What: The very first Bloginar (blog+seminar)
Who: Bloggers, anyone officially or unofficially in the media
Where: Dunn Brothers Warehouse, downtown Minneapolis
Why: Bloginar is a monthly get-together; rumor is the next one will be at the Walker Museum’s mini golf course. La Belle Vie is right across the street, you know . . .
After climbing the stairs to the second floor at Dunn Brothers in downtown Minneapolis, I was given a little yellow ticket and told where I'd find the refreshments. There was plenty of iced tea, bottled water, and desserts. People who arrived before me already had their laptops out, others were taking photos or tweeting on their blackberries. This was definitely a room full of bloggers.
Just as I was wondering what prizes I could win with my numbered ticket, a tall fellow introduced himself, and we chatted about this blogger gathering. “We want this to be less of a seminar and more of a mini bar,” said John Daenzer, director of New Media at WCCO. I didn’t say it then because my mouth was full of crumbly rhubarb tart, but I’m going to hold you to that mini-bar idea for your next party, John.
Images of our hosts were projected onto a disposable white plastic table cloth taped to the wall. Jason DeRusha, still in a tie from work, came in to host the get-together along with former Strib newspaperman Eric Black, who now blogs on MinnPost. With a duo like that, naturally there was some discussion about the future of online versus print publishing. Things got a bit silly when the topic turned to the intricacies of placing ads on blogs with edgy content. Many of the guests couldn’t resist turning in their chairs to look for Jeremy Gibbens, who ironically (hint, hint) was in the restroom at the time.
Alie Schipper didn't miss a beat, saying, “He’s downstairs creating some ‘edgy content’ as we speak.” Here’s hoping one of the live bloggers submitted that to Overheard in Minneapolis.
After refreshments and conversation came the door prizes. Angelique Kingsbury, that saucy dame, was thrilled with her Spa Bella Casa gift certificate. There were Twins and Vikings tickets and towels with the WCCO logo to give away, too. But the prize to end all prizes went to Max Sparber of MNSpeak: Don Shelby will provide a voice mail greeting for his home phone. Better take your phone off the hook Sparber, people will be disappointed if you pick up.
© 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved