Recently I joined 1,400 women (and about 12 very brave guys) at BlogHer '09 in Chicago. It was insanity in the best sense of the word.

To say this is an opinionated bunch of women would be an understatement. (They're bloggers, after all!) And not everything about the conference was sunshine and roses. (Search for #BlogHer09 on Twitter to follow the conversation.) But I loved the sessions, meeting other bloggers and moms — and the chocolate, which seemed to be everywhere.

It was held in an amazing city — Chicago. I brought along my husband and son, and they had a ball going to two Cubs games while I was at the conference. We had a great time in the evenings, going out for deep-dish pizza, seeing an amazing Second City performance. (Can't wait to see some of these folks on Saturday Night Live one of these days. Such talent! And guts!)

And I even showed my son that *I* had guts. We went to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, and I ended up on stage, dancing with about 20 other people. And my 13-year-old didn't die of embarrassment — although I'm sure he thought he might!

BlogHer '10 will be held in New York City next August. Want to go? Make your reservations soon. This year it sold out.

What gives? Is the blogosphere some sort of 5th-grade playground where
we need to impress each other with how cool we can be by throwing in
the F-word every few paragraphs?

As a journalist for magazines and newspapers for the past 14 years, I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of coming up with (or at least trying to come up with) just the right word to describe something in an article. And for the publications I work with, profanity isn’t an option.

But now that I’ve been blogging on Parent Talk Today for a year, I’ve had a chance to check out a LOT of so-called mommy blogs. (I hate the term, but that’s what everyone seems to want to call them.) Many are creative, fun, informative and even addictive. But a surprising number of them are written by women who apparently find the need to swear like sailors.

I recently attended the BlogHer conference in San Francisco, and in a final “community keynote,” 20 or so women bloggers (and one guy) got up on stage, in front of about a thousand people in a huge ballroom, and read their favorite blog post. (The posts were chosen by a committee in advance. And these weren’t all mommy bloggers on stage, but many were.)

Sure enough, a few of the posts contained some pretty raw language. And in looking around the room, I saw mixed reactions. Personally, I was just sad that these otherwise truly talented writers had settled for cheap shock value.

In so many blogs that I’ve read lately, it just seems as if the writers are taking the lazy way out. But, using the currently popular acronym, WTF do I know?

Yes, yes, yes. Free speech. Freedom of expression. The ability to share our true feelings in our blogs and to tell it like it is. It’s all important. But why the potty mouth? Is it necessary?

Hey, sometimes I let loose with a swear word or two in my daily life. (Lately, they seem to be reserved for people who run stop signs.) I’m not advocating that we all become Pollyanna here. But when it comes to writing articles and this blog, I have too much respect for my audience to go there.

So please tell me, if you’re a mommy blogger who likes to turn the blogesphere blue fairly frequently: What’s the attraction in including the F word (and, in some cases, much more) in your posts?

I’ve been reading lots of blog posts and comments about last weekend’s BlogHer conference, and it seems as if some of the women over age 40 are feeling a bit left out by the younger crowd as these 20-something women Twitter, text message and basically (at least it’s perceived that way) run digital circles around the middle-aged blogging community.

Well, I have to tell you, I don’t see it that way. I’m not 20-something. I’m not 30-something. But I met some of the most fabulous younger women at BlogHer, and they didn’t intimidate me. They inspired me. I learned so much, and even jumped on the Twitter bandwagon at their urging. (You can follow me at http://twitter.com/kathysena.) I’m now checking out dozens of tips I learned from these generous women, either from panels where they spoke or from across the table at lunch, over a martini in the evening or in e-mails since we returned home.

Mastering this digital-communication thing doesn’t have anything to do with age. It’s about being open to trying something new, being willing to learn from someone who may have been in preschool when I was in high school. I’m waking up this week raring to go. I’m thinking of ways to improve this blog even as I take a shower or load the dishwasher. Forget juicy novels. My bedtime reading, thanks to BlogHer, is all about search-engine optimization at the moment.

Thanks to all you women, of any age, who sent me home from San Francisco full of enthusiasm for being a writer and a blogger, as well as a mom. I’m honored — and jazzed — to be one of you.

P.S. This wonderful piece of embroidery art is featured over at a terrific site that I just discovered, Layers of Meaning. The site was created by Serena Fenton, and it’s beautiful. Check it out.

Just got back yesterday from BlogHer 08, a most amazing weekend in San Francisco with 1,100 women bloggers. Mommy bloggers, travel bloggers, food bloggers… It made my socks go up and down to be in one place with all this talent and energy.

The free t-shirts and chocolate weren’t bad either. My favorite t-shirt slogan (from CafePress): “Be Nice to Me Or I’ll Blog About You.” (OK, twist my arm: Here’s where you can get Parent Talk Today merch from CafePress.)

All you mom bloggers out there: If you haven’t already checked out BlogHer, head on over there and sign up. It’s a terrific community of talented — and really fun — bloggers.

Oh, and I won an iPod nano, from the nice folks at care.com, by finding the person whose number on a button matched the number on my button. Out of 1,100 women, that’s pretty amazing! Here I am with my new buddy, Arielle, and our iPods. (OK, my arm got cut off. But I’m holding it. Really!)

Do we look as happy as a couple of kids on Christmas morning or what?