Being Amber Rhea

BlogHer ‘09: I’m speaking!

I’ve been given the go-ahead to announce this, so, guess what?

I’m going to be on a panel at BlogHer ‘09 in Chicago! Here’s the description:

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Identity/Passions: LifeBlogging Outside the Lines: When you’re not a Geek, a Political Wonk or a MommyBlogger

Friday, July 24, 1:15-2:30 PM

Blogging started as a geek’s game, and by 2004 political bloggers were making waves and mainstream media news. Post-BlogHer 2005 the rise of the MommyBloggers, first as cultural, then as commercial, force began. So where does that leave the rest of us… blogging about who we are and what we do with as much dedication, passion and amazing writing as any of those other blogging archetypes? We know that many of you who don’t fit neatly into the above boxes share the same concerns:

• How can I dispel stereotypes about people like me?
• How can I build community without something like an ideology or a kid of a particular age to serve as the common thread?
• How can I get a piece of the monetization pie… I have income and spend money too, you know?

Join Shameeka Ayers, Trish Bendix, Jane Gassner, and Amber Rhea and come flex your blogging muscles.

—

I’m really looking forward to this panel! And I have to say, the title amuses me… remember when “lifeblogging” was called, well, blogging? Heh. Also, I am a geek, but I know what they mean… my blog isn’t trying to be TechCrunch (thank god).

If you’re able to make it to BlogHer, register soon to get early-bird pricing through this Saturday!

BlogHer Atlanta thoughts

As you’ve seen if you read my Twitter tweets, a few days ago BlogHer Atlanta, along with the three other Southern locations of the BlogHer Reach Out tour (Greensboro, Nashville, New Orleans) has been canceled.

:( :( :(

(I guess this means I don’t have to worry about writing that other post where I talk about how I found people’s reactions to my panel announcement to be weird and hurtful!)

I’m going to try to cover as much as possible in this post – and there’s a lot to cover. Admittedly it might not be the best time for me to be writing it, as I’ve just taken a Klonopin and drank some sort of espresso/mint concocation, discovered a mysterious crack in my car windshield, fought for 15 minutes to unstick my parking break, and am generally freaking out about staying in Augusta for another two days while Rusty is in Knoxville. I really really don’t want to, but I know I’ll end up staying – at least til Saturday evening. You would think my dad died yesterday with the way my moods are all over the place. So, yeah, maybe not the best time. BUT, I don’t want to keep putting it off, and I’m in this Metro Coffeehouse and it seems (for the time being, anyway; that may change when these fratty-looking fools who just walked in start shooting pool) like a conducive place for blogging – moreso than my mom’s living room, for some reason.

ANYWAY. Onward to BlogHer stuff. If I leave something out, it’s just an oversight, as there’s a lot of related stuff swimming around in my head, and I’ll probably do a follow-up post in that case.

Also none of this is a personal dig at Elisa Camahort, who I think is great. BUT I do think BlogHer as an organization handled this situation poorly, and I feel I have the right to share that criticism, and hopefully they will be receptive.

The official explanation was inadequate “sponsor and community support” in these cities. I think this is an unfair and dishonest way of rhetorically shifting the blame to the communities. We have LOTS of community support for social media here in Atlanta. If the problem is lack of sponsor dollars, that’s not the same thing as lack of community support. Yes, I know it says “sponsor AND community support,” but the way that’s worded, the conflation is bound to happen whether it’s intentional or not.

Also you simply cannot have the same expectations for Atlanta that you have for LA, San Francisco, or New York. We have a thriving social media community here, BUT it does not (nor should it) look like the scenes in those cities. That doesn’t mean we don’t deserve a chance. And it feels pretty shitty to constantly get passed by. I remember when I was in the early planning stages of Sex 2.0, somebody (Melissa, maybe? I can’t remember) suggested I move it to San Francisco to coincide w/ Arse Elektronika or the Folsom Street Fair or something. My answer was an emphatic NO! I live in Atlanta, so why would I hold a conference that’s my brainchild in another city? Also, I am sick and tired of EVERYTHING being in California and New York. There are other places out there, believe it or not, and a lot of ‘em are pretty darn cool. As Jen said on Twitter: “Assuming that said community support doesn’t exist, how it (sic) one supposed to build it up without conferences?”

