I have told this story in public but it still embarrasses me a little.
When I started Boston Mamas I was in a crazy place. I was trying to work my way out of my postdoctoral fellowship emotionally and physically unscathed, forge a new career, navigate early parenting, and cope with the loss of my father. While I built Boston Mamas — in the wee hours of the night, still working at Harvard/MIT full-time — I operated in a bubble, churning out content like a crazy person (3-5 posts a day on my own…what was I thinking?) and basically powering through with my head down.
My head was so far down, in fact, that I didn’t really read other blogs. Yes, I had a lot of crap going on, but I totally didn’t get the karma thing. Or that the online community could very well have helped me see my way out of my emotional fog.
I did eventually catch on (though still, weirdly, I largely was a lurker…I’m a better commenter now), and then a real turning point for me was the inaugural Disney mom blogger’s mixer. Meeting that group of amazing women in real life was so powerful. And it made me realize that despite living so much of my life online, at the core, in real life matters enormously to me. So much so that with a few exceptions (I’m looking at you Asha), I tend not to become a regular reader of someone’s blog until I meet them in person and get a read on their vibe. It probably seems totally weird in this space but that’s just how I operate.
All of this is to say that being at Mom 2.0 was pure awesomeness because it not only allowed me to connect with friends I read regularly, but also meet folks who, as of Sunday, have my loyal readership. So without further ado, here’s my People You Should Read: The Mom 2.0 Edition post; recommendations for friends old and new from the conference. If you were where I was at in 2006 – powering through cluelessly without reading other blogs (oh wait, then why would you be here of all places?), then the below will offer excellent fodder for exploration.
5 Minutes for Mom. Because Susan’s energy astounds me. And she’ll ever be my shopping BFF.
A Southern Fairytale. Because Rachel has a lively spirit, mad cooking skillz, and a keen photographic eye through which she even can make my bunion-ridden feet look artful.
Alpha Mom. Because Isabel knows everything. Period.
Blog Con Queso. Because Laura gracefully managed to assemble 350 conference attendees under one roof and inspire us all.
Cecily Kellogg. Because you can’t help but be intrigued by someone who can pull so many random objects out of her cleavage.
Chookooloonks. Because Karen has remarkable magnetism and talent that is pervasive online and in real life.
Design Mom. Because Gabrielle not only is brilliantly creative, but she somehow manages to make you feel like you’re the only person in the room when you’re talking to her.
doobley-vah. Because Amy somehow manages to be an eloquent poet and artist, even when she’s swearing like a sailor.
Dooce. Because even though Heather is the most famous blogger on the planet, she remains grounded; we only met briefly, and she was truly lovely.
Faint Starlite. Because Esther tackles deep personal and professional matters with remarkable thoughtfulness.
Finslippy. Because in addition to sporting perfectly applied lipstick, Alice is a beautiful writer and an utterly lovely person.
Girl’s Gone Child. Because Rebecca is fun, passionate, and inspiring. Because of her session, I’m thinking of dabbling in the world of video. (One microstep closer to my father’s dream of me becoming a talk show host.)
Gwen Bell. Because Gwen’s social media smarts are so impressive, and she makes you want to meditate on the spot.
Her Bad Mother. Because we recovering academics need to stick together.
Joy Unexpected. Because Yvonne’s words and photographs are just as expressive as her amazing eyes.
Julie Pippert. Because Julie is incredibly thoughtful and articulate. And she uses rating scales appropriately.
Lisa Stone. Because I could talk to Lisa for hours. What a smart and lovely person.
Make and Takes. Because Marie makes even non-crafty people feel comfortable crafting with their kids.
Mamma Loves. Because Amie is, in fact, awesome in the now (not just in the 80’s).
Marketing Roadmaps. Because Susan gets off (her words) on distilling important regulatory information that the rest of us can barely comprehend.
Mediamum. Because Jo has a wonderfully strong point of view, which she delivers in that delicious Aussie accent.
Mighty Girl. Because Maggie is smart, stylish, and utterly adorable. She’s another one of those people who focuses their attention right on you in the moment.
Mom-101. Because Liz’s personal and professional posts alternate between being funny as hell, moving, or illuminating (and sometimes all three at once). Also, she’s the kind of friend who takes you under her wing if she detects you might be lost in a headwind.
Momtrends. Because Nicole is thoughtful and speaks her mind while (of course) being beautifully on trend.
Motherhood Uncensored/Mominatrix. Because Kristen breaks Asian Nation boundaries with her raw and hilarious writing about family and sex. (It’s particularly good reading for us waspy New Englanders.)
Petit Elefant. Because Allison creates awesome inspiration boards. And she carries off the looks in person too.
Pundit Mom. Because Joanne knows about and can analyze the issues beyond what I could ever dream of doing.
