blogher

Come visit our new site: http://blogher.org

OOPS - if you're looking for the BlogHer '06 Conference site, you've come to the wrong place! (This is the historical record of our 2005 conference.)

To find out more about BlogHer and our 2006 conference, join us here: http://blogher.org.

One more SXSWi panel is under BlogHer's wing

After some participants had to withdraw somewhat last minute, Hugh from SXSW Interactive asked BlogHer if we would like to help him rescue a panel that seemed right up our alley.

Given that the panel is entitled "Increasing Women's Visibility Online: Whose Butt Should We Be Kicking?", how could we refuse!? We are excited about it because it is definitely going to be right up there with the other four panels BlogHer is co-producing...and featured some kick-ass women with a variety of viewpoints on the subject of women's visibility. Here are the deets:

BlogHer/SXSW Session #5: Increasing Women's Visibility on the Web: Whose Butt Should We Be Kicking?
Sunday March 12th 11:30-12:30

Where are the women online? Stop asking "where are the women?" and think bigger: Why don't women have a public profile equal to their contributions? And whose fault is it? To answer this question, BlogHer has recruited women who perceive the issue in very different ways...and therefore propose very different solutions.

Join Ayse Enginer in conversation with Liz Henry, Tara Hunt, Virginia Debolt and Jan Kabili, and the 5th panelist: the BlogHer audience.

Day One Schedule and Call for Speakers

I am thrilled to unveil our BlogHer Conference '06 schedule for Friday July 28th, Day One of the Conference.

First a word on Day One's purpose:

Day One is about the 'education' part of the BlogHer mission to create an opportunity for all kinds of women bloggers to pursue exposure, education, and community. After last year's conference we received a lot of valuable feedback, and we got some very strong feedback that you wanted more and deeper technology discussions...and hands-on learning. That's Day One.

The Day One Keynote:

Day One Keynote is a conversation with two great technology leaders. BlogHer Marnie Webb will engage Caterina Fake (founder of Flickr and currently with Yahoo!) and Meg Hourihan (founder of Pyra, which became Blogger) in a conversation with the audience about "What's Next?" We'll talk about what's next in tech (and hopefully hear whether they think "Web 2.0" is hype? Or hip?) We'll also talk about what's next after you grab the brass ring...how do you find your next challenge? In the BlogHer spirit we will be collecting questions and comments beforehand and during the session, so this will be a Keynote Conversation, not a coupla Keynote speeches.

Day One Logistics:

First: when we get our online registration site up you will note that Day One and Day Two will be available as separate days or as a two-day conference. So, never fear, if there are those of you who don't want to take a Friday off to get geeky all day long, but can't wait to show up on Saturday, you will be able to.

Second: every session will be focused on learning how, and doing hands-on. For some sessions (e.g. audio, video, photography) we will publish an equipment/software list beforehand. We will do a series of repeated workshops, so people get an opportunity to attend as many of the sessions as possible. We will have not just a primary instructor, but additional mentors available, so people can get help during the hands-on portions of a session.

Call for Speakers: Deadline is 02/15/06:

You'll note that only a handful of these sessions have pre-assigned instructors. We are in talks with other folks, but mostly the opportunity is wide open. If you are interested in speaking, or want to recommend a speaker, for a particular session, please contact me ASAP. Remember these sessions will be hands on. Every attendee should leave a workshop feeling they did something with their own two hands.

The deadline for submission will be 02/15/06. We will be ready to announce the full schedule in time for BlogHer's descent on Austin for SXSWi.

What about Day Two?

Day Two is still percolating and its draft will be published soon. Day Two will have both BlogHer-defined programming and Room of Your Own opportunities, just like last year. And there will be a call for speakers and panel submissions for Day Two as well. Stay tuned.

What about Conference registration:

It's coming. Expect our new flexible conference registration site to be up within about one week.

OK, let me have it: your feedback, your speaker ideas, your wish list for what you would want to get out of the sessions that will be part of BlogHer Day One.

