It’s still early in the day one of BlogHer but community and camaraderie are huge buzzwords. It’s a bit overwhelming at times — this conference is the largest gathering of bloggers worldwide — regardless of gender. Consider this — it’s 90 percent female. I have not been the company of this many women at once and it’s –wow — and I mean this the best way, a bit of an estrogen overload at times. I am having a great time, learning a lot and meeting some really fascinating people. (More on that later.)

Right now I’m in a session listening to Carol Lin, a CNN anchor who built a community of people dealing with cancer. Inspired by her own experience of her husband’s battle with cancer, and her life as a journalist.

So, some thoughts on building online communities:

Create a safe space to share stories and challenges and to ask for help.

Online communities that turn into offline communities are incredible — they have that extra “glue.”

Depending on the community, accountability and credibility are important. Since Lin’s community deals with cancer patients, there’s a code of conduct and requirements from members to share a bit about themselves, to keep the integrity of the community. Lin’s connection to CNN gives her the added responsibility to uphold the brand of the news organization as well as her own journalistic integrity.

If building a community is for a business — make that clear from the beginning.

Use your connectors both on and offline, and be aware of the power of voices and communities.

Comments shape a community and it’s important to join in and respond to the conversation.

“Out” the lurkers — ask, who are you and why are you reading my blog? Ask the community what they want and need — give them the chance to provide input.

Tags: BlogHer07

It’s really interesting to glance side to side and see what tools people are using to record this experience. Some are writing notes, with pens in notebooks. You know, the paper kind. Others are using Word to write notes on laptops. Some are liveblogging using various blog tools. Some are multitasking on IM, Twitter, blogging, e-mailing, etc. There are Macs, PCs, handhelds and some people just listening.

Fortunately this is a very well wired event.

Tags: BlogHer07

Josh Hallett is giving away his like-new Helio Ocean. He doesn’t need it anymore since he has his iPhone. I think Josh should give it to me, and here’s why.

Picture the scene, Chicago, summer 2007, an Italian restaurant, the night before a huge blogger conference. I’m dining, ironically, with the four guys that will be at the all-female conference the next day. Josh, of hyku, is one of them.

Throughout dinner, and in fact, throughout most of my interaction with other attendees thus far, they’re attached to their devices. One eye on me, one eye on the iPhone. They’re all twittering away, checking mail or answering the phone.

And me? I’m just sitting there, twirling my pasta. I want IN!

Dear Josh, I need your Ocean because I’m not geeky enough and we all know in this world, you gotta be geeky to get ahead.

(No) Hugs,

STLWorkingMom

Think you have a shot at winning the Ocean? Josh will decide who gets it July 31. All you have to do is write a compelling post about why you want it, and link to his post.

Dots of frustration:

• How many Altoids make a meal? I’m wondering, because I’ve eaten nothing but mints today, due to a short layover and time spent trying to catch up with work.
• Lack of wifi access at one of two host hotels for a blogger conference. Are you kidding me? Are they really interested in generating a bunch of angry bloggers?
• Hotel room FREEZING — isn’t that always the way?

OK, yeah, I’m cranky. But I’m going to dinner soon and that oughta fix it. That and the fact that the in-room ethernet is working — hence the post.

Planned: liveblogging from the conference tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I live at work.

I work at home.

Sometimes one overtakes the other. Working at home is usually great, but since it’s my home, I share it with other people, namely my family.

I would not bring my family to work. No offense, guys. I’ve also made an effort not to bring work home with me, (ironic, huh?) not letting it take over time meant for my family.

Most of the time, when I’m working, my family members are gone, at school, at work, at camp — you know, where they belong. It’s when one of them is here, that I become acutely aware that I live where I work. I don’t like it when they’re home, on a day off when I’m working. It throws everything out of balance.

I need my office space. I do have a dedicated home office. No one is allowed to cross the threshold without my express permission. Nothing but my work takes place in my office. It is the one way I can keep the two separate. I do not, however, have a kitchen or a restroom in my home office. I must venture into other areas of the house a few times a day, and that’s when I encounter those non-colleagues hanging out in what I’ve come to think of as my workplace (the whole house, during work hours) while I’m trying to work.

