From Community to Family
So, Blogger Social 08 is over. It was a blur. A joy. A great assault of emotion and excitement. An amazing experience.
And despite gathering some of the most articulate and creative marketing folks from around the world, the common consensus is that words are not sufficient to explain the impact of this extraordinary meetup on all of us participants. And I think this is as it should be.
But I will ponder one point. I have been writing, reading, commenting, discussing, emailing and collaborating with most of the 80-odd folks who trekked to New York for over two years. In that time much has changed. We fell into a community together. We saw it grow and expand, prosper even. We had fun and we had hard times. The community that grew out of our shared interest was surprisingly strong and extraordinarily supportive. But this has changed for me.
In making a commitment to come together -- to share an experience called "blogger social" -- we each had to forego something. There was a real cost -- be it financial, time or energy (or all three). But in the binding of that experience there was also a transformation. For me, meeting these old friends in person made me realise that our connection goes somewhat deeper than the word "community" allows. It is far more personal and much more expansive -- humbling and invigorating. Thanks to you all!
Susan Bird Tim Brunelle Katie Chatfield 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 Connie Reece CeCe Lee Toby Bloomberg Seni Thomas Darryl Ohrt Joe Kutchera Paul Dunay Marshall Sponder Chris Kieff Tara Anderson Jason Falls Paul Soldera Roberta Rosenberg Saul Colt Todd Andrlik Nathan Snell Ryan Karpeles Mike Sansone Jennifer Laycock Neil Vineberg Cam Beck Mike Arauz Matthew Bailey Heather Gorringe John Rosen Cathleen Rittereiser Tamar Weinberg Rita Perea Linda Sherman Matthew McDonald Kaitlyn Wilkins Terry Starbucker
Jennifer Berk Jane Quigley John Wall Scott Monty Kevin Horne Virginia Miracle Amanda Gravel Susan Reynolds David Polinchock Shashi Bellamkonda David Berkowitz Vahe Habeshian
