I don't mean to put any more pressure on you than you're probably already feeling, but I'm here to remind you that it IS already the second week of December. But hey -- who cares if your shopping isn't done? Or if you still don't know what you're taking to that holiday potluck next Saturday? Or what on earth you're going to do on New Year's? There's still plenty of time for all that. (Ahem.) Whereas there's only THREE MORE DAYS until the BlogHer Meet-Up! Where else will you go this holiday season where you can speak freely about CSS and RSS and ad networks and that time that commenter said that thing, and not have to worry about anyone's eyes glazing over? Come, feel the blog love.

Advertising slogans are supposed to state the main benefits of the brand. Good slogans, make that great slogans, have a distinct personality of their own and are  hard to forget. Scotland used to have such a slogan. It was,"Scotland, the Best Small Country in the World."

Hi everyone, I come bearing an update on our new conference web site and imminent conference registration launch. For those of you keeping score, we had originally planned to launch those both today, however, it may have been a little over-optimistic to plan on such a launch on the day after a four-day weekend.

It's time to get your festive on! What holiday calendar would be complete without a little BlogHer revelry? Certainly not ours...and we'd love for you to join us! Who: All Bay Area BlogHers When: Thursday, December 13th Time: 5:30 to 8 p.m. Where: Cafe Royale, 800 Post St. @ Leavenworth in San Francisco Our holiday event is a great opportunity for you to meet, mingle & jingle with the ever-growing BlogHer community. Members and non-members are welcome, as are friends, family, and colleagues. The event will take place at Cafe Royale, the cozy cafe in downtown SF where we held last year's meetup. Once again we'll be offering complimentary hors d'oeuvres along with a fine selection of wines, beers, and Soju cocktails (no-host bar). So join the party, and eat, drink, and be merry! *Due to the venue's capacity limits, we do need you to RSVP if you intend to join us. Please RSVP in comments below, or send an email to let us know to expect you!

We reviewed the survey, compiled the poll results, read your blog posts and comments, and we are ready to unveil our BlogHer in 2008 plans...this coming Thursday, September 27th at 9AM Pacific time. And we'd like to do it live and "in person" on a community conference call. We'll take about 15 minutes to outline our entire schedule for 2008, and then we'll have time for Q&A as well. As soon as the call is over we'll push the info live in a blog post and press release too, so don't worry if you can't make it. You won't have to wait too long for the info.

I think it is safe to say you liked the Second Life version of BlogHer '07. 514 is my new favorite number. I'll explain why shortly. When I brought the idea to Elisa, Lisa, and Jory a few months ago, we agreed the virtual BlogHer was an experiment. The idea was to offer bloghers unable to travel to Illinois a way to attend and be a part of the conference. We were not sure how many of you would "attend" and in all honesty, we were not sure how it would all turn out. I'm not normally a numbers person (or avatar) but in this case, I'm making an exception for some amazing stats:

I want to dispel three common misconceptions about getting dressed: 1. "Stylish" is synonymous with "expensive." 2. "Comfortable" and "fashionable" are mutually exclusive terms. 3. "Personal style" is an oxymoron. Not ONE of those things is true. Inexpensive clothes CAN be stylish, comfortable clothes CAN look terrific, and personal style is alive and well and hanging out at BlogHer '07, where I spent three days stopping complete strangers to ask where they got their shoes. All for you, of course.

At 10:30 Chicago time (8:30 SLT), I'll be moderating a panel on Covering the News in Second Life with a fascinating and eclectic group of speakers. Journalism is a burgeoning activity in Second Life, which has become a growing source of hard news and controversy and real-world consequences.

I'm happy to introduce Katy Chen, who is videoblogging BlogHer Conference '07. Katy somehow managed to be everywhere on Day One of BlogHer '07. Here's a viewer guide to her vlogs -- and I encourage anyone else who vlogged the day to link their pieces below. Thanks! BlogHer07 Welcome! Why are you at BlogHer 07? Favorite Day 1 BlogHer Sessions

When I began my blog, I only used my first name and mentioned that I live in New York City. I figured that there were probably thousands of Suzannes living in New York, and I'd be fine. My fear was less about being harassed than about my employer reading my nutty ramblings (even though they had nothing to do with my job) and deciding that my services were no longer needed. Over time, I realized that the powers that be at my work didn't know what blogging was, and if I wanted a writing career I would need to use my name, so I did.