W-List - Where are They Now?

It's been more than seven months since I kicked off the idea of compiling a list of women bloggers. The idea was to help spread the word on exceptional women who blog and help them network and connect with each other.

Then I let the list go. It's not my list, it's everyone's list. And many who found out about it along the way changed it for the better. Two influential bloggers and good friends helped the list reach tipping point - Liz Strauss, author of Successful and Outstanding blog and Toby Bloomberg, author of Diva Marketing blog.

Then Carolyn Townes, author of Becoming a Woman of Purpose, created a wiki, the w magical list. At last count, there were 304 blogs on the list. I am quite sure that many bloggers don't know about it, or there would be more.

The most magical of all discoveries for me was Do It Myself Blog by Glenda Watson Hyatt. Glenda is upbeat, energetic, and a person you want to be around - she has a generous heart. In her blog she

shares her experiences living with cerebral palsy to motivate and inspire others to think about how they perceive their own situation and their own world around them. She does all this by typing with only her left thumb!

Her reader's cafe' series of interviews with guests who have experienced first hand how it feels like to live with a disability are very powerful. One word that comes to mind is spirit. Drop by and visit with Glenda, and maybe you can meet her at one of her appearances.

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Where are those women today? I would love to hear from you here in the comments. Share your stories. I am sure that many of you have accomplished wonderful things since last August - possibly finding opportunity through the connection.

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CK (and Drew) launched the first ever Blogger Social in New York on April 4-6, 2008.

Liz Strauss launched her second SOBCon, which will be in Chicago on May 2-4, 2008.

I discovered other talented women since last August. Skellie who publishes at Skelliewag and was invited to blog at ProBlogger, Connie Bensen, and - thanks to Twitter - Aruni who publishes entrepreMusings.

Thanks to Joe Raasch, I became much more familiar with fellow Fast Company Expert bloggers Wendy Marx and Donna Carlin - if these ladies are not on your reading list, you might consider checking them out. Donna was one of the creators of the Think Different Challenge.

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Learn more about why in conversational marketing, comments matter at The Blog Herald.

Comments

[kate]

Valerie - This is so funny, i was literally going to post my very own list of personal women bloggers TODAY! And yes, you were going to be on there.... How funny!

Maybe I still will, and will send it along to you :)

Kate

[Liz Strauss]

Oh Valeria!
This is such a fabulous idea. I can't wait for the next one. It's going to be great for the updates on what everyone's doing.

Thanks for the love.

[Carolyn]

Valeria, thanks so much for the inspiration for the list and the magic that has kept the list going and growing. It has been magical for me to play along and meet so many amazing women, like you!

I am in awe of all the women who contribute their passion and purpose to the blogosphere. We totally rock!

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Kate -- there are some amazing blogs out there. Looking forward to seeing your list.

@Liz -- I was hoping for some stories of connections and projects. Maybe everyone is so busy being productive that this will just be a reminder of the resource.

@Carolyn -- and the good news is that we keep discovering talented writers. If there is a way to get the word out, I'd love to work on a couple of stories and celebrate those women.

[Annie Heckenberger]

wow, lots of new names/blogs for me on your list. will definitely peruse as many as possible. Thanks!

[kate]

This could be a more comprehensive list, but I put a few of my favorites here.

http://adcomments.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/women-bloggers/

[Anne Libby]

Valeria, thanks for this reminder. The list resulted in both conversations and connections for me, and it was such a boon for you to include me. Thank you, again.

The experience gave me more education that blogging is not about connecting people with content -- but connecting us with one another. I have several of these great women on my feed reader. (And a new one, the fresh www.feministing.com)

The subsequent discussion about diversity and having a "women's list" led me down a path of looking for economic diversity in the blogosphere, and people or groups that might promote this. I haven't found much.

It would be great to hear people's thoughts on that topic...

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Annie -- I am still discovering blogs on that list alone. There are many others outside that, of course. And many other lists ;-)

@Kate -- thank you. Interesting that we would be thinking about posting something on the same day.

@Anne -- I am still hopeful that we can get the word out on connection stories and now your research - "economic diversity in the blogosphere, and people or groups that might promote this." Has anyone reading this found anything?

[Aruni]

Hi Valeria - Thanks for the mention! I'm honored to be on the W-list! I would love to be get to know all the other great women bloggers out there.

It's amazing the new people I have met via Twitter. It's such a great tool! See you on twitter!

[Connie Reece]

Valeria, I was also just thinking about the W list. I need to revisit the wiki because I'm thinking of some names that should be added if they haven't already.

What have I done since then? Every Dot Connects has become a Top 25 Marketing Blog (Mack Collier's work for The Viral Garden), and I have launched the Frozen Pea Fund to help fight breast cancer -- and we just incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Thanks for this reminder to celebrate our accomplishments.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Aruni -- once I figure out how to add your blog and name to the list, you will be online at w_magical list. You have been such an active member of the Twitter community that it feels like we've known about you for months.

@Connie -- we're all very proud of you for the Frozen Pea Fund. I remember reading the The Washington Post article and thinking how awesome it was that social media would inject so much speed and momentum to a worthy cause. Congratulations on incorporating, too. And that was just one project for you! I'm in awe.