Christine

Monetizing Blogs (Notes from BlogHer 2005)

To answer the most vital question....blogging bucks are still coming from ads, affiliate sales (a la Amazon), sponsorship, and tip jars. No magic wand yet for would-be bloggers.

Earning Money

Blogging for Business / Corporate Blogs (Notes from BlogHer 2005)

This panel was very well attended and addressed the emergence of corporate blogs. What's the message? There's no one way to do this successfully. We had three successful models presented, and each is the right one for that company, with that customer, in that industry. (And may I note, the right model for right now.)

How to Blog Naked (Notes from BlogHer 2005)

This was my touchy-feely session of the day - a discussion of how you handle personal revelation online. To line up our semantics, the idea is that identity bloggers = personal bloggers/diarists.

The concept is that if you write a good personal blog, you feel naked. Also: How can we share ourselves online without tripping over security or privacy concerns? The answer seems to be that people take blogging more seriously when it's attached to someone's name. Also, identity and relationship shouldn't get in the way of telling a good story - those things can be changed or left out.

Flame, Blame, and Shame (Notes from BlogHer 2005)

A lunch panel focused on what happens when you write for an audience that can write back. My favorite quirky item that came up: If you're a loyal reader, offer to pay in $1 for every flame that the blogger receives; compensate bloggers for getting up on the block and taking the hits.

Issues that were bubbled up...

Thoughts on Citizen Journalism - Notes from BlogHer 2005

From birds-of-a-feather discussion at today's BlogHer conference:

What IS Citizen Journalism?

Journalism is a loaded word - when do you consider yourself a journalist as vs. a diarist? With blogging, the line is blurry. And no one who is a local contributor likes the phrase "citizen journalism."

Changing the Rules (Welcome to BlogHer 2005)

The welcome session at BlogHer was an interactive dialogue about the rules of engagement for blogging - and whether or not 'bloghers' should play by them.