BlogHer honored with the Anita Borg Social Impact Award...help us decide how to use the prize money

I'd really love to see the $10,000 go towards helping women blogging from all around the world to come to BlogHer!

-----------------
Liz Henry ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... )
lizzard@bookmaniac.net ( http://liz-henry.blogspot.com/ )
Contributing Editor, World and Latin America
( http://www.blogher.com/blog/liz-henry )

 First, Congratulations On A Job Well Done!

As I have read the thread I love Britt's idea for expanding the available dollars through collaboration. And, it would make next year's conference absolutely fascinating to have this activist bloghers on the agenda.

Also, love the idea of the resource center but as I have had the benefit of reading the entire thread understand why that might not be the best use of the dollars.

 Looking forward to following this story.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness ( http://funnybusiness.typepad.com/funnybusiness )

I love the idea of helping International bloggers come to BlogHer. I would further suggest that it be a fellowship that involves more than just a trip to BlogHer. I think it should also support their blogging further by including at least one other conference, a digital camera, a Flip video... I'm just brainstorming, but a blogger's dream package of tools, you know? Maybe we could get a company to donate a laptop.

I imagine administering a fellowship is challenging, but maybe you could set it up like they post their application somewhere specific or on their own blogs and then there's a window where BlogHer members vote.

Liz Rizzo ( http://blogher.org/blog/liz-rizzo )

I blog at Everyday Goddess ( http://everydaygoddess.typepad.com/ ).

is going to be key these days, I think.

Imagine if you could get 100 companies, and make a million dollar investment.  Instead of the Fortune 500, you could be the Fortunate 100 (:

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder ( http://www.blogher.com/member/lisa-stone )
Surfette ( http://surfette.typepad.com )

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News ( http://www.blogher.com/topic/politics-news ).

What comest to mind is how can you grow the money so it is worth more than $10,000 whether through investment (I know it's not a good time for that), savings, or some kind of challenge or matching grant (though I'm not sure how you'd process it).

Or, what if you collaborated with 9 other companies, who each donated $10,000, and together you made a $100,000 investment that made the world a better place.

I like the idea of an international fellowship to BlogHer.  A few years ago I attended the 10th anniversary of International Women's Media Foundation.  At the conference were women who had been supported and sometimes trained by American journalists through the foundation and were now functioning in their own countries in ways women often (and in some countries men too) were not able to do.  It would enrich the conference, yes, but I think it would be a great opportunity for women from Iran or Saudi Arabia or Kenya or someplace in South America to be among women whose freedom is so well-appreciated and used as is a blogger's.  They go home with a whole different sense of self.

Otherwise I'd also vote for BlogHer travel scholarships.  So many wonderful bloggers, who would add so much, can't afford to come.  It's not your still affordable registration rates, it's those damned airplanes!

Cynthia Samuels, Partner
Cobblestone Associates, LLP
Blog and Media Strategies and Content Development Online and on Television   

Don’t
Gel Too Soon ( http://dontgelyet.typepad.com/dontgeltoosoon )

Sorry I've been out traveling everyone, so late to responding as this thread grew.

I was definitely going to respond to the folks talking about using the funds for any kind of marketing. We have a PR firm, we have marketing budget. Sure, it's natural we all want *more* exposure and coverage always, but we're doing OK, and we're focusing on PR, outreach and syndication deals to get the word out about us, our editors and the community at large. We appreciate the sentiment, but you're absolutely right, Shelley, that it's not a proper use of the funds, given we've decided to do something with them that "gives back."

I disagree, however, that bringing international bloggers to BlogHer has commercial benefit to us. I think mostly the down side to this one is that we would all be disappointed at how many international bloggers you could subsidize for $10K (frankly i think it might pay for the travel/expenses of only half a dozen or so, given how outrageous airfares are getting).

I'm here at the Grace Hopper Celebration and one of their event directors was telling me about their scholarship program...she wants to introduce me to some of the international students they've brought to the conference. And she made an impassioned pitch to me that it's a huge deal for *them* to come network, get their voices heard etc.

