We're here, we're everywhere, get used to it! Okay, that's not really the message that the travelers who attended the travelbloggers meetup at BlogHer 08 sent, but it's not far off. "We matter!" is closer to the heart of things.

I know. You're wondering what qualifies me to comment on an event I didn't attend. Really, it should be Suzanne writing this post, right? Right. But. [Insert photo of my pointing at my inbox.] The feedback in my mailbox is consistent and there's plenty of it. Here's the fly-over view.

On the corporate side, people told me that they didn't know how to find travelbloggers. "Where are you? Do you have a list? Can you share names?" is a question I've heard a fair amount recently. One request was targeted - the PR person wanted to find travelbloggers in my local market, another was broader, someone looking for a specific travelblogging community to connect with.

On the indy blogger side, bloggers said they wanted community. I was surprised by this because the travelsphere is awash in travel driven social networking sites, but I've been thinking it over. [I welcome your input on this 100%. Please speak up.] Those devoted to travel are not by default devoted in the same way to blogging about travel. When you join a social network for travel, there's loads of great information about destinations, practicalities, etc...but the resources for those blogging about travel are limited or missing. Travelbloggers want information about, you guessed it, travelblogging.

What's the difference in travelblogging and blogging about anything else? Let's use food because food and travel are excellent companions. At first glance, they're very similar. Both bloggers want traffic, beautifully designed sites, may have a strong showing in photography, they blog about experiential topics. Both are represented extensively in traditional markets and it's possible that both sets of bloggers have ambitions to get off the blog and into print. (Or not, some are perfectly content with blogging only.) Resources around building your blog, generating traffic, decoding SEO...are plentiful and apply to all bloggers.

But writing about travel has a whole set of unique questions. The travel market is huge and can be difficult to navigate. Tapping into opporutnities for travelbloggers can be mysterious - how did you get to review those books and products? How did you score that press trip? If you're just starting out, there are so many places to host your travelblog, should you use them, which one, and why? If you want to make money off your blog, how do you tap into the giant industry that is travel as One Small Blogger? What qualifies as a travelblog, anyway? [True story: I was rejected from a travel ad network because my blog was "not travel focused enough."] You probably have more questions - feel free to share them.

It seems that there was a real desire to connect, to discuss some of these issues, to create a cohesive group of travelbloggers and to share knowledge and experience. That. Is. Awesome. I have yet to meet a travelblogger (or an expat blogger, I always include you folks in this category) that wasn't more than generous with information, commited to producing a quality site, and psyched beyond belief about travel. Having a space where all those great people can connect is a treat - it sounds like the travelbloggers meetup provided a taste of what's possible. It also sounds like you want more.

• Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby has compiled a list of Women Travel Bloggers. If you're not there, leave a comment to be added.
• Pat Jenkins blogged about the travel meet up on the Uptake Blog
• Pam Mandel of Nerd's Eye View (hey, that's me!) has created a Travelbloggers Forum in response to the call for community 
• Galavanting is a brand new online travel magazine for women

If you attended the meetup and blogged about it, please leave your links in the comments.

Pic: Nick Cox, Have Laptop, Will Travel via Flickr. That woman rules.

Pam blogs about travel and other adventures at Nerd's Eye View. Join the conversation about travelblogging in the Nerd's Eye View Travelbloggers Forum.