Top of the B-List
Since 2000, I’ve been proudly trumpeting to the world that Consolation Champs is the “Top of the B-List!” but it appears that I’ve been swamped by the ever-rising blog tide. According to this article about blog celebrities, I’m now just a C-List blogger!
Oh, my self-esteem!
The sad news around the web this morning is that longtime blogger and web pioneer Leslie Harpold has passed away. I remember enjoying her blog at hoopla.com before some domain scammer stole it from her. Over the years, her online Advent calendar has been a yearly tradition as well. But what I remember the most about Leslie is that I started receiving a lot of referrals sometime back in 2001 from a set of blog templates that she gave away for free. The set of default links (which I suppose was her “recommended reading” list) contains just 25 weblogs. I was incredibly surprised and proud to be among them, and I sent her an email to thank her. I don’t have her response anymore, but I do remember her being extremely nice. I never did get to meet her, but just today I’m discovering all the nice things she did for so many other people, few of whom she actually met face-to-face.
The world has lost a really good person, and I’ve lost someone who, in that still-odd parlance, was an “online friend.”
Each March, for the past six years, I’ve attended the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin and have always wondered why there were no panels on faith or spirituality. The Internet has made a huge impact on how people interact with each other and this area in particular has always fascinated me. Will “cyberchurches” replace megachurches? Can people worship together when they’ve never physically met? How is the web changing how we talk to each other about faith? I decided I’d like to find out, so I’ve proposed to moderate a panel at next year’s conference.
About 200 other people have made panel proposals, too. Which is where you come in. Check out the handy-dandy Panel Picker and nominate the ten best ideas. It’s ok if you don’t think mine is one of them. But if you’re intrigued, and are going to be there (hey, even if you’re not going to be there), do me a favour and throw me a vote. My proposal is under the “Community” and “Miscellaneous” categories, and is entitled “Ghost in the Machine: Spirituality Online.”
Your input on the panel is welcome as well.
Rannie let me know about his latest project a while back, but I’ve been too busy to respond. After checking it out, I wish I could have participated. My Toronto Includes is filled with Rannie’s trademark awesome portrait photography and some great stories about the city I love. Visit (the site and the city!) soon!
If you’re one of those lucky bloggers who lives in the U.S., the Mankas Hills winery will send you a free bottle of wine. The winery is fairly new and is trying to get the word out on their wines.
It’s all in the pursuit of good “word of mouth” marketing and to be fair, you should blog if the wine is crappy as well as if it’s good.
Let me know if you take advantage of this. I’m curious.