Innovation has become a title at many major companies: CIO = Chief Innovation Officer. It used to be Chief Information Officer. In some cases, it still is. Which must confuse the issue at executive meetings. Wikipedia still has it as Central Intelligence Org. As well as Chief Information Officer. No Chief Innovation Officer.

At any rate, I'm off to Blogher tomorrow, and I'll be on the lookout for innovative ideas and innovative women. Blogher is innovative in and of itself...as one of the biggest and boldest women's blog networks online. But, I have to admit that the core substance of what they do and how they do it, isn't terribly innovative. It's not their fault, entirely. After all, we all tend to create new things based on the 'old' things we have or are familiar with. Hence, Blogher becomes a blog network made up of women - and operates much the same as any other network.

I'm not prepared to give Jory, Elisa, and Lisa advice on how to do what they do. They're hard-working, over-achievers that make me proud to be a woman. But, I am toying with my own version of a blog network. Which will be unlike any others. (And, innovative or not, will succeed or fail on its own merit - because people like it; the like or not like factor is huge. Truth be told, a lot of innovative ideas and/or products never make it past the drawing table because...no one likes them. How well did the women from this site - see pic here - fare?)

The value in attending this session of Blogher will be to connect and commune with other business women who blog. Meeting some old friends and finally meeting f2f with some new friends (and clients). It's well worth the cost, both in $$ and time. I have an expert's table, if you're attending and want to learn some more about marketing to women online.

Watch this space...I'll post on the conference when I can.

As the title of this blog post says, innovation ain't for sissies. That 200+ women are gathering in NYC for two days of blogging studies, speaks to the power of not only the platform, but of the talent and expertise of the organizers. They took an innovative idea and ran with it. Now, as they slow down and review what they've created, I wonder: what's next? (I'm eager to find out) 

Will Blogher become just another conference, full of the 'ordinary' sessions on what to do, how to do it, when to do it, whether or not to do it? Or, are the founders working on some new innovative idea that will get heads spinning? What's on the Blogher invention table now?

Stay tuned.