Basically I think BlogHer was aiming to do too much too soon w/ these Reach Out tours. Yes, it is definitely awesome that they provide breakfast and lunch at their conferences; but that’s not necessary. Cocktail parties are also nice, but again, not necessary. Sex 2.0 didn’t have any of those frills and it was a blast – because of the people and energy in attendance. That’s what will truly make or break any event.

Another issue may have been purely logistical; Darcey pointed out on Twitter, “Maybe has to do with the conference being held for one day during middle of the weel (sic)? Maybe if it were a Friday, would be diff.” I think there’s definitely some truth to that – it can be hard for people to get time off work.

I don’t know if I can convey how much I was looking forward to this panel. And we had some really awesome panelists lined up: yours truly (duh), Tiffany Brown, Amy Davis, and Callie Simms, with Elisa moderating. An excellent diversity of opinions and experiences, and only one panelist was not from Atlanta. To recap, this was the panel description:

The “Naked” Blogging Double Standard
At just about every BlogHer event we end up discussing the ramifications of “naked” blogging; that is, blogging your true self. Blogging’s low barrier to entry has provided a platform for everyone, and particularly women, to tell our own stories, to create a more diverse cultural record than has been historically typical, and to own our experiences and how transparently we choose to share those experiences. Every blogger draws their boundaries differently. In a survey BlogHer conducted a couple of years ago bloggers indicated that it was more taboo to discuss finances on their blog than sex! But, let’s get real: Really? We’re not sure we’re buying it. Is anyone else out there blown away by how much conflict the issues of gender, sex and sexuality (and society’s expectations of how women “should” behave) still stir up… and by how much judgment is still thrown at women who ignore the admonishment that “nice girls don’t?”

Every year at BlogHer the debate rages: Can we talk about shoes and still be taken seriously? Well, let’s take it a step further: Can women talk openly about sex and still be taken seriously? And is it different for men? Women certainly don’t agree on the answer, so you can be sure the answer is even more unclear in segments of society, industry and the blogosphere that are more male-dominated. How do we challenge that status quo – and support women in their choices, even when they might not be our choices? Join Amber Rhea, one of the women leading the charge for change, in a frank discussion designed to expose the naked blogging double standard and challenge our preconceived notions of what it means to be taken seriously.

I feel VERY passionately about this topic, and I don’t see it being discussed very many places. (And by “very many places” I mean “at all.”) I was SO looking forward to having a somewhat formal panel of questions, also with time for plenty of audience input and sharing of experiences, on this very important and under-explored topic, in a space with primarily women who blog or use social media in other ways.

I’ll be leading a session next weekend at BlogOrlando on a somewhat-related topic; hence:

Professionalism 2.0
What does “professionalism” mean in the context of blogging? Is it a matter of the topics you write about, the language you use, the amount of research you put into a typical post – or all or none of the above? Social media tools offer us the opportunity to express our full humanity instead of compartmentalizing aspects of who we are. To what degree do we need to adjust our pre-conceived notions about what’s professional and what isn’t?

And don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m not excited about this, because I definitely am. But it won’t be a mostly-women space, and thus the conversation won’t center on how these deeply entrenched and unexamined biases affect us as women online, and how we (consciously or unconsciously) replicate existing arbitrary standards among ourselves. It will also be an unconference format (which, duh, I love) so there won’t be a formal panel with a moderator, and I think this particular topic is one that is well-served by having a bit of structure.

Elisa mentioned in an email to me that she really likes the topic and hopes I will consider bringing it to BlogHer ‘09. At this point, I don’t know. It kind of feels like, “Sorry you couldn’t present this in your own community and engage the opinions of local social media participants; but hey, fly your ass all the way to California and do it here, because this is the place that really matters.”

Not a good feeling. Once again the South is passed over, deemed “not good enough.”

And it’s not just me who’s sad – a lot of people on Twitter and in email were conveying their disappointment.

Now, I also want to be kind of devil’s advocate here – or not really devil’s advocate, but just address some things that would be valid criticisms if I left it just at this. First of all, it annoyed the shit out of me when I saw people whining and complaining on Twitter about BlogHer ATL being “too expensive.” Well, what do you expect? Do you really expect to be handed an awesome event on a platter for free? If it pisses you off that much, try organizing your own event and then maybe you’ll see how it’s not exactly a walk in the park. The two conferences I’ve organized, which are much smaller in scale than BlogHer ATL would have been (although, tangent: there’s no reason it couldn’t have been on that smaller scale, and in fact originally I thought that was the whole point of the Reach Out tour) drained me completely, so that I will never do anything like that again. And guess what, that shit COSTS MONEY. Even Sex 2.0, where we had no frills whatsoever, cost just over $4,000 – and there were STILL people bitching about paying the $40 admission!! (And you know how much I hate the word “bitching,” so I must be pretty worked up to use it here.) I just get so damn irritated with people who just expect that everything should be handed to them and wah wah wah if it costs “too much.” Fuck that. You want community events, let’s sack up and make ‘em happen – and quit whining!

But all that being said, I do think BlogHer could have (and should have) scaled back the event and then the admission would’ve been able to be lower and then more people might have signed up. Of course, you can’t make people go to anything – and lord knows I’ve dealt with more than my share of lazy asses who say they’ll do something or come to something and then they JUST DON’T – but that might have helped a bit. And then next year people might be willing to pay more for an event with more frills. (Keep in mind, too, that salaries and such in Atlanta aren’t what they are in LA!)

And now I have totally lost my train of thought. There was more I wanted to say, and certainly some of the above that I didn’t say nearly as eloquently as I should. I’ll go ahead and stop for now, though, and put this up in its imperfect state, and let the flamage commence, I guess. I better go get a chicken salad sandwich at New Moon… all I’ve had to eat all day is a banana and a plum, and that can’t be helping my frazzled state.

Overall I am just really, really sad about BlogHer Atlanta being canceled. I’m not sure many people truly understood how important this was to me. Now I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to hold a forum on this topic that I’m so passionate about.

BlogHer Atlanta panel

Hey, guess what? I’m hosting a panel at BlogHer Atlanta! Here’s the description:

The “Naked” Blogging Double Standard
At just about every BlogHer event we end up discussing the ramifications of “naked” blogging; that is, blogging your true self. Blogging’s low barrier to entry has provided a platform for everyone, and particularly women, to tell our own stories, to create a more diverse cultural record than has been historically typical, and to own our experiences and how transparently we choose to share those experiences. Every blogger draws their boundaries differently. In a survey BlogHer conducted a couple of years ago bloggers indicated that it was more taboo to discuss finances on their blog than sex! But, let’s get real: Really? We’re not sure we’re buying it. Is anyone else out there blown away by how much conflict the issues of gender, sex and sexuality (and society’s expectations of how women “should” behave) still stir up… and by how much judgment is still thrown at women who ignore the admonishment that “nice girls don’t?”

Every year at BlogHer the debate rages: Can we talk about shoes and still be taken seriously? Well, let’s take it a step further: Can women talk openly about sex and still be taken seriously? And is it different for men? Women certainly don’t agree on the answer, so you can be sure the answer is even more unclear in segments of society, industry and the blogosphere that are more male-dominated. How do we challenge that status quo – and support women in their choices, even when they might not be our choices? Join Amber Rhea, one of the women leading the charge for change, in a frank discussion designed to expose the naked blogging double standard and challenge our preconceived notions of what it means to be taken seriously.

