BlogHer - not enough - Comments

You are so consistently

Danielle Henderson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:11:05 -0600

You are so consistently incredible. I cannot thank you enough for the support, feedback and laughs. It means the world to me.

Surly and Passionate
Knotty Yarn

You are so not a stalker,

Danielle Henderson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:09:52 -0600

You are so not a stalker, and I appreciate your feedback so much. Thank you for the email!

Surly and Passionate
Knotty Yarn

Your site is AMAZING. Thank

Danielle Henderson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:09:14 -0600

Your site is AMAZING. Thank you for the link, and the support!

Surly and Passionate
Knotty Yarn

A great reminder. Thank you.

Danielle Henderson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:07:21 -0600

A great reminder. Thank you.

Surly and Passionate
Knotty Yarn

Very true - thank you.

Danielle Henderson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:06:45 -0600

Very true - thank you. :)

Surly and Passionate
Knotty Yarn

I feel you!

Liz Rizzo — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 01:06:09 -0600

Just wanted to jump on and say, I so hear you!

Posting to Blogher is so different than saying whatever I want however I want over at my own space. Here I'm thinking OMG, I want to post well, and find cool stuff, and do a good job, eek, eek... and we're all in such amazing company. It can certainly feel overwhelming!

So I just jump on, and do my thing, and keep my fingers crossed!

And I am just enjoying reading everyone's stuff so much!!!

Any woman who can impersonate Gene Simmons...

Lisa Stone — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:50:34 -0600

...this well deserves undivided attention!!

I'll explain below. But first: Hi everyone. This string is a happy discovery at the end of a day when I finally outed how serious I am about what we are up to here.

Just want to add my two lira to these great comments. Thought you all might be interested in knowing how Danielle and I met. When I first posted BlogHer's ad for contributing editors, one of the first links that came across my inbox from a candidate lead me to this post. Here's an excerpt:

College Dropout

Dear Kanye West,

....I know that it's more likely for rap music to be fun and danceable rather than have a political message - lord knows I like to take my kitchen clock off the wall, hang it around my neck, and dance around to "911 is a Joke" as much as the next guy. But if you're going to make such blatant, wide-swinging statements such as yours, shouldn't you, oh I don't know, walk it like you talk it? Because really, the way you bandy about the "n" word while simultaneously stereotyping and degrading women....kind of makes me not like you.

Best,
Danielle

Ya'll, if you're not howling, then you haven't watched as many rap videos as I have. (I blew out of Montana into the rap and roots reggae scenes of Boston and New York in the '80s.)

Ooh, funny, I thought. Who is this woman? Then I read Danielle's profile and learned her secret identity (still don't get my headline? Click through for the photo. I mean it.) Talk about a stereotype-buster. When I asked about her self-portrait a la Simmons, Danielle told me:

"I think the reason I change the picture so much is because you cannot pigeonhole me. What you see is not what you get. With blogging people take that liberty a lot. I think you have to reach beneath the surface."

Amen. I hung up the phone happy. I had asked the universe for brilliant, snarky, smart BlogHers to write about popular topics. Along came Danielle who was either reaching past stereotypes or embracing them to talk about culture and race and ethnicity in way that had me at risk with the Starbuck's bouncer for laughing my ass off in latte-land. I give you Exhibit B:

Lost Shaker of Salt?
Dear White People,
Please explain Jimmy Buffett.
Thanks,
Danielle

So - bring it on Danielle. Readers you have. We need to talk about this topic. For a group of women to even address race together is brave and stereotype-shattering. And you exist to lick that microphone.

Here are my questions:
- Should we put up photos of ourselves when we blog? What are the risks and rewards?
- Politics of hair - Please educate the world on this topic. And make us think about our own.
- You just went from Alaska back to the Northeast, from polarized mono-culture to relatively cosmoplitan urban life. Rocking your world at all? What did you miss in the Great White North? What didn't you miss?

Now everyone get on over to Melanie's New Media Collective and check it out. Way to go, Melanie! Will we see you in July at BlogHer '06? Zadi, good to see you blogging there too.

Best,
L

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

I think everything I've seen

Yvette Perry — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:38:07 -0600

I think everything I've seen from this section (and the whole BlogHer site) is great--at any rate, nothing that my own unfamiliarity with the site won't cure.

