BlogNashville, in Retrospect

Mark Glaser has a good roundup of the events at last weekend's blogging confab. Glenn Reynolds also looks back on the gathering in a TechCentralStation piece

An extra word here of praise for three of the principal organizers, Bob Cox, Bill Hobbs and Rex Hammock, and the volunteers who helped them. They did a great job.

Comments

[Carmi Levy]

Great coverage of a great event. Makes me wish I had been there. The Pet Peeve - namely that people spent most of their time with their heads buried in their laptops - struck me as particularly telling. When actual, physical get-togethers are held, one would assume that everyone would kind of set the technology aside and use the opportunity to interact with each other. Instead, they repeat the same interactions - namely, technology-based and distant ones - that they use in the course of their regular blogging lives.

I suppose geeks will always be geeks.

[Tom]

Carmi

I think it was a a combination of things. I never had a laptop open during social hallway time, but I also liveblogged the sessions as they happenned. I participated in each session, but multi tasking is how I work best anyway. And I provided a written record of the event for my reference.

There were some people who never came out of thier laptops, and there were others never opened a laptop, and never uttered a word.

We come in all shapes and sizes. I think that is what made it great. It would have been more unnerving if we were all like JD Lasica bouncing around the room taking pictures.

To each his or her own.

Tom

[Red]

Carmi

As one who attended the event, I do not buy the pet peeve portion. Of course there are going to be those who live blog, post or take photo's & video. During the course of a 1 1/2 hr seminar everyone is not going to do all of this at the same given time.

Bloggers can walk and chew gum at the same time. I would hope so because otherwise my real life would be rather painful.

I guess its better to get reprimanded by Dave Winer during a session is supposed to be more fulfilling than doing what one does, blogging?

BlogNashville was much more than the "pet peeve" portion in that there was much socializing going on. The time between sessions and after going out in Nashville were among some of the best. Meeting new people who we have been reading and making great friends along the way.

Chatting it up with cartoonist, the Gateway Pundit,and Trey Jackson (and too numerous others) was worth the price of admission.

Getting an opportunity to have dinner and speak with Dan Gillmor was a personal thrill.

Don't harp on the negative, too much positive was going on.

[Rex Hammock]

Dan, It was an honor having you there. I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with you -- that is my pet peeve. Having so many people there that I wanted to spend time with, but not having the time to do so. As my part of the organizing had to do with the socializing part, it's nice to hear folks enjoyed it. To me, that's always the best part of any conference.