CheapThrills

Vote CheapThrills for the Black Weblog Awards!

Hey! So this is fun. I've been nominated for the Black Weblog Awards in 4 categories:

1. Best Culture Blog (ref: Boston posts)
2. Best Personal Blog
3. Best Political/News blog (ref: Obama election commentary)
4. Best Sex and Relationships Blog (well, no sex, but interracial relationships galore)

To vote for me, just click on graphic below (or the first link in this post). I really appreciate your support (you all make this whole thing worthwhile, after all) :)

Reflections on election journalism from Politico's "mega Obama supporter" (tee hee)

When my father emailed me asking for my definition of Politico.com, I scribbled this in reply: “Politico is a news site, but its reporters also keep active blogs.”

I didn’t think much of my response at the time. But now that I re-read my assessment, I realize it's really no wonder the site became one of my go-to sources for all things politics during this election cycle.

Why?

Well, I found that during Obama’s run, I was hungry not only for straight reporting, but also for perspectives, dialogue and active conversation. As a blogger, I developed a deep respect for the writers who posted their words online, engaged with their readers, sometimes took public lashings from the community at large, and even went to far as to make public their online contact information. People like Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic. Sam Stein of The Huffington Post. 

And Ben Smith, of Politico. Who I had the fortune of conversing with, particularly on how deeply personal this election was to so many.

So naturally, his story in Politico’s glossy Presidential Inauguration magazine (which hit the stands in D.C. yesterday and is viewable online here) is also deeply personal to me.

Not so much because of my little contribution to the article, but rather because, through his writing, it’s clear that he developed a relationship with each one of the people he mentions. The stories he highlights are ones that his readers actively sent him… over the past 14 months (that boggles my mind!). Ones that his readers felt comfortable sharing with him. In part, I’m sure, because he broke down that imaginary wall between reporter/subject, thus creating thinker/thinker relationships.

Wow. In my opinion, that kind of ongoing dialogue—new to journalism—is the key to making a story truly powerful.

Can’t wait to see the magazine in print.

My blog was hacked!

Seriously?

Don't people have anything better to do than sit around cracking the code for CheapThrills?

See post below. I didn't delete... for some ridiculous reason I find the whole situation incredibly amusing. I mean come on - Personalised Number Plates? Really? Couldn't even attempt to match my content? Hide an obscene joke in there or something? Or even so much as spell "personalized" correctly?

These hackers are incredibly unimpressive.

Scratch that. Kinda impressive. So now that I've praised your craftsmanship will ya leave me alone, hacker?

237 crazy bloggers write a book. The Age of Conversation II now available for sale!

Last week brought a whirlwind of emotions on me, so I’m a bit behind the times on this announcement  (sorry fellow authors!!!): The Age Of Conversation II—Why Don’t They Get It launched last week and is now for sale via Lulu.com. Excite!

I participated in this little blogger experiment last year… 104 bloggers wrote 400-word chapters, which all came together to be part of an e-book called The Age of Conversation. At the time, I had only met 2 of the 104 authors. Now—thanks to my company, Blogger Social and its superstar organizer CK, editors Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan, and this funny thing called the World Wide Web—I think I’ve met around 60. But this year my task might be harder, because the project has become much, much bigger.

237 authors bigger.

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G. Kofi Annan, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw and James G. Lindberg, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem, G. Kofi Annan, James G. Lindeberg

A few months ago I created a page of enticing short chapter excerpts supplied by several of my co-authors. Feel free to check 'em out here. And this is mine:

Sure, some people disagree with my views. Some commenters call me a moron. A loser. LAME. But so what? It’s hard to get a good game going without engaging your Queen.

These blurbs are just teasers though. For the real deal you really gotta buy the book. All proceeds go to Variety, the Children’s Charity.

And a special shout-out to my Digitas co-worker Lori Magno, C.B. Whittemore and Cam Beck - for their general AOC-buzz-generating awesomeness.