How dare they be having fun, loafing around, not working?

If you work at home, how do you get through those days when the others are around?

I said, “I’m thinking of wearing this t-shirt to BlogHer, but I don’t know . . .  I might get beat up.”

The boy said, “Wear it! They’re bloggers. They’re all yous.”

And at first, I didn’t quite understand what he said. They’re all “U”s? Or, youse? Has he been hanging out with that kid from Jersey again?

Then he said, “They’ll like it. They’re just like you. And if they don’t have a sense of humor, what are you doing talking to them, anyway?”

And he’s got a point. But I don’t think I’m up to taking fashion advice from a 17-year-old boy.

1. Haircut. Check.
2. Nails done. Check.
3. STLWorkingMom business cards designed, printed and in hand. Check.
4. Plane reservations. Check.
5. Hotel reservations. Check.
6. Walking-around money. Check.
7. List of people I want to see. Check.

Now, to pack.

As part of BlogHer “Get to know me!” egotistical prep, we’re being encouraged to share 10 seconds of ourselves. I’m trying to stick to stuff I haven’t ad nauseum-ed here before, so here goes:

I was born in Springfield, Illinois.

I’m tall, but not as tall as I look. I was a Guinness Book World Record holder. And, NO, not because I’m tall.

I went to an all-girls Catholic high school.  I hate beets. I love watching boxing on TV. I got married when I was a mere wisp of a girl.

And that is probably TMI. See you soon!

Tags: BlogMe 2007

MSN has an article about The Five Friends all Moms Need. Here’s the working moms’ spin:

1. The role model. I agree with this one. Every working mom needs a friend, 10 or more years ahead of the working mom game who has been there, done that. Ideally this is a colleague who can help balance career and family with advice and hopefully, a listening ear when working with small kids sends your life spinning out of control. Working mom mentors have helped me countless times over the years and now that my kids are older, this site is one way I’m trying to pay it forward.
2. The childless and probably even single friend. Who better to escape with, than the person who has no interest or understanding of what your life is like — grab a drink with her, go shopping, get pedis together and in the maybe four times a year you can afford to see her, slough off your working mom self and remember what it’s like to be silly and irresponsible. Remember that?
3. The peer. Hopefully there’s someone on your team or working in a similar field gunning for the same recognition and career goals you are, while trying to make it to the rehearsal or the soccer game in time to see their kids’ fabulous performances. This is the person you can rejoice in work successes with, comiserate failures, and share stories about your kids’ accomplishments — without irritating or boring the pants off your childless co-workers.
4. The mom of your kids’ friend(s). Nothing’s better than a mom whose kids are your kids’ friends, too. Even better if the parents are couple friends with you and your husband. Some of our best friend experiences have been where the whole group, kids and parents are pals.
5. The guy. A guy friend, especially a dad, is a welcome relief. They are non-competitive. None of the working mom vs. stay-at-home mom issues ever surface. The guy will remind you that you’re still a woman (they can’t help it, even in the most platonic relationships) even when you feel like an insomniac slob with baby spit up on your business suit.

How are you doing, collecting this critical group of friends?

Last night, my husband started a round table discussion regarding the week ahead.

The husband: What’s everybody got going on Monday?
The girl: Camp.
The boy: Allergy shot. Trombone lesson.
Me: Work.

The husband: Tuesday?
The girl: Camp.
The boy: Downtown (to hear his trombone teacher and a friend play)
Me: Work.
The husband: Teeth. (He has a four-hour dentist appointment to look forward to.)

The husband: Wednesday?
The girl: Camp!
The boy: The girlfriend comes home (she’s been in Australia for six weeks).
Me: Work!

The husband: Thursday?
The girl: Overnight at camp!
The boy:           (way too far in advance to know)
Me: Chicago!

And then the guys started giving me a hard time about going to a blogger conference, which they consider a large meeting of a bunch of geeks. They’re ones to talk!

I said to the boy, “You’re a band geek!” and to the husband, “You’re a computer geek!”

And they said, yes, but bloggers? They’re the geekiest of all.

I’m proud to be a geek among geeks.