Lastly re: the tutorials
I tend to agree that eventually that is something we should/could do anyway, but of course there's a long product roadmap and list of priorities, and right now it's only on the wish list. Also, there's the fact it could give us a chance to hire more women to help create the content. To your point about other sites, other resources: I agree, but I also think it's important to respond to our community if they're asking for this, and if they want to come here for it, despite the fact that we point to other places. No resource site will ever be the *only* one. The question is whether we can serve an audience/community if we do one, and i think we probably can. But I tend to agree it's not the best use of these particular funds because a) of the points you make and b) $10K probably wouldn't be enough!!

I tend to personally like the scholarship idea...maybe one for women studying CS and one for women entrepreneurs...but i think that would come with some necessary figuring out of how to execute on it. (As will they all, I suppose.)

Again, thanks everyone for the feedback...keep it coming. It's all very helpful.

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

I know you were an early BlogHer supporter!

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

I hate to come across as a spoil sport, but one thing I think Blogher needs to be careful about is spending the money on something that directly increases the value of Blogher.

Blogher is a for-profit commercial enterprise. To use the money to advertise for Blogher elsewhere, even to pay for people to come to the conferences, could be seen as corporate promotion. As for the reference tutorial section, seems like that would be an effective addition to the site, period, but again it increases the value of Blogher, the corporate entity. Plus, I wouldn't mind seeing women being involved in other sites that provide tutorials and references, rather than grouped in a somewhat isolated manner. There are sites that provide tutorials. There are sites that provide references.

The ideas about funding women's fights elsewhere, a scholarship for young women, a "dream" fund, providing supplies to help women elsewhere, including the women in small business concept -- all of these are outward facing actions, and are good ideas. 

Those are all great ideas, but what about a 1st Annual BlogHer Grant Or Scholarship?  Maybe $2,500.00 could be used to endow it initially and donations could fund it every year after.  

If enough money were raised, it could be used to fund the dreams and goals of women of every age.  If someone wants it for a scholarship for school that would be great.  But if someone always dreamed of taking a month off from work to study art in Italy for a month, it could fund that too. 

Anali's First Amendment

http://analisfirstamendment.blogspot.com/

Do you have to spend the whole thing in one year or can it be divided up and spaced out. If so then many more small seed projects can be tested out to see if they work.

I definitely gronk the tutorial/reference section.

Another idea is to work with an established NGO that focuses on women's educational/technological needs that could set up BlogHer nodes around under serve countries.

The nodes could have computers and access and women in the area could connect to us to access the tutorial/reference sections that they would create to focus on their needs which might not be our needs.

If we cold do something like a BlogHer Memory Alpha project where our history and achievements don't hit the vapors but are in place for anyone to access that would be kinda cool.

Gena - Out On The Stoop ( http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com )

It costs a lot of money to travel across the planet to attend BlogHer and lots of poeple can't spare the bank. Even if they can scrap up the dough to attend, there's a plan ticket and accomodations and incidentals... 

I love the idea of using the $$$ to help those bloggers that couldn't otherwise make it to attend the conference. 

And many congrats.

Pam

Nerd's Eye View ( http://www.nerdseyeview.com )

Fantastic to hear.

I like the idea of using the funds to build a centralized blogging tutorial and resource section.

Would 1-2 brief, fun video tutorials be an option?

It was a long time in the coming as you said but your case only got stronger with the passage of time. It's well deserved. 

Mari Kuraishi
GlobalGiving
The beginning of spring ( http://mashenkadc.blogspot.com )

Congratulations.   So great to see your hard work recognized.

 I'm leaning w/ Deb :

"Either way, I'd prefer to see the investment used in a manner that ties the support to the BlogHer community."

Maybe something along the lines of helping to furhter fund attendance to conferences?  I'm looking at my credit card debt wondering how in the world I can justify adding to it to attend the D.C. conference.   

