blogs

BlogHer 2010

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nichecupcake
Cheryl Contee of Jack and Jill Politics took the picture of me.

BlogHer has evolved tremendously since I attended the first conference back in August of 2005 in San Jose. There were only 300 attendees then, but it was a remarkable feat because blogging was still “new”. Blogging was not considered mainstream, and also not considered “women’s work”. Blogging then was equal parts confessional, conversational and confrontational. Most of the influential bloggers were men back then but Lisa, Elisa and Jory knew differently. They created a community where women can blog and now there is more content that is more informational and inspirational as well as being confessional, conversational and confrontational. The totality of voices is what Blogher has facilitated and that is great.

I didn’t attend any of BlogHer parties this year, mainly to stave off even more information overload. Part of me still feels like I am still recovering from SXSW back in March. Attending conferences is actually hard work mentally with so much information absorbed in a short amount of time. It is hard to remember anyone’s names or what they blog about, what twitter handle to start following or what URL to bookmark.

Instead, I enjoyed learning about how to run for office and how to increase traffic to my blogs. I ran into friends I met at SXSW, Foodbuzz, Blogging While Brown, Techmunch as well as fellow New York City bloggers. It was great to see them all.

me

Job Seach Is Not Career Strategy

Estee Lauder
Yesterday I attended Media Bistro’s Career Circus.  Career Circus is a conference where  HR professionals,  career specialists and job coaches gave advice on how to have the career you want.  I really enjoyed the event and I learned a lot. Here are some of the nuggets of advice from the panelists.

  • Job search is not career strategy.
  • Personal branding is necessary.
  • Bad careers happen when people don’t make decisions.
  • Don’t ask to be validated.
  • Regarding passion: “nothing beats giving a damn”
  • done is better than perfect

Estee Lauder was one of the sponsors of Career Circus and they provided makeup artists to give makeovers and a photographer to take your picture. They even supplied a thumb drive of your pictures, and now I have new pictures of myself.

Michelle Madhok of She Finds recommends reading Seth Godin’s The Dip.  To learn software, she also recommended taking online classes available on Lynda.

me

Hot Dog Cookoff

hotdofcookoffcollage
Saturday was lovely day to grill hot dogs in Brooklyn. This was my third competing in the Great Hot Dog Cookoff. Julian was my sous chef again this year and our hot dog was the English Breakfast Dog. We didn’t place but we had a wonderful time eating hot dogs, drinking beer and dancing in the street. It was truly a block party held outside Kelso Brewery in Fort Greene. Thanks to Kara Masi who puts on a wonderful and fun event with proceeds going to City Harvest.

See photos on MetroMix
Read Epicurious‘ recap

brooklyn, food

Red Jacket Orchards: Fruit CSA To Keep The Doctor Away

Red Jacket Orchard Fruit CSA

A few days ago, I got an email asking me to pass on news of a fruit CSA that will be delivering to soon this summer/fall. As I am sitting here eating lunch at ‘wichcraft, I notice that Red Jacket Orchards’ juices are being sold here. What a crazy coincidence! Anyway, to stave off any colds during the fall and keep away scurvy, you may want to join Red Jacket Orchards CSA. Deadline for entry is August 5th. You can purchase a full share for $264 ($22 per week) or a half share for $156 ($13 per week). Pickup will be at either Jimmy’s No. 43 or Brooklyn Farmacy.

books, music

Book Recommendation: Typical Girls, The Story Of The Slits

The+Slits
I didn’t grow up listening to punk. I guess that they were punk rock enthusiasts in Birmingham, Alabama but I didn’t know them. For some reason, I didn’t hear about The Slits until I heard their cover of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It through the Grapevine”. Then I promptly bought and immediately fell in love with their album, “Cut“. Last weekend, I bought Typical Girls, a book about The Slits, and I am in love with it too. Author Zoe Street Howe chronicles the squatter beginnings to the fame of this all girl punk band who were proto feminists, proto-Madonna, proto-riot grrl. I didn’t do Women’s Studies in college, but the story of The Slits is one to study.
I especially like this quote which was their ethos:

The Slits weren’t’ particularly interested in Women’s Lib, and their approach was ultimately more successful and less eroding on themselves: don’t get angry, don’t think about chauvinists, get on with what you want to do and as long as you don’t think they have any power over you, they won’t.

blogs

Blogging While Brown NYC Meetup

bwbmeetup ladies

Last night, I hosted the inaugural Blogging While Brown NYC Meetup at Houndstooth Pub in Midtown. It was so much fun meeting new people. There are a lot new bloggers on the scene who are doing cool stuff.

Here’s a list of the attendees’ twitter handles:
@gcam @cavaughn @makeupkimporter @kittybradshaw @TempleofGlam @brettandthecity @mypolaropposite @funkybrownchick @artdeal @laidbackchick @shy2del @thefabchick @misssmith11 @streetforce1 @hergoodybag @osochic @jonesmag

See more pictures from meetup.

It's Nichelle With An "N"