Red Neck Mommy. Because no one crafts a PR response like Tanis.
Rock and Roll Mama. Because Lindsay truly rocks her niche, while also stretching beyond it.
Suburban Turmoil/She’s Still Got It. Because Lindsay is truly gifted at both satirical and style writing. (Warning: considerable credit card damage ensued in February due to discovering her style blog.)
The Bloggess. Because Jenny’s the Czar of Nothingness. But she’s wonderfully everything too.
The Mom Slant. Because Julie makes you think. About the hard stuff you otherwise might shy away from.
Tip Junkie. Because I can’t help but align with a fellow tip junkie (or should I say the tip junkie?). Also, turns out one of Laurie’s neighbors in Texas is a good friend of mine from high school. Weird.
Clumber Kim, Laurie Writes, Mommy Melee, Sarah and the Goon Squad, & Woulda Coulda Shoulda. Because my interactions with Kim, Laurie, Maria, Sarah, and Mir were brief but I fell in love with them immediately.
Jenny on the Spot, Mamaista, Mom it Forward, Mom Spark, & Multitasking Mommy. Because Jenny, Elina, Jyl, Amy, and Jodi were good sports (and are lovely people) and consumed my pasta without complaint.
Sassafrass & Foodmomiac. Because Jessica and Danielle are adorable and I’m psyched to rock the Eat. Blog. Run. relay with them.
And a few final recommendations:
Gretchen Rubin and Katherine Center. Because they write amazing books and are truly lovely in person.
Laurie Smithwick. Because she’s lovely, down to earth, and is a gorgeous designer. (And she didn’t cringe when I told her I’m a self-taught designer.)
Emily McKhann. Because she and Cooper Munroe are amazing community builders.
I’m sure I’m going to kick myself later today for forgetting someone amazing. Please chalk it up to Olympics-induced sleep deprivation. I adored connecting with all of these women and more at Mom 2.0 Summit and I’m already looking forward to next year.
Finally, again, huge thanks to Care.com for making this trip possible financially, and also to my in-laws for taking care of Laurel while I was gone. I couldn’t have done it without both of these wonderful parties!
11:24 am on February 26th, 2010
SO honored to be included in this group. Thanks lady.
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11:25 am on February 26th, 2010
This is great– there are some new people there for me to read.
I am so grateful to have met you and spent time with you. You’re so funny and beautiful and I hope that you are going to be at BlogHer!
Also? Thank you for what you said about my blog. So kind. I’m not even a little disappointed that you didn’t say “because her crotch is amazing.”
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11:39 am on February 26th, 2010
I suppose it would be odd for you to add your own blog to this list because reading this list of wonderful women, yours feels noticeably absent.
You are welcome under my wing any time. But hell, woman. You don’t need it - you’ve got your own wings and they’re beautiful.
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11:44 am on February 26th, 2010
Thank you for the kind words, and SO lovely to meet you. Also? The next time we see each other in person, by God, I’m photographing that amazing face of yours.
BlogHer ‘10, perhaps?
K.
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11:44 am on February 26th, 2010
Great list and great reads! Thanks for your kind words about Make and Takes! Crafting with your kids can be done!!!
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11:48 am on February 26th, 2010
Wow! That was a whole lot of shout outs and amazingness all in one post. Makes me want to have a repeat of that weekend right now!
Such terrific women, all of them!
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11:48 am on February 26th, 2010
I love ALL these people!! What a great list!
And it was so bizarre and thrilling to meet you IRL. I’d known about you since 2007 when you did that lovely review of The Bright Side of Disaster. I was still very new to being reviewed then (not that you ever get used to it…), and your kind words left a lasting impression.
And then suddenly there you were in HOUSTON, of all places! My own town! It was great to meet you, and I’m so glad I made your list!
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12:05 pm on February 26th, 2010
So honored.
Wow, what a list.
I just wish I lived in Boston. Or wait, maybe that you lived in Vancouver. LOL
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12:15 pm on February 26th, 2010
Wow, you totally captured my thoughts on the weekend and so many of the amazing women who were there. Thanks for including me in this list! I am honored.
And what a FANTASTIC WEEKEND. I’ll never forget it. So glad we got to spend time together.
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12:17 pm on February 26th, 2010
I second everything you just said.
I so adore you.
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12:22 pm on February 26th, 2010
So honored to be included on this list. Thank you, thank you, thank you my dear friend.
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12:31 pm on February 26th, 2010
What a nice thing to say, and what a great list. Thank you.
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12:40 pm on February 26th, 2010
And THIS is why I go to conferences. Not so much to learn how-to or to “network,” but to strengthen those personal connections — with readers and blog “colleagues” — that makes this whole thing so meaningful.
