Last night I was invited to a blogger summit (that’s, “blogger summit”) by WNBC in New York. These means a few things:
1. Free cheese cubes
2. Feeling like the littlest fish in a very big pond. Or smaller. More like a microbe on a zit on a goiter of the littlest fish in a very big pond. Who’s eating cheese cubes.
You sort of know you’re out of your league when the moderator opens by asking the 130 or so of us “Who here writes a business blog? Politics? Local news? Real estate? Tech? Sports? Gossip? Okay then! So let’s begin…”
Wooden furniture making? Vegan dessert recipes? Analysis of poetry from cross-dressing heterosexuals? Apparently all above the ranks of personal blogging; to say nothing of parenting bloggers specifically. I mean hell, he didn’t even mention shopping or design. And this is New York City. Shopping is our religion.
When the majority of attendeess have nametags identifying them with Gawker and Gothamist and guy who invented all the tools you blog with, they’re sort of the prom kings and queens to my nerdy wallflower for the night. One woman stared at my nametag identifying me with Mom101 and Cool Mom Picks and asked what kind of blog Mom101 was. I told her. Blank stare. I said, well maybe I should just start introducing myself as Dooce, hahaha. Blank stare. Heather Armstrong? Huge blog? CNN guest? Urban dictionary entry?
Blank stare.
Man, it would have gone over huge at BlogHer.
Luckily I had the charming, hilarious and delightful Laid-off Dad by my side the whole night. Little did he know, even if he had wanted to stray more than a foot from me at any given time, he couldn’t. I crazy glued our jacket sleeves together.
The point of the evening seemed to be encouraging all of us to give WNBC free stories. I’m still not entirely sure what we were promised in return. I do recall at one point hearing a guy in a suit use the phrase, “link love.” Although I do give them credit for reaching out to the blogging world in a formal way like this. It’s something broadcast media, particularly local news channels have been so slow to do (if at all) that it was actually fairly revolutionary if you crossed your eyes and squinted and looked at it hard.
We had access to the reporters and the producers and news directors and anchors. It was fascinating (and a bit heart-wrenching) to talk to reporter Jonathan Dienst who told me about working 9:30 to midnight five days a week while trying to carve out time for his three young kids. Or David Ushery who was so excited to talk to LOD I thought he was going to lick him at one point.
Mom101 and LOD chat up anchor David Ushery. Note delicious plate of cheese cubes in foreground And funny enough, when I mentioned to their family and education producer that NBC’s Today Show was on the lips of every parenting blogger this week, she had no idea what I was talking about. Guess cocktail playdates really are the non-issue I was hoping they would be. Sometimes it’s good to spend time in a bigger pond, even if it’s only for a night.
But I was happy to have been able to pitch the idea to some of the news directors that they should go beyond the political, sports, business blogs for scoop. I mean Izzy demanding her local Publix get those Maxims up high where they belong? That’s a story. Badgermama’s assessment of kids schilling crap for their schools? That’s a story. Parental outrage over an ad on the N-spot? That’s a story.
I know none of them involve arson or pedophilia or the limbs of dead prostitutes in freezers, but something tells me I could live without that garbage on the news ever again.
In summation:
Lowlight of the night: Sitting in studio 6A, aka the Conan O’Brien studio all night, waiting for the “really big surprise” we’d been promised only to find out it was not a visit from Conan O’Brien, but a hat.
Highlight of the night: Learning from one of the Gawker editors that Padma Lakshmi is allegedly a big pothead.
Which reminded me I couldn’t stay for a non-alcoholic beverage with the A listers – I had to run home to watch the Top Chef finale.
Priorities.
Seriously.
I still think it should have been Sam. the finale was ruined for me.
Sounds like an entertaining night, because CHEESE CUBES and all.
When the heck am I going to get invited to come to New York? Or be on CNN or darnit… even be offered cheese cubes by ANYONE?Sheesh!LOL
i could have told you that about padma. not reliably of course…and then could have saved you the cheese cubes.
laid off dad? now thats a creative name, no?I gotta get me a new name.Being in Green Bay area…Cheese Cube’s not a bad idea!you seem to get invited to do these things quite a bit….you are the most fameblogger i know.maybe i will have you sign my t-shirt when i meet you one day and then see what it goes for on ebay.