Many thanks to super-cool Elisa for giving me this opportunity. (Gee, do I sound like I’m accepting any Emmy or something?) I hope you folks reading this will come and help make it an interesting panel. (I resisted the urge to say, sarcastically, “join the conversation.”) You can register for BlogHer Atlanta here. And here’s the run-down of what the BlogHer Reach Out Tour is all about, if you’re too lazy to click through:

BlogHer’s Reach Out Tour:
Register now for BlogHer ATLANTA ‘08!

When?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Where?
Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center
800 Spring St NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
404.347.9440

What is BlogHer ATLANTA ‘08 About?
For the first time ever, BlogHer is launching a two-week tour, bringing highlights from the annual event to six different cities. Each of these one-day conferences will feature a broad range of topics and speakers, a cocktail reception for networking and socializing, and a little bit of local flavor. We’ll be focusing on topics that seem to resonate strongest in each city, and looking for your local bloggers to lead the discussions.

BlogHer ATLANTA is the fifth stop on the six-city Reach Out Tour, and we’re looking forward to spending time with the many and varied “Hotlanta” bloggers. Details about the agenda, speakers, and sponsors coming soon. In the meantime, please sign up to receive the BlogHer Conference Newsletter and get announcements as they happen. Or sign up to receive our Conference RSS feed.

Who Should Attend?
BlogHer is open to anyone and everyone who considers themselves part of the blogosphere, and is particularly focused on highlighting the skills and talents of women who blog. All ages, ethnicities, genders, and levels of blogging experience are encouraged to attend.

Additional Info:

• Every stop on the tour will feature a track specifically designed for new and beginning bloggers.
• The cocktail reception will take place on-site at the hotel.
• If you’re thinking about bringing your partner, spouse, or kids — great! If your partner is not interested in attending the programming with you but would like to join us for the cocktail parties, that ticketing option is available.

Fees:
BlogHer ATLANTA ‘08 costs $100 for the full day, and this includes admission to the cocktail reception.

BlogHer will be staying on-site at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference center. If you’re interested in staying there as well, please call (800) 838-2060. Please note: We do not have a BlogHer group rate available at this venue.

Note: You will not be required to enter any billing information before you’ve had an opportunity to review and select from the various registration options; however, BlogHer cannot issue refunds.

About BlogHer:
BlogHer has developed one of the most influential communities by, for, about and of women who blog. BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women bloggers to pursue education, exposure, community and economic empowerment through our online platforms and conferences.

More to come… must get back to work now.

Bullet points of truth

ETA: Now the title doesn’t make sense, because I changed my mind and got rid of the bullets.

Part of why I’m on the fence about BlogHer Atlanta? Well, aside from the $100 entry fee (which is totally fine of them to charge; I am NOT being one of those people who complains about anything that’s not totally free at the expense of someone else’s hard work), there’s also the fact that I’m just over a lot of these conferences.

Rusty and I talked about why on a podcast a while ago. They’ve become commercialized, but that’s not even the word. Cartoonized, maybe? Firefox spellcheck doesn’t know that word (but then it doesn’t know “spellcheck” either) but I think it’s the most apt. If I hear the word “conversation” again I may puke.

And I’m really not trying to be one of those too-cool-for-school assholes who blogs about why blogging sucks, or that kind of thing. I HATE that!

But look, here’s the truth. In addition to the cartoony, sales-pitchy bullshit, I don’t feel welcome at these conferences. With rare exception, I never really have – it just took me a while to admit it to myself, I guess. The BlogSavannah experience was a breakthrough, of course, but there have been so many other instances that I’ve lost count.

When you talk about sex, and you’re a woman, and you’re a tech geek, and you (gasp!) also talk about things other than sex (because OMG, people who aren’t ashamed about sex do other things in their lives, too)… well, let’s just say it doesn’t add up to a good combination, with a lot of people. There are some awesome people, sure. But they don’t tend to be the majority at these conferences. Which is one reason I created Sex 2.0 – to bring all those people together and none (or, well, very few) of the sucky ones!

Sometimes I wonder how much of me not feeling welcome is an accurate perception of reality, and how much is self-induced. Then I remember how good I am at reading people and situations, and that my intuition is almost always spot on, and that I always doubt it anyway, because somehow that seems like the proper thing to do (surely we must consider all angles, surely!) and heaven forfend, I would appear “selfish” if I didn’t.

I remember the guy guffawing at BarCamp Atlanta about Sex 2.0. I remember the stupid, predictable, un-funny, adolescent-level jokes. BarCamp Atlanta pretty much sucked all around, but that’s the stuff that stands out the most in my memory. Oh, and the hooker jokes. Those fucking guys joking about going down to 11th street and finding the hookers.

Here’s a secret. When you make a hooker joke – whoever you are – I hate you, right then and there. Even if generally, rationally, I know that most of the time you’re a “good person” – whatever that even means. When you do that, I hate you, and my eyes want to seer through you.

Oh and back to being a woman who talks about sex (bullet point above). Sometimes people seem incredulous that it’s still such a “big deal.” I want to ask where the fuck they’ve been, anyway. Last week, at Manuel’s, I overheard that conversation at the table behind us, carried on by supposed friends-of-friends. I didn’t know these people, but it didn’t matter. I’ve heard a million conversations like it before. Quote: “She was really weird, she talked about sex all the time.” Quote: “Yeah, I mean she was a total weirdo… she said if we went to this party, we’d be expected to have sex in front of people!” Just shove a dagger through my chest already. We’re back to square one.

Well, I should probably wrap it up and try to get some sleep. I feel very restless, but we’re going to Radial for breakfast, so I need to get my butt to bed.

One last thing – I feel the need to say here, too, that Elisa Camahort is awesome and I’m not trying to trash BlogHer or anything like that. I had so much fun hanging out with her at ConvergeSouth – she is just a nice, cool, down-to-earth person. And look at the super cool slide she made!

BlogHer Atlanta: October 21, 2008

Still not feeling up to writing a post of my own, and things are basically shit; but, here’s a repost from BlogHer:

If you can’t make it to BlogHer ‘08 in San Francisco this year, maybe you can join us in one of our SIX “Reach Out Tour” cities this fall? We’ll be condensing our annual event into one-day extravaganzas in Boston, DC, Nashville, Greensboro, Atlanta and New Orleans. And you can register now for any or all of them!

We’re still finalizing the various agendas, but you can expect each city’s sessions to feature fantastic speakers, relevant sessions, and a lot of local flair. Plus, we’ll have a track just for beginners (so if you know someone — your friend, sister, mother, grandmother, neighbor — who should be blogging if she just had the right tools and motivation, send her over!).

Read more about the Reach Out Tour on our official Conference Blog, or simply click on the city below to learn more about where, when, how much and how to register:

October 11 – BlogHer BOSTON

October 13 – BlogHer DC

October 16 – BlogHer NASHVILLE

October 18 – BlogHer GREENSBORO

October 21 – BlogHer ATLANTA

October 25 – BlogHer NEW ORLEANS

As of now, I’m on the fence about whether I’ll go. BlogHer ‘07 was a lot of fun, but I just haven’t decided about this Atlanta version. Not sure if I want to pay $100 to hang out with a lot of the same people I hang out with anyway. Fortunately, there’s plenty of time to decide.

ConvergeSouth: Elisa Camahort keynote

Saturday Keynote: Changing Your World with Blogs

It’s the second day of ConvergeSouth (and the first day that Rusty and I will be here for the entire day). Sue Polinsky is introducing Elisa Camahort, and I’m going to attempt to live-blog it, until my MacBook battery dies, anyway. Sue is saying there aren’t a lot of women bloggers with “credentials,” so it’s hard to fill panels with women. I disagree… there are tons of women bloggers with all kinds of credentials out there. Next Sue said, “Or maybe we just don’t know about them.” That’s more like it!

