It seems to me that there is enough interest in politics that if they wanted to, BlogHer could host a “BlogHer Political Conference”, (I would go). But the reason BlogHer and the BlogHer conference is so great, is because it doesn’t “exclude” any woman, there is something for everyone. PLEASE DON’T CHANGE THAT.

I wouldn’t want that to change just so politicians can have another soap-box, and the media can come up with one word to describe us all (like they do for kos). Let’s face it…BlogHer is about US not THEM. Even if we had a political conference I’m not sure I would even want any of the candidates there to “speak”…we already know what they have to say, right? Let’s continue to focus on what WE WANT (thru BlogHerActs)from them, ORGANIZING AS A GROUP TO AFFECT CHANGE…Not just jump onto the first political bandwagon that comes by.

As a group we are powerful, and we can show them (the politicians) that. We don’t need THEM, they NEED US. And, lets not let the media put us (BlogHers) into a “box”…I think staying under their radar a bit longer could be a great thing.

That’s just what I think.

There is a social aspect to blogher that is undeniable and encouraged, but you are totally missing the boat on the larger and more pronounced mission of the blogher conference and how its seen in the blogger community as a whole. I don’t know what to say other than you need to broaden your scope of reading, and I’m happy to provide links.

I can’t think of anything that was more hyped at this year’s conference than the BlogHers Act Initiative.

http://blogher.org/bloghers-act-live-chicago

Not to mention the entire theme of the conference was “A World of Difference.”

Let me start by leading you to all of the live blogs that came from the conference. You can find them here, along with the sessions that were covered (all of them)

http://blogher.org/guide-live-blogging-blogher-07

As an example of the speakers and sessions that occurred in Chicago I offer up Laurie’s live blog of the “Patriots Act: How to Turn Your Blog into a GOtV (Get Out the Vote) Machine” Maybe you think the president of NOW is a lush just there to party, but I certainly don’t.

http://lauriewrites.typepad.com/weblog/2007/07/patriots-act-ho.html

How about the BlogHer sessions on getting online for a cause? How we can and ARE raising money and making a difference -Try Viva La Feminista’s live blog-

http://vivalafeminista.blogspot.com/2007/07/friday-breakout-4-part-two.html

There is the BlogHer’s Election 2008 programming

http://blogher.org/blogher-politics-looking-ahead

There are important discussions occurring due to and from the sessions-like the inclusion or exclusion of mommybloggers of color-

http://blogher.org/mommybloggers-color-are-they-getting-support-they-need

not to mention the community of food bloggers, craft bloggers, entertainment bloggers, techies, photographers, podcasters, vloggers, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

I take offense because you seem to be seeing only 10% of the blogher community and only for its social aspects-one I whole heartedly enjoy, by the way.

I’m happy to report the perception you seem to think is out there, is in fact just in your own tiny corner of the blogosphere.

As for the cadidates-they missed the boat. And I totally disagree that they did NOT come to BlogHer because its seen as a party. They didn’t come to BlogHer because once again, they forget and discount the power of women and women voters. YearlyKos was an easy hit. Logical. BlogHer would have been brilliant.

Now, here is a link to the many diaries and comments about YearlyKos. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/7/195815/0600

I read many of them, but not all. I’ve got a life, you know. And I’m sorry to disagree with you, but the difference TO ME between the two conferences is striking. One looks like a fun party with a few sessions about blogging. The other looks like a really serious and professional conference about changing the world, one blogger at a time. There were women at YearlyKos. Look at the photos, they’re there. Maybe it wasn’t ALL women, but there were women there and the write on Kos and speak at Kos.

Furthermore, what your experience IS and what the PERCEPTION is are two different things. Sarah was questioning why the perception of Blogher was so minimal that there was no media coverage. It was NOT about your experience, it was about how outsiders saw the conferences and chose which to report on and which to ignore. It has, IMO, little to do with one conference being for women and one for everyone. It has to do with the PERCEPTION from outsiders, those NOT in attendance, what the two conferences were about.

I did a pretty careful analysis based upon what was posted and reported around the net on both conferences. My conclusion, and obviously you feel insulted by it, is that Blogher LOOKS to this outsider as a social conference with a lot of partying and drinking. YK looks like a political conference with a lot of discussion on world changing events.

My suggestion, if you don’t like this perception and you disagree with it is for EVERY blogher attendee to write more about what they learned, which appeared to be minimal, and a lot less about what they drank and what parties they attended and who they met, squeee!