That way maybe someone who is new can get some help in starting -- and some who are more seasoned can get to their next steps etc etc??

Or, even to help fund conferences in the "smaller" places.

And?  the added benefit of getting to actually see faces in this online world we all could use a real 'face time' break from now and then.  (makes us better bloggers, no??)

If I had to pick specifically from your list - I'd say the tutorial, or even better maybe a blogging "helpdesk" sorta thang.

Thanks for asking what we think.   I enjoy all the points of view and am sure you guys will figure out what is best for all!!   I'm just happy you got it  : )

 Cheers!

Maryan Pelland
online at www.demystifyingdigital.com/blogs/DigitalGrandparent ( http://www.demystifyingdigital.com/blogs/DigitalGr... )
and www.womendaybyday.com ( http://www.womendaybyday.com )

Maryan Pelland
online at www.demystifyingdigital.com/blogs/DigitalGrandparent ( http://www.blogher.com/I reviewed a new product for teachers and freelancers, AlphaSmart'smobile, portable word processor, at one of my regular gigs, DemystifyingDigital.com. My laptop weighs as close to a ton as a laptop should and I tried this portable AlphaSmart NEO to 
see if, as a writer, I could benefit. What I found was that AlphaSmart is an excellent tool for writers and for students – high school or college level. It’s compatible with Macs and PCs. NEO Offers Word Processing Portability for Writers and Students 
AlphaSmart NEO has an extraordinarily long battery life – 
about 600 hours per three disposable AA batteries. It has features like a built-in 
calculator, "applets" for cool classroom functions, and a relatively small 
footprint. 
 I tucked it into my knapsack and went off to the lake shore to do some 
writing. There was a little bit of a balancing act since 
the unit feels like a small keyboard with no heft behind it to 
balance it on your knee. In other words, if I typed fast, the thing would jiggle 
all over. Jostle right to the ground if I wasn’t careful. But I decided it 
wasn’t made to be used at the beach. 
In a couple of hours I had written about as much as I would have in the 
office. 
 AlphaSmart NEO can’t count words, jump to the end or beginning of a page or line. It 
doesn’t format text, insert anything or create tables. Technology is so complex 
these days it was odd for me to think in terms of plain text formatting, but I enjoyed 
the freedom of working outside the house for a while. My laptop's short battery life and weighty equipment. Note For Te achers NEO would probably be an awesome gadget in a classroom setting. 
We women teach, we take classes, we audit courses. NEO lets teachers monitor 
assignments within a group of students, upload finished work to her computer for 
review, add comments and send it back. The teacher can design quizzes, 
distribute them and reclaim results. If I still taught, I'd lobby for this system 
in my classroom. 
My NEO has nearly a hundred docs on it now – I have to upload them to 
my computer to finish, polish and publish them. Writing is my business. I do a lot of it. So the extra steps are cumbersome, but again, I like the freedom. For 
journaling, writing personal snail mail for frequent corresponders, or for taking 
notes at meetings and so forth, AlphaSmart’s portable word processor is a fair option. )
and www.womendaybyday.com ( http://www.blogher.com/I reviewed a new product for teachers and freelancers, AlphaSmart'smobile, portable word processor, at one of my regular gigs, DemystifyingDigital.com. My laptop weighs as close to a ton as a laptop should and I tried this portable AlphaSmart NEO to 
see if, as a writer, I could benefit. What I found was that AlphaSmart is an excellent tool for writers and for students – high school or college level. It’s compatible with Macs and PCs. NEO Offers Word Processing Portability for Writers and Students 
AlphaSmart NEO has an extraordinarily long battery life – 
about 600 hours per three disposable AA batteries. It has features like a built-in 
calculator, "applets" for cool classroom functions, and a relatively small 
footprint. 
 I tucked it into my knapsack and went off to the lake shore to do some 
writing. There was a little bit of a balancing act since 
the unit feels like a small keyboard with no heft behind it to 
balance it on your knee. In other words, if I typed fast, the thing would jiggle 
all over. Jostle right to the ground if I wasn’t careful. But I decided it 
wasn’t made to be used at the beach. 
In a couple of hours I had written about as much as I would have in the 
office. 
 AlphaSmart NEO can’t count words, jump to the end or beginning of a page or line. It 
doesn’t format text, insert anything or create tables. Technology is so complex 
these days it was odd for me to think in terms of plain text formatting, but I enjoyed 
the freedom of working outside the house for a while. My laptop's short battery life and weighty equipment. Note For Te achers NEO would probably be an awesome gadget in a classroom setting. 
We women teach, we take classes, we audit courses. NEO lets teachers monitor 
assignments within a group of students, upload finished work to her computer for 
review, add comments and send it back. The teacher can design quizzes, 
distribute them and reclaim results. If I still taught, I'd lobby for this system 
in my classroom. 
My NEO has nearly a hundred docs on it now – I have to upload them to 
my computer to finish, polish and publish them. Writing is my business. I do a lot of it. So the extra steps are cumbersome, but again, I like the freedom. For 
journaling, writing personal snail mail for frequent corresponders, or for taking 
notes at meetings and so forth, AlphaSmart’s portable word processor is a fair option. )

You have to make some noise before people can hear you and the noise has to be made in the right places. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

All of the writers at blogher, and, indeed, women writers world over have a lot of beautiful and important noise to make. I think at least part of this money would be well used in promoting the site, the idea, the writers. 

The people behind the scenes at blogher are moving in good directions - they've captured some good keywords at Google - like women blogs, blogs by women. There are other words to get - women writers, for example - to be nailed down. Print and broadcast advertising could be considered.

As another writer said here, the more we grow the more we all benefit.

mkp

This is great news for us, but I can't think of how BlogHer should spend the money.  The only thing that comes to mind is helping village women who are trying to create a sustainable livelihood market their wares better through technology.  I think of this because LOTUS by LOA ( http://www.blogher.com/node/19693 ) intrigued me.  There's so much work to do. I also like the idea of using the money to bring activist bloggers from other countries to the annual BlogHer conference.

Nordette ( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette ) is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link ( http://bigsole.blogspot.com ).

( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette )

Congratulations.

The Anita Borg Institute is focused on women in technology and the sciences, so it would be nice to see that money used somehow to promote women in both. I was discouraged to see the speaker list at the Ajax Experience and how there is only one woman speaker (http://ajaxexperience.techtarget.com/east/html/spe... the events that started all of this, including Blogher, years ago. 

Despite the success of Blogher, there hasn't been progress for women in technology outside of a few genres, such as Drupal (yeah, Drupal). 

However, I'm not sure the problem is such that money will provide a solution, so perhaps sponsorships for women in countries like Iran and elsewhere who have been fighting dangerous battles for equality would be a better use of the money.

This is a well-deserved tribute to BlogHer. Congratulations to our intrepid leaders.

Of the ideas you presented in the original post, I really like bringing activist bloggers from developing nations to BlogHer '09 or building a centralized blogging tutorial and resource section on BlogHer.com.

Another idea is to use some of that money promoting BlogHer itself. Advertising, PR, whatever. As BlogHer grows, so do we all grow.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt )
Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ )
First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com/ )

My vote would be for sharpening the saw, and make BlogHer even more effective as a "social impact" effort.

Laura Scott, BlogHer Contributing Editor, Tech/Web
design ( http://pingv.com ), snap ( http://scatteredsunshine.com ), blog ( http://rarepattern.com ), tweet ( http://twitter.com/lauras )

I'm getting some votes via Twitter too!

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

Thanks for adding that idea, Sassymonkey. So, I assume you mean a paid internship ;)

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

"I'd prefer to see the investment used in a manner that ties the support to the BlogHer community."

That's good feedback, and yes, our ideas did go from very focused on BlogHer to not at all focused there. Wonder how others feel on that?