I feel just as you do, C. The business of blogging is fascinating and I’m excited to be a part of it. But the connections, the humanity…that’s why I’m here.
You have a gift of bringing people together. You use that gift to lift EVERYONE up. As do the other amazing women on this list. Blogging “success,” at least in this community, has as much to do with mutual support as it does with passion. Some tech fanboys will have you believe it’s all about brute force — MORE CONTENT! FASTER! — and tweaks — SEO! 10,000 RELEVANT KEYWORDS! — but here, it’s about connection, support and enlarging the pie (not just the size of our piece).
As for us never meeting in person, it feels like a technicality at this point, doesn’t it?
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12:57 pm on February 26th, 2010
The love is mutual, and not just because I’m madly taking notes off of this list. Thanks so much for including me.
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1:13 pm on February 26th, 2010
WOW–this is THE best way to recap. A conference is only as good as those attending. Mom 2.0 was a sum of all these awesome parts. Bravo Christine for putting it into words.
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1:14 pm on February 26th, 2010
Well good gracious, woman. xo
I’m so honored and I do adore you so.
I love all those people up there, especially since meeting so many of them in person and now being able to truly HEAR them through their writings.
You are a gem and a joy and a love. I’m thrilled to call you friend.
xoxo
So much love.
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1:22 pm on February 26th, 2010
Christine, how lucky I was to have met you! I’m used to being called “an opinionated pain in the arse” but you put it so nicely, I really think I’ll roll around in that for a bit instead. Thank you for including me. I’m going to read everyone on your list, and try to catch everyone again at BlogHer! Onya mate.
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1:27 pm on February 26th, 2010
Thanks so much for this list! It can be difficult to navigate all the blogs out there as someone realtively new to the blog world. I’m looking forward to reading these blogs!
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1:34 pm on February 26th, 2010
I loved getting to hang out with you here in my town! Good times all around! The incredible laughing, talking, listening, talking, learning — and everything you said. Then you assemble this thoughtful list of incredible people — these are all my faves. Then you include me on it with a compliment to warm me on this rainy day (and others too I’m sure). You are awesome. This is awesome.
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1:53 pm on February 26th, 2010
I am so honored to be listed among these talented women. And I am so incredibly happy to meet you and read your work and, this May, to run alongside you.
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3:20 pm on February 26th, 2010
Thanks, Christine! It was so lovely to meet you. What a fantastic list.
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4:39 pm on February 26th, 2010
As Asha said, THIS is why conferences matter so much!!! I loved hanging out with you twice in a month and now, when I read your posts, I see all your wonderful, amazing and gorgeous smarts shining through!! What a gift this list is - you captured everyone perfectly and I’m so honored to be included. Thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!
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4:47 pm on February 26th, 2010
I’m honored by your lovely words and to be included with these fabulous women! I think you’re pretty fabulous, yourself and was so glad to get a hug at Mom 2.0!
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4:57 pm on February 26th, 2010
Thank you again so much for including me on this list.
I truly loved seeing you again in person and I know what you mean… when you meet face to face it becomes so much more fun to follow a blog.
And I can relate to being too heads down and missing out on reading enough blogs. I struggle with this still every day. There is so much to do that often I do not take enough time to enjoy blogs and comment enough.
But I do believe reading and commenting on blogs is the best and most important part of blogging.
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11:53 pm on February 26th, 2010
I worship you on every level. I really do mean that. Thanks for the sweet note about me, it made my night.
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1:42 am on February 27th, 2010
You’re amazing. Thank you so much for your kind words. It was so much fun meeting you. You inspire ME! And dude! You should totally rock some video. Your skin literally GLOWS! Much love to you, mama!
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7:12 am on February 27th, 2010
I could SO see you with your own talk
show.
Steph
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8:44 pm on February 27th, 2010
I was so happy to finally catch up with you at Cheeseburgher. I really loved how welcome I felt all weekend and left so inspired. So looking forward to BlogHer now.
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9:19 pm on February 27th, 2010
Thanks for sharing this amazing list of bloggers!
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6:23 pm on March 1st, 2010
Sure, I could say this one of my favorite Mom 2 reap posts - simply because I see my name in there… but that’s not why…
I love this post because of the fantastic resource you have made it! I can just see ya type-type-linking away! SO much effort, but so worth it. What an incredible time and a great post that reflects it
Such a privilege to meet you and am excited to build a relationship with you. You are an inspiring woman
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10:42 am on March 4th, 2010
CHRISTINE!
I always love seeing you. You’re one of those people that when I met you for the first time, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t known you for some time. Your level head, extreme smarts, and general brilliance makes you such a joy to know. THANK YOU for including me on this amazing list, but most of all, thank you for being you. You constantly raise the bar, in a really great way. xoxo, L
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