August 10th, 2007

BlogHer07: A 2.0 human community

Posted by Maurene Caplan Grey @ 8:27 am

Categories: BlogHer07, Blogs, Social communities, Social media, Web 2.0

Tags: Web, Women, Blog, Maurene Caplan Grey

About a year ago, I was a neophyte blogger. My first few posts were force-fed into my blog. They were a “should” chore — I should be blogging. I approached “the blog” as unfamiliar technology. I didn’t yet realize that blog posts are born from passion, and that ”should blog” is an oxymoron.

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In late July, I attended BlogHer07. I was sipping my morning coffee, waiting for the keynote, when I experienced an epiphany: My “should blog” baggage was long gone. A collective passion and energy permeated the room. It wasn’t just me; others said that they felt it as well. BlogHer was an educational and networking event focused on the human effect of blogging — a viral revival meeting.

The conference included sessions on self-branding, storytelling, advocacy, politics, fundraising and the momosphere. At the same time, BlogHer was being held in Second Life. (A panelist shares her BlogHer Second Life experience.)

Many of the trade floor vendors left their tchotchkes at home. I got a laptop bag from AOL and an Essentials Renew kit from General Motors. Why such nice take-aways? Women generate revenue.

Women are the primary decision makers for the majority of household spend. According to BlogHer research:

• Women spend $5 trillion a year (U.S.) and control 83% of household spending.

• Women who blog are 30% more likely than average female Internet users to shop online–and spend more when they buy.  

Bloggers are influencers. Read the rest of this entry »