The eating habits of women’s souls in the workplace
People with eating disorders (especially girls) have a biased perception of their body. They feel fat and unfit and no feedback (from a mirror, from parents, or from friends) seems able to shake the perception that there is something wrong with their body. Their body needs to be controlled, shaped and disciplined.
At the same time, they are extremely sensitive to feedback (from peer, media, advertising) that reinforces their biased and negative body image (Debbie Notkin and Laurie Toby Edison, who I met at Blogher, blog about this on Body Impolitic). The loving and caring act of nourishing their body becomes a harsh act of self-discipline and self-mortification.
I started to wonder if a similar mechanism operates on women’s self-image at work. Do women have a biased self-image when it comes to their skills and talents? Do they have a hypersensitive negative feedback loop and a high-threshold positive loop?
I don’t want to generalize to all women (we had many examples of strong, assertive, successful women at Blogher). I am talking about women who are clearly talented and highly skilled and yet substantially underestimate their value and their abilities. I am talking about the women who attribute their failures to themselves and their successes to chance and circumstances.
Blogher06 day 1: where the women bloggers write like pros
(Attending the session: Ten types of Web writing with Lisa Stone and Lynne d. Johnson - blogged live by mir)
This session addressed the differences between writing for print and writing for blogs. Lynne listed the need for a conversational tone, increased personalization, and differentiation from the “corporate” voice as the most important changes to make when moving from print to blog.
Lisa Stone asked what types of blogs were represented in the room: the answers ranged from completely personal blogs (”It’s about expression. I don’t care to be read”) to business blogs (”we blog to be read”), and everything else in between.
“She sared the delusion of all writers, that things written are shared.
–Virginia Wolfe “
Blogher06, I was there and I can prove it: Guy took a picture of me
And now, some ego-reporting. I just discovered (accidentally, I swear) that Guy Kawasaki took a picture of me at BlogHer06 (check Guy’s FilmLoop).
If you would rather see pictures of more famous or glamours bloggers, check out the 1364 picture in the Blogher06 photostream at Flickr.
Technorati Tags: blogher, blogher06, bloghercon, egoreporting
Blogher06 day 1: where the women bloggers learn to build communities
(Attending the session: So you have this crazy idea, Starting a community-based blog site with Melanie Morgan, Nancy
White, Susannah Gardner and Lauren Gelman - blogged live by Heather Barmore)
Type of blog communities and power structures
Nancy White described three different types of communities that can be created around a blog:
- one blog/one blogger communities: people gather around one-blogger blog, visit the blog consistently, and leave comments;
- topic-centered communities: several bloggers connect by discussing a common topic, linking to each other’s blogs, and commenting each other posts (e.g., mommy bloggers, travel bloggers, food bloggers);
- multi-blogger communities: several bloggers contribute to the same blog.
Communities also differ in how the power is distributed among members. For example, in the one blog/one blogger community the power is usually concentrated in the hands of the blog owner. She chooses the topics and sets the tone and the rules of the discussion. (In some cases, the discussion in these type of communities has a hub-and-spoke shape, with each reader addressing the blog author rather than other readers.)
Blogher06, where the awesome women are
My grandmother was a practical and successful business woman. She managed to live well without a husband for most of her life, opened a women clothing store with her sister after the war (in the South of Italy and starting from nothing), and successfully managed it for many years, through changes in fashion and culture. When I was four, I was sent to live with her while my mother was pregnant. I was so fully fascinated by her and the court of young shop assistants who took care of me, that I told my mother I didn’t want to go back (OK, I was also angry at her).
But my grandmother was the “bad” character in the family story: she mistreated and neglected my mother, my father could not stand her and the six suitcases she brought with her when she came visit us.
So, I never learned enough about her good side: her resilience, her independence, and, above all, her business skills.
The women at BlogHer remind me about the good side of my grandmother, each one in her own way resourceful, talented, and willing to take risks.
Yesterday I met Sabine of CT Biz Blog, who is using her blog to promote blogging for small businesses. We joined a long table of bloghers having dinner in the patio (among which Amy of amalah.com, heather of no pasa nada, and Jessica of It’s not about your stuff). Then I met “again” Rachel Cook (who traveled here from Australia!), the founder of minti, a site for parents exchanging advices.
So, here I am, looking forward to meeting more awesome women.
Technorati Tags: blogher, blogher conference, women, blogging
In Las Vegas
I’m in Las Vegas on the way to San Jose. This must be one of the strangest places on Earth with the slot machines, the smokers gas chambers, and things that look good from a distance and cheesy at a closer look.
My plane was 45 minutes early (go Southwest!) and I found the Internet addicts paradise at the McCarran airport. Between gates 23 and 24 you’ll be able to seat on a chair, plug your computer, and use free WiFi. Check it out!
Cool Readings
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