So, Blogger Social 08 is over. It was a blur. A joy. A great assault of emotion and excitement. An amazing experience.
And despite gathering some of the most articulate and creative marketing folks from around the world, the common consensus is that words are not sufficient to explain the impact of this extraordinary meetup on all of us participants. And I think this is as it should be.
But I will ponder one point. I have been writing, reading, commenting, discussing, emailing and collaborating with most of the 80-odd folks who trekked to New York for over two years. In that time much has changed. We fell into a community together. We saw it grow and expand, prosper even. We had fun and we had hard times. The community that grew out of our shared interest was surprisingly strong and extraordinarily supportive. But this has changed for me.
In making a commitment to come together — to share an experience called “blogger social” — we each had to forego something. There was a real cost — be it financial, time or energy (or all three). But in the binding of that experience there was also a transformation. For me, meeting these old friends in person made me realise that our connection goes somewhat deeper than the word “community” allows. It is far more personal and much more expansive — humbling and invigorating. Thanks to you all!
Susan Bird Tim Brunelle Katie Chatfield Matt Dickman Luc Debaisieux Gianandrea Facchini Mark Goren Gavin Heaton Sean Howard CK Valeria Maltoni Drew McLellan Doug Meacham Marilyn Pratt Steve Roesler Greg Verdino CB Whittemore Steve Woodruff Paul McEnany Ann Handley David Reich Tangerine Toad Kristin Gorski Mack Collier David Armano Ryan Barrett Lori Magno Tim McHale Gene DeWitt Mario Vellandi Arun Rajagopal Joseph Jaffe Rohit Bhargava Anna Farmery Marianne Richmond Thomas Clifford Lewis Green Geoff Livingston Kris Hoet Connie Reece CeCe Lee Toby Bloomberg Seni Thomas Darryl Ohrt Joe Kutchera Paul Dunay Marshall Sponder Chris Kieff Tara Anderson Jason Falls Paul Soldera Roberta Rosenberg Saul Colt Todd Andrlik Nathan Snell Ryan Karpeles Mike Sansone Jennifer Laycock Neil Vineberg Cam Beck Mike Arauz Matthew Bailey Heather Gorringe John Rosen Cathleen Rittereiser Tamar Weinberg Rita Perea Linda Sherman Matthew McDonald Kaitlyn Wilkins Terry Starbucker
Jennifer Berk Jane Quigley John Wall Scott Monty Kevin Horne Virginia Miracle Amanda Gravel Susan Reynolds David Polinchock Shashi Bellamkonda David Berkowitz Vahe Habeshian
Europe next time?
Gavin you are one of the true pillars of our community and we would have been so much poorer if you hadn’t been able to attend. Cannot wait to come to Syndey and return the favor!
Gavin – it was a real pleasure, you are a true gentleman. I am just picturing the scene now of Drew on his surfboard in the land of OZ for the Aussie blogger social….:) I will treasure the memories forever, more than anything I just feel the luckiest girl alive to have been able to be part of such an event, pity we forgot to put a keyboard and blog in the Statue of Liberty’s hand though :)Maybe CK will arrange…..
And it was certainly a joy to meet our Australian friends in the flesh…thanks so much for coming all the way here to take part!
Gavin, I am so very glad to have met you at Blogger Social, and I love what you wrote here about community. This is an amazing group of people and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.
Marcus … we certainly are aiming for Europe in 09. Would love to see you there!
Mack … it would be great to see you down here. Or anywhere. It was a real highlight to meet you.
Anna … wasn’t it a fantastic event? I have a feeling it is the beginning of something much bigger 😉
Steve … after all the emails, it was great to meet face-to-face.
Connie … you are right — an amazing group of people all in the one room. How often does that happen?
Gavin, it was wonderful to meet you in person. I just wish that we could have slowed down the clock just a bit to give everyone more time to get to know each other. Looking forward to BS09.
Gavin,
No doubt about it, no other word for it — we are family.
And my brother from a different mother, thanks so much for using one of the hat photos! 🙂
Drew
Yes, Gavin, we’ve all been having a tough time finding the right words. Yours came out well, though.
Great to finally meet you. Thank you for coming such a long way.
I have to come. Kris will kill me otherwise. Kill me, or force me to drink Belgian beer (which is pretty much the same thing).
Gavin – love the title of this post! it was the most amazing of times to be in nyc with so many ‘old friends.’ hugs from you will be in my memory until the next time we meet.
Doug … so many people, so little time! But even a moment here and there was worthwhile!
Drew … what can I say? You know it. You feel it. And that hat is priceless!
David … it was like, as Toby says, we were old friends reconnecting. But with the freshness and excitement of a new discovery.
Marcus … BS09 will be brilliant. I would love to see you there!
Toby … so nice to finally meet you face-to-face. Now I really do know why you are the DIVA!
Gavin, I will never forget you welcoming me as I walked into our room at the Perfect Pint. What a fantastic family and community to be a part of! Thank you!!!
Gavin, it was so great to meet you in person!!! And thank you for your wisdom in this post — I’ve been struggling to write my BS08 wrap-up post, and just as you said, finding that words couldn’t accurately express the energy, fun, and inspiration present in the weekend.
And it’s great to hear the buzz about BS2009 already! 🙂