At the recent BlogHer conference, one event featured all sorts of handcrafted items--a real contrast to the online and virtual work of the women bloggers in attendance.  An artist made sketches; crafters were making hand-assembled buttons.

At this year's BlogHer conference, I spent today at a special session jointly presented by BlogHer and The White House Project, designed to help women bloggers think about taking the next step on their issues by running for public office.

There's something about this Verizon ad, part of its "Rule the Air" campaign, that strikes me as only a part of the story.  It's a story about young women communicating, giving voice to their thoughts and ideas without being discriminated against--the idea being that online, no one can see your race or gender or age, so your ideas can take prominence and the network gives you power.

Ever since I first tested the Amazon Kindle as a speaking tool,  I knew it had great value in addition to its book-reading capabilities.  But price remained a barrier for many speakers.  This week, Amazon announced new features and far lower prices that make the device the least expensive e-reader out there--and worth a second look if you are a frequent speaker.  Here's how I see the Kindle's uses, through the eyes of a speaker. It's: