Boston Blogtoberfest - Recapping a Future Event

I'm writing this on Tuesday October 17th. The following is a recap of the Boston Blogtoberfest party which is scheduled for Thursday October 19th.


I spent all of last weekend learning how to blog from my phone in case I needed to send any live updates from the Boston Blogtoberfest party. I'll be updating throughout the night.

• I arrived late, but there are still a few people who haven't shown up yet. Sarah met me at the door and gave me a ridiculously gaudy nametag. I was sure they had been only joking about that. I ordered a martini and started putting blogs to faces. There's a guy on the other side of the room with a blinking LED nametag.
  
  
• Jenny, who is mostly responsible for throwing this thing together, just got up on the bar to make an announcement. Something about we're here to talk about blogs, and lots of other stuff. Don't sit in the corner with your PDAs. Her nametag is completely understated and almost professional. I have to find out who was responsible for the nametag construction.
  
  
• I'm three martinis in. I just met one of the guy's from Bostonist, Jon. I asked him why none of the editorial staff over there is actually a native of Boston. He didn't have a good answer. Then he started talking about Tom Selleck playing detective Jesse Stone from Robert B. Parker's Paradise books. Don't get me wrong, Tom Selleck's cool - but as Magnum P.I., not Jesse Stone. Besides, Robert Urich as Spenser was miles beyond Selleck in some stupid made for TV movie.
  
  
• Fiver martinis. The last two I flipped from gin martinis to vodka martinis... or the other way around? Anyway. Ordering whichever kind of drink at the bar I was right by a group of guys talking to Hooker about the logo for his bike gang. I told him if the gang was going to have such a girly name then the logo should have streamers. Probably pink and green ones. Because nobody uses streamers anymore. Ok, back in a few more drinks...
  
  
• Right. When I said I'd be right back I lied. I'm still on my fifth. After I said that thing about pink and greens streamers Erin (not erinire) grabbed my shoulder to introduce herself. "You said 'pink and green streamers' and my blog is 'Pink and Green Girl'! Funny, right?" So she dragged me over to a "favorite music" conversation she was having with Dave who I was tempted to refer to as "Old Dave" except for the other one, David.
  
  
• Jenny and Sarah are both live blogging from the party. Jenny's over near the bar and Sarah is sitting at a table at almost the complete opposite end of the room. Somebody's looking over Jenny's shoulder telling her what to write.
  
  
• Ok. I had to close my phone browser to check what the girls are posting. The girl dictating to Jenny is Erin (erinire) and she's making fun of people's outfits. They haven't seen me yet (there wasn't any mention of flanel). Sarah is blogging about the food and some guy who was hitting on her.
  
  
• I'm starting to pay more attention to the rest of the group, a couple people are checking their cell phones. It won't be long until someone figures out there are some blogs being updated.
  
  
• Got it! One of the girls I haven't met just gave the heads up to Jenny. It might have been Krista or maybe Lori, anyway. Jenny's punching keys like crazy right now. I'll give you three to one the only reason she's not on her laptop is because there's no wifi signal way back here.
  
  
• Sarah noticed. She's walking over to the bar, drink in one hand, typing with the other.
  
  
• I keep logging out to check what they're posting. A lot of other people have started noticing. It's going back and forth in cyberspace, and a crowd has formed around the bloggers. This could be a sporting event. You can tell who the supporters are. There's a small group around Jenny and one around Sarah, and another group that's shifting back and forth. Most of them are online with their phones, a couple others are looking over shoulders and shouting out funny lines from the posts. I'd be hiding my head in shame, but it might make more sense to jump into the middle of the crowd. You know, hide in plain sight.
  
  
• This is both tragic and hilarious. It is also almost exactly like dueling banjoes or a trip to a piano bar. I'm shouting out requests like "Post about the bartender! Hot or not!" Later I'm going to try and provoke some people "Who's the coolest person you met tonight?!" and other questions of that ilk. But first... another drink!
  
  
• Ok. That ended in some hysterical laughter and a big hug. The dueling bloggers, I mean, not my last drink. Ok. I'm going to put my cell phone away. My eyes are starting to smart from the hunt-and-peck. Maybe next year the live-blogging will be a sanctioned event, I'll have to look into a qwerty keyboard.
  
  'Til next time!
  
  We'll see how it really goes. (And, no, I won't be wearing flanel)(Unless it's cold.)
  
  -t
  recommended download:
  Mission of Burma, Nicotine Bomb