Blog Interview with the DC Goodwill Fashionista

One of the MANY great things to come out of BlogHer Business last month for me was my discovery of a really cool site, the DC Goodwill Fashion Blog. You may think, what does Goodwill have to do with fashion? Ah, my dear, that saddens me, because you are missing out on some incredible potential finds. A lot of people give a lot of things to Goodwill, and among those things may be diamonds in the rough! As a veteran thrift shop shopper, I know first-hand the joy that comes from finding that $400 designer purse for $25, or the vintage dress for $50.

And so does Em Hall. As the writer of the DC Goodwill Fashion Blog, she shows how you can be fashionable, while staying in your budget and helping others all at the same time. I met Em Hall at BlogHer, where she spoke about the creation and growth of her blog, as well as DC Goodwill’s Ebay store and am thrilled that she consented to be interviewed for “WhatGives!?” - she was so kind, and generous, that this is going to be a two part interview - here’s the first part….  Do check it out, she’s an amazing inspiration. 

I blog, therefore I am

I guess Dooce’s post was more inspirational than I thought…this post has been brewing for a little while now, it’s about time I got it up here. 

When IT Boy was born, I started a blog.  Not this one, but one for family only, to view pictures of him and sister, and to hear about what was going on in our lives.  Amusingly, the family I created it for spent a huge amount of time questioning why I was doing this blog.  You might even use the word “scorn”.   I enjoyed blogging, but wasn’t getting a lot of support on the home front and figured I would eventually let the blog go the way of all flesh.  During that time, I was conversing with a co-worker and sent him the link to view the blog.  He sent me back a note, which included the following sentence:

Amazed good that you have found the time and energy to create something that your family will value greatly in future years.

I was stunned to get that note.  It encapsulated exactly what I was trying to do and gave me support at a time I needed it.  To create a legacy for our family.  How could someone who didn’t even know my family see the value of this when my own could not?  I may not have been able to fill out the baby books, or mark where and when every photo was taken, but I could tell the story of our lives in a blog.  When they were grown, I wanted the kids to see it and know exactly what we were going through, and how terribly much those moments as a family meant to me.   Even if no one around me got it in the present, maybe someone would, someday. 

I kept up that blog, and started this one.  And I ignored what people around me said, until I saw Dooce’s post.  It made me remember what this co-worker had said - I had even saved the email, it meant so much to me.  I was so happy that someone else put into writing what I have been thinking. 

The very night I read Dooce’s post, Little IT had dinner with a friend and her family.  When they brought her back, the dad saw my “Confessions of An IT Girl” business cards, and asked what they were.  Mr. IT jumped right in and starting telling him about my blog.  But it wasn’t in the tone I would have hoped for.  Suffice it to say, he was more poking fun at this endeavor than acting like a spouse that was supportive of my efforts. 

The dad (who I should add was not mocking, but was curious in a nice way) asked why I blogged.  I wanted to burst out and say much fun blogging is.  That it’s connected me with people in ways I never thought possible.  I wanted to tell him that I was asked to blog for a new site that another company had just started up.  How I had just completed my first blog interview for that site.  How my blog got Little IT and me on a national TV show.  How I was going to be quoted in a news article a few days.  I wanted to talk about the emails that I have gotten from parents of kids going through early intervention, and how they’ve said how much my blog, *my* little blog, has meant to them.  That somehow, in this crazy experiment, I’ve managed to make a difference.

But I didn’t get to talk about any of that, because the discussion had turned into a monologue on how blogging is ego run amok, and aren’t I crazy to get caught up in all of this.   At that point, I just wanted to get off the topic and said that I blogged for work.  Genuinely curious, the dad asked more, and I answered more, but my heart wasn’t really in it. 

You see, if you asked me that question tonight, I would have told you of all the joyous highs, and a few lows that have come with the territory here.  Sure, people can say what they want, but I have a thick skin.  I get what I am doing, and I am proud of it. 

Mostly, though, I would tell you that I’m doing this to make a difference somewhere.  Be it with my job, my friends, my kids or my world, if I can have an impact or at least try, I’m happy.  Sure, there’s ego here, but I hope people see a lot more than that.  Yes, I do dream of a day when my son and daughter will come here to learn a bit more about their crazy mom.  When they do, I hope they see how very much I love them and their father, and that my legacy may not be a journal, diary or painting, but it’s crafted with as much love and is every bit as meaningful. 

