I missed the morning keynote, due to an overwhelming urge for an almond croissant and chai latte on my way in this morning, and have come directly to the first session, which is called "Beautiful Blogging & Positive Posting".
This session turns me on right away because the host, Kyran Pittman, who blogs Notes to Self, points to an alternative economy at work in the blogging world, one that is less concerned with clicks and making money and more to do with writing and sharing and influencing others for the good, making personal connections and positive statements, not as an either/or but a both/and.
The other panelists are amazing, too - Krystyn Heide whose blog hoperevo.com creates a Hope Revolution, one note at a time; innovative social change blogger Jen Braxton at one plus two, Alysa Royse who writes justcauseit.com so her daughter knows there can be solutions as well as problems; and Lucrecer Braxton who started ArtSlam, a shout out to the poetry slam community that uses the power of art to connect people.
The bottom line here is the decision to choose another way of being - online and off. The willingness to make conscious choices - to be present in the moment, honest and positive even about things that are painful, to turn away from the "snarkiness" that can be so prevalent in the blogosphere and refuse to play that way. To take responsibility for what we put out into cyberspace.
One very cool metaphor that Kyran put forward is that we're all becoming aware of the emotional "carbon footprint" we're unleashing in the world.
The audience, too, is full of beautiful bloggers - Karen Walrond with her exquisite photoblog chookooloonks; the beautiful woman sitting next to me, Staci Boden, who writes Practical Spirituality, and so very many more - the name Jen Lemen came up more than once even though she wasn't there.
Clearly, I've found my blog tribe!
It's not surprising that several of us are either designers or photographers, or both. Part of the "give aways" in this session, beyond the generous invitations & community offered from people throughout the room, was a print that Krystyn Heid brought of the words "images & text made with love" color printed on fine rag.
Images and text made with love: that's the way I see my work, too.
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