Blogger convention – not just a bunch of geeks
There's only so many ways to say I'm not in Korea yet.rnI'm still waiting on the Korean government to stamp the proper forms with the proper approvals, so for the moment I'm cooling my heels in Vancouver.
In the meantime, I've found ways to occupy my hours. I'm staying on a friend's couch, and in return I'm also helping out at her internet company. But I'm also taking advantage of the diverse opportunities for networking here in the big city.
I spent the last weekend at a blogger conference held at the downtown campus of the University of British Columbia. What, you ask, is a blogger? Simply put, the term refers to anyone who writes in a weblog, or online diary.
I've been doing just that for the better part of five years. At first, I just scribbled random thoughts on my website, for no more reason than to keep up the habit of daily writing.
In time, the site became a community of sorts, with many of the people I've met on my travels, as well as co-workers from various career paths contributing, commenting and generally keeping my interest in the whole enterprise. I also progressed from semi-random jottings and impressions of the world to more focused writing, primarily about politics, the internet, and the media.
But my particular foray into web publishing isn't remarkable in and of itself. What is remarkable is that several million people across the world are doing the same thing, and put together a bunch of self-interested scribblers transform into a movement.
Enter the Northern Voice conference, held this weekend in Vancouver. Many local bloggers, along with visitors from across Canada, the United States and even from England all came together to discuss the technical and social changes being wrought by the blog revolution.
But for me, the revolution turned out to be much more personal. I ended up meeting a bunch of people from very diverse backgrounds, from all over the map, and in unusual ways. I met a woman from England who happened to be sitting next to me in one of the conferences by introducing myself to her via the Northern Voice online chat room. I looked across another conference to see someone I don't know checking out my weblog. Almost immediately after arriving at the conference, I found pictures of myself online, and I'm continuing to find more pictures (rather unflattering ones with a double chin, at that) up to the present. I also met New Yorkers,rnAnd to be honest, I half expected the conference to find a group of young, bearded men who don't like to bathe but REALLY like Star Trek.
But the participants ranged from the very young to older folk, with all races and sexes represented as well. There were a few nerds (including yours truly), but it was for the most part a wide sample of the online community, with all their various interests, faults and triumphs.
And once I told people about my impending move to Asia, many were interested in keeping in contact with me, which may lead to personal and business connections that'll serve me well for years to come.
So while I'll soon be leaving my physical community soon, in a sense
I've just strengthened my ties to another community where geography has little if any meaning. It remains to be seen if the virtual world will be enough to anchor me when I move to a very foreign locale in a few short weeks.
