  The organizers of BloggerCon II urlLink published the schedule for day one of the conference and then urlLink invited commentary on the blank spaces. You know about my stump, so I had to contribute to the discussion. Now that I think about it, they neglected blogging in the classroom, too. Anyway, here's my part: I've felt the parameters of this conference really neglect two critical uses of blogs: social commentary and social outlet. Together these two areas represent a general lack of attention to the social sciences that I tend to be sensitive to as an anthropologist. Perhaps a desire to make blogs matter in the RW is behind our lack of recognition as bloggers of social commentary. But what is a blog if not a mirror of the world right now alongside a little witty commentary and personal affectation? Social critique is a little highbrow for the term, but is the most apt term I've found for blogs since reading an anthropology text from the early 90s titled Ethnography as Social Critique.
It discusses the value of a society mirroring itself and attempting to apply the reflective lense to enough of a degree that we might learn something about who we are and where we're heading. Maybe because the planners are lucky enough to be presented with plenty of RW social outlets every day, they don't realize the amazing lifeline blogs represent to those of us that don't get the opportunity every day to interact with others in the RW.
This is personal because I'm a work-at-home mom, for others (stay-at-home moms, other work-at-homers for various causes, medical shut-ins--mental or physical) the isolation is just as painful, and blogging is just as helpful. Women represent the majority of bloggers, and mom-blogs are clearly a contributing cause. Ignoring this valuable social function of blogs is a clear disservice. 
