebies that these companies hand out freely to bloggers who visit their booths. Swag this year included Play-Doh scented perfume, Tempur-Pedic travel pillows, samples of pet food, air fresheners and laundry detergent from P&G Home, and hordes of USB drives (I grabbed up a dozen or so myself). Note: bring at least one large-sized tote bag with you when collecting swag, because you will need it!

BlogHer ’10 featured not one but two areas for sponsors to set up their booths. The areas were separated by a hallway and a floor, and each one took at least an hour to get through, simply because there was so much to see, do, and talk about!

Friday afternoon was spent hitting up several panels (panels are basically speaking engagements where bloggers and other speakers talk about a variety of subjects related to blogging. A lot of the subjects related to blog monetization and social media, as well as writing better blogs, dealing with the negative aspects of blogging (i.e. not-so-constructive criticism and haters), and balancing blogging and working from home with family life.

After the swag collecting and panel hopping, Victoria and I headed back to our hotel suite to get ready for the panel we sponsored, Bringing Sex Out of the Closet, which was led by Twanna Hines. We provided 250 swag bags (full of goodies including our exclusive Kissa), and also had our own booth to set up outside of the room where the panel was being held.

To say that the panel and our booth were a hit is one of the biggest understatements of the year! People kept streaming into the panel, and more people were swarmed around our booth during both set-up and the wrapping up of the panel; and there was a steady supply of people talking to us and checking out our table in between. Our business card drop jar was also quite a hit, since we’re picking not one but 25 bloggers at random to win sexcellent swag bags! Psst… did you miss BlogHer? You still have a chance to win great Eden Fantasys swag! Check out Twanna’s great giveaway over at Funky Brown Chick!

We connected with hundreds of great bloggers, including Techy Dad and his wife The Angel Forever, as well as Cutest Kid Ever, and the lovely Melissa, who was extra lovely in our eyes because she brought us a cookie!

After the panel concluded and we cleaned up after our booth and handed out the rest of the swag (to the lucky bloggers who found EdenFantasys swag bags and Kissas in the swag exchange suite: you’re welcome!), Victoria and I headed back to our hotel suite to prepare for the Gala Welcome Party. We were definitely beat from the energy and pace of the day so far, and I was going hoarse from talking so much at our booth, but we pushed on, glittered ourselves up, and after a brief ten or so minute dozing off session on the sofa while we waited for our dinner (via room service, as we were too tired to go find food ourselves), wolfed down our food and then headed out to get our party on.

We saw all sorts of great creative spark at the Gala Welcome Party, including posters covered with blank speech bubbles for bloggers to write in their own captions (we saw a lot of great ones!), artwork available for auction, paint-it-yourself canvases for bloggers to do some more self-expression on, hundreds of colorful balloons, and The Bloggess, who spent the evening writing up haikus on an authentic pastel pink typewriter for bloggers to take home as souvenirs.

The party began winding down, no one came to claim this pretty red stiletto, so Victoria and I headed back to the hotel suite. We were seriously dragging at this point, but we had swag to pack, arts and crafts supplies to lay out, and a suite to decorate in anticipation of our Dildo Decorating Party, which was set for Saturday at 6:00pm. We had been handing out invitations since our arrival on Thursday afternoon, and wanted to make it an event to remember.

Bed time finally came at another brutal 3:30am, and we couldn’t jump into bed fast enough.
Part 2 coming soon!

I won’t even bother messing around this week with teasing.  I know y’all just want to know who, indeed, won that Siri.

The winner is…!

Alan and Michele!  (comment #218)

Holy cow! Congrats, guys!  We had a LOT of entries on this one.  Shoot me an email with your shipping info and I’ll get that out to you asap! (edencafeadmin@gmail.com)

Everyone else – keep your eye out for this week’s contest. It’s going up in about an hour!

