I’ve been invited to speak about OrangePolitics at a conference I’ve never heard of, in a city I would rather never visit in my entire life. I looked at the conference website and saw an all white-male lineup of keynoters (they’ve since added some Asian males).
Why did I say yes? Three reasons:
- I was invited by Tish Grier. Tish and Lisa Williams of PlaceBlogging are working to support and connect local bloggers and bring more attention to the good work folks are doing around the country.
- I saw the names of some fantastic women bloggers on the speakers list, like Pam Spaulding, Cheryl Contee, Elisa Camahort, and Erin Kotecki Vest. Plus my old friend, Doc Searls (old in time, not in age ;-)). Their presence legitimizes the conference for me, plus I hope I’ll run into them there.
- The conference is paying for all of my travel costs, and it’s on a weekend so I don’t have to miss work to go.
There are a few related events going on at the expo including GodBlogCon, MilBlogging, and a citizen journalism training. That should be… interesting. I’ll find out next month whether I made the right choice about attending the Blog World Expo.
Is there anything I should make sure to do (or not do) in my 48 hours in Las Vegas?