Mainstream Media (MSM) and Suits keep thinking we bloggers sit in our cramped studio apartments (a la early Matt Drudge), in our pajamas, order out for (cheap) Chinese and never see beyond our weblog platforms.
Reality: Thanks to the growing interest in and influence/marketing reach of blogging, we're morphed into road warriors.
Paul Chaney, who I view as the blogosphere's chief evangelist and who taught me all I know about this link & leverage medium, has been everywhere from Singapore to San Francisco to, yes, New Jersey. While he's on the east coast we might get to hook up in person.
Toby Bloomberg, who helped my blog develop presence last April and who clued me in about the implications of DailmlerChrysler's private blog for media/security analysts, must have more frequent flyer miles than Bill/Hillary Clinton.
And, in the past few months even I (the recluse writer type) have been packing my PJs instead of staying in them all day and been, well, doing the road-warrior stuff.
Things on the road have improved since I used to travel a lot circa early 1990s when freelance speechwriting was red hot.
For one thing, many hotels and motels take pets. Molly Mittens, my trusty canine companion, usually comes along.
Men no longer approach us attache-carrying (with laptop inside) females as possible companions for the evening. And lodging/dining staff are more respectful versus disappointed to encounter us (Were women poor tippers at one time?)
There's everything we need for business. One hotel in Washington DC has a Business Center, open 24/7, with PCs, Internet hookup, Fax, Printer. All included in the cost of the room. It dawned on me such centers are fantastic networking opportunities, especially if you lend a little help to the road warrior in the next cubicle with the Internet connection.
Yes, there are fitness centers for us PC-bound. That helps.
Yes, you can not only give special instructions to the lodging powers-that-be about such things as not cleaning your room during the week (Molly Mittens would flip out) but expect those special instructions to be observed.
With coin/card-operated washers and dryers in my hotels, we can cut down on how much stuff we have to schlep. This week when I was in Rhode Island I did laundry twice. What a wonderful experience to return home w/o dirty laundry.
Full Disclosure: All this road action makes me feel important. My neighbors in the complex think I'm a high-powered executive and treat me with increasing deference.
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