Dariane Nabor

BANANA Flyer

Last weekend I attended an event called BANANA,  the first-ever gathering of many Asian-American (and Canadian) bloggers.

Of course, many of the panelists at the event have posted their own recaps on their respective websites detailing the topics, networking, and drama.  Here’s a quick list of those posts:

• “The Bloggers League” by Jon Yang
• “Banana wasn’t just a gathering of Asian American Pacific Islander bloggers – it was a statement of solidarity, camaraderie and community” by Gil Asakawa of Nikkei View and Visualizasian.com
• “After the Banana: Reflections on the AsAm Blogosphere” by Erin at Hyphen Magazine
• “Banana Conference 2009″ at bigWOWO
• “Banana Peels” by Julie of Kimchi Mamas
• “Thoughts on BANANA Event from AArisings Perspective” by Nels of AArisings
• “Emily and Suzie’s fobulous adventures at BANANA” at Absolutely Fobulous
• “BANANA Recap by AzN” of BicoastalBitchin
• “BANANA Recap by CBruhs” of BicoastalBitchin
• “The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back” by The Minority Militant

There are so many posts about it out there already written by far more established and eloquent writers, what more do I have to add to the conversation?

Well. If you look at the list above, most of the posts were written by panelist bloggers at the event. Some of those people came to event expecting something grand, others expecting nothing at all.  As a member of the small audience in that Taper Hall classroom on the campus I’m obligated to loathe the most, I came to the event after weeks of eager anticipation ready to soak up every piece of advice and every drop of knowledge. I was a dry sponge…figuratively, of course.

When the event began and Steve called upon the panelists, it seemed like half of the audience stood up and approached the stage. The panel consisted of representatives from various websites, of different backgrounds, and different passions.  With such a diverse panel, I genuinely feared for the spontaneous combustion of my brain.

The open forum portion of the event was a slight disappointment for me. It seemed to drag like there wasn’t a real purpose to the event. As it went on, I hoped that there would be something–some issue, topic, anything–that would ignite these incredible minds to speak passionately about what they know best. Then in the middle of the forum, an audience member spoke up about the kinds of questions being asked.  After that there were a few sparks including a discussion about gender issues in the AAPI community, the problem of fragmentation within the community, and the diverse growth of blog audiences. Just as the event was growing into something really meaningful, it was cut short.

At Q&A time, I was so there. I had taken lots of notes during the open forum and asked myself what kind of discussion I would like to see that I could only see from this particular group. Their audiences? Important issues? Offline action? Ultimately I decided I wanted to know what’s next.

What is the future of AAPI blogging and the AAPI community in general? What would they like to see in the future for blogging about/to/for the AAPI community?

Here are some of the things they wanted to see:

• Meet face to face with other bloggers and readers.
• Create better content (and show our strong voice).
• Integration within the AAPI community. As one of the panelists said, “Integration is necessary to become an activist community.”
• Use blogging as a tool for activism: hold community meetups, develop the offline community, have a political impact.
• More use of multimedia in the blogosphere. Let’s see more Asian faces on the interwebs.
• More collaboration between established (and upcoming) blogs. BANANA is the first step. What will be the next?
• Less blogs about celebrity culture (e.g. Jon & Kate).
• Have more diversity in the blogging community. An example of AAPI voices that go relatively unheard are from those living in areas that aren’t heavily populated by AAPIs. Empower people to blog; enable people to have their voice heard.

Despite its shortcomings, the BANANA event showed me that blogging and online media is more than some anonymous writers ranting about things that upset them.  It’s about challenging stereotypes, it’s about finding an audience for the voices that go unheard, and it’s for directing the passion fostered in online communities into offline action.  If the panelists’ visions listed above are any indication, BANANA feels like only the beginning of something even more spectacular to come. Let’s make those visions a reality. We need to take the next step.

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When introducing myself during the Q&A, I mentioned that I was informally representing Racebending.com. It is a prime example of people who have gathered around a single cause in an online community and are driving change offline.  I expected most people in the room to wonder what Racebending was. Instead, I got some smiles, nods and even cheers. My heart leaped out of my chest. Not only did some of these people know who we were; they supported us. They’ve heard our voice.

The last item listed above is the reason for this post. “Empower people to blog; enable people to have their voice heard.” I am just another voice, one that may or may not provide value to existing dialogue. We must remind ourselves that this is a journey, and we all have to begin somewhere right?