I'm a Lemondrop blogger

I’ve been blogging over at Lemondrop, the new lady-focused blog hosted by AOL. More silly than snarky, Lemondrop hit the Internets two weeks ago to much fanfare. I’m psyched to be a part of it.

I cover the Weird News beat on Mondays and Fridays, and also have some features in queue. The first one was posted yesterday, in honor of Wednesday’s America’s Next Top Model makeover episode.

Definitely check out Lemondrop if you’re itching for a lighter, goofier side of Ryan. Because, though I know I can get mad serious up in here, my all-time favorite workout is laughing. Great for the abs.

Here's a run-down of my posts to date. Lemme know what ya think!

Jalopnik's new senior editor wears faux 32"-wasted jeans

Friend and former co-worker Andy Stoy just became senior editor of Jalopnik.com, Gawker Media’s blog for car enthusiasts. I’m a Jezebel gal through and through (Jez is Gawker’s female-issues blog), and so I have to admit, after reading a rather sexist piece on Jalopnik (and then heaving in disgust at the comments, which cheered on said sexism), I took the site off of my list of “daily reads”.  But now that Andy’s in town, I have a newfound faith in Jalopnik.

Because Andy’s dope. He’s passionate about things in a quiet, calculating way. Give him 20 minutes and he can machete a crappy article (or a copydeck, or, in some cases, an ego) in a word or two. He’s not mean or anything… but delivers a dry humor that you have to actually sit down and figure out. Smart professor humor. Indiana Jones humor. For example, in his “Hi My Name is Andy Stoy” post on Jalopnik yesterday, he wrote that he’s not some “advertising faux hipster”… and since I read that line, I’ve been sitting here wondering, “Does he mean me? Yes? No? Maybe? OMG, can he see into my SOUL?”

And the fact that I’m sittin’ here stressin’ is the reason why I am positive that Andy will make a great addition to the Jalopnik team. Three cheers, here here, ching-ching, and all that other celebratory stuff.

P.S. I took this photo of Andy myself - he was helping me with my car right before our company's annual booze cruise. (not really, but the photo is named "grease monkey" and Andy's a grease monkey, so transitivity has to work here... right?)

Read Andy's Posts

Teeny tiny snippet from my Age of Conversation chapter - contributors, send me one from yours!

Update: I've started cataloging all of your excerpts here. Check out what your co-authors are writing!

The Age of Conversation 2008 is now on its path to production. Today, 275 bloggers are slated to send their 400-word chapters to Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, creators and editors of the book. This year's topic, Why Don't People Get It, will be sure to garner some fiery responses. Of course, we won't be reading chapters in their entirety until August 21st (when the book will be released for sale on Lulu.com), but let's post one- or two-line snippets from our chapters... just for a little taste of the awesomeness to come.

Here's a little bit from my chapter:

Sure, some people disagree with my views. Some commenters call me a moron. A loser. LAME. But so what? It’s hard to get a good game going without engaging your Queen.

Contributors - comment here or e-mail me an excerpt from your chapter and I will post them all on my Age of Conversation dedicated page.

How exciting :)

Ryan's media diet

David Reich—PR guru, author of the blog my 2 cents, and friend—tagged me to answer a seemingly simple question started by C.B. Wittemore: What’s your media diet? Ok David, you asked for it… my response might be a little disturbing.

First of all, I don’t read print newspapers. Like, ever. Unless I’m visiting my father, who has been saving important Philadelphia Inquirer papers since the early 90’s (for context, he’s a Professor of Mass. Comm.).

But I do read books. Lots of them. I try to read at least a book a month – usually a memoir. I always keep a book in my bag just in case I get stuck somewhere… you know, to fend off any imminent boredom.

During my 10-minute commute to work, I generally like to read, listen to music, or watch video content on my iPod. Sometimes I spend the whole time creating a killer On-The-Go playlist for the ride home.

Once I’m in front of my computer, I first open my work e-mail and read through everything. Always. Then I open the windows that will remain minimized in the background of my screen for the whole day: GMail, CNN, the New York Times Caucus blog, Huffington Post (ooo, it updates itself! What fun!), Ben Smith's Politico blog, AdAge, Jezebel. Then I read through my MediaPost Digital Marketing daily and scan the industry news. And then I go back to my “always on” sites and scan them for any interesting articles or threads.

Then I check all my bookmarked blogs for new content (about 30 in total – and actually, I probably check them every 3 hours). If a headline catches my eye, I’ll follow the link to the blog post itself and read the whole thing, along with the comments. Sometimes I will post a comment of my own.

If any interesting post or thread comes up on Jezebel during the day, I will usually comment. The cool thing about Jezebel is that all comment threads are conversations, not just one-liners or “FIRSTT!?!?!” type of comments. It’s great – like an ongoing convo with a bunch of friends going on all throughout the day.

At the end of the day, I put in my earbuds (headphones) and walk to the bus. If I can help it, I try not to bring my laptop home. Too much laptop is a bad thing.

But when I get home, I turn on the television. Usually to CNN. I’m kind of obsessed with CNN’s “Best Political Team on Television” – I think they’re smart, but I also like to try to figure out all the team’s behind-the-scene politics. I’m sure there’s a ton. I also like to watch MSNBC – Olbermann is the man, and it’s always fun to catch Pat Buchanan say something terribly, oh what’s the word, racist?

I’m not gonna lie, I also watch MTV and VH1 shows. If there’s an America’s Next Top Model marathon playing on a Sunday, I’ll be glued to the tube for hours. I also love CW programming – Gossip Girl rocks my world (umm, last night’s show?! What the hell?!?!?).

When it comes to movies, my first choice would be to view a film on the big screen. I try to see most of the films nominated for Oscars while they’re still being played at that the cinemas. Watching movies on DVD is second choice, and then on-demand would be the third – unless it’s a craptacular old movie like Mystic Pizza. Then I’m all about the Free Movies on Demand (thanks Comcast!).

What else? I don’t use the Internet on my mobile phone. That might make me lame or behind the curve, but I don’t care. I don’t want the Internet following me around wherever I go like a stalker. Sometimes I use the wireless on my iPod Touch… but only when I NEED to Google something and it can’t wait – to settle little disputes with friends, for example.

I watch TV while I run at the gym. If nothing good is on TV, I have trouble staying on the treadmill for more than 10 minutes. But if there’s some crazy E! True Hollywood story playing, I can go for miles.

I don’t shop online. I find it tedious and tiresome. Totally defeats the purpose of shopping, in my opinion.

I blog whenever I feel that I need to. Usually 4 times a week. But I’ve always got a long list of blog topic ideas and an actual post or two I’m working on. At all times.

When it comes down to it, I think I’m a blog gal. I read blogs more than I read mainstream media, I interact with blogs more than I interact with other types of social media platforms (Facebook has gotten SOOOO BORING), I share opinions on blogs more than I share “editor’s pick” type of recommendations. Does that make me crazy? Or just terribly bleeding edge? You decide.

Since this is a meme, let’s hear from Greg Verdino, who’s been living in the social media landscape for ages now, and Arun Rajagopal, who blogs the marketing dish from Oman.

Final takeaway from ad:tech ’08: Kevin Rose is much more gentlemanly than Michael Arrington

The tumbleweeds were rolling at the Moscone Center yesterday afternoon as ad:tech ’08 came to a close. I always find it depressing when something that was once so full of life ends – I get really teary at the end of movies when there’s a flashback scene to the way things once were.

But anyway, here are some things about ad:tech that stuck with me, on both a professional and a personal level:

• Thursday afternoon’s Widgets and Gadgets panel was packed! Seems like everyone is interested in incorporated widgets into their marketing mix somehow. But how? What's the best way? No one really knows. All of the panel members had a different definition for what makes a widget successful – from active users to downloads to buzz generation. But everyone agrees that, when done right, widgets can vastly expand and monetize your reach.
• But that’s not what everyone will be talking about after ad:tech ’08. What will be on everyone’s mind are NBC CDO George Kliavkoff’s comments on iTunes and piracy. I put a short post up on this a few days ago, but check out Sean Howard’s comments over at Craphammer for some great detailed insight.
• The parties weren’t as awesome as everyone hyped them up to be. At least on Tuesday and Thursday. Apparently I missed all the crazy Wednesday night action.
• This industry really needs some estrogen and some color. Pronto. On average, there were 0 - 1 females (who could barely get a word in edgewise), 0 - .5 people of color (including ONE sole African-American man), and 0 - 0 African-American women (i.e not a single one) sitting on each panel. This became exceptionally apparent to Katie Chatfield of GetShouty and I during Internet Superstar’s closing keynote. There are quite a few female internet superstars out there, but not one was interviewed during this live broadcast. The interview couch resembled a frat house basement. Lots of talk of bad alcohol, French maids, ninjas… you know, normal guy stuff. Which is always funny... kinda.
• But I did get a kick out of Kevin Rose, co-founder of Digg.com and creator of Diggnation. He talks faster than a tween on Red Bull and is richer than everyone I know (combined), but he still has a certain... je ne sais quoi about him. Let's call it charm. And he didn’t snuff me at the afterparty when I went over to chat, which is more than I can say about other Internet... celebs, if you will. In my opinion, you can always tell a lot about someone's true character based on how they treat those outside of their close circle. And based on their smile in a photo :) Kevin's seems pretty genuine.

• The best parts of the conference, by far, were the enthusiastic high-level conversations, deep discussions and general nights of merriment with my fellow bloggers and friends. Oh, the beauty of the face-to-face! Look for more perspectives on ad:tech ‘08 from bloggers Sean Howard, Katie Chatfield, Cam Beck and Paul McEnany.

The Beauty of Face-to-Face: What I learned in NYC at Blogger Social '08

Last Saturday I found myself walking into a room full of 80 elegant bloggers—most of whom I knew by their written wisdom, several with whom I had exchanged multiple e-mails, but only a few of whom I had actually met in person.

The only word that I can use to describe the experience? SURREAL. Like, imagine knowing someone’s thoughts and ideas inside and out, but only really recognizing them by their smiling business photo. There are SO many little things that cannot come through written words or photos, or even video chat. Like, for example, the way someone shifts their weight when they talk to you. The way someone holds a glass. These seem like little trifles, but they all come together to define a person in a way that an avatar never can.

Anyway, the weekend was such an overwhelmingly different experience… and I really didn’t know how to approach "the recap" blog post. But then I read David Reich’s synopsis of the weekend and decided to take a page from his playbook. So I’m going to list ten quick and fun little tidbits I learned this weekend, and then tag 5 of my socialite buddies to do the same.

1.    Last weekend was the first time that Age of Conversation creators/editors Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton had ever met face-to-face.
2.    CK is just as lovely in person as she comes across in every blog post and photo she posts. She also wears jewelry over gloves, a fashion daring fashion choice that I find ever so chic.
3.    When you are in a foreign place and don’t know all the menu options, take a tip from Luc Debaisieux and just google image them. That’s how he decided against the Eggs Benedict.
4.    C.B. Whittemore can make you feel like a zillion dollars with one smile. She was the first to recognize me at the door, which instantly eased all of my nervous energy.
5.    A Singelringen is a Swedish ring for singles (I’m write a separate blog post with more details), and Linda Sherman wears two of them on her hands. I suppose they cancel each other out, because she’s got an amazingly cool husband, who I had the pleasure of meeting at Brunch.
6.    Back in undergrad, Jennifer Berk’s team won the MIT Mystery Hunt puzzlehunt contest. Yeah, it’s a really big deal.
7.    Last weekend was the first time that Arun Rajagopol had ever been to the United States, though he’s moving to Houston soon. I’m trying to convince him to settle in Austin instead though.
8.    Both of David Reich’s children went to school in Boston, and they now have very different and equally unique professions.
9.    Shashi Bellamkonda speaks something like 7 languages, and totally baffled my Soviet boyfriend when he broke out into fluent Russian. 
10.    Todd Andrlik is tall. Like, really, really tall. And has a glowing smile.

Now,
Kristin Gorski,
Toby Bloomberg,
Matt Dickman,
Cam Beck,
and Mario Vellandi,
what jewels of face-to-face goodness did you take away from last weekend's adventure in NYC?

P.S. These photos are courtesy of Matt Dickman and Lori Magno, and were taken from the Blogger Social Flickr pool.

Digital Marketing Industry in April! ad:tech, Blogger Social, Age of Conversation craziness

I know, I know, I’ve gotten totally into the whole Election ’08 scene. But for right now, I must focus my attention elsewhere. I am an advertising copywriter and digital trend-watcher after all, a fact (and a passion) that cannot be left to the sidelines. Because this month, as you can see, it’s all about the industry.

Announcements!

1. I will be attending ad:tech, which is scheduled to take place April 15-17 in the lovely city of San Francisco. As a member of the press, I will be reviewing creative and conducting interviews, as well as live-blogging some Keynote Presentations and covering select breakout sessions. So if you can’t make ad:tech this year, join in on the conversation with me and it'll be like you're there in spirit!

Here are the presentations I'll be live-blogging -
Tuesday:
Keynote Roundtable: The Art of Conversation - Building Great Brands in the Digital Age

Wednesday:
Keynote: Consumers, Content and Control: Big Media in the Digital Age
You Don't Know Jack! Teens Speak Out

Thursday:
Closing Keynote: Internet Superstar, Live at ad:tech

And the sessions I'll comment on - 
Power Panel: Tales from the Bleeding Edge - Game-Changing Opportunities for Tomorrow's Marketer
Power Panel: The Modern Agency
Power Panel: Social Network Marketing - Exploring the Value Proposition
Exchange Series I: New Creative, New Tools 
Urban Wallpaper: Digital Signage and the Rise of the Fourth Screen 
Making Widgets and Gadgets Work for You

Let me know if there are one or two of these sessions that you find especially compelling so I can be sure to write a particularly robust blog post on the subject.

2. Blogger Social is this weekend! Tons of marketing bloggers attending (see list here) and looks like there are a bunch of Sunday brunchers as well. If you’re interested in joining, sign up here. Or if you're traveling home through New Jersey, hit Steve's backyard BBQ!

3. This year’s Age of Conversation list of authors is out, and I am seriously pumped. The number of contributors went up from 100 to 275, and I can hardly wait to read what everyone’s got to say. The topic for 2008: “Why don’t people get it.” I’ll be writing about my personal experiences in the conversation lane how my perception has changed/evolved since last year. As always, my aim is to write something that’ll raise a few eyebrows ;)

Here is the complete list of 2008 AoC authors in all its glory. Please join me in giving 2008's Age of Conversation a celebratory lift-off toast!

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Blogger Social Sunday Brunch with Barrett

I love New York City for so many reasons, one of which being the ever-popular and unprecedented all-inclusive Sunday Brunch menu. I mean really, where else can you get coffee and orange juice and Eggs Benedict and a Mimosa for 15 bucks?! It's madness, I tell you.

I bring this up because I'm attending Blogger Social in two weeks (April 5-6), which is taking place in NYC this year. I've found the perfect hotel for Saturday night, the perfect date, the PERFECT dress (a cocktail one, which I'm picking up tonight), now all I need are the perfect shoes :)

Oh, and of course the perfect Brunch companions. If you're attending Blogger Social and would like to meet me on Sunday afternoon, let me know (here or on this message board) so I can go scout out the perfect midtown Brunch spot.

P.S. Here's a list of all the blogger socialites, who I can't wait to party with Saturday night. Can you tell I'm psyched? Find out more about each blogger here.

Susan Bird Tim Brunelle Katie Chatfield Matt Dickman Luc Debaisieux Gianandrea Facchini Mark Goren Gavin Heaton Sean Howard CK Valeria Maltoni Drew McLellan Doug Meacham Marilyn Pratt Steve Roesler Greg Verdino CB Whittemore Steve Woodruff Paul McEnany Ann Handley David Reich Tangerine Toad Kristin Gorski Mack Collier David Armano Ryan Barrett Lori Magno Tim McHale Gene DeWitt Mario Vellandi Arun Rajagopal Joseph Jaffe Rohit Bhargava Anna Farmery Marianne Richmond Thomas Clifford Lewis Green Geoff Livingston Kris Hoet Connie Reece CeCe Lee Toby Bloomberg Seni Thomas Darryl Ohrt Joe Kutchera Paul Dunay Marshall Sponder Chris Kieff Tara Anderson Jason Falls Paul Soldera Roberta Rosenberg Saul Colt Todd Andrlik Nathan Snell Ryan Karpeles Mike Sansone Jennifer Laycock Neil Vineberg Cam Beck Mike Arauz Matthew Bailey Heather Gorringe John Rosen Cathleen Rittereiser Tamar Weinberg Rita Perea Linda Sherman Matthew McDonald Kaitlyn Wilkins Terry Starbucker
Jennifer Berk Jane Quigley John Wall Scott Monty Kevin Horne Virginia Miracle Amanda Gravel Susan Reynolds David Polinchock Shashi Bellamkonda David Berkowitz Vahe Habeshian

Happy Birthday, CheapThrills. You get a cake and some tips and some fun posts.

March 1st marked this blog's one-year anniversary. I plan on taking the ol’ blog out for dinner and drinks (and maybe dancing if it’s lucky), but for now I just want to jot down a few things I’ve learning over the past year and list some of my more memorable posts (according to me, that is. lol).  

• Your "voice" actually means something. People visit blogs for a couple reasons: 1) to get breaking news, 2) to get in on the convo, 3) to get a different, unique perspective on a particular issue, 4) to view the world through someone else’s eyes. I quickly came to realize that I would not be authoring a niche blog or an “inside scoop” blog or a 2,000 comments-per-post blog, so I've faced that crazy challenge of attracting return visitors (other than my parents). But I’m a writer, and so I’ve turned my blog into the place where I am free play with my voice. I write my posts strictly through my eyes, openly and honestly. I think that's what brings people back.
  
• But you’ve got to continuously define your voice. And that takes time (time meaning time you've been blogging and time meaning the actual time it takes to sit down and write a blog post). Consequently, I’m still working on this one. I probably always will be.
• Focus on the personal. In the beginning, I’d try to report on big issues. But, yeah, I’m not a reporter and my blog isn’t a news site. Once I switched the focus to be on my personal thoughts and opinions on issues, I found that I could really get a good convo going.
• And make friends. Connect with other bloggers, read blogs, comment on other blogs, send other bloggers your stuff. It’s all good in the hood.
• Don’t be afraid. Say what you want! Who cares if others don’t agree with you. I’ve gotten in so many arguments on so many types of blogs (like, even auto blogs).  But arguing, especially when all you’ve got is words and a screen, makes you smarter. I’ve sharpened my opinions and am able to debate so much better since I began blogging.

And a few things that have helped me out personally.

• Make an informed decision when choosing a blogging platform. I chose Typepad, and I like it ok, but I’m in love Wordpress designs. They’re so clean. But less customizable. So I’m back with Typepad – I knew I chose it for a reason.
• Leave work out of it. Like, as a rule.
• Respond to your commenters via comments themselves or via email. I guess that’s the marketer in me. Or the person who likes to make friends.
• Be open and honest about yourself, but don’t go into specifics about anyone close to you other than you. It’s just a little rude, IMO.
• Don’t cry or punch the monitor if someone bashes you on your blog. It happens and it sucks. But that's life.
• Write how you talk. Great point that a fellow blogger wrote about in his Age of Conversation chapter. And so true.

Ok, that was fun. Now here are my favorite blog posts from oldest to newest (with the ones that generated the best conversations bolded)

I made friends on the Internets!
Conversation, new and improved for 2007!

And so began my quest for hair products, hairstyles, hair tips. This is also about time when I began to piss off my straight-haired readers :)
My Crazy Interracial Curls – I need a product NOW.

Ryan’s first meme
8 Random Things About Ryan

The start of many interesting, and oftentimes heartbreaking, conversations
Interracial dating and support between Black women

There was this rumor going around saying that Philadelphians were ugly, so I had to set the record straight
Philly is fly: The proof is in the photos

That time I got in a full-blown fight on my blog
Open Letter to Star Simpson, fake bomb creator extraordinaire

Ballsy move, Ryan B.
Exclusive footage: Ryan shakes her groove thang

Guest blogs. They’re all great. I can’t choose a favorite.

When I said “don’t be afraid,” these were the posts I had in the back of my mind 
Michael Arrington: Arrogant TechCrunch editor stink bombs his own event

Gypsy Bar: Racial profiling at the door?

Getting all industry on you
MITX Event: I've found it! The magical solution for marketing to the social web!

My aunt's quilts. They're unbelievable.
A delicious treat for quilt and color lovers

And finally, my Obama endorsement
Who is the American Dream? Why this PA native will vote for Obama on April 22nd

Age of Conversation REDUX - casting call!

How time flies. The Age of Conversation hit the virtual bookstores almost a year ago, and now time it’s time to open up the dialogue once again. Drew and Gavin are currently cookin’ up 2008’s AoC, which will be bigger and badder and hipper than EVER before.

And will center around a new topic, naturally. Only this time we’re deciding it together. Here are the options:

• Marketing Manifesto
• Why Don’t People Get It? (Get what, you ask? My interpretation includes Uggs and sweatpants and this music video)
• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

Cast your vote at SurveyMonkey.

Drew’s blog post goes over all the juicy details—definitely check it out to get a feel for this year’s project.

If you’re down to contribute, e-mail Drew and let him know! And be sure to check out last year’s authors—they’re really some badass marketers:

Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan (these two crazy guys conceived this awesome project) CK, Valeria Maltoni, Emily Reed, Katie Chatfield, Greg Verdino, Mack Collier, Lewis Green, Sacrum, Ann Handley, Mike Sansone, Paul McEnany, Roger von Oech, Anna Farmery, David Armano, Bob Glaza, Mark Goren, Matt Dickman, Scott Monty (Boston blogger! Yay!), Richard Huntington, Cam Beck, David Reich (Boston blogger! Yippee!) (New York blogger, that is :)), Luc Debaisieux (who I will SOMEDAY meet, lol), Sean Howard, Tim Jackson, Patrick Schaber, Roberta Rosenberg, Uwe Hook, Tony D. Clark, Todd Andrlik, Toby Bloomberg, Steve Woodruff, Steve Bannister, Steve Roesler, Stanley Johnson, Spike Jones, Nathan Snell, Simon Payn, Ryan Rasmussen, Ron Shevlin, Roger Anderson, Robert Hruzek, Rishi Desai, Phil Gerbyshak, Peter Corbett, Pete Deutschman, Nick Rice, Nick Wright, Michael Morton, Mark Earls, Mark BlairCB Whittemore, Mario Vellandi, Lori Magno (Digitas!), Kristin Gorski, Kris Hoet, G. Kofi Annan, Kimberly Dawn Wells, Karl Long, Julie Fleischer, Jordan Behan, John La Grou, Joe Raasch, Jim Kukral, Jessica Hagy, Janet Green, Jamey Shiels, Dr. Graham Hill, Gia Facchini, Geert Desager, Gaurav Mishra, Gary Schoeniger, Gareth Kay, Faris Yakob, Emily Clasper, Ed Cotton, Dustin Jacobsen, Tom Clifford, David Polinchock, David Koopmans, David Brazeal, David Berkowitz, Carolyn Manning, Craig Wilson, Cord Silverstein, Connie Reece, Colin McKay, Chris Newlan, Chris Corrigan, Cedric Giorgi (we met in Paris... but I was like 30 minutes late, and I'm still ashamed), Brian Reich, Becky Carroll, Arun Rajagopal (Oman's own), Andy Nulman, Amy Jussel, AJ James, Kim Klaver, Sandy Renshaw, Susan Bird,Troy Worman, S. Neil Vineberg

Contributing to AoC is also a great way to make new drinking buddies :) Pictured below (right before we went for martinis) - me, Scott Monty, Lori Magno, and Brian Reich.

Is the blogosphere one big frat house? If so, where does that leave us gals?

Yesterday my Michael Arrington-encounter post was featured on Gawker Media’s Silicon Valley gossip blog Valleywag. Pretty awesome—I was (and still am) psyched about it.

The post was picked up because of this latest Arrington debacle. I don’t want to get into the whole story, but basically in the midst of a conversation about copyright infringement on Mathew Ingram’s blog Arrington posted a rather sexist comment. Here’s the spat:

Arrington:  “Shelley, Lane’s attorney is abusing the DMCA for his/her own goals. And copyright has nothing to do with ‘giving credit.’ It has to do with being forced to license work unless it falls under fair use, which this clearly does. Mathew is right, you are wrong. But since Lane is a woman, it really doesn’t matter what she did as far as you are concerned. She’s a woman, so she’s right.”

(two comments from Shelley and Ingram, and then….)

Ingram back to Arrington: “Thanks for the support, Mike — but let’s not bring Lane being a woman into the discussion because a) I don’t think it’s relevant, and b) Shelley hasn’t brought it up. I’d like to keep this focused on the copyright issue.”

Arrington:  “actually, Mathew, I’ll do whatever the fuck I feel like, and you can decide to censor comments or not. Shelley is and always has been a fascist around these issues. If you’re on her team (poliically) (sic) she’ll support you to the death. Not on her team and she’ll find a way to take you out at the knees. People ignore her rather than call her on it.”

Ingram:  “So if you have a beef with Shelley, why use my comments — on a completely unrelated topic — to take it up with her? I don’t see why my blog and anyone reading it has to be dragged into whatever past issues you and Shelley have. I’m not going to censor your comment, but I fail to see why you felt it necessary to bring sexism into it when Shelley never even mentioned anything about that aspect of it.”

Arrington: “oh please. sucking up to Shelley will get you nowhere.”

My run-in with Arrington simply corroborated the notion that Arrington is a pretty sexist little sh*t. And then yesterday, after the Valleywag post, I got a ton of comments, emails, and facebook messages from men and women alike further supporting the claim. One woman described several horrendous encounters that she’s had with a few big-time male bloggers (including Michael Arrington, naturally).

And then a dude posted this especially interesting comment on my post:

"In order to understand [Arrington], you need to understand a little more about the nature of the boy's club that exists out here in the valley. He's a grown up frat boy hanging out with his brothers."

So where does that leave female bloggers?

Oh man, now all that my dirty mind can think about is sex in the blogosphere. When it comes to the A-List blogs, can women compete? Or, to get substantial readership, do we have to stick to traditionally "female" issues? You know, the joys of motherhood, our cute golden retrievers, accessorizing, Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy...

I don’t have the answers to these questions - yet, that is. So tell me what you think.