What?

Day One Breakfast

Welcome to BlogHer '08

"Speed Dating" for BlogHers

Break

Who We Are: Introversion, Blogging and BlogHerAre you a free-spirited and totally open blogger who quakes at the notion of meeting people in person? Does your heart pound when you walk into a room populated by more than half a dozen people...whether you know them or not? Are you convinced that you are the only one who feels this way, and that everyone else already knows each other? Well, we are kicking off the Who We Are track by talking about why blogging and introversion actually go so well together, and by offering tactics for getting past your own pounding heart, sweaty palms and paranoid fantasies to actually enjoy an event like BlogHer and get the most out of it. Several bloggers are willing to get up in front of the rest of you (and you know public speaking is ranked as the #1 fear, right?) and share how they manage to overcome their natural tendencies to hibernate and instead have a great time. Join Shannon Glass, Jane Goodwin, Marilyn Porter, among others, for this discussion.

Track Two: What We DoTBD

What We Believe: Top-notch Political Opinion WritingHow can you communicate your political positions with the highest quality, and then get those opinions propagated...in Op-Eds, blogs and even via blog comments? Two absolute experts, Jennifer Pozner from Women in Media & News and Catherine Orenstein from The Op-Ed Project are on hand to give you intensive instruction.

Last year attendees got just a teaser of Jenn, and we were asked for more. And several BlogHers have taken Catherine's Op-Ed Class and couldn't say enough about it.

If you are among the many women who feel politically activated during these very "interesting" times, then attend this session and make the most of your passion!

How We Communicate: FAQs for Beginning BloggersFAQs=Frequently Asked Questions, and we've lined up a team of expert bloggers who know how explain the basics across many blogging platforms, protocols and philosophies. Do you have questions about the best tools? The right design? The latest in blogging "etiquette"? Look no further than these 4 kindly experts to give you the answers: Nelly Yusupova from WebGrrls Int'l, Melanie Nelson (aka Chilihead from Blogging Basics 101), Michele Mitchell (aka Scribbit) and Shazia Mistry.

MommyBlogging: Is MommyBlogging Still a Radical Act?Let me give you a bit of BlogHer history. Back in 2005, at our very first conference, Alice Bradley brought the house down by declaring "MommyBlogging is a radical act!" Of course in 2006 we had to have a session by that very name. By 2007 it was clear that MommyBloggers had claimed a powerful presence in the blogosphere, and that they were being recognized as powerful consumers by companies. Last year's MommyBlogging session, The State of the Momosphere addressed the commercialization head on. Much to the dismay of some who still wanted to focus on the cultural and community aspects of MommyBlogging. Having a MommyBlogging track allows us to serve more interests, and we're kicking off the track with this look at the culture and community of MommyBlogging. Lindsay Ferrier recently made us all stop and think about it with her post "The State of the Mommyblog", and Lindsay is on hand to moderate this discussion with Polly Pagenhart (aka Lesbian Dad) and others. Will commercial influence come up? Probably. But it will be a different panel that delves into the ethics, policies and guidelines MommyBloggers set for themselves (and would like to set for the marketers reaching out to them.) This is a panel that focuses on what made MommyBlogging such a powerful community force, before they became a powerful commercial force.

Track Six

Lunch

Who We Are: Race and Gender: What are the lessons of 2008No, this actually isn't a re-hash of the Obama vs. Hillary debate. But certainly Election 2008 has made us all look at our own (and society's, and the media's etc. etc. ) attitudes about race and gender.BlogHers proved that you can indeed discuss these incredibly sensitive topics without it descending into anarchy or hate speech, but it's tough. Please join Maria Niles, Jill Miller Zimon, Cynematic, Adele Nieves and Caille Millner as we discuss what we've learned about ourselves...and about others so far in 2008.

What We Do: DIY Content Syndication and PromotionThere are now so many ways to get your word out, that every blogger has to make the decision: how far and wide do I want to distribute my content? Do I want it to be automated or selective? When do I start to feel like a spammer, not a sharer? Which tools are really effective, and which are just taking my content for free? How do I track my words, once I've set them free? How do I still protect my content? What about audio and video? We'll be joined by users like Anne-Marie Nichols and Gwen Bell who use the tools...and have opinions, backed up by data, about them all, and Esther Brady (aka faintstarlite) who will be on hand to talk video distribution.

