Latina Bloggers in the Meat Packing District: Melanie from Modern Mami; Ana, Spanglish Baby; me; Sylvia, Mama Latina Tips; Jeannette from Todo Bebe.

Little more than two years ago, I wrote a post titled Looking for All the Latina Bloggers. The post was inspired by my attendance at a great conference that was sorely lacking in Latinas. I later determined, as best I could, that there were three of us out of a couple hundred. Que-que? Why so few? I already knew of lots of Latina bloggers, but they weren’t at the conference, and they sure weren’t getting the swag, ads, and corporate sponsorships our non-Latina blogger friends were raking in.

But, we’ve come a long way.

I just got back from Blogher, my first Blogher convention, and there were a few dozen Latinas that I knew of, and hung with. (Ay, que fun!) There also was an all-Latina panel, organized by a group called Latism and focusing specifically on creating content for Latinos, marketing to Latinos and reaching out to Latino blog publishers — the latter being of high interest to the non-Hispanic marketers and publicists in the session. We can be a confusing group of gente, after all.

My trip, and that of six other Latina bloggers, was sponsored by Vme TV, a national network of Spanish-language programming that I respect (no half-naked dancing girls) and one of the first American companies to reach out to Latina bloggers in the same way other American companies have reached out to “mommy bloggers.” We were there to help educate and spread the word about Vme’s programming. Easy. Fun. A win-win for them, and for me, and the relationship will continue with their ads running soon on the Tiki Tiki Blog.

Below, I’ve posted a round-up of links and stories on Latina bloggers that have come out of the Blogher event. Take a few minutes to spin through them and click through to the blogs listed. The voices are varied, the women interesting, and inspiring.

Some cool stuff.

I got my face all done pretty-like for a Yahoo! Shine interview on Reinvention. My video should load in a couple of weeks and I will update this post with it.

Matt Lauer, a few feet from me, in the Plaza.

The Today Show invited bloggers to attend a morning taping so we got up close with Meredith Viera, Matt Lauer and Al Roker in the Plaza and in the studio. They were gracious. We also got to go into the control room, which was a blast. One of their producers, the lovely Alicia Ybarbo, also interviewed me along with Melanie of Modern Mami and Ana of Spanglish Baby on the rise of the Latin blogger.

There were a bunch of parties sponsored by big names. I went to a few and got a bunch of swag. So much that my amigas who know I often reject all the mierda laughed their rears off when they saw me with four bags of stuff…two bags were not mine, but I joked that my eyes were spinning red and white like a cartoon character.

I have to say that my favorite things were hanging with friends, new and old, seeing the Vme folks and learning about their plans, the Today Show experience, an amazing brunch at the Loews Hotel (those people know class..and fancy cheese!) and filming a Spanish video spot for Spanx. Yes, I told the world about my underwear…and it was fun.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Explosion of the Latina Blogger from Wired Latinos.

Latina Bloggers Courted by Spanish TV Network from She Posts.

Bloguera Power from RL Public Relations.

Latinas in Social Media: The Power of Familia and Sisterhood by Angelica Perez-Litwin at Modern Familia.

Click here to see Roxana Soto from Spanglish Baby in the Yahoo! Shine Reinvention interview. It is in Spanish, but it looks like all, or most, of the others are in English. Roxana is a smart, passionate and dynamic woman and I was lucky enough to hang with her this weekend…especially at the Wax Museum on Time’s Square…what happens at the Wax Museum, stays at the Wax Museum though.

Pa’lante.

I didn't usually kiss my sources...

Newsrooms have been sacked. Cubicles are empty. Journalists are worried. The digital age and those damned bloggers are changing the way journalists do their jobs, and the way they see their future.

For the small business owner, or the newsworthy person, these changes mean it is harder to get into the paper, magazine, or on TV. But, it also presents possibilities.

You can suggest great stories to reporters, many of whom are spending their days feeding the story monster and who would appreciate your good tip.

I’ve tweeked the talk I gave at a Blissdom Workshop a couple of weeks ago and am presenting it here as a  How to Be A Story PDF and a slide presentation. (My workshop, by the way, was with the very fabulous and smart: Wendy Piersall, Lindsay Maines, Jenn Fowler and Renee J. Ross.)

It is intended for the small business with little, or no, PR budget; for the blogger with an awesome site; for the person with the interesting story/hobby/craft/lifestyle etc; for the expert who would make a great source, offer a great quote in a trend story, whether it be in the news,business, features or sports section.