I have been buying products from Eden Fantasys for about five years now. Never have I had a problem with the company. I discovered last year that I could review products for their company. The best part? Anyone can do it. They don’t discriminate in any way whatsoever. The only thing needed- a community to vote you in. Not too hard right? No. For me it wasn’t, but for some this can be very difficult. Why is that? I have been watching the activity on Eden Fantasys for a while now. Watching a mix of members of the community, reading blogs, and following twitter. I have never commented in a bad way towards any member of the Eden community. I’m confused, when did reviewing sex toys become about competition and bickering anyway?

I haven’t spoke out about this issue at all. I keep my ticking fingers to myself most of the time. Personally, I don’t get the drama. It’s the Internet. Many people take all of it way too seriously. But my point of writing was not to complain about the bickering. Instead I want to focus on Eden Fantasys. I find enjoyment in reviewing products for them. I wanted to write about my personal experience with the toy. There are a variety of review types. Descriptive, off site, video, testimonials, extended, sponsored, and not sponsored. A wide mix here. What I am confused about is, where does someone draw the line between the reviews. I understand that a Sponsored Descriptive review should be detailed and focused more on obviously describing the product. But when talking about all other reviews… why is a product overview considered a better review than a personal experience?

When I start writing reviews I tried to do this. Eden Fantasys has a Product Page for every product they sell and on that page there is a Product Overview. Now when I wrote a review I wanted to focus on my experience with it. Not write a product overview. Sadly, it did not take long to realize that everyone thought this wasn’t useful. Why? I have no idea. Maybe because I didn’t say what color it was? Maybe it was if I didn’t put how long a battery lasted in it? Maybe I had a grammatical error? I don’t know.

I think everyone deserves a chance to review in their own way. Eden Fantasys accepts a lot of people. Just about anyone. They give us that chance. They allow us to review products for them at absolutely no cost to us. They offer incentives like gift cards, have giveaways, and lots of other chances for some great stuff. Eden Fantasys chooses to do this. Not the members of their site. What are we complaining about? What is the big deal here? So you don’t like what someone else says on their blog or twitter. Who cares? This should never be connected into Eden Fantasys and it should not reflect how you judge a review. This is where the ranks and ratings system becomes very nasty.

It bothers me that there is so much drama on Eden these days. And to be honest, it’s over ridiculous stuff. Sometimes I feel like there are a bunch of five years old writing sex toy reviews. Imagine what Eden Fantasys would be like without ranks? Do you think everyone would get along again? Would there be less competition? Less drama? I think so. Of course there is always going to be that one person that is going to be negative about everything. That is to be expected.

Do I think Eden Fantasys will ever get rid of the rank system? No. Do I expect them to? No. I think it is a great way to get appreciation for the reviews we do. What can make it better? The way we determine how to rate each other. Reviews should be about having fun with the products, using them, and sharing our thoughts about the product. So John Doe doesn’t have the better editing or grammar skills… does this mean his review wasn’t useful at all? No it doesn’t. Miss Mary forgot to put how long she thinks the battery lasts… was her review completely useless? Absolutely not. If I am going to take the time to read a review and give it a rating, I want to know what that person thought of their experience with the toy. I don’t need the battery type, toy size, or care instructions. I can find all of that right on the product page. It’s like retyping un-needed information. Why do I need to type it up when you know you are going to look at the product page anyway? Doesn’t make much sense does it?

I have to admit, I am not practicing what I am preaching. How can I? I feel like if I write about my experience and don’t write a product description, it will be rated less useful. So yeah, I follow the pack. What else can we do? If we want to have more opportunities on Eden Fantasys we need a higher rank. If we don’t write perfect reviews then obviously we lose opportunities. I think its unfair and childish how some members act. I have made an impact on my end. I read reviews and rate them in my way of thinking. So what if they haven’t written the description for the product label. That’s not what reviewing is about for me. I want to know how it felt, a story about when they used it, their experience. Not a product description. I will continue to write reviews to the satisfaction of the members. I will continue to rate reviews in my own way. I just hope that things will change. That the drama will fade and we can get back to enjoying reviewing for Eden Fantasys.

That’s right, Eden is going to BlogHer, all official and stuff.

EdenFantasys is officially sponsoring the only panel about sexuality at BlogHer 2010, and will be taking adult retail into the mainstream spotlight while personally engaging over 2,000 dedicated bloggers at the sold-out conference. Pretty awesome, right?!

BlogHer is one of the most influential blogger platforms online, a veritable powerhouse network of women writing about their experiences and opinions on every conceivable topic. On August 5th – 7th, over 2,400 bloggers will gather in New York City to attend the sixth annual BlogHer conference, being held at The Hilton New York. Building on the momentum of five consecutive sold-out annual conferences, BlogHer ’10 will bring bloggers from every corner of the blogosphere together for hands-on learning, rich discussions, the chance to meet with the brands that support them, and plentiful networking opportunities. It’s all about community at BlogHer, and that’s exactly what makes it a perfect fit for us!

Focusing on community building and setting a new standard for how adult retail can be relatable and approachable are our most core priorities. As we continue to grow our blogger network of writers, product reviewers, and ambassadors, the online conversation becomes more diversified and valuable. No other adult retailer has been able to reach so many people in so many places. We are truly community-based, and that makes all the difference; don’t you agree? So, naturally, we want to meet bloggers face to face and connect!

EdenFantasys.com is proudly sponsoring the only panel at BlogHer ’10 to even approach blogging about sexuality, ‘Bringing sex out of the closet’, being held on Friday, August 6th. Moderated by fabulous New York sex, dating and relationships writer, Twanna Hines aka Funky Brown Chick , this panel will touch on how to have a healthy sex life and how to use the internet to discuss sex and to find resources on sexual health information. Twanna Hines says, on participating at BlogHer, “I’ve spoken at BlogHer previously, and I’m excited about returning this year. It’s a fantastic event with rich discussions about a wide variety of topics affecting women online.” And when asked about the panel and having EdenFantasys as the sponsor, she said “Leading the panel discussion is a real honor for me because it brings together a diverse group of women to talk about the politics of sex in a serious, informative, and thought-provoking manner. I support EdenFantasys’ mission to get a community people together to talk about healthy views about sex. I think it’s great they provide good resources and products, and it seems like a natural sponsor for our panel about sexuality.” Panelists include: AV Flox, who writes at ‘Sex and the 405’; Genia Stevens, who produces ‘Sister Talk Radio’; ‘Mominatrix’ sex advice columnist, Kristen Chase; and Tess Danesi of Urban Gypsy. Takeaways include materials from the panelists and swag bags provided by EdenFantasys.

And, of course we’re having a party! The Bloggess herself will be joining Jenn and I for an awesomely craftactular dildo decorating party (think bright toys, glitter, paint, feathers, sequins, and more) that will include special guests from our friends at ASC , who will be providing condom crafts. This arts, crafts, swag and booze soirée will be on Saturday, August 7th from 6pm – 8pm at our deluxe suite in the Warwick Hotel (across the street from BlogHer) – no RSVP needed, just find us at the panel or one of the parties and get the suite number from us! So excited! Pics to follow, promise!

Special thanks to swag sponsors: Doc Johnson, Evolved Novelties, Hathor, Wet Lubricants, Pipedream, System Jo lubricants, and Eden Fantasys too!

No messing around today – y’all took up all my time sorting thru entries so now I”m rushed!  We had over 300 comment entries alone in last week’s contest for the SinFive Eve and Emigi.

So who won?

That would be Wynter, commenter #237!  And Maiden, commenter #123!

Congrats, Wynter and Maiden!  Shoot me an email at edencafeadmin@gmail.com with your shipping info and I’ll get those right out to you!

Everyone else, don’t forget, this week it’s the Siri!  We love giving away LELO and this is a brand new, awesome vibe, only out about a week so get entering!

Sincere apologies for only listing one winner yesterday.  No excuses, I flubbed!