What We Believe: How To Take Names and Be Taken Seriously as a Political BloggerPolitical Bloggers, like any bloggers, have a tremendous amount of freedom...to write about what they want, to be as partisan as they want, to shed the objectivity that traditional reporters have (or some would say that they must pretend they have) and to pursue the art of persuasion. Not all political bloggers get taken seriously, however, and while there is that awesome freedom, political bloggers who want to be taken seriously also have an awesome responsibility in this current era of participatory media.

The panel before this one will be a political opinion writing workshop, but this panel will focus more on the aftermath of publishing your writing...how to deal with the ensuing conversations professionally, how to get your work out there and considered reputable and serious...no matter how partisan you might be. Join Morra Aarons-Mele, Shark Fu, Mona Gable and other political bloggers who are taking names, and being taken seriously.

How We Communicate: Why Bloggers (Even Non-Programmers) Should Participate in Open Source ProjectsOpen source projects are a source of opportunity. Skill development, networking, career opportunities, confidence-building...you name it. A lot of us don't really know how these projects work, and we don't really know whether there's a way for us to participate if we're not actual code jockeys. This session will evangelize getting involved, at some level, with the one or more of the many open source projects out there. Join Technetra CEO, Alolita Sharma, Freebase community director Kirrily Robert and other open source advocates for this practical, and hopefully inspiring, session.

MommyBlogging: Public Parenting & PrivacyWhile we will definitely talk about the basics of online security...and how to actually choose how much privacy you're willing to sacrifice...we're also going to talk about another aspect of this hot topic. When, if ever do your kids start to have a right to know that you're blogging about them, and what you're blogging about them? Have your feelings about blogging your children's lives changed as they've gotten older? And do your feelings change your blogging? We'll talk to bloggers on different sides of the issue; we'll talk to Chris Jordan about the unfortunate and very real reasons she protects her privacy online; we'll talk to Shannon Lowe, whose children are getting old enough to weigh in on what she should and should not blog about them, and we'll talk to Shino Tanaka, a former police officer and current online community manager, about where danger lies and how to protect oneself.

Track Six

Break

Who We Are: Blogging with a Global PerspectiveWe all talk a good game about how blogging can help us communicate across time and space...and certainly across national borders. But do you know how big your audience outside your own country is? And do you bear your global audience in mind when blogging? What does it or would it change about your blogging to be a little more accessible and welcoming to a truly international community? Sometimes it's just little things...sometimes you can do more. If the blogosphere is a global village this panel will make sure you're putting out a welcome mat to the world. Join Nicole Simon (blogging from Germany), Holly Burns (a British ex-pat blogger), Claudia Mar Ruiz who blogs for the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, and others.

What We Do: Writing WorkshopBlogHer co-founder Lisa Stone will lead this workshop.

What We Believe: Two Concurrent Sessions: Progressives (with NetRoots Nation) & Conservatives
Engaging those outside the political blogosphere in political discourse...and action: A Video Link with the NetRoots Nation Conference in Austin, TX>

Is 2008 the year when every blogger is a proof point for the old battle cry that "the personal is political"? We are seeing a tremendous amount of interest and action around political issues and causes from bloggers who usually steer clear. They are galvanizing their readers to be more engaged and get more involved in a variety of ways. We'll talk about some of those ways with Twitter rabble-rouser Erin Kotecki-Vest, Momocrat Joanne Bamberger and a woman who exhorts us all to exercise the Power of our Purse, Diane MacEachern.

Conservative Women on BlogHer and beyond

BlogHer is an omnipartisan organization, so we couldn't partner up with NetRoots Nation without giving equal time for a conservative meeting of the minds.

How We Communicate: Video BloggingFeaturing both an informational overview and four hands-on stations, this year's video blogging session will be both practical and personalized. Featuring Cheryl Colan, Liana Lehua and Roxanne Darling.

MommyBlogging: Mirrors: Ours, the Media's, Our Cultures' and Our Kids'We blog about our own self-images a lot, there's no doubt about that. But a lot of us also blog about our kids’ self-images. Our kids, at some point, become aware of their own physical attributes...and the physical attributes of other people too. Often we’re in the position of reacting to negative stuff they bring home. “You’re ugly, you’re too fat, your eyes are wrong, your color is different than your mom's” etc.

