BlogHer 2006 - "So you have this crazy idea:..."

BlogHer Day One

Session 1 - blurb.com will take typepad blogs and transform them into a book. Prices start at $39.95 for a single 40-page. You can also configure a book and make it available for sale to visitors of your site.

Sometimes people come to blogs to "write" and sometimes people come to community blogs to "participate" (commenting, for example). What't the difference in Web 2.0?

Community blogging as a means of bringing together people with commonalities - identities or issues. Women from Stanford University Law School created one to build a support network.

How to organize a community blog? Technical lead (implementation). Bring users together to determine focus and/or flow. Do they need to be fully defined before they are implemented? Not necessarily. Mostly need a "core focus" and allow it to grow organically.

Community blogging for talking done and evolving. Community blogging for move to action not fully explored.

The New Media Collective began in Feb 2006. It is an information network for people of color. It is a media education site. Founder Melanie Morgan created site after visiting http://www.realpeoplenetwork.com/. She recognized very few people of color were represented. She allows others contribute content.

Share your story place where parents with children in neo-natal units at hospital. Blogs under "Share your story" tab. Two options: 1) short story option 2) blog option. Quickly blog option became stronger preference. "No blog goes un-responded to", March of Dimes ensures every post is responded to in 24 to 72 hours. Accessible - must register to get blog, but can view without authentication. They also have people that sift through data to determine if there are people in crisis to offer them services.

Three general forms of blogging:
1) One Blog/Blogger (a community gathers around an individual; power centralized with primary blogger; often spawn off communities of their own;
2) Central/Community Centric (a purposeful collection of independent blogs)
3) Site that invites bloggers in (aggregation in one frame; blogher site is an example; power is centralized by who controls the tools)

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