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

Definitely a tutorial/resource section would be awesome!  I also agree with Debra that using some to sponsor some attendees to the conference next year would be fabulous too.  

Congratulations!!

Laurie, mom of 3 boys and

blogger about my VA business ( http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog ) and my life as a mom ( http://vamomof3boys.com/blog )!

Congratulations, Elisa, Jory, Lisa and all BlogHer staff! What an accomplishment. And I love that you are, of course, putting the prize back into action.

This is my favorite idea you mentioned: "We could use the money to fund bringing activist bloggers from
developing nations to BlogHer '09. Every year we get emails from all
over the world from amazing bloggers who are blogging in the face of
enormous challenges and would love to join us and meet their blogging
sistren"

Again, congratulations classy women! 

Lara

Notions of Identity ( http://www.notionsofidentity.com )

But first, congratulations to you, Lisa and Jory. We've always known you rocked and it's great to see others recognize that.

Those are all excellent ideas and I cannot choose so I'm going to throw out another one. What about BlogHer internships? If I were still a student I'd love the opportunity to work with in BlogHer offices for a summer or semester.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca/ ).

May I say it's an honor to work with you three? And this award is phenominal.

My personal choices for the prize would be:

A Blogging tutorial that goes through the basic how-tos, the dos and don't, but expands into the audio, video, mobile blogging technologies that are becoming the future.

At the same time, bringing bloggers from all parts of the world (and helping low-income bloggers from the US) to attend the annual conference would be fabulous too.

Either way, I'd prefer to see the investment used in a manner that ties the support to the BlogHer community.

Deb

Debra
A Stitch In Time ( http://astitchintime.blogspot.com )
Weight for Deb ( http://weightfordeb.wordpress.com )

Congrats!! A dedicated tutorial and resource section sounds like a great idea and would help a lot of folks who are either new to blogging, or may want to learn more on incorporating different tools on their current blog. 

A. L. Venable is a Random Citizen. She primarily writes at Dimple and a Smirk (dot) com ( http://www.dimpleandasmirk.com/ ) and Our PDX Network ( http://ourpdx.net/ ).

Yeah, that's a hard one. I think you would have to decide how to allot the money into segments or prizes...would you want to go large or small. And yes, I think there would have to be a deciding committee. It would have to be like a grant application--they could ask for specific technology and discuss the how they would apply it. It would have to be one of those more generous "looser" grants, since you couldn't really force someone to keep blogging, right? Although perhaps in exchange they could do some posting on Blogher about their issue they cover or where they live.

Perhaps some criteria, such as they have been blogging for six months to a year and most posts fall into a specific category such as women's rights, politics, feminism, or an ethnographic perspective of a place that gets little media coverage?

SJ also writes at I, Asshole ( http://iasshole.org ).

I love that idea SJ, but I do have a really basic question: How do you think we should administer that? I guess it applies to any idea that involves choosing to allocate to individuals: How to choose, and how to deliver the benefits? Committee? First come, first served to valid applicants? What crtieria makes it a "valid" application? etc. etc.

Hmmm.

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

Congratulations Ladies!

I love the idea of bringing activist bloggers from around the world to BlogHer '09.  That way when they return home, they'll have ideas to inspire other women and girls in their own countries and the result of that investment will broaden.

And/or, I'd love to see something to get more girls involved in writing, technology and computers.  Maybe a BlogHer contest where teen girls can submit essays about their lives and how they interact with technology.  The prizes could then be cash, computers or laptops.

Megan

Megan Smith ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... )
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )
Megan's Minute: Quirky Commentary Around ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

I am thinking about those activist bloggers in far off places. Could some of them use a digital camera, a scanner, a RAM upgrade, hosting, or help paying telecommunications bills? Perhaps they could apply for mini-grants so they could keep having their voices heard.

SJ also writes at I, Asshole ( http://iasshole.org ).

Paid internship indeed.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca/ ).