Sometimes it’s really hard to help our kids if we don’t feel good about ourselves. Have you ever been afraid they're actually picking up the wrong messages from your own attitudes about yourself? And how often have you wondered how to effectively counteract the messages we all receive from a society that markets the “super model” look to 9 year old girls and plastic surgery as a Sweet 16 present?

Children of all races, sizes, ages, and body types deserve to feel good about themselves: how they look, and how their bodies feel. Moderator Laurie Toby Edison will talk with Tracee Sioux, Kelly Wickham, Glennia Campbell and the collective wisdom in the room about strategies to help our kids like themselves as they are.

Track Six

Break

Welcome Reception

What?

Breakfast

Morning Keynote

Who We Are: Women Without Children and the BlogosphereYou might be childfree by choice because you always knew you didn't want children, or it might have snuck up on you, and you decided or work to be content as you were. Either way there are definitely times when it's like being a fish out of water in this society...online and off. Lisa Stone likes to say that "the only thing harder than being a mother in this culture is being a woman who chose not to be a mother." Join Laurie White, Teri Tith, Suebob Davis and Laura Scott, who have a lot to say on the subject!

What We Do: Taking Care of BusinessIf you're a blogger, and your blog contributes to your livelihood...whether through direct monetization or as a platform to get freelance and consulting work...then it's a business. But what does that mean? What should you be thinking about? Three experts are on hand to get down to brass tacks. Starting with taxes. Kelly Phillips Erb is back to give you the low-down. Linsey Krolik will answer your legal questions, including when incorporation makes sense. Finally Sabrina Parsons will try to demystify the number one question many freelancers and consultants have: How do I quote for my services and build a proposal that attaches the appropriate value to my time and the work I do?

What We Believe: Beautiful Blogging and Positive PostingIt's easy in today's blogosphere to focus on the controversy and the commercialism. Hey, some people think there's a lot of that at and on BlogHer. But blogging is not just about ranting, and blogging is not just about raking it in. Blogging can also be about love, trust, positivity, hope, empowerment, quality over quantity, and transformations, global and personal. This session will give you some concrete examples of bloggers trying to contribute to their blogging communities, no matter the size or scope. Kyran Pittman hastens to tell us that "beautiful doesn't mean pretty...it's not all about rainbows and unicorns here!" Kyran is joined by some women working on beautiful and positive projects: Krystyn Heide from the Hope Revolution, Alyssa Royse from Just Cause It!. Jen, the leader of the JustPost project, found on her blog one plus two and Lucrecer Braxton, who hosts a monthly Art Slam initiative.

How We Communicate: Building Traffic via Content and CommunityElise Bauer is back to give one of the most requested sessions...Building Traffic. Elise focuses on content and community, with a dash of technology know-how thrown in for good measure. The space keeps evolving, and so does Elise's presentation, so whether you've seen it before or not, you'll find new things to learn.

MommyBlogging: The Commercial Momosphere: Policies, Ethics and OutreachYou probably remember last year's Blogosphere Code of Conduct meme. One code of conduct could probably never apply to the blogosphere...but do you have a personal code of conduct? Where are your boundaries? And do you publish them? Moreover, there has been lots of talk lately about how marketers blow it with MommyBloggers (and other bloggers too, for that matter.) Horror stories can be fun, but what if we could change the game? Do you have a code of conduct you wish marketers would abide by? Do you publish it? Do you outline how to contact you and who should bother? And let's be honest: Does your reaction totally change based on what you're being pitched, not on the quality of the pitch? Not every MommyBlogger is interested in that dread word "monetization." But for those who are, it will certainly be useful to talk about how we balance community, content and commercialism. Join Lotta Svoboda, who has tried many different ways to make money with her blog and finally found the most success as an Etsy seller, Devra Renner, who is a firm believer that she doesn't make money with her blog, but because of her blog, plus other MommyBloggers who have a variety of approaches to the commercialization conundrum.