I can't imagine you will ever run out of bloggers of color to feature--I am continually surprised at how many of us there are. Not all of us blog solely/frequently/consistently on the topic of race and ethnicity (if that is what you are looking for.) I know I fit into this category. I am fully "out" as African American on my blog, but its main purpose remains a research journal.

Anyway, I look forward to topics from this area popping up in my rss feed!

Can I get a "ditto"?

Kelly Wickham — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:31:23 -0600

I've now visited your site, left you an e-mail, and with this very post am bordering on "stalker" material, don't you think?

Just gotta add a "ditto" to all the commentors so far. Can't wait to see what all this encouragement brings...

Link Text

I Feel You!

Melanie — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:01:55 -0600

What if I don't know any bloggers of color to talk about this week?

I most certainly feel your pain, sis! My whole site (The New Media Collective) is dedicated to talking to bloggers of color. I sometimes wonder if I can keep up myself, but I know it's necessary. Come check us out. It might make you feel better. :-)

hey im new

connie20062006 — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:48:23 -0600

and i cant keep up with u
awell

Danielle

Maria Niles — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:37:51 -0600

You and your writing are more than enough. Trust me when I tell you that you are not the only CE that stresses over such things. I applaud and thank you for being brave enough to share your feelings.

I agree with Laura, too - trust yourself and if you doubt then trust Lisa. If she thinks you are worthy it is certainly enough for me.

And, while I would not be freaked if you refer to yourself as a "bona fide negro," I would love to see a post, as Melinda suggested, about it.

A post you wrote - "College Dropout"

Melinda Casino — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 20:57:08 -0600

Addendum: you wrote a previous piece that I thought was particularly good, "College Dropout".

I had linked to this piece at one of my personal blogs, because I thought it was so good. Just in case you needed feedback... from at least from one reader.

(Note: I was asked to remove my link because it was prior to the BlogHer site being launched - my fault there! I have now reinstated it, which I forgot to do once the site was officially "open for business".)

Best,
Melinda

I'll see your inadequacy and raise you an anxiety...

Melinda Casino — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 20:32:25 -0600

I'll see your inadequacy and raise you an anxiety. None of us can comprehensively cover one topic - there are so many fine blogs out there! - but we can highlight some blogs, and isn't that good enough...?

This decision is entirely up to you - and if you want to step down and give the spot to someone else - well, I'd be sorry to see you go, but it's your decision and I respect that.

P.S. - "Will it freak people out if I refer to myself as a negro?" Yes - it did me, when I originally read this sentence, because I perceived it as dated language. I think this would make an interesting blog post in and of itself...

Best,
Melinda

I agree with what has been

Jade — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 20:18:56 -0600

I agree with what has been said here already. Instead of reading blogs with "us" in mind, read them with your heart. Hear their calling and write about what moves you. Sometimes one really can think too hard! :)

Jade
Jaded Sunburns

not enough

Danielle Henderson — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:08:21 -0600

I'm feeling seriously inadequate about being a contributing editor for BlogHer.

When I signed up for the position, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to find and expose bloggers of color, knowing full well that my blogroll consisted of the whitest mothers around - literally.

Instead, I'm constantly asking myself questions. Should I blog about this person, or would they fit more in the "world" category? What if I don't know any bloggers of color to talk about this week? Should I talk about myself, or is that too personal and not at all about race and ethicity, even though I'm a bona fide negro? Will it freak people out if I refer to myself as a negro?

I set forth on a four week, cross country road trip from Alaska to Rhode Island the day after BlogHer was launched, which certainly didn't help matters much. The internet availability in the Yukon is about as common as an open gas station. Even though I am back in the land of constant wireless connections, my online time is limited.

And the other editors! Oh, you lovely bunch of vixens. You all have your shit so totally together. It's a bit intimidating.

The lovely Lisa Stone has talked me down from the ledge, but I'm still feeling it out. My personal blog tends towards, well, THE PERSONAL, so I'm still seeking out ways to find and talk about bloggers of color without being so egocentric. Your help is always welcome! Leave me a comment or send me an email if you think that I'm somehow missing the boat about anyone in particular.