Some Asian Bloggers From BlogHer ’14

One of my favorite parts about going to blogging conferences is discovering new bloggers, especially connecting up with other Asian bloggers or wives of Asians/mamas of Hapas. While I love the fact that the blogosphere gives us opportunities to make real connections with people who have different ethnicities and lifestyles (you must read my wrap up of the Intersectional Feminism Closing Keynote), I also really appreciate meeting other bloggers who have similar  backgrounds. Of course, there are the ones I already know and love, such as Thien-Kim Lam from I’m Not the Nanny, Cynthia Liu from K-12 News Network, Sabrina Enayatulla from Slice of Lemon, Jenni Chiu from Mommy Nani BooBoo, Anjum Choudhary Nayyar from Masala Mommas, Marsha Takeda-Morrison from Sweatpants Mom, and Maria Wen Adcock from Bicultural Mama. Then there’s the ones who I’ve been following forever, but have yet to meet in person, such as Aisha Saeed, Mona Conception from Kirida, and Kathy Khang from More Than Serving Tea.

But last week, I found a bunch of new Asian bloggers at BlogHer ’14 and I need to share them with you:

 

Phyllis Myung from Napkin Hoarder I happened to sit at the same table as Phyllis during the first breakfast. When she told me the name of her blog, she explained it was because she comes from an immigrant family and every time they ate out, her parents would grab a stash of napkins to take with them. Universal story, right? Phyllis also mentioned that she was reading at Voices of the Year, and since the pieces are supposed to be sort of a surprise, I didn’t ask. Well, imagine my flood of emotions when Thien-Kim introduces Phyllis onstage, who will be reading her post “Sometimes, I Still Wish I Was White”.

 

Angeline Longshore from Your Sensible Girlfriend’s Guide to Life Angeline looked so familiar when I met her. Maybe it’s because she worked as an on-air reporter in Santa Barbara around the same time that I was working in San Luis Obispo. We ended up chatting for a long time about TV news, finding our paths, and life in general. She really is a like the sensible girlfriend you’ve known forever, and we ended up going out for dim sum the next day, too.

 

Bethany Huang from Miss Unrep One day at lunch, I found myself wandering around like the new kid at the school cafeteria. Really hungry and slightly panicked, I ended up sitting down at a random table where I knew nobody. As we introduced ourselves, Bethany explained that her blog was about inspiring girls beyond the images in mass media. She looked really young, but you know how Asian women don’t age! Saturday afternoon, I ran into her on the street after my closing keynote panel on race and gender. Bethany stopped me on the street and thanked me for being onstage, telling me “it meant the world” to see an Asian woman taking part in the discussion. According to Bethany’s blog, she is only 14 YEARS OLD. I am so inspired that by what she is doing!

 

Aisha Sultan from Parents Talk Back Okay, so Aisha’s not technically a blogger, she’s a columnist at the St. Louis Post Dispatch, so she’s an uber-blogger who has a real job in which she gets to write thoughtful columns about parenting, often with an eye on raising Muslim children. I actually met Aisha last year at the AAJA conference, but since some of my readers may not know her yet, and since I had the opportunity to hang out with her again, I was reminded to let you all know about her.

 

Olivia Shen Green from Extraordinary at Work I’ve met Olivia at like… every BlogHer conference I’ve ever been to. But she has a new site dedicated to career, diversity, and corporate culture. I’m really excited to read more of Olivia’s insights, especially if she has any insights into how to navigate the career world as an Asian woman.

 

TerriAnn Gosliga from Cookies and Clogs TerriAnn is a Chinese American woman married to a Dutch husband. I’ve had fun chatting with TerriAnn at this and other BlogHer conferences, so I thought I’d share her blog. If you live in the Bay Area, you might like her tips for local family activities.

 

I know there are were more Asian American and Pacific Islander bloggers there, so if I missed you, please leave your name and blog title in the comments and let’s connect!

 

Also read: Meeting HapaMama Sisters at BlogHer ’11

Do All Asians Look The Same?

 

What next? An Asian Blogger Meet up?

So… one of my takeaways is that it’s super-fun to meet other Asian American bloggers and commiserate about how we all get mistaken for each other. In a crowd of thousands of people, it can be overwhelming, and sometimes reaching out to (or being reached out to) by someone who is like you can add an element of welcomeness. And we sneak away for boba and other Asian-y pastimes, such as stealing napkins from fast-food joints. It would be so much fun to have a more organized meet up during a BlogHer or V3 conference. We could bring styrofoam cartons of takeout food and apply face masks! There is already a big network of more politically-oriented Asian Pacific American bloggers, and I’d love to see more networking with Asians in the general blogging sphere.

What do you think? Would you go to an AAPI women’s blogging meet up? Where do you think would be the best venue to do this? Part of a bigger blogging conference or a casual retreat in some other way?

I’m serious, people.

 

 

This, too, can be yours…