A First Date With Nate Berkus- Will He Call Again?

We've all had awkward first dates, right?  This is the story of about 100 design bloggers and Nate Berkus on a first and somewhat blind date...

Many of you already know that the Moggit Girls started a twitter revolution in the design sense when they began a blog and tweet craze around Nate Berkus last summer.  Their bold and inventive shout out to Nate convinced the folks at The Nate Berkus Show to do a design blogger audience on Tues, Sept. 21.  I was excited to be invited! 

 Tickets to hang out with Nate

Almost 100 design bloggers actually sent rsvp's and showed up.  We were graciously invited a week in advance, so many people rearranged their lives to get to the show from all over the map.  I wasn't one of them.  I sent a couple of friends/cohorts (Andrea & Lisa!) that would be my eyes and ears at the show since I couldn't get there.

 
"Holding Room" at The Nate Berkus Show 

They sent me photos that I tweeted, told me about all the great segments and the awesome q&a where Nate opened up to the audience.  There was even a reference to Nate's favorite grays, Dior Gray and Silver Lake, from Benjamin Moore.

   

Dior Gray 2133-40 and Silver Lake 1598 

What was missed was the connection to the design blog audience.  The segments didn't relate to the specific audience or the potential of the free good publicity they could have created because of the special event.  Perhaps it's a chance to get back to basics?  A chance to remember the golden rules of any public engagement?  Acknowledge your guests and know your audience.

Q&A after the taping 

The audience was disappointed and felt undervalued, to say the least, that there was no on-camera acknowledgment of a unique audience filled with people who love to gab about design, color, ideas, and Nate to millions of fans.  Susan Serra, of The Kitchen Designer, calls it as she saw it here.  Whether from LA or Long Island, several people moved around personal and professional priorities and used their own funds to get to the show.  So, there's a great deal of Nate bashing going on right now on twitter.

It was obviously a bad call on The Nate Show's part, but he, as a professional, is still talented and does a great job getting out a message on design to people.  And thanks to all the Nate Day posts, I'm sure he's now becoming an avid reader of tweets and blogs to discover the true perspective of his audience.  THAT is a gift that is not often given.  I wonder if the show is considering how to make it right?  Well, here's a silver lining from Janell.

Design blogs have always been about new ideas and I want to thank the Moggit Girls again for putting this one out there and to Nate for making it happen.  I'd say "yes" to a second date!