That doesn’t take anything away from anybody else.

To simply recognize that is all I was doing.

p.s., You sound super passive aggressive.

this part really stuck out at me and instantly made me feel defensive. i wanted to come in here and yell.. omg, jon! come on! i get that you think this, but don’t say it out loud! do you know offensive it is? and you’re probably sitting there scratching your head going, jennster, how the fuck is it offensive???

i think it’s all in how you look at it. and coming from the perspective that each one of our blogs are SO extremely personal, it’s very hard to give credit to anyone else when it comes to them. i mean, i read that and felt like you were saying we should all thank heather everyday we get the honor to post in our blogs because she made them readable. or without her, no one would read our blogs and there wouldn’t be the community that there is today and that’s simply not true (and probably not what you were saying at all, but i’m a woman so i totally stray and run with things).

i’m certainly not going to credit anyone but myself for writing my blog.. thinking it.. expressing it.. posting it.. and dealing with the fallout and all that comes with it… we would all still be blogging if there was no dooce. blogs would still exist if there was no dooce- as they existed before she started posting on one, etc. i don’t think that heather necessarily moved blogging into the mainstream- i think the person who fired her for her blog did. and all those who reported on the event and publicized it. that is what moved blogging into the mainstream. that is what made it known… brought it to other people’s attention. the EVENT. the ACTION. not necessarily the person behind it (although that part didn’t hurt).

i think the bottom line is that what has evolved for all of us with blogs (as i see it, fairly recently) and advertising, is something that would have happened naturally with or without heather. is she a PART of the equation? absolutely. but i can’t credit her with the whole thing. it’s not right and it’s probably not accurate. there are many women out there who work hard and have made huge steps when it comes to blogging, and their starting businesses and drawing attention to advertisers, etc. they deserve a lot of the credit as well.

anyway, i will end by saying that both times i’ve met heather, she has been nothing but pleasant, fucking funny and super fun to me. so don’t take this comment the wrong way. word.

Okay, so…I was at BlogHer, and I’d like to address a couple of things. I had a totally different experience at BlogHer than some have expressed here. From the moment I arrived there, I felt like I was amongst friends. Some I’d read, most I hadn’t. Some I had spoke to on the phone or emailed or texted, most I hadn’t. Some I met while there, most I didn’t.

What really struck me about the conference was that I was in the presence of 999 other people who understood how meaningful and wonderful and powerful the blogosphere can be. I didn’t have to explain what a blog was, or watch the eyes of the person to whom I was speaking glaze over as I mention my “bloggy friends.”

Everyone there got it, and I felt it incredibly liberating. It was awesome.

Sure there were parties I wasn’t invited to. Whatever. I couldn’t care less. Sure there were some cliquey things going on, some big names who looked through me when I said hi (no one who has posted here, for the record). That’s fine. I hope they’re happy with the life they’ve created for themselves. Honestly.

It sounds like a cliche, but the fact is, the conference is what you make of it. Like anything, if you have a certain set of expectations, you might find yourself dissapointed.

And if I may…I’d like to touch on the Jenny thing. I read her pre-BlogHer post prior to going to BlogHer. I know her, her voice, her perspective and I totally read it as a self-deprecating and witty take on what she expected meeting dooce would be like. The “it will be ugly”…I read that as meaning she (Jenny) would be a mess. It didn’t sound like a threat, not to me, someone who knows Jenny.

That being said, okay…it did to others. Fair enough. The written (and as you stated, Jon, the spoken as well) word is imperfect. There was a misunderstanding. Apologies have been made, explainations set forth.

Seems to me we can put this one to rest, no?

(Oh, and I’m glad Megan’s good side, too).

And I’m very sorry about your aunt.

‘My issue’? Just an observation.

Your point that Heather has been a pioneer for us all is extremely valid, and I’ll admit, it had not occurred to me that way before. Thanks for pointing it out.

I continue to be impressed with the manner in which you both handle yourselves in your writings about each other, your family, and this crazy profession.

Amy.

Since you’re married to her, I fully expect you to admire and worship Heather and generally blow sunshine up her skirt. But the context of this way off. You are portraying Jenny’s post incorrectly, which just proves your own words about perspective.

Anyone who reads Jenny, The Bloggess and understands her style of writing can read that post and know it was meant to be flattering in a humorous way. It was a joke poking fun at the height your wife has been elevated to.

Why can’t everyone just get over it and let it go? Gesh.