Mid-week seems like a fine time to write about some good friends Jane has met through blogging. Blogging is getting major press in the marketing and communication journals, both online and off, and while most of them get the concept correct, unless they are bloggers themselves, they're really just reporting on what they see as a new phenomena. The truth is-- this is not a new phenomena, it's as old as the Grand Canyon or the Hawaiian Islands: blogging is merely conversation between friends. Sometimes it's between friends gathered around the water cooler, with discussions centering on how to do business better; sometimes friends arrange to meet at a local coffee shop, just to chat about their day. Sometimes bloggers want to muse out loud, hoping another blogger will pick up the thread of his or her thought and continue it through the channels, offering tidbits of true human experiences, openly and honestly.

Blogging is communication at its most basic level. It's interaction between human beings who crave the attention, the advice, the company, the companionship of good friends and colleagues, achieving this contact through their computer connections.

I'd like to mention some friends I've met through the blogosphere. Friends who write to me about my posts, and whom I write to about their posts. Friends who support Dickless Marketing, seeing it for the fun title it is, recognizing that Richard's nickname is not a four-letter word. Friends who have inspired me in my writing, enlightened me in my business, and entertained me with good writing. Here they are:

Michele Miller at WonderBranding: Michele is quoted in my book. When I wrote to tell her so, she did not ignore my note (as some others have), nor did she request I not contact her again. She welcomed me into her cirlce of intelligent, warm, and funny friends, introducing me to Dave Young at Wizard of Ads and several others from the Wizard Academy. I count Michele one of my success stories--another woman dedicated to helping the world understand women by unleashing the power of our natural advantages. I can't wait to attend her seminar on marketing to women!

Kirsten Osolind at reinventioninc: I mention Kirsten often because she is devoted to the women in her circle. She supports us and talks about us and introduces us to the world in a variety of ways, all meant to enhance our buisness presence. She does this freely, without any request for an ROI on her time, and I hope when I write about her in Lip-sticking, folks click over to see what nuggets of gold she's offering up in her blog that day. Kirsten is paving not only her way to success, but she's inviting many of us to join her on that jaunt. And she uses words like "inane." Now, how many people can do that successfully??? (Kirsten wants to know if the world knows "the new face of wealth wears lip-stick"...I hope all Lip-sticking readers answer, Yes, Yes, Yes!)

Elana Centor: Elana's blog, FunnyBusiness, is so delightful, I feel confused at the end of the day if I haven't at least clicked in to see what she has to say. If I don't check FunnyBusiness, I'm left a little empty...a little less complete. In a recent post, Elana wrote about open-toed shoes, and it not only tickled my funny bone, it hit home. Oh yes, I remember the days being 'someone' else's employee and being told that open-toed shoes are not fit for business. I suspect Kirsten would understand Elana's post, since Kirsten shares her favorite "shoes of the week" with us on her blog. FunnyBusiness is ripe with humor, but Elana writes from the heart and her words contribute to our understanding of the human condition, in unique and thoughtful ways.

Martin Fass: Martin is a new blogger. He's a member of my local Toastmaster's group, and a profound thinker. Just last week my fiance Tom and I encouraged Martin to start a blog and post his thoughts online. Having had the opportunity to hear Martin speak at Toastmasters over the last two years, I knew he would have mountains of good things to write...and he has been true to that prediction. His blog, Watchstop Books, Comics, Film, Music will get the synapses of your mind jumping, and...in the process, you will learn new things about Martin's favorite topics, books, comics, film, and music. This is a must-read for all---just to get outside of your cozy little world and into the light of day where opinions spoken may agree or conflict with your own, but are offered as an introduction to a dialogue from a gentleman who appreciates a good discussion.

Toby Bloomberg: Toby writes the Diva Marketing blog which is "fun, bold and savvy" according to Toby herself. According to Lip-sticking, she's absolutely right! Her insight into marketing combined with her wit and her bold approach to life, brightens my day like relaxing on a newly stitched quilt full of curly-ques and boxes, shining with the vibrant colors Mother Nature paints the great outdoors with. Toby invited me to moderate a SIG online for the American Marketing Association last week, and what a great time that was! Boy did I learn a lot! The most important thing I learned is that I need to join this organization as soon as possible. What a dynamic and intuitive group of smart folks...which only goes to prove Toby's blog tagline: fun, bold and savvy...she's one of them--one who inspires others to think out of the box on a regular basis, no doubt. Her blog gives me something new to think about every day.

Dennis Kennedy: I met Dennis through Matt Homann...both are lawyers. Regular readers may remember when I, along with Kirsten, Michele, Anita Campbell at Small Business Trends (another friend I plan to get to know better), and Jennifer Rice at What's Your Brand Mantra (Jennifer is a brave woman--she jumped out of a plane last week!) wrote out thoughts on Matt's 5 by 5; five ways lawyers can improve their marketing to women...the topic of his 5 by 5 at that time. Meanwhile, Dennis Kennedy got hold of that, wrote me a note, and is now another lawyer I trust and recommend---not for his legal expertise, although you will be in good hands if you need that, but for his insight into blogging, lawyers who blog, and how the legal profession can pull itself out of the mud and the mire that the general public has pushed it into. I agree with Matt Homann, my fiance, Tom Collins, (still a recovering lawyer) and Dennis Kennedy, that the profession of law is people-oriented and customer-centric. These men prove it, with their inspiring blog posts, their willingness to share their knowledge of how things work in the legal world, and their openness. Dennis Kennedy especially, writes like a regular guy, is friendly and unassuming, and makes me glad to count him among my new friends.

There are a dozen or more new friends I would like to write about, but I will save them for another day, else this post would stretch all the way to Alaska. Women and men alike, these new friends have contributed so much to my awareness of how the business world thinks, how similar the human condition is no matter where you're from, and how fortunate we are to have a communications tool that allows us to exchange our musings without rancor, I thank my lucky stars for being a part of the new millennium, where human beings are really on the global edge. Stay tuned for tomorrow's interview with Ellen Langas Campbell, author of the book, Will Stephanie Get the Story?

What's not to like about that?