BlogHer

New York City is all a Twitter (literally) this week over the BlogHer conference. The hashtag is #blogher10 if you want to follow.

If you are not familiar, BlogHer is a network of female bloggers that have amassed quite a voice in the digital space and now in the marketing world too. BlogHer is a publishing platform, if you will, for bloggers to get their writing more exposure and more collective readership.

They are all meeting this week in New York for their annual conference, to learn and share in person. I had the chance to meet one of the founders to see how we might work together. One of our clients even threw a big party to welcome them all.

There are TONS of bloggers at the conference, who write on virtually every topic close to women's hearts. A lot write about being a mom, but also career, home, relationships, gardening ... you name it.

From a marketing perspective, they've become quite a powerhouse. Brands are tapping into their influence to help spread the word on new products, interesting uses of products, special promotions, etc. Just like any other media channel. In many cases, these bloggers are becoming the first to know about new items, and perhaps even trying them out before they hit the market.

All in the hopes that they spread the word, if they choose to, to their audience. And some of them have huge audiences!

I find it all quite fascinating, as a blogger myself. It's amazing to get our voice out there, and to have a vehicle to share our point of view. The fact that marketers are embracing it as a collective media channel brings it even more exposure and legitimacy.

I hope all the bloggers at BlogHer learn a lot this week ... keep on honing your craft and doing your thing! I salute (and join) you. Can't wait to hear what you say about the whole thing.

What's your experience? Jim.