BlogHer Audiocast #8: Blogging for Business

Next in the series of BlogHer Conference '05 session discussions published by IT Conversations, our audio partner, is:

BlogHer Audiocast #8: Blogging for Business

The Blogging for Business discussion was moderator-free (due to a last-minute emergency) and audience participation-heavy. The discussion featured 3 Business BlogHers with great stories to tell, Susan Getgood, Sun Microsystem Blog Diva Mary Smaragdis and Stonyfield Yogurt blogger Christine Halvorson.

From the IT Conversations recording description:

The speakers in this panel represent companies from small and non-technical to large and computer-related, from non-profit to for-profit, and they discuss aspects of business blogging from the corporate culture required to make business blogging successful to the various reasons that drive companies to blog successfully and the sorts of tools that can help make a business's blog more successful.

As always: if you want to be automatically notified when IT Conversations uploads each BlogHer '05 session recording, you can subscribe to an RSS feed to the series here.

SXSW Panel Update: Meet the Jetsons

I've gotten the update on who Anastasia Goodstein is pulling in to sit on her Teen panel at SXSW Interactive:

Elaheh Motahedin, 'Lili,' is an Iranian-American teen girl torn between her homeland of Iran and her new home in Virginia. She writes in a poetic yet personal style on her blog: Bluebird Escape.

Casey Lewis is a senior, but already has her sights set on being the next Anna Wintour. She covers what's in your closet or what should be from a teen fashionista's perspective on her blog Teen Fashionista

Carson Cummings is an 18-year-old in his senior year at Anderson High School in Austin , Texas. Carson is an amateur filmmaker, writer, editor and actor who blogged here.

Lastly Kelly Hoffman, Chairman and CEO of Varsity Media Group – Austin, TX will join the panel.

Blogher hits SXSW Interactive this March

If you've been jones'ing for some BlogHer Conference (and I know that we all can't get enough of going to conferences) then I have just the news to brighten your day:

BlogHer will be co-producing a set of sessions at SXSW Interactive this March in Austin, TX. We've been working with Hugh Forrest from SXSW, and we are pleased to announce the following 4 sessions will be produced under the BlogHer umbrella:

Debate: Public Square or Private Club?
What happens when online communities decide to form a group around identities -- gender, race and/or interest? Are these groups essential to create solidarity and strength for groups ignored by the mainstream, media or otherwise? Or do these groups foster separatism and marginalize members? Do these groups ultimately weaken the strength of identity-based communities by alienating people who don’t “belong” in a group but are deeply interested in it? What works best—a public square or a private club?

Moderated by Lisa Stone, who is joined by BlogHers, including Sour Duck and Tiffany Brown, consider this a sequel to the BlogHer Debate from Conference '05.

And speaking of sequels...

We Got Naked...now what?
The alternate title could be "Getting Naked...at work." Some bloggers argue that you only become effective by putting more skin in the game, but is there such a thing as being too naked? Can you open your kimono in one blog post, and wear a button-down shirt in another? This panel showcases bloggers who opted to bring their personal lives onto their professional blogs, with varying degrees of success.

I'm moderating this panel, so that the Queen of Naked, Ms. Jory Des Jardins can sit on the panel, along with BlogHers Laina Dawes, Evelyn Rodriguez and the Phantom Professor herself!

Then we have two panels that will explore the effect of blogging and online communities at either end of the human life...

Meet Judy Jetson: How technology is transforming 21st century teens
What happens when teens do what teens have always done (write diaries and poetry, gossip, bully, hook-up, cheat) using interactive technologies (such as SMS, blogs, social networking sites and IM)?

YPulse editor Anastasia Goodstein leads a panel of teens in this discussion, which is being made possible by generous sponsorship from Beinggirl, a Proctor & Gamble Web site. If you have read the recaps form the Web 2.0 conference, or were in the audience at BlogOn, you may have noticed how we all inevitably forget what we were like in our teen years! Prepare to be reminded.

And last, but not least...

Respect Your ElderBloggers
The hottest frontier for technology may be the retirement home. As the baby boomer generation ages, creating the largest elderly market segment in history, blogs and online communities are reducing the isolation and mental stagnation people risk as they age and their social circle dies off. Are today’s developers of tools, services and networks considering the needs of senior boomer-users as they work on features, user interface, marketing and more?