You get the idea, right?

Now, the mistake people make when they go after media is thinking only of the gigantic story. But, there are briefs, and trend stories and quickie quotes that offer great exposure too.

I encouraged the bloggers I spoke with at Blissdom to become experts, to become go-to people for the reporters in their area. Sometimes, this will land you a story, sometimes you’ll be part of the story, but once you become a go-to person, you get what others don’t: Connection.

And, calls returned.

Lucky You.

(Now, that picture above. A couple was raising alpacas and llamas in the middle of a fancy neighborhood in Nashville. The guy called me. I did a feature in the winter of 2003. All it took was one telephone call.)

Good luck.

“It is now safe to turn on your electronic and hand-held devices.”

iPod on the plane! iPod for La Nena, actually — an expert flier who travels well but can color only for so long.

Before every trip we’ve taken for the last three years, I load the iPod with a few new kid-friendly songs (God Bless You, Dan Zanes and They Might be Giants) and at least a couple kiddie TV shows. It’s happy-making for all involved, let me tell you.

Unless, of course, the iPod battery fritzes out on you, like mine did on our trip a couple of weeks ago. Argh, carajo. It lasted for just a few minutes, cutting off Ruff Ruffman in a very rude sort of way. We had just taken off on the second leg of our flight North. Maria had colored enough on the first leg y yo de boba had put On the Banks of Plum Creek in the suitcase.

I pulled out my netbook and showed her how to “paint” while she listened to Exposé. Hey, ’80s pop is awesome whether you’re 6 or 42. Amen.

She got frustrated by my touchpad mouse. Here’s what I should have downloaded to the netbook as a back-up: The adventures of Pancho and Pita, playful bilingual trolls who just debuted in the cyberworlds.

The little guys — and their pet, Flan. Yes, Flan — were dreamed up by Raul, a Spanish-born computer programmer who often comments on the Boonie Blog, and his wife, Stephanie. The couple has a young son who inspired Pancho and Pita and the reading adventures, the first being ¿Dónde Están Los Pollitos? / Where Are The Chicks?”

That Raul, he knows I am a sucker for anything with Pollitos. So, a while back, he sent me a free copy of the adventure to let Maria test drive it. She got to decide where to look for the pollitos, thus making her part of the story. I kept marveling at the quality and being damned glad for a safe online game, and a bilingual English and Spanish one at that.

Ay, how I wished on that plane to have downloaded the story to the netbook.

From the press release: “We envisioned an innovative approach that would combine the best features from the existing products: the emotional and educational power of books, the fun of cartoons, and the interactivity of computer games,” Raul Fernandez said.

The Fernandez’s worked with language professionals, animators, voice actors and a music composer to create Pancho and Pita’s adventure and make their company, Palabra Media, a reality that meets the demands of a changing national demographic and interests.

I think it is great that the games/adventures/stories are available (more to come) with just one click. I am so That Kind Of Mami. Between iTunes, Amazon and the new family Netflixs, I’m conditioned to 1-Click it. (Wondering if that is evolution or devolution?)

Raul and Stephanie put their heart into a great quality product that promotes culture y cultura, education and fun. Go download. Support this entrepreneurial y nice Latino. You also can download this pancho and pita coloring PDF, among others and watch video.

And, if you ever hear a woman saying “Play with your Flan” on a plane, that is me.

Corporate CEOs, marketers and advertisers are atwitter about reaching Latinos online. You probably already know the stats and the whys, but the most honest reason: Dinero.
We have it, they want it.

And, in the interest of full disclosure before we go any further, I have a business and another blog created for the same reason. Viva el American dream! (Go get yourself some of it too!)

But I think we, as a target market, are a big, hairy, scary monster.

Why?

We’re every shade of human possible. Some of us are of native peoples, some of us are only of European background and every amount of mix in between. Some are of Jewish descent and some of us have some chinito in us. Some of us speak Spanish, some of us don’t. Some have no idea what an arepa is, while others live for tripe on Sundays.

Pity the marketers.

But, if you allow me some stereotype in the name of fun, watch the video for some truisms (at least my own) about why Social Media, which confounds millions, is perfect for reaching Latinos, a people who long ago perfected the Radio Bemba, the unfailingly good information distribution system of our gente.

Twitter?

Facil.