BlogHer 2008

My friend, Glennia Campbell, has described the MOMocrats blog as "a conversation, not a shouting match" in reference to it being a collaborative environment for people to discuss policy vs. a heated, argumentative environment that the majority of political blogs can have and it struck me after being at BlogHer this week and talking to people who were simultaneously at Netroots Nation that the community we have really is special.

Not that I didn't already know this, but I'm continually learning new reasons why the BlogHer network is unique, so I wanted to highlight what I felt and what I heard from others about the conference and the BlogHer site and sister sites. It's not that these women don't hiss at each other online or get riled up about things we care about, but there's just an aura of cooperation and cordiality that I see more as a European advocacy style than American political discourse. When we meet in person, even if we disagree, we are pleasant and try to find common ground vs. seeking to one-up each other to score some imaginary points.

Coming to BlogHer for the second year, having worked on a few collaborative blogs and been out there in the blogosphere for a few years now was like a happy college reunion with just women - even women I'd never met who had read my work. Everyone is nice, everyone greets each other with hugs, people exchange genuine pleasantries vs. brushing each other off, and they take time to inquire about each other's families, our health, etc.. Sure, there are suck-up scenarios and occasional rudeness, but it's by far in the minority and overall I had a great time. Kudos again to the BlogHer organizers for bringing us all together.