BlogHer '08 Day 1: The Community Keynote Rocked!

Last night, the first day of the BlogHer '08 conference ended with what has been the hit of the conference so far:  The Community Keynote Speeches.

And I say that not just because I happened to have the honor of being involved.  That's right, last night I got up on stage in front of a grand ballroom full of people and read one of my own posts:   "Michelle Obama Enjoys "The View:" A Recap."

I nearly didn't make it because I got caught waiting for the elevator and then got turned around trying to find the grand ballroom.  By that time, our mistress of ceremonies BlogHer's co-founder Elisa Camahort was calling for me from the stage.

Embarrrrrasing!

Anyway I was third up on stage and once I got there, was very happy I spent all that time in front of the mirror practicing my delivery.  I'm a bit of a ham at heart anyway and I wanted to give the audience their money's worth.  I'd carefully chosen my outfit and felt very comfortable up there in front of the lights and the blur of faces.

I used the time adjusting the microphone to take a couple of deep breaths and then plunge right in.  It was fantastic fun.  The audience laughed where they were supposed to, I got tongue tied only twice, but plunged ahead anyway, and by the end of my reading, I felt such a sense of gratification, because little did I know when I started Megan's Minute a year and a half ago, that last night I would be reading my words to a room full of fellow bloggers who were appreciating what I had to say.

That's heady stuff.

Afterwards, I sat backstage in the tiny Dressing Room A with the other keynote speakers and we had a great time supporting each other, tweeting our thoughts, and making jokes about the very strange "zombie bathroom" as Deb On The Rocks dubbed it.

We listened, we laughed, we cried and we bonded in a way that was very special.

A big thanks to Elisa Camahort and the community keynote committee for inviting me to participate.  And a very special thanks to Eden Kennedy of Fussy because the community keynote was her idea.

Courtesy of Eden, the following is a list of the community keynote speakers and the posts they read.  I suggest you go take a look at them all:

Best Rant

Sarah Brown, "Attention: I have some things to say about Goldfish snack crackers."

Danielle Wiley, "I am indeed a full-time mother, and yes, my daughter does watch Hannah Montana"

Megan Smith, "Michelle Obama Enjoys "The View:" A Recap"

Mr. Lady, "It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop."

Heather Barmore, "Guess who wants Typepad for Mother’s Day"

Blogging About Blogging

Liz Gumbinner, "I'm official! Hooray!"

Suebob Davis, "Blogging makes you lose your mind"

Stephanie Bergman, "Has Twitter Ruined Blogging?"

Zan, "Note to Self in the Age of the Internet: A Necessary Reminder"

Parenting

Casey, "The one about the overdose."

Doug, "Five going on fifteen"

Polly Pagenhart, "Thanks giving"

Lindsay Ferrier, "Every Mom Needs a Little Wiggle Room"

Letter to My Body

Yvonne, "Life Changing Words"

Schmutzie, "#744: I Nudged Him Hard, Saying: "Come, Gloopy Bastard, As Thou Art""

Jen Zug, "He should really teach all young men everywhere how to extract the truth from tired, chubby, stay at home moms"

Laurie White, "Letter to My Body, Letter to My Face"

Humor

Antonia Cornwell, "Christmas Poem"

Jenny Lawson, "High"

Evany Thomas, "Say my name!"

Deb, "Too much of a good thing?"

Angela, "The albatross and the whales, they are my brothers."         

Rest assured they'll be more community keynotes at future BlogHer events.

There were plenty of other great things that went on yesterday including the meet-up of entertainment bloggers that I hosted with Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood.  I'll have more on that in the next few days.

A big thanks to Elisa Camahort and the community keynote committee for inviting me to participate.  And a very special thanks to Eden Kennedy of Fussy because the community keynote was her idea.

Courtesy of Eden, the following is a list of the community keynote speakers and the posts they read.  I suggest you go take a look at them all:

Best Rant

Sarah Brown, "Attention: I have some things to say about Goldfish snack crackers."

Danielle Wiley, "I am indeed a full-time mother, and yes, my daughter does watch Hannah Montana"

Megan Smith, "Michelle Obama Enjoys "The View:" A Recap"

Mr. Lady, "It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop."

Heather Barmore, "Guess who wants Typepad for Mother’s Day"

Blogging About Blogging

Liz Gumbinner, "I'm official! Hooray!"

Suebob Davis, "Blogging makes you lose your mind"

Stephanie Bergman, "Has Twitter Ruined Blogging?"

Zan, "Note to Self in the Age of the Internet: A Necessary Reminder"

Parenting

Casey, "The one about the overdose."

Doug, "Five going on fifteen"

Polly Pagenhart, "Thanks giving"

Lindsay Ferrier, "Every Mom Needs a Little Wiggle Room"

Letter to My Body

Yvonne, "Life Changing Words"

Schmutzie, "#744: I Nudged Him Hard, Saying: "Come, Gloopy Bastard, As Thou Art""

Jen Zug, "He should really teach all young men everywhere how to extract the truth from tired, chubby, stay at home moms"

Laurie White, "Letter to My Body, Letter to My Face"

Humor

Antonia Cornwell, "Christmas Poem"

Jenny Lawson, "High"

Evany Thomas, "Say my name!"

Deb, "Too much of a good thing?"

Angela, "The albatross and the whales, they are my brothers."         

Rest assured they'll be more community keynotes at future BlogHer events.

There were plenty of other great things that went on yesterday including the meet-up of entertainment bloggers that I hosted with Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood.  I'll have more on that in the next few days.