Just got back from Hot-lanta (and slightly humid) and the AWESOME Blogalicious conference. It was a weekend full of 175 sassy women of color bloggers from all over the country who gathered for support, laughter, connection and to take their blogs to a new level. Sounds trite, but connecting, laughter and dancing to Michael Jackson were key elements that made this conference stand out amongst the others that I have frequented over the past few years.
First, props go to the ladies of MamaLaw, who put on an outstanding event. The parties were inviting and the food was good. But more importantly, the overall feel of the event was welcoming - whether their blogs were read by 20,000 or just by their intimate friends and family, the folks I met were sweet, sincere and ready to take on the world. The MamaLaw ladies are graceful, meticulous and fun and this event exuded that from beginning to end- Kudos Ladies!
One of my Clever Girls Collective partners in crime, Stefania Pomponi Butler, aka City Mama, kicked off the festivities with opening remarks that had me teary. She read a post that she wrote in 2007 about marketing to women of color - or the lack there of. In her brilliant way, she pointed out that as "City Mama" she got dozens of pitches a day for cleaning products, hair accessories or food items etc. , while "Kimchi Mamas" (a collective blog written by women of Korean descent) rarely got pitched. I was in that room for that conversation at BlogHer in 2007 and sadly was not surprised by it at all. I was new to the blogosphere then and figured that was par for the course. It was consistent with my experience as a woman of color in general, so why should this be different? I was resigned to the fact that I rarely saw Asian, Latina, Black faces on tv, much less Filipino faces. It was the way things had been and probably would always be.
First, props go to the ladies of MamaLaw, who put on an outstanding event. The parties were inviting and the food was good. But more importantly, the overall feel of the event was welcoming - whether their blogs were read by 20,000 or just by their intimate friends and family, the folks I met were sweet, sincere and ready to take on the world. The MamaLaw ladies are graceful, meticulous and fun and this event exuded that from beginning to end- Kudos Ladies!
One of my Clever Girls Collective partners in crime, Stefania Pomponi Butler, aka City Mama, kicked off the festivities with opening remarks that had me teary. She read a post that she wrote in 2007 about marketing to women of color - or the lack there of. In her brilliant way, she pointed out that as "City Mama" she got dozens of pitches a day for cleaning products, hair accessories or food items etc. , while "Kimchi Mamas" (a collective blog written by women of Korean descent) rarely got pitched. I was in that room for that conversation at BlogHer in 2007 and sadly was not surprised by it at all. I was new to the blogosphere then and figured that was par for the course. It was consistent with my experience as a woman of color in general, so why should this be different? I was resigned to the fact that I rarely saw Asian, Latina, Black faces on tv, much less Filipino faces. It was the way things had been and probably would always be.