In short, I blog because I want to, and I can.  I thank all of you for coming on this adverture with me.  I promise you, the best is yet to come.

Count me in

I don’t know what led up to this post.  All I know is that in it, Dooce speaks for so many of us, me included.  You didn’t see it, but my fist was in the air after reading this.  I salute her elegance and thank her for putting into words what I’ve never had the ability to articulate.

Building a Blog

The Architecture team at Wiley has just launched a blog in support of Archictural Graphic Standards, the leading reference for those in the design and construction industries. 

It’s an interesting case study in the making.  AGS is currently in it’s 11th edition, and recently celebrated it’s 75th anniversary of publication.  It doesn’t have a single author behind it, but the people in editorial and marketing working on the product wanted to find a way to give it an interactive, online presence.  Hence, the AGS blog, which serves as an aggregator for news stories about graphic standards in architecture. 

I know that I have at least two readers interested in this type of blog (hi Dad!) so if you’re in a building, construction, or design field, check it out. 

BlogHer Business vs. SXSWi = My thoughts

This has been a very busy start of the year for me.  I fulfilled some personal objectives and made an effort to be social, not just online but in person.  To this goal, I attended two very different conferences, SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive) in March, and BlogHer Business (BHB) at the beginning of April.  I got done with SXSWi, and while it wasn’t perfect, I was happy that I went there.  That is, until I went to BHB and saw what a conference could and should be.

Don’t get me wrong - a lot of people GET SWSW and what they’re trying to accomplish.  I heard many times that I shouldn’t expect too much from the sessions, and SXSW is “all about the hallways.”  But why did I come out of those 4 days feeling like I had wasted a lot of time, after spending 2 incredibly productive days with the BlogHer crowd?  Three main areas of comparison come to mind:

Sessions - At SXSW, I got the feeling that a lot of them were winging it.  The session I always come back to as the best example of “phoning it in”, literally and figuratively, is the one on creative mobile content that featured Jeremiah Owyang, Chris Heuer and Chris Brogan.  These are thought leaders, people who have blogs I follow religiously and often quote in my own dealings.  No offense guys, but your session was useless.  Essentially, they broke the audience up and took us out of the room to “create”.  My group stood in the Bloghaus while Jerimiah talked with someone into what looked like a tape recorder.  I didn’t get any perspective into why he was asking the questions that he was (if he even was asking questions).  I got the feeling that Chris Heuer was trying harder, but still, it wasn’t working for me.  I didn’t see Brogan, so I can’t say what he was or wasn’t doing.   When you put the thought leaders of social media in a room, you expect more.   I got really angry when I realized that I was missing Kathy Sierra’s session, and after about 10 minutes of staring at this, I headed to Kathy’s well-prepared session (and learned a ton).  

In contrast, all of the BlogHer Business sessions were focused, information packed, and productive.  Plus, they run on time!  Speakers spend a great time planning what they are going to say, whether they have powerpoints or not.  Moderators add value by directing the conversation and adding their own viewpoints where appropriate.  In the two days at BHB, I got enough inspiration to last me at least a year.  Until I next BH event, I suppose!

Focus - SXSW is huge, and offers a lot for more than just me.  So, truth be told, you may be an interactive designer, or some other field than marketing and really would get more out of SXSW that I can.  BHB is totally focused on me and what I do - it’s for marketers, PR folks, advertisers and the like.  For that reason alone, I found myself at home there. 

Socialization - OK, so SXSW is all about the hallways.  But I have to tell you, I made more connections, and more valuable connections at BHB in 2 hours of meet and greet than I did in all my time at SXSW.  I’ll pull BHB’s hallways up against SXSW’s any day. 

I’m sure I’m opening myself up to some flaming and negative comments, but BlogHer Business was such an amazing and productive meeting for me, and I really wanted to give Jory, Elisa, Lisa and Kristy some love for making that happen.  I also want people to know for next year, when I have a choice, I’m going to BHB and skipping SXSW.  Anyone looking to better understand women bloggers and learn how to make connections with them cannot afford to miss BHB.   

Soapbox dismounted.  Flame away. 

