So Joel wrote about it, and the comments went straight to typical. Which, of course, means I had to write the Standard Defense Post. The problem is that BoingBoing doesn’t guarantee prompt approval of comments unless you are a registered user and I am over the whole “Registering for Sites I Don’t Often Visit” thing. In other words, there’s a good chance my sh*t is and will forever be trapped in moderation hell. I’m reposting it here for your enjoyment.

I’m too lazy to create an account, especially since this will probably be one of three comments I will ever post here.

Anyhow: Darla Mack and Craig Nulan could not make it and were not on the panel. Cheryl Coward (www.cherylcoward.com) and I (Tiffany B. Brown, www.tiffanybbrown.com) filled in for them at the last minute.

That said @David Carroll: The question isn’t just why aren’t more black people blogging about tech. Actually, I’d argue that there are plenty of us doing just that. The better question — one I’m disappointed we didn’t ask — is Why do we assume that there are no black people blogging about tech?

That’s an issue of perception, geek culture, race, gender and class privilege. One illustrative point: why are Madden and NBA Live fans not conceived of as Gamer Geeks in the same way that players of Final Fantasy or WoW are?

The other point (And why does this even need explaining?) is that the people who are using the produts and tools aren’t involved in creating them. What constraints on people’s income, living situation, culture, etc. are we just completely missing out on because they’re not at the table?

No, that’s not specifically a black thing, but it is something that most people who are not some kind of minority (used in the sociological sense, not the numbers sense) tend not to get. And it’s those same issues that minorities tend to blog about.

I’m also feeling a bit like a lame jacka** for missing out on quality face time with Christian, Ernie, Stephanie and Barb. I’m also bummed about not cashing in on a free drink promised by Sarah — though in fairness, all of the parties had open bars.

Eventually I am going to sit down with my notes and recap some sessions / riff on some thoughts I had while in these sessions so my employer doesn’t think that drinking Tito’s and tequila was the only thing I did in Texas. But for now, I’m still basking in and celebrating the love.