I don’t think I could have made it through a night like that in my condition. And by condition, I mean inability to imbibe some liquid courage. Good for you.
Of course, she is. How else could she eat all that food?
I *totally* believe that she is a pot head. She talks like she is stoned. Esp. for the Hawaii episodes.No idea who Dooce was, huh? That is nuts.
Cheese cubes….yum.They didn’t even know Dooce? Are you sure this was a bigger pond, and not just the small pond next door?Sounds like it was a good time. But they want blogger stories for free? I’m not sure what I think about that.
You are like a movie star in the mommy blogging world, no, just in the world. Period.I can’t believe someone else was bothered by Maxim’s being low down on the shelf…off to read, thank you very much!!!Carrie
just the latest example of how old media just.doesn’t.get it.the folks at greenstone would never treat you like this… 😉
does that mean salman rushdie is also a stoner?
Dutch, one can only hope.
nice recap of last night and thanks for the link mom101!
I would have to be a big pothead, too, to find Salman Rushdie attractive!
EX-cellent gossip on Padma! Does Salman know about this??And what exactly IS Padma doing on Top Chef?I, also, had a moment at a meeting recently where some political “guy” bloggers had no idea who or what “mommy bloggers” were.We are SOOOO going to take over the univers!
I innocently drop by to read your latest and I find link love. Thank you, mama 🙂And clearly, I need to start watching Top Chef!
Ilan. Feh.Padma, a pothead? I can TOTALLY see that! How does she stay so skinny, though?And Dooce? How can you NOT know Dooce? Do they never glance through the freaking Technorati Top 100, where she has been for, like 5 years??? Arg.
You’re cooler than all those other bloggers in the room, Liz. Never forget that!Meanwhile, I can confirm that Salman Rushdie likes the doobage. Not saying how but yes, it’s true. Also, that might be the fugliest hat that I’ve ever seen in my life!
Mmmm. Cheese cubes!Funny about the “mom blogger” thing — at the meeting that I recently went to in my neck of the woods, the guy political bloggers said they had never heard of “mommy bloggers” or ones that blog about issues.Call me crazy, but if you’re floating around in the blogosphere, wouldn’t you run into some of us sometime?Maybe it’s just the prom king/queen thing they do — just acting like they don’t know the rest of us exist!
Oooh I love Top Chef gossip! And Padma’s in the perfect place for the munchies.
Good job, keep it up. http://www.nesting.wordpress.com
i just KNEW it about Padma. at least that makes her mildly more interesting. what is her function exactly, again? wowza. blog summit. gulp. i’m glad there were cheese cubes. doubly glad that you were representin’
how the fuck do you keep getting invited to these things, eh?!
<>they’re sort of the prom kings and queens to my nerdy wallflower for the night<>Oh ma… I am *so* not a prom king. I am the guy fixing the audio for the mic for the guy who announces who the prom king is, while I roll my eyes. 🙂Anyway, great to meet you. And yeah, these folks never know who bloggers like Dooce are, because they only (think they) care about the blogs they think can help them. Someday people will understand how there are as many different kinds of blogs as there are kinds of people.Do let me know if you try out Vox — I’d love to add you in to my little neighborhood! 🙂
Well, the air just went out of MY balloon.But hey! Cheese cubes!
At least thankfully the whole insanity of the Today show was a non-issue *somewhere*!Going to be in NYC in March. Must have you superglued to me as I am a small town girl who will FREAK alone. I’m just sayin’!
I totally believe you on the Padma story. Even so, I’m not sure that woman could be any more damn gorgeous, so maybe it’s time to forego the cocktails at the playdate and give Meredith Viera something to really go all judgy on us about. And I’m with DoggyMom, I’d need an elephant tranquilizer to find Salman Rushdie attractive.
I adore Top Chef too! That tidbit makes me like Padma more than I did before reading it. You are a blogging hobbnobbing superstar. Laughed at the Dooce comment as well.
Did you happen to catch the blurb about the summit in the Post this morning? I can’t seem to find it right now, but it did reference this BlogChelsea post:http://www.blogchelsea.com/category/services/
Ah, NBC. I worked for our local affiliate before deciding to stay home. All of this talk made me miss it horribly. But just for today.Mmmcheesecubes.