I’m not dissing blogher the organization. I’m saying that if you want to change the perception of the conference for the media, that you change the content of your posts apres blogher conventions. If you disagree, don’t change a thing. But take my words seriously…there is a misperception of the conference and as long as the coverate continues to be blogherWHEEEEE!, then you’re not going to be taken seriously.

Just because we enjoy the social aspect of seeing our blogamigas once a year does not mean we don’t have professional speakers and we don’t walk away with knowledge from the sessions.

The sessions and speakers at blogher at professional and just, if not more, qualified than at ANY conference you see bloggers put on. YearlyKos included.

There are 13,000 plus women in the BlogHer community.

And I think the social aspect of the conference is made purely by the attendees, not the organizers.

I’m not sure you get any more serious or professional than BlogHer. And I can speak from experience, not just my internet reading.

Then I went and looked at the speakers and the comments on the KosConvention. They ONLY had professional speakers. People with lots of professional qualifications. They had a huge number of people from the press attend because of the speakers. Their conference titles weren’t about blogging, they were about world politics. They were about world issues. They were about political changes.

So I started looking at some of the people that attended the conference. I didn’t see ONE blog with photos and links and drunken stories. Not one.

So in my not so humble decision, it appears like you’re comparing apples to oranges. Blogher is a conference that is more social than professional. It has as it’s function blogging, not politics, not healthcare, not any one main subject. Plus, a lot of people attend Blogher and don’t hit one session. They go for the drinking, the socializing, and the swag. Which is fine, I’m not negating it. But I’m pointing out the differences between the two conventions.

The reason, in my opinion, that Kos brings the big names is that they A) invite them B) have a national following and have been on Bill O’Reilly’s hate list for years C) are devoted to only one topic: politics and D) don’t have much of a social aspect to the conference.

So, I have to conclude (again, my opinion) that Blogher isn’t going to get the same type of respect as long as the attendees come back and talk about the drinking, the restaurants, the hotels, and the socializing as THE biggest part of blogher. When there are hundreds of posts about what people learned and not about who people met, I think Blogher is going to be perceived as a more serious and professional conference.

Remember, I didn’t attend any of the three conferences, but in each case I read a lot about them as well as the Kos conferences, and the difference is striking. As a blogher member, I guess I have to suggest that in order to be taken more seriously and to gain respect, can the drunken posts and the flickr photos. they just don’t appear at all professional. they’re not WRONG, they’re fine. But Blogher has to decide if they want to be a social meetup conference, or a serious professional conference. Both isn’t cutting it with the media.

But we BlogHers DO care about politics, and is it really so hard to ask that these candidates reach out to us? To show us they care about us? I’m sick of people saying, “they’re JUST bloggers” or “they’re just dumb rich kids”. Fuck that.

Are we supposed follow the candidates around instead? Are we supposed to beg them to take our votes, without any idea what they stand for?

If Rudy Giuliani wants MY vote he should have gotten his ass to Chicago to talk about the issues. If Barack Obama wants MY vote, he should have been to the BlogHer conference. (Hey! Wasn’t BlogHerCon in Chicago this year? Isn’t he from Chicago? Really?)

But what do I know? I’m just a “dumb rich kid”. Yeah, I’m rich alright. I better go find that hidden million I stashed in the mattress so I can donate it to a candidate who gives a shit about us BlogHers.

As for Canadian BlogHers (or international BlogHers) not caring about American politics, I see that point — and I would have been more than happy to hear a politician from another country speak. It’s nice to branch out and learn about other countries and cultures, instead of being stuck in my country’s political vacuum.

Additionally, Daily Kos is a POLITICAL blog. It only talks of politics and what relate to politics. They had twice the attendance of Blogher for a reason, the candidates are trying to appeal to the political bloggers. There are not a lot of purely political bloggers at Blogher. Let’s face it, most of the bloggers that attend don’t ever write about anything barely political. It’s too controversial, and it tends to be a very hard topic to write about. There are a few exceptions, and I’m on of them. So are you, and Izzy. But most of the other bloghers like to state that they don’t read newspapers or watch the news, etc.

Furthermore, Blogher is supposed to be an international conference. Lots of Canadian bloggers come, and I don’t think they’re all that interested in American politics.

I guess my feeling is, if you want to attend a conference with the democratic candidates, go to the Kos Conference. That’s where they’re going to be because that’s more advantageous to them than a room filled with mommy bloggers.