HadashiWorld

...let me qualify that. i don’t doubt for a minute that blogging is an absolute juggernaut that is literally changing, post by post, the way people communicate, build community, find identity, and change the world. in this age of instant technology, in an informational democracy, the blog is a medium that has come of age so fast that many still aren’t sure what the heck is going on, or who let it leave the house looking like that. i’m sure traditional journalism would like it to cover up & get back inside, but there’s no going back. blogging allows previously marginalised or suppressed voices to now be heard in a broader context than they’d ever dreamed (and on a range of subjects one could only dream up after eating way too much garlic for dinner). and of course, like any other overwhelming force of cultural change, it’s created its own subculture, complete with social hierarchies and rules.
it’s the validity of that hierarchy i'm really questioning: i didn’t expect people to take themselves so darn freakin' seriously. my gosh. at times i felt like i was working a press junket, where every journalist tries to impress on everyone else how Important His/Her Publication Is And Did I Mention I'm On A First Name Basis With Lots of Movie Stars? really, people, calm yo-selves down and drink another cup of tea. make sure it's decaf, for heaven's sake.

and then there was the VentFest. i used to do a lot of diversity training seminars in universities. whenever we’d kick off a conference, or i’d start a workshop, the first bits always involved people venting about however they’d been victimised, or oppressed, or whatever. only then could things get productive. it was the same at BlogHer. although there was a lovely sort of the Girl Bloggers Unite! Vibe, there was still lots of interesting undercurrents of competition and annoyance floating around. the so-called mommybloggers felt somewhat ghettoized, the political bloggers seemed to recoil at the word “pundit,” and the amorphously-labeled “identity bloggers” had this compulsive desire to be on the aforementioned Technorati 100 yet also wanted to be Very Individual. the vent-fests were ironic: for example, in the forum about flaming and how bad it is, Six Apart, makers of Movable Type (the platform this blog uses) itself got flamed. the few men who were brave enough to show up were then accused of “dominating conversations, like men do.” and then oooh! the women’s bathroom conversations! so snarktastic!

don’t get me wrong – let me emphasize this was Merely An Undercurrent. overall, the cooperation, interest, and genuine excitement that characterizes the meetings of the open-hearted/minded was the dominant feature of BlogHer. you see, i think the validity of blogging is not who makes what A-List or how important you think words at a certain URL are or how gloriously witty and thrilling your writing may be. oh no. it's what it teaches you about yourself, and the access it gives to others to your voice.
we spend a lot of time -- some would say not enough -- teaching schoolkids that their thoughts are important, their voice is needed, their ideas are valuable. in Real Adult World, we're rarely told this, unless of course said thoughts/voice/ideas are making money. blogging changes that balance of power, giving validity and value to anyone who chooses to put her/himself out there. sure, this can be dangerous, but so is waking up and getting out of bed.

BlogHer was full of people who have taken these chances. i can’t tell you how many times i left a conversation thinking, “wow, i’m so glad i met her. i’m so glad i can continue my contact with her via her blog, continue to see inside her head, hear voices that are so different from my own.” i learned a lot about people who were nothing like me, and i’m better for it. i heard the opinions and laughter and compliments of people who, before this day, were virtual print friends but actual visual strangers. i gained a good deal of practical insight, felt a renewed interest in my own blog, and did i mention that the food was surprisingly good? those cookie bars! the tomato bisque! woops, sorry, my favourite digression...

seriously, i felt like i was in an extraordinarily fertile social-and-mental-garden, where everywhere you looked a new something-or-other was springing up. that was what was so splendid about BlogHer. it felt much like a very friendly university, where i was amongst an enormous group of people with such rich and different viewpoints, lives, voices, opinions, stories -- and they ALL wanted to talk about them. rarely in Real Adult Life do you get the opportunity to be around such a heterogenous group. and the feeling there’s a potential new friend in every conversation was quite refreshing, especially for a city girl who’s used to a certain level of anonymity. it was interesting, stimulating, hilarious, challenging, and really, really entertaining.

thanks, BlogHers, for a great time. it was a privilege & a pleasure to meet all of you.