BlogHer Business Day 2

Day two of BlogHer Business split off into two parallel tracks, one on social media creation, and one on social media outreach.  I first went to the “Outreach” session, but I might have been better served in the “Creation” panel discussion instead, especially since Wiley author and babe extraordinaire. Susannah Gardner was moderating.  I saw a couple of tweets that showed there might be more applicability for me in the other session.  Not that the Outreach one was bad - far from it.  I learned a lot about authenticity and transparency and heard some good examples of how it’s been put into play in dealing with reputation management (Calling Andy Beal!). 

After lunch, I headed upstairs to “Overcoming Internal Objections 101″ - this was a super panel.  Lena West showed you can be professional at what you do and still keep a sense of humor about yourself - I’d work with her ANY day.  Yvonne Divita and Margaret Gurowitz inspired me with their tales of creating blogs in a corporate culture that was slow to embrace them.

The next session was just as amazing.  “Beyond Blogging - Social Media Creation Best Practices” gave me more inspiration.  All the panelists were wonderful, but I have to give a shoutout to the charming and endearing Connie Reece who got to spread the word about the Frozen Pea Fund to an eager audience.  I wish this session didn’t run at the same time as “We Don’t Know What To Do With You,” which tackled how marketers are ignoring with women outside the young, white mom demographic.   I had to do a Sophie’s Choice between the two panels, and that hurt.  I heard really good feedback from that panel, so I’m hoping the topic will come up again at BlogHer this summer

Overall, it was two days that amazed, inspired and motivated me and the hundred of others who attended.  In my next post, I’m going to talk about how this conference made me totally discount and question why I attended SXSW at all.  GREAT job to Jory, Lisa, Elisa, Kristy and the whole gang at BlogHer.  GOOD SHOW! 

 

BlogHer Business Day 1

Well, I survived to tell the tale.  I’m not talking about the most excellent BlogHer Business conference in NY.  No, I’m talking about commuting home on MetroNorth.  Mr IT took his usual 5:30 train, and I took a 6:15 train, figuring I would take a cab home from the train station.  Once we got out of the tunnel, I got an email from him telling me that his train was stuck due to brake problems.  Net net, I got home 20 minutes before he did.  Little IT was at play practice, and then at the science fair, so she hadn’t eaten dinner.  We got take away from our local Chinese joint and all sat around the dinner table to decompress.

ANYHOW, back to the matter at hand.  I continue to be impressed at the quality of a conference BlogHer puts on.  Today was a review of the state of social media today and presentation of successful case studies in using social media and engaging bloggers.  The speakers were thoughtful and inspiring, and ranged from a true small business (a farmer who sells worms online), to mainstream marketers from GM and Method, to bloggers from Microsoft.   I was fortunate to experience these speakers surrounded by my co-workers, who were alternately inspired to do more in the social media space, and freaked out/frustrated that we aren’t doing more as a group in this space.  But we’re here, we’re listening, and we’re learning how to join the conversation.

Most of the case studies focused on how a company had a product or service they wanted to promote, and how they decided to court bloggers to help promote it.  The stories were charming in some cases, belying the fact that these are very savvy companies looking to push their products.  This was downplayed in almost all cases.  “We want to engage the bloggers, but not dicate to them.”  “We never tell the bloggers they must write about us.”  In a sense that reminded me of when Amazon first came online.  I would email their editor (editor singular - they have 50 or so, but back then there was only one) with suggestions for books to promote on the site.  They were always selected around a theme, but they were not always Wiley books.  Todd was always happy to take ideas into consideration and often did feature books I suggested.  Now, of course, there’s a 50 page manual that details the cooperative marketing plans involved in something like this.  I can’t help but think that the next time GM approaches someone like the Manic Mommies to provide complimentary transportation for their escape weekend that they will be more savvy (or cynical, take your pick) and present them with a “sponsorship” plan involving beaucoup bucks. 

Right now, we have a small window of time where the bloggers are happy with the engagement these companies are getting into.  Individual bloggers all tell tales of the thrill that came when someone offered them something for free for the first time.  Now, many of them have stacks of products lined up that they have little time to review.  Virginity in the blogosphere dies hard.   

Overall at the conference, there is less networking than at SXSW, but that’s more because it’s a smaller group.  However, the quality in attendance is the cream of the crop.  The people here are a mix of PR and marketing types, true bloggers, and folks in the media business.  I feel I like I made better contacts on line for lunch than I did in a day in Austin.   And I look forward to more of the same tomorrow.   

