Men At BlogHer
08/01/2006
There are many wonderful recaps of
BlogHer 2006 including links to "offical" live blogging at BlogHer; Amy Gahran's BlogHer Wiki Technorati tagged posts here and here and here.
I thought it might be fun to take a look at what a few of the guys had to say about a blogging conference where they were in the minority. Most of the Divos wrote an overview but here are a few sound bites (or bytes).
- Josh Hallett - The only tension perhaps was the overuse of the term 'Mommy Blogger'. At the final session one participant did say something like, "I'm not a mom and I am not married, but I still blog." That statement received a huge response.
Sidebar: If you were/know the diva who made that remark would you please contact me.
- Dave Winer - The women were "beautiful babes, but not like like booth bimbos, more like Thelma and Louise. It was totally inspiring, and I don't think they'll mind my saying, totally sexy. If there is a heaven, I hope this is what it's like.
- Robert Scoble - I came to listen, not to speak. The other men I talked to felt the same way. It was refreshing to work on listening skills again and learn something from a group of people I wouldn’t usually be with.
- Guy Kawaski - This (photo) is everything that attendees got in the conference bag. It included something I’ve never gotten in conference bag before. Yup, a condom...although I guess I’ve never gotten a bib too.
Sidebar: Post has photos including one of some BlogHer dudes: Guy, Dave Winer, Robert and Patrick Scoble. The caption reads "...this may be four percent of the Technorati 100." Seems Guy didn't internalize that Non A List BlogHer thing. Guess you can take the guy to BlogHer but you can't take the competitive list deal out of the Guy.
- Dmitriy Kruglyak - What I find so remarkable about BlogHer is how seamlessly they brought together a vibrant online community with the real world interaction through a conference. These online and offline connections seem to reinforce one another as people can better relate online to someone they met in person and face-to-face meetings lead to expansion of the circle of friends online.
- Stowe Boyd - The women-in-solidarity ambiance was very strong, and I did at times feel like a delivery guy at a women-only health club.
- Chris Carfi - Great quotes from around BlogHer. And a question: Is BlogHer the biggest blogging conference?
- Marc Canter - Series of links
- Tom Maddox - Because the usual male-female ratio was inverted at Blogher, male display was almost entirely absent, replaced by friendly, open conversation. The prevailing atmosphere--the oxygen--was friendliness, openness, inclusiveness.
- Steve Garfield - Cool videos and photos
- Jeremy Pepper - Posted also at POP PR Jots - The event was how such blogging events should be: the newbies and the veterans getting together to discuss blogging and blogging practices.
- Phil Hollow - The attendees all seemed to find the environment a safe, secure and friendly one, and it certainly seemed to me that everyone was welcome, regardless of gender. Thanks to Elise Bauer!
How can the divos of the blogosphere help diva bloggers? Chris Nolan, who did a wonderful job moderating the end panel, has two suggestions:
- Stop making lists
- Link. Link. Link (and then link some more)
Sidebar: My welcome home gift was spending many, many hours with Earthlink in the wee hours of the night/morning trying to connect to the internet and with promises of senior tech call backs not kept. Technorati Tags: BlogHer, BlogHer_'06