Track Six

Lunch

Who We Are: "Coming Out" via BlogNo, this doesn't only apply to the most common meaning of "coming out", but rather to taking the brave step to reveal and address something highly personal to your blog community. The risks are real, but what about the rewards? Susan Mernit will moderate a discussion with some very brave bloggers. Stephanie Quilao blogs about health and a positive body image. Making the decision to blog a bulimia relapse risked losing a core audience who counted on her to be a voice of body image reason. How did they react? JenB has been up front about both mental and physical health issues on her blog. Does she feel supported...or judged? Finally, Sarah Dopp did launch a new project about being gender queer. At first she used a pseudonym, although she shared the site with people she knew. Eventually she came out and associated her real name with the site. Was there fallout? Or none at all. Find out how coming out via blog turned out for these women, and share your own story.

What We Do: There's More to Monetization than AdvertisingIt sounds a little odd coming form us, given BlogHer has an ad network, but in fact there are other ways to make money via blogging, and this year we're going to explore some of them. Join these bloggers who have gone off the advertising path: Stephanie Agresta is an affiliate program expert, Kristen Hammond has become an e-commerce queen, Lynn Truong started her own blog network and is wiling to share the rather unusual business model she came up with for her and the bloggers who joined her, and Dana Loesch has started a local blogger network that can co-exist with her other blog advertising (OK, yes, the last two do make money from advertising, but the point is that they started these networks, they are their babies and a new business for each of them...and one could probably be started in other regional or content areas, so why not by you?)

What We Believe: Tools for Online Fundraising and ActivismMarnie Webb will lead this conversation about what tools are out there to help you, the individual blogger, raise funds and galvanize action around the issues you are most passionate about. Catherine Connors, who has been at the helm of the BlogHers Act Canada initiative since its inception will discuss how they created their monthly challenges, and how they keep momentum going. Donna Callejon will highlight the flexible features of Global Giving, the online fundraising service working with BlogHer on our BlogHers Act Mother's Day initiative and leading social media consultant to non-profits, Beth Kanter, will talk about what has worked for her on her personal sites and for the organizations she has worked with.

How We Communicate: PhotographyAuthor, blogger and photographer Me Ra Koh is on hand to share as much as she can in her allotted session time. On the theory that fewer subjects with more focus is preferred we've actually got a thread up at BlogHer where we're asking for you to vote on which aspects of photography you'd like Me Ra to focus on. Come on over and share your opinion or at least cast your vote.

MommyBlogging: Blogging About Our Children with Special NeedsIf parenting in general can be isolating, it can be more so when raising a child with special needs. Susan Etlinger, Shannon Des Roches Rosa aka Squid Rosenberg, Kristina Chew, Jennifer Graf Groneberg and Vicki Forman are among those MommyBloggers who are blogging their experiences...and finding both a community...and a cause. Join them. Share your story. Find out how, to quote Vicki, "...to embrace and treasure what makes us all different. And the same."

Track Six

Who We Are: Can You Take Back Naked Blogging?We all know "transparency" is a blogging buzz word. Since 2005 we have been calling personal blogging "naked blogging", and Jory Des Jardins has been our Naked Blogging leader. But what if you have second thoughts about how sheer your window dressings are? If you've encountered something unpleasant because of your openness, something ugly...or even something dangerous, you might be wondering: Can I take it back? Jory will talk to three women who have taken it back to varying degrees. It might be as simple as setting more stringent privacy policies on all your social application tools (and realizing that you actually can set more stringent privacy policies.) It might be going through and masking references to real people and taking down identifiable photos. It might be resolving not to engage in certain kinds of blogging or conversations any more. Or it might get as drastic as trying to eradicate your online identity. Koan, Mena Trott and Tracey Gaughran-Perez have taken some combination of these steps to get a measure of control of their online lives that they felt was lacking...and much-needed. Were they successful at taking back naked blogging?

What We Do: Blog to Book ReduxThis session rocked the house last year, so we're bringing in more bloggers, publishers and agents to dish about your opportunities to turn your blogging talent into a book publishing dream come true. Ellen Gerstein from Wiley & Sons has published many a blogger's book. Jennette Fulda and Rita Arens represent two different blog to book approaches, one a memoir and the other a blogging anthology. Walk away with some insider info and effective tactics you can employ to get yourself on the published author path.

What We Believe: Blogging Community as Healing ForceBlogging creates communities, and they can take action for the greater good. But they can also take action to support individuals. Susan Wagner moderates this discussion with a trio of bloggers