Do you have a BlogHer Hero?

I’m so happy to break news about a contest that Wiley is launching at BlogHer Business tomorrow. 

Speaking for many people at Wiley, we’ve all been blown away about the community that is the blogosphere.  How people can use this means of communication to inspire others.  To comfort others.  To advance the causes that impact women all over the word.  Maybe you’re thinking of some special blogger who has made that kind of an impact on others.  If so, and you want to “pay it forward” for him/her, have we got an opportunity for you.

Announcing the “Who’s Your BlogHer Hero?” contest.  In a nutshell, here’s how this is going to go down…I quote from the official ruleswhen I say that we’re looking for “a blogger that has made an impact in the life of women and how that blog inspires passion, innovation and ability to inspire a community.”  Said blogger can be male or female, btw.  The nominator will send in a 100 word essay on why this person is worthy of being the BlogHer hero, and a team of judges will pick one blogger to award an awesome prize to.  The prize in question is a trip for 2 to BlogHer in San Francisco this summer. 

Trust me, there’s tons of legalese on the official rules page, so don’t take my word for it (seriously, DON’T take my word for it) and check it out on the BlogHer site.  I can’t talk about any of the judging or criteria, but I can say that I am thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with the great folks at BlogHer on this amazing opportunity.  I’d also like to thank Alison Clarke at Wiley who has worked her tush off to make this dream of ours a reality.  More to come!

“and visions of book contracts danced in their eyes”

Admit it.  Most bloggers secretly dream of writing the next great American novel.  Or a business tome that insipires many and brings fame and fortune.  At the very least, we dream of seeing our names on the front cover of a fresh, newly published book. 

Well, blogs are the new black in the book publishing world, at least according to the NY Times.  In an article that should be considered jumping the shark for book bound bloggers, they detail how the folks behind “Stuff White People Like“, a really funny blog, just signed a deal with Random House to author a book based on the blog.  The price, according to the article, is rumored to be $300,000, and yes, I agree that is an astronomical and probably unjustified amount to be spending on a book. 

Not sure what signal is being given here.  A lot of times trade houses sign the big names to six-figure book deals almost as loss leaders, to give the house the prestige of being associated with these folks.  In these times where the economy is on a downturn and book publishing is suffering, even a six-figure deal like this must be looked at as suspect, especially as these are not folks who have written before and have no track record in the marketplace. 

Part of me says, good for them.  They’ve got a lot of work ahead of them, but that’s a great deal.  The other part wonders whether other bloggers will consider the bar raised, and be looking at getting sums like that for their work.  That seems to be a trend in publishing.  Someone in a certain field or with a select experience gets a big contract, and then everyone else expects the same terms.  One or two books do really well, but the majority do not succeed, and the marketplace becomes too crowded and bookstore buyers and editors declare a “fatigue” for the topic, and we move onto something else.  Which if it happens here, will be a shame. 

For the bloggers who think they’re up to writing a book, talk to any blogger who has done it, and they tell you that there is a big difference between feeding your blog content day after day and creating a manuscript.  At a recent author dinner at SXSW, everyone agreed that they had no idea how much work writing a book would prove to be.  Rewarding beyond belief, yes, but certainly no walk in the park. 

I guess my point is meant for bloggers who really want to write a book - don’t think it’s going to be a walk in the park, and don’t think you’re a failure if you’re not pulling down the big bucks that get you featured in a NY Times article.  This is one deal out of hundreds that go down every week and should not be considered the norm. 

What Gives?! Well, I do!

I was recently invited to be a contributing blogger to eBay’s official GivingWorks blog, aka WhatGives?!  I just put up my third post, and am getting into the groove of the site more and more.  This one was the first post that wasn’t repurposed from ConfessionsofanITGirl.com, and it was about how I became a convert to reusable supermarket bags (I know, THRILLING stuff, but trust me, it’s in scope).  I’ll be writing about green stuff, doing good, and how I’m hoping to inspire my family and others by my actions in these areas.  If you’re interested in similar topics, sign up on the site.  It’s in beta right now, but there’s no better time to get in on the ground floor, now is there?

I’ll soon be talking about a really cool project that I and others at Wiley are working on.  Stay tuned!