Austinist Talks with Heather Armstrong at SXSW Interactive

Austinist Interviews Heather Armstrong from Austinist.com on Vimeo.

Austinist chatted with blogger extraordinaire, Heather B. Armstrong of Dooce.com, earlier this week to talk about blogs, babies and books. Armstrong gained notoriety several years ago after creating a website to chronicle her life in LA and promptly got fired from her job as a web designer for talking smack about her boss. The blogosphere learned vicariously about the risks and consequences of publishing your thoughts online: if you're going to write about your jerk of a boss (or bash your family's religion) online you might just want to step away from the computer and go for a good, long walk.

Eight years later, Armstrong has one of the most popular websites on the internet, two books and a burgeoning media empire. Her popularity is due in large part to her transparency online but also her ability to set boundaries and gracefully navigate the sea of endless critics. The writing style of her posts are often raw which for many of her readers can be immensely cathartic. Oddly enough, Armstrong never meant for any of this to happen. The success of Dooce.com was serendipitous.

Armstrong returns to Austin next month to to launch her new book It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita and is the story of her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child. She says she is looking to spending more time here in Austin, meeting fans and exploring more of our city. Sadly for our entertainment purposes, we won't be able to read the intimate details about her many nights of tequila and 80's music. She and husband Jon are expecting their second child in four months. Congrats!!