I asked Debra Silvestrin if I could have a booth next to Amy the Advice Goddess because I thought it would be fun, and maybe I would get some advice. (Dear Advice Goddess, why have so many of my ex-girlfriends become dykes?) But I did not realize how strategic a move it would turn out to be.

While the fun and advice were indeed flowing, I was also able to learn at the feet of a world-class schmoozer. As anyone who tried walking by her booth probably found out, it actually was not possible to walk by her booth. She says “Hi” the way a spider greets a fly, and even a single response tangles you in her net. I watched wide-eyed, and even managed to net a few of her leftovers, but it wasn?t long before the student became the master.

As some of you may have noticed, I brought a lot of food to my booth, hoping to bribe my food column into some more papers. I am happy to report that by day two the Advice Goddess had jumped on my bandwagon, so to speak, with a plate of cookies of her own.

We didn’t quite figure out why so many of my ex-girlfriends have jumped the fence, but we agreed it would have been hotter if I had waited until they had, and then dated them. We also agreed that she and I write about two of the most important things in the world.

When I donned my Michelangelo David apron, Amy suggested I get into television, which I think is Hollywoodspeak for “I want to get into your pants.” Maybe this means she wants to be a dyke.

Who knows more about a subject - one person, or a room full of them? That’s the concept behind the UNconference - that a freewheeling, democratic discussion can often yield surprisingly educated results. Under a dozen folks met up at MoMo’s to discuss blogging for journalists. Among the topics were citizen journalism, the craft of reporting, and creating ethical standards for journalists to interact with commenters online.

We agreed the conversation shouldn’t stop there - I’ll be posting more materials on AAN’s web publishing blog at web.AAN.org in the weeks to come.

You came. You conquered. You drank. A lot.
Here’s a little memory refresher of a night some of us won’t soon forget (even though we probably should).

I’ve had several people ask me who won yesterday’s annual croquet tournament. Curiously, all inquiries are coming from the same newspaper. Carol Flagg, is there something you want to tell us?

UPDATE: Let’s meet in the lobby at 4:30.

How about 4:30 on Friday for Blogging for Journalists?

4:45-6:00 Programming

* MAXIMIZING COLLECTIONS
* BEST WEB SALES PRACTICES
* INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE SUITE 3
* COVERING ELECTIONS II

UPDATE - Let’s talk Viral Marketing too. Sitting in this session, I definitely think we’ll have a lot to talk about.

It’s a nerdy, populist idea: folks in the audience of a lecture often know just as much as the speaker, so why not have everyone contribute? It’s called an unconference [wiki], and the idea is to democratize the convention experience.

AAN will experiment with an UNconference by hosting a special, free-wheeling session on “Blogging for Journalists,” during the 2007 Convention in Portland, OR.

I’ll guide the session along with an outline of topics, soliciting best practices contributions from UNconference attendees, and - of course, blogging the results on the community convention blog at Portland2007.AAN.org. Later, I’ll work the results of the UNconference into a session on Blogging for Journalists I’ll be leading for the 2007 batch of Poynter College Fellows. [I was a Reporting & Writing Fellow in ‘04].

Interested in attending? I’m hoping to keep it fun and informal (bring beer) while keeping it useful (bring good beer). Lemme know what time works for you in comments.