9:17 a.m. – Elisa points out that they had 136 women speakers at BlogHer ‘07.

9:21 a.m. – Blogging is good for your health, because of the connections you make. Elisa cites the example of Millie Garfield’s blog.

Blogging (and podcasting) offers us the opportunity to have a record of our lives, our parents’ lives, and our grandparents’ lives that we never had before. Elisa says she wishes she’d had an opportunity to record her grandmother’s story before she died.

9:26 a.m. – What’s the definition of a blog? If someone is an active commenter but doesn’t have their own blog, are they a blogger? What about Twitter, or Facebook? The definition of what it means to be a blogger is changing and evolving, because it’s all about the community that forms.

9:32 a.m. – Elisa addresses the (sometimes flip) sentiment, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” So what’s wrong w/ making money from your blogging endeavors, if you can? Blogs are changing the way we do business.

Now Elisa is talking about Chloe Spencer, “teen pro-blogger.”

9:36 a.m. – Elisa disagrees w/ what a lot of tech bloggers say, that unless you have a very specific niche, it’s hard to build an audience. She says it’s about having a unique voice and a way of telling your personal story that makes people laugh, nod their heads, or just be interested. I agree.

9:40 a.m. – Is it going to be harder to make a living via blogs as the blogosphere becomes more saturated? Elisa is talking about Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes, who makes six figures per year from her blog. Of course, the part people don’t mention as much is that Elise started her blog four years ago when there were maybe ten food bloggers, and now there are tens of thousands.

Other people are using blogs to move their careers forward in other ways – not just making money via ads on their blog. Example: Megan Garnhum got her dream job w/ WeeWorld after she was inspired to do something she loves (write a blog about shopping) which made her visible and gave her her own playing field. That visibility got her recognized by WeeWorld, where she now works.

9:47 a.m. – Politicians are starting to realize that they ignore people outside the political blogosphere at their peril. (Answer to rhetorical question of why did Elizabeth Edwards come to BlogHer ‘07 even though it was not a huge media opportunity for her?)

9:51 a.m. – Example of blogs impacting real-world action: Grace Davis started a Katrina relief blog after a woman in Mississippi posted on Craigslist that she could drive around to different shelters in Mississippi, but didn’t know how to get the word out; all she had was her car and her cell phone. Grace called this woman and said she’d start a blog. The woman in Mississippi then would call Grace and tell her what shelter she was at, its address, how many people were there, and what they needed. People would see it on the blog and ship directly to the shelters. Because of this blog, supplies were getting to the shelters before FEMA.

9:57 a.m. – Guy in the audience says he thinks people in their 20’s and early 30’s don’t need face-to-face connection. I spoke up, of course. Heh.

As a nice on-point epilogue, Elisa used Rusty and me as an example! ‘Cause you know, we met via reading our blogs, and look at us now.

OPP (Other People’s Posts)

I meant to post this sooner; but, as they say, better late than pregnant. Our AC was on the fritz this weekend, which meant a lot of time spent away from home (a 95° apartment is no place for me), and a lot of sleeping once the AC was back in action.

BlogHer recap posts from people I met there:

• AAG: So Here We Are at BlogHer and Thank You, Friendly Cabbie
• Cunning Minx: Sex bloggers meetup and Yay BlogHers!
• Susan Mernit: Blogher07: Sunday morning take-aways and Blogher: Surfing the Sex and Relationship bloggers
• Viviane: Back home from Blogher and Chicago

Heh, I suppose I’m officially a “sex blogger” now?

