Every Dot Connects

It’s all CK’s fault. She’s the one who talked this timid traveler into venturing all the way to the Big Apple. To be fair, there was no arm-twisting involved. I wanted to attend Blogger Social ’08 from the moment it was announced. But first I had to make sure I could swing it budget-wise. And second, I had to overcome my disinclination toward cross-country travel.

You see, I love visiting new places; I just hate the process of getting there. I dread long flights with my ample derrière squeezed into a 17-inch seat. And the last time I flew to New York, I tore a tendon in my foot getting off the moving sidewalk in the Newark airport. (Let’s just say that Grace is not my middle name, and New Balance will not be offering me an endorsement contract any time soon.)

So what persuaded me to break my new travel rule for 2008 (No Cross-Country Flying to Some Whoop-Dee-Doo Event Unless Someone Pays Me Big Bucks to Speak)?

People. Bloggers I’ve met and bloggers I want to meet.

Diva Power. Just the thought of me and CK and Toby Bloomberg in the same room gets me energized. Throw in Valeria Maltoni and Anna Farmery … makes my toes tap impatiently and I start counting the days until April 4.

Reconnecting. Looking forward to sitting down again with David Armano and Drew McLellan, whom I met last year at SOBCon and have kept in touch with since then. I love these guys, even if they do have a weird affinity for beef jerky. (just kidding) I’m also hoping for another real-time Scrabble match-up with Geoff Livingston, like we had at BlogOrlando.

International Connections. Blogger Social ’08 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to meet some fellow Age of Conversation authors from around the world: for example, Luc Desbasieux and Kris Hoet (Belgium); Gavin Heaton (Australia), co-editor of Age of Conversation; and Arun Rajagopal (Sultanate of Oman).

April in Paris? Maybe next year. This year April will find me in New York-will you be there? Look for me. I’ll be the one with the pink hair and boa.

Blogger Social ’08 attendees so far include: Susan Bird Tim Brunelle Katie Chatfield Terry Dagrosa 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 CeCe Lee Jonathan Trenn Toby Bloomberg Seni Thomas Darryl Ohrt