Moderated by Lori Bitter, a Partner at JWT Mature Market Group and an expert on the aging market segment. Lori will be joined by BlogHers including Ronni Bennett and Marian Douglas.

BTW: you may remember that Hugh (and SXSW) was a big supporter of BlogHer and encouraged us to encourage you to submit ideas. Sounds like you did. If you check out this list of panels and speakers, you will note the following women kicking ass producing other panels of interest to BlogHers:

Heather Armstrong
Julie Leung-Bloggers in Love: Intimacy, Technology and Mask-Making
Shelly Powers, Dori Smith, Kathy Sierra & others-Why Are Women Invisible on the Web: Whose Butts Should We be Kicking?
Nancy White & others-Us and Them: A Blog Conversation Survival Guide
danah boyd
Susannah Gardner

Did I miss anyone?

We are so excited about this set of co-produced panels (and all the other great women-produced panels) and if you were looking for a good excuse to visit SXSW this year I hope we've nudged you in that direction!

The BlogHer Debate that refuses to die

I was sorry to miss ConvergeSouth. It sounded like a great, open, diverse event in the making.

BlogHer Tiffany Brown led a session on "blogging from the Outside" of the established hierarchy. Bora Zivkovic from Science and Politics does a fine job of recapping the conversation and the requisite controversy in this thorough recap.

What struck me was simply the similarity to our opening BlogHer Debate this past July. It's well established that a large number of BlogHers don't care about the debate, don't care about traffic or links, don't care about lists of any sort.

But if you're one of those who care not only about traffic, links and lists, but the meaning behind them, then the fact that this topic keeps bubbling to the top and keeps creating controversy will interest you...as it did me, I freely admit it!

Bora also links to several other recaps and discussions on the topic, so his post is a great place to start.

BlogHer Audiocast #7: Legal Tips: What You Can Get Away With

Next in the series of BlogHer Conference '05 session discussions published by IT Conversations, our audio partner, is:

BlogHer Audiocast #7: Legal Tips: What You Can Get Away With

Law.com content director Jennifer Collins led Lauren Gelman and Wendy Seltzer in a discussion of copyright...your and other writers'.

From the IT Conversations recording description:

This discussion offers resources for bloggers who want to use content legally and protect their own work.

As always: if you want to be automatically notified when IT Conversations uploads each BlogHer '05 session recording, you can subscribe to an RSS feed to the series here.

BlogHer Audiocast #6: Blog Design...grab 'em by the eyeballs!

Next in the series of BlogHer Conference '05 session discussions published by IT Conversations, our audio partner, is:

BlogHer Audiocast #6: Blog Design

Lynda Keeler and Gina Hughes, talk about how even in a world of RSS, blog design still matters.

From the IT Conversations recording description:

The other participants in this session offer examples from their own experience of design pitfalls and successes. Whether you want to do it all yourself, or need tips on how to hire a designer, this session offers information for bloggers wanting to revitalize the look of their sites.

As always: if you want to be automatically notified when IT Conversations uploads each BlogHer '05 session recording, you can subscribe to an RSS feed to the series here.

BlogHer Audiocast #5: Flame, Blame & Shame

Next in the series of BlogHer Conference '05 session discussions published by IT Conversations, our audio partner, is:

BlogHer Audiocast #5: Flame, Blame & Shame

Liza Sabater moderates a panel including Debi (aka Mobile) Jones, Ellen Spertus and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, exploring the down sie of letting it all hang out on the web. (Original audio recorded by Susan Kitchens.)

From the IT Conversations recording description:

The panel discusses whether men and women react differently to flames and whether gender even matters. They talk about ways to create a respectful dialogue with readers, whether there is a constructive place for anger and how to set boundaries. This lively discussion offers opinions, examples and solutions to the downside of open conversation in the blogosphere.

As always: if you want to be automatically notified when IT Conversations uploads each BlogHer '05 session recording, you can subscribe to an RSS feed to the series here.