Earthling

Note: The below is an archived entry from Earthling, formerly EarthLink's official blog. The blog itself has been decommissioned and is no longer updated, and comments are trackbacks are no longer accepted.

Carla Shaw, senior manager of corporate communications at EarthLink, shared some of her thoughts this morning about her experiences at BlogHer:

Be passionate and be authentic -- those are two messages I heard over and over at BlogHer '07, this year's gathering of women bloggers at Chicago's Navy Pier.

Carol Lin, the former CNN anchor who's launching her new site this summer, told a panel audience that "if it's authentic and it comes from your heart, then your message will resonate."

The same panel generated discussion about moderating comments. Again, the theme of authenticity and honesty ruled, with everyone agreeing that what matters is telling the community up-front what your policy is for moderating, rather than whether or not you moderate.

I've been very struck by the dedication of the women(and some men, too!) bloggers here -- most are attending on their own dime, on their own time, to improve/expand/update and in some cases, start their own blog.

Some are here because of their company's blog(LeapFrog, Procter & Gamble, etc.), but many more are here because their blog is their bliss -- they blog about their kids, their jobs, their work/life balance. It's empowering to hear their stories, and amazing how many have not just one, but two, three or even more blogs.

Scenes and Anecdotes from BlogHer '07:

• Seagulls flying over Lake Michigan outside the Conference Center at Navy Pier
  
• Macs, Macs, Macs -- the computer of choice, outnumbering PCs and lining the tables during keynotes.
  
• Packed break-out sessions and keynotes -- this year's total attendance topped 800, well over last year's number. People were spilling into the hallway during the "Art of Storytelling" session.
  
• No technical glitches! One attendee took the mic during a panel session to thank the organizers for "fixing" some of the technical and logistical issues that plagued past events -- bravo to this year's conference planners.