Well, that is fine with me! (And I feel humbled to be considered of the same caliber as many of those with whom I share the label.) As Rachel so eloquently put it:

I’ve been trying really, really hard of late to check myself from having to “apologize” or downplay that, yes, I do, write about sex. It’s easy as pie (or cupcakes) to fall into the trap of seeing writing about sex as lesser: less valuable, less challenging, less worthwhile. Of seeing all writing about sex as simply exhibitionistic without any greater purpose. I do it all the time and am learning to rethink those assumptions, not just for peace of mind about what I do, but because it makes the writing that much harder if you only half believe in its worth.

My conundrum in talking about this is that I don’t believe there inherently should be a greater purpose. I’m sickened by the current way we define obscenity legally, that every other value (scientific, artistic) comes first, that “prurient” is such an epithet.

RIGHT. ON.

In other news, I’m feeling a bit worried about the ongoing situation (approaching ’saga’ territory, in the lexicon of melodramatic bloggers) of my stripper pole. On the one hand, it would be fun and possibly arousing to listen to Rusty verbally strong-arm some folks; on the other hand, I just want the damn thing to be taken care of already, so I can practice. I already feel like I’m lagging woefully behind the rest of my Level 4 class, and I know the self-doubt isn’t making things any better.

Oh well… I would write more but I’m worried a bunch of assholes are going to swoop in and tell me to stop being so selfish, don’t I know there are people starving in [exotic location]?

Oh and one other thing: Ren, Kim, Belle, AP, Octo… much love to you all; I’m still not caught up on your blogs. Just wanted to make sure you know I’m not ignoring you!

Our Chicago vacation, in pictures

I will now test the speed of your broadband connection by posting a crap-ton of photos.

Skyline seen from an Orange Line train:

Navy Pier:

Sexy bloggers/podcasters dinner/world-domination-plotting:

BlogHer kick-off:

AAG brought the best schwag:

Fan-girl redux:

Invisible buddy:

Cool old hotel sign (building is now loft apartments):

19th century medical laboratory:

Rusty breaks the internet:

Sleep buddies:

O RLY?

Many more photos available here; they’ll all have captions, eventually.

To sum up: I heart Chicago.

Final night in Chicago

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be heading back to Atlanta. I’ll be glad to be home, but we’ve had a great time in Chicago. I really like this city. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to add it to the short list of cities other than Atlanta in which I could realistically see myself living. (Well, “realistic” might be a stretch; I haven’t been here in the winter!)

I know I haven’t been doing much blogging since BlogHer concluded, but that’s because we’ve been having a lot of fun being relatively off the grid.

Sunday we went to the Museum of Surgical Sciences, walked around the Lincoln Park area a little, and chilled in a random downtown Chicago Starbucks. Then we spent about four hours reading in the hotel room. Today we went to the Museum of Science and Industry for the specific purpose of visiting the baby chick hatchery. The baby chicks were unbearably cute, and I took a bunch of photos and a short video, which will be posted soon. Then we headed to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs lose. Rusty has already posted a video of the 7th-inning bleacher-bum rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

I would write more, but I’m too wrapped in up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and want to read a few more chapters before bed. I’ll write more about our trip and post plenty of photos in the next few days. Then I’ll spend the rest of the week cleaning out my inbox (current unread message count is 112; I’m sure there’s at least twice that many waiting for me at work) and combing through Bloglines.

Oh, and also I just found out I’ll be a speaker at ConvergeSouth ‘07, but more on that later.

I heart Chicago!

Fan-girl moment

I haven’t been doing any liveblogging today. I’ve been doing a fair amount of Twittering but just haven’t felt like liveblogging.

We got to BlogHer a little late today because we needed to shake off some cobwebs (am I using that phrase correctly?) this morning, but it has been a great day so far. Actually, at the moment I’m sitting in the closing keynote with Elizabeth Edwards, and it’s going great. Anyway, just wanted to share this photo Viviane took yesterday of Susie Bright and me. :)

More blogging to come later! Tonight we’ll probably be chilling at the cocktail reception, and then collapsing into bed. (Major thanks to Cunning Minx for giving us a ride back to our hotel last night, btw! That was huge.)