Congratulations to everyone who participated in last night's gala 2008 Brooklyn Blogfest. The event was an indisputable success, drawing over 250 talented bloggers and their fans to the comfy confines of the Brooklyn Lyceum for a night of presentations, networking, and, of course, libations.
The event's organizer Louise Crawford of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn deserves the lion's share of the credit for pulling off the largest borough Blogfest ever without a hitch. Special thanks also goes to Louise's stellar team, which included Eleanor Traubman (Creative Times), Adrian Kinloch (Brit in Brooklyn) and Petra Symister (Bed-Stuy Blog), and a host of other talented Brooklynites who donated their services to bring the blogosphere together under one roof.
Despite being given the somewhat harrowing task of handling the evening's video projections (even after I admitted that I am technologically incompetent), I enjoyed myself immensely. Among the individuals I had the pleasure of talking with were local blog giant Bob Guskind (Gowanus Lounge), 2009 City Council candidate and Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens blogger Gary Reilly, the always delightful Katia Kelly of Pardon Me For Asking, Brooklyn Independent TV host Megan Donis, and Brooklyn Paper editor-in-chief Gersh Kuntzman.
Another highlight of Blogfest for me was getting to spend time perusing the work of Brooklyn's wonderfully talented photobloggers. Below is the video I produced for last night's Blogfest entitled "A Photoblog Tribute to Brooklyn". Please feel free to pass it on liberally to help celebrate our borough's prodigious and prolific photographers.
Showing posts with label Katia Kelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Katia Kelly. Show all posts
Friday, May 9, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
February Brooklyn Blogade Recap
I enjoyed myself immensely today sharing the company of my fellow borough bloggers at this month's Brooklyn Blogade. Expertly hosted by Eleanor Traubman and Michael Sorgatz of the Creative Times blog, this month's lunch blossomed into a brainstorming session as to how Brooklyn bloggers could work collaboratively to enhance each other's work and the services we offer to you, our readers.
The Optimist was pleased to join the conversation, as there are many ideas that I have been wanting to share about the bright future of our borough's blogs. I mentioned that I thought our blogs should pool our content to create an independent wire service that all of the borough's blogs could draw upon in the way that newspapers subscribe to Reuters or the AP for content. I also proposed that we use our collective voice to galvanize community activism projects, such as the Kent Avenue litter clean-up that I will soon be asking you to join me in performing.
I was pleased that these proposals were well-received (as well as my suggestion that we publish a "Best of Brooklyn's Blogs 2008" book), but I was even more excited to hear my fellow bloggers articulate their wonderful visions. Xris, the Flatbush Gardener, spearheaded the idea of an annual Brooklyn blogger conference to complement the Blogfest. Katia Kelly, of Pardon Me For Asking, advocated for using our blogs as a vehicle to get our elected officials on record about their positions, so that they could be held accountable to the voters they serve (a passion of the Optimist's!). And Petra Symister, of the much beloved Bed-Stuy Blog, asked how blogs could build their legitimacy as publications, a question that sparked everyone's interest.
I should have taken more notes, but my attention was a bit diverted at times by the savory cuisine cooked up by the owners of Faan, the excellent Asian restaurant at 209 Smith Street that our hosts chose to stage this month's Blogade. Little Buddy Biscuit Company, chef Peter Solomita's sinfully-good, homemade Park Slope cookie corp, and the charming Blue Ribbon General Store at 365 State Street, also generously played sponsors to the event.
Next month's Blogade is being organized by Joyce Hanson of Bad Girl Blog. Stay tuned for more details on this affair. None other than Your Friendly Neighborhood Optimist will be playing host to June's meet-up. No specifics on this one either. I'm still looking for a suitable site in Williamsburg or Greenpoint. Any suggestions?
The Optimist was pleased to join the conversation, as there are many ideas that I have been wanting to share about the bright future of our borough's blogs. I mentioned that I thought our blogs should pool our content to create an independent wire service that all of the borough's blogs could draw upon in the way that newspapers subscribe to Reuters or the AP for content. I also proposed that we use our collective voice to galvanize community activism projects, such as the Kent Avenue litter clean-up that I will soon be asking you to join me in performing.
I was pleased that these proposals were well-received (as well as my suggestion that we publish a "Best of Brooklyn's Blogs 2008" book), but I was even more excited to hear my fellow bloggers articulate their wonderful visions. Xris, the Flatbush Gardener, spearheaded the idea of an annual Brooklyn blogger conference to complement the Blogfest. Katia Kelly, of Pardon Me For Asking, advocated for using our blogs as a vehicle to get our elected officials on record about their positions, so that they could be held accountable to the voters they serve (a passion of the Optimist's!). And Petra Symister, of the much beloved Bed-Stuy Blog, asked how blogs could build their legitimacy as publications, a question that sparked everyone's interest.
I should have taken more notes, but my attention was a bit diverted at times by the savory cuisine cooked up by the owners of Faan, the excellent Asian restaurant at 209 Smith Street that our hosts chose to stage this month's Blogade. Little Buddy Biscuit Company, chef Peter Solomita's sinfully-good, homemade Park Slope cookie corp, and the charming Blue Ribbon General Store at 365 State Street, also generously played sponsors to the event.
Next month's Blogade is being organized by Joyce Hanson of Bad Girl Blog. Stay tuned for more details on this affair. None other than Your Friendly Neighborhood Optimist will be playing host to June's meet-up. No specifics on this one either. I'm still looking for a suitable site in Williamsburg or Greenpoint. Any suggestions?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
