It seems that all the cosmic forces were aligned on the night of December 7th; Rebecca found out about the event and took care of signing us up just in time (that means I was her +1), and after carefully picking out two titles to donate to the often neglected and maligned teen demographic via BlogHer's book drive...
...we just so happened to be walking past the nondescript exterior of the building where the meet-up was taking place at precisely the moment when the organizers were putting the "You Belong Here" placard in the window.
OK, that's a little bit of a fib...we walked around Union Square in the cold, cursing the cabbie who dropped us off without a clue of where the address and cross street we requested was for a while first, but we really were passing the venue just as the BlogHer Holiday Meet-Up sign was going up. One of the co-founders of BlogHer was responsible for setting out the signage that gave us our bearings, and as we thanked her and scooted in the door - partly blown in by the icy wind - she said, "you found your people"...and she couldn't have been more right!
Held in the Union Square Ballroom's Lounge, the event was imbued with an intimate yet enlivening ambiance and atmosphere which was perfect for meeting and connecting with other women bloggers.
Although I must say, one of the first things we noticed (and that Rebecca said out loud) when we entered the space, was that "there are dudes here!" We were caught a little off guard seeing guys at a BlogHer event since the stated mission of BlogHer is to bring more visibility and recognition to women writers and bloggers, but as the evening went on we found out that the men present were either employed by the organization, or the agency that was partnering to facilitate the book drive.
Not that we have any problem with dudes at a BlogHer event, or most anywhere for that matter...
...but the food was great, the mood was festive, and we had the opportunity to mix and mingle with women who are writing a wide variety of blogs, ranging from etiquette to sex to mothering. We found that many women bloggers seem to be in the marketing and social media fields - those whom we met that night were more than happy to share their insights from the biz and give us tips on how we can get our blog in front of more readers. One major takeaway was: if you're a blogger, Twitter is your friend! We've still got to figure out how to make Twitter work for us...
We also noticed that a lot of women in the blogosphere seem to be writing and building community around lifestyle blogs. We met and exchanged contact information some great ladies and were pleased to find that they seemed quite receptive to the idea of blogging about the human condition and social issues through the lens of True Blood.
We're so glad to see some of our BlogHer friends already dropping into the Pierced Pomegranate Tavern and we look forward to others stopping by - and hopefully joining the discourse - as well!
After the event we ended up at the Tick-Tock Diner, which is the after-everything spot for us when we're in NYC, hungry, and not yet ready to go home. As we reflected on the meet-up over dessert and tea, we agreed that prior to becoming aware of BlogHer, we hadn't realized that there is a community - women's or otherwise - growing up around blogging. I guess we both envisioned lone word warriors tapping away at our keyboards in solitary anonymity. Not so! BlogHer seems like a great resource for newbies like us, or anyone who is writing - or who wants to.
Please do check BlogHer out: http://www.blogher.com/. We intend to register the Pierced Pomegranate Tavern to be indexed on BlogHer forthwith!
All I know is...now that we've met and connected with other women writing compelling blogs in the supportive context of BlogHer:
- we've got a lot more reading to do
- we have more cause to believe that YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS WOMEN'S SOLIDARITY
SORRY, I REALIZE IT'S CHEESY BUT WITH LESS THAN A WEEK 'TILL CHRISTMAS I COULDN'T RESIST!
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| Rebecca and Rachel at BlogHer's 2010 Holiday Meet-Up |
~ Rachel
Hi! It was great meeting you both at the event. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who got hopelessly lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my best to follow the blog without watching True Blood - at the very least, I'm learning some great feminist/historical stuff. Thank you!