Tuesday, June 05, 2007

A plug for a blogging convention: BlogHer in Chicago in July

No, I haven't gone "pay per post."

Yet.

But I saw that the BlogHer Conference is to be held in Chicago next month and I wanted to pass the news along.

The BlogHer home page says that there are over 9,000 blogs that are listed in its blog index, providing numeric support for its claim that BlogHer is "where the women bloggers are."

I looked at the registration form and it even has provisions for registering under one's nom de blog. Here's a snippet from that form:

What It's About: A Brief Overview
BlogHer's annual event is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet your virtual friends face-to-face while getting a chance to learn from the collective wisdom of the entire BlogHer Community. Over two-plus days, you'll have a chance to meet, greet, socialize, and attend sessions in any of six tracks with your fellow BlogHers (and BlogHims).

* * *

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

I'm not planning to attend, you understand, anonymously or otherwise. (This may come as a relief to the event organizers.)

So why am I plugging the event?

I call it "enlightened self-interest": The taxes on your hotel, your meals, any event tickets you might purchase -- all of that will help defray my property taxes. So I strongly encourage tourism: Whenever I see anyone consulting a map in the street I immediately offer assistance. I want this person to go home to Düsseldorf (or wherever) and sing the praises of the nice people of Chicago... so that, next year, his neighbors will come, too -- and bring more money.

I'm not a Curmudgeon for nothing, you know. Besides that, as some of you may have noticed over time, I consider myself a civic booster and unofficial cheerleader for what I truly believe to be a beautiful city. So make plans to come to BlogHer -- and don't tell 'em that the Curmudgeon sent you.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it's a great idea, there just aren't enough women bloggers in the UK to make such an event a success.

kristy said...

Well, speaking *as* the event organizer, I can say that even curmudgeons are invited -- they tend to liven up the discussions, you know.

Thanks for the plug anyway. :)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

well curmie can sarge and i stay with you and lss? ha ha ha (gottcha'!)

now be good and take your vitamin. oh, and curmie? that's nice to not have sports in here....

smiles, bee

The Curmudgeon said...

Bee -- I thought we'd made a fan of you!

Shelby said...

I had to laugh out loud - very cute.

I won't be attending but what a good idea it seems.

Fran said...

That's the spirit!

I wish I could fly out to Chicago...unfortunately, a couple of weeks vacation at the beach in South Carolina is calling my name...

sari said...

I actually know (via blogging, not in "real life") a few people attending! Should I have them look you up? (just kidding).

And look, you had the event organizer respond, you're on their list now.

landgirl said...

Sounds interesting. Maybe I can work it out... I love Chicago

MommasWorld said...

I like BlogHer but have no plans to attend the galla. I like the way you think. Bring in the spenders!

Anonymous said...

Hi Curmudgeon - i randomly pressed that random blog button... here you are!
Pay-per-post - I've heard of that but would anybody seriously pay to read somebody's blog ... unless it was SERIOUSLY good!! ... oh i don't know what is the world coming to??

ok see you later & all the best
from
Gledwood "vol 2"

ps i'm a keeper of blogs too. My main one's http://gledwood2.blogspot.com - that's my online daily journal. You're welcome to drop by any time ...
See you later!

The Curmudgeon said...

Welcome Gledwood -- pay per post is where someone pays you, the blogger, to write an ad for them. The blog remains free and sometimes the "sponsored" posts are interesting. But here I was advertising for an event and not getting paid for it... oh, never mind....