Earlier this evening, I completed a rite of passage which every blogger must undergo if they ever want to progress to higher levels of geekdom: a blog party. Seriously, this wasn't the geeky affair you're envisioning, I swear. Hosted by forward thinking Nashville station WKRN, the event was designed for local bloggers to connect and to get the word out about the station's new video blog content. Basically, WKRN is looking for local bloggers to put together short video pieces for use in the station's news programming. And to show they're serious, they are willing to pay good money for it, and has even offered to provide training. WKRN has received worldwide coverage for its groundbreaking embrace of the blogging community which has culminated in a great collaborative site called Nashville is Talking. Other media outlets take notice: this is the wave of the future.
I attended the event with Randy, and we ran into an interesting array of people, starting with none other than Nemesis Boy, dressed in a Darth Vader mask, complete with scary breathing and distorted voice. The evening featured a who's-who of Nashville bloggers, of which we met:
- Dan Phillips, a godblogger who has perfected the art of posting from a sidekick,
- Quiet Life, a political blog which is anything but quiet,
- What Would Coco Do?, a hilarious and interesting humor blogger,
- Lake Neuron, run by a journalist from Shelbyville, TN whom I share a common friend (small world!),
- Terry Heaton's POMO Blog, a fascinating blog about media in the postmodern era,
- Wonderdawg, who shared with us about Mothership BBQ, the local not-so-secret blogger hangout,
- Suburban Turmoil, whose blog has been converted into a weekly feature for the Nashville Scene,
- Busy Mom, whose aptly titled site has been featured in New York Times' magazine,
- Kate O, one of a small handful of Nashville songwriters who can claim that they've landed a reggae cut,
- RexBlog, who shared some great stories about previous blog and techie events he's attended.
and
These are just the people we met and talked to, which comprised maybe a fourth of the attendees. As you can see, Nashville sports a pretty vibrant and diverse blogging scene.
A great time was had by all. Thanks to Mike Sechrist and Channel 2 for pulling it together.
Can't remember. Honestly, I was kind of hoping somebody would come to the table with the name :)
Posted by: Mark Lee | July 10, 2006 at 09:35 PM
And that term would be....what?
Posted by: MrsJason | July 10, 2006 at 11:22 AM
No, I don't think it will create divisions. If anything, labels in this case help people feel like they're connected to something. Bear in mind that there are a bazillion blogs out there and it helps to tie into something bigger to keep from getting lost in the sheer numbers. And I think everybody's pretty good about reading other people's stuff.
What am I? I have heard a term for people who write about whatever comes to mind. I guess I'd be that, but maybe I'm a godblogger, or maybe I'm a music blogger. I have no clue :)
Posted by: Mark Lee | July 07, 2006 at 09:52 PM
I notice that we have started labeling blogs; "godblogger", "humorblog", "political blog". Do you think this is good or will this create divisions? And...what are you?
Posted by: jabob (jason) | July 07, 2006 at 07:02 PM
Here is some 'photo evidence' of your attendance: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rexblog/183800982/
Posted by: Rex Hammock | July 07, 2006 at 12:41 PM
It was wonderful to meet you! I'll be following along on your blog now to read about your future adventures. :-)
Posted by: Kate O' | July 07, 2006 at 11:54 AM
It was great to meet you!
Posted by: Busy Mom | July 07, 2006 at 10:15 AM
Mark! I just wanted to say that it was lovely meeting you, and thank you for finding me hilarious. :-)
Posted by: Coco | July 07, 2006 at 08:38 AM