The lure of the keyboard. The excitement of communicating with thousands, perhaps millions, of readers from all over the world. The delight at knowing some of them -- of having attended Blogher and meeting the best women bloggers in the world! There is little to compare last Saturday's conference with. Jane will attempt to relate some of the more fabulous moments...but, we will, no doubt, miss something -- hopefully, not SOMEONE -- but be kind, dear readers, and bear with us.

We'd been lusting after the Blogher conference for weeks. Our dear, dear delightful friend Jory was (is) a co-founder, and along with her, Elisa of Worker Bees, whom we've admired since meeting her last January.

With these two young, fantastic, smart and friendly, ladies working with the ever dynamic and clever Lisa Stone, how...we asked ourselves...could this fail to be anything less than THE place for Jane, and Maryanne (Jane's little sister, as she so aptly informed the group by writing said phrase on her nametag!). The luck of the draw is the only reason we actually got to be part of this groundbreaking group of gifted, talkative women...our little sister won her place, forcing Jane to scramble and make arrangements to accompany her to San Jose. There were a few tense moments, but...we made it! As you well know from teasers posted all last week. (much thanks to all who wished us a happy birthday!)

Here is the low-down on Blogher...

In answer to Jane's begging the question (What do women do online?), many attendees admitted that: "Women like talking." The roar of the group paid testament to that statment, we can assure you!

And, "Women are the ones who share, women are more apt to exchange opinions on products and services," and, "It's so neat to actually meet in person so many of the people you've been reading... and put a face to a name."

Perhaps the best part of the conference was the true, honest, open, and yes, TRANSPARENT way everyone spoke his or her mind. We say 'his or her' because there were a number of good men there. We mentioned that in an earilier post -- complimenting our good friends of that other gender for braving the storm. What storm? The storm of 300 women hugging and laughing and arguing (oh no, dear reader, we were anything but in agreement on the issues), from sun up till sun down. Jane missed the Saturday night dinner -- we drooped by 7 pm and had to return to our room -- but we have heard glowing reports about it.

Now, for the record, here are the women Jane met, hugged, laughed and cried with, women we have either interviewed or hope to interview, women who were looking at the BIG picture -- at the goals of Blogher to unite voices, to give a platform to some who feel marginalized, and to bring together women and men of the blogoshpere, but mostly, women. Because, the truth is -- women are underserved here, as well as almost everywhere else. This conference did not strive to exclude anyone, male or female. Rather, in the bringing together of all who attended, and encouraging all others to begin thinking about NEXT YEAR's BLOGHER, this conference succeeded in giving us, the women of the blogosphere, a spotlight, one that will continue to shine brighter and brighter, with each passing year. Because the co-founders and the live bloggers and the vast wave of attendees will keep lighting candles until that spotlight shines as bright as an Olympic torch.

Women like:

Toby Bloomberg: Diva Marketing. Toby, we LOVE you! Nothing feels quite so good as a hug from someone you've admired for so long...more hugs straight atcha! If only there had been more time... Your panel discussion was the best. We're embarrassed to say we did not know about the character blog issue...and we don't know why? But, we think character blogs have their place. Anyone who says different can just ask Jane...

Jory Dejardins: Pause. Where would Jane be without Jory? Oh, right here...wondering why the world was so gray! Jory, you light up my life. Your smile, your beautiful eyes, but most of all...your writing. The world is waiting for more! More! More!

Elisa Camahort: Worker Bees Blog. Elisa, we are in awe! As the grandest of the grand, you rate top billing...so why are you listed #3? Well, you're not. It's just the way the text flows online. And you, more than anyone, would hasten to say, we're all one. Accept my thanks for a truly thought-provoking conference full of the best minds on the net.

Evelyn Rodriguez: Crossroads Dispatches. I pale in comparison to Evelyn, when writing anything. This young woman, who so graciously carted us to dinner the evening before the conference, does her generation proud. It's such a pleasure knowing we know her...no, really knowing we know her. We think YOU, dear reader, should get to know her, too.

Jill Fallon: Business of Life.  If we get gushy, it's only because...Jill is such a dear. Next to our very own sisters, Jill is a favorite from -- a previous existence, we're sure! Jill is, as are so, so many of the women bloggers we've met over this past year, intelligent to a fault. As a fellow poster at  ThirdAge, Jill provides some truly thought-provoking posts. She may be a strong feminist (not one of THOSE! but one of these -- women who feel strongly about other women being treated right), but beneath that strength is a heart of gold.

Maryanne: Maryanne's Powdering Our Noses. Jane's younger sister. A gorgeous, blue-eyed blonde. Smarter than she has a right to be -- she puts Jane to shame, over and over again! We're not sure how we got so lucky -- to have such a great sister, but to have her working with us! We have two other sisters, who are just as dear, but Maryanne...she's talented beyond anything we ever expected. No doubt, she left her mark on Blogher. We can't wait to read her thoughts.