Brooklyn Blogfest 2009

The Gothamist holds an unexpected guerrilla session on blog monetization.

Tonight was my second Brooklyn Blogfest. I had mixed feelings both this year, and last year, because:

• I like the warm and fuzzy feeling of a bunch of people getting together and talking about a geeky activity that most of them are doing just for fun.
• After about 30 minutes, the joy of the camaraderie gives way to a sort of pathetic, desperate feeling that seems to be seeping in, like poison smoke coming through the vents. The whole event seemed to be a celebration constantly on the verge of degrading into a support group.
• I found myself listening to pontifications from people whose opinions I didn’t care much about.

The space was The Powerhouse Arena, which is basically a hybrid bookstore/industrial loft. There were huge pillars in the way of the screen, making large swaths of the folded-chair seating basically useless, unless you wanted to just listen.

The highlight of the evening was definitely the documentary about Bob Guskind, the recently deceased founder of the popular Brooklyn news site, Gowanus Lounge. But you can see that here:

Robert Guskind 1958-2009 from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. on Vimeo.

There was an after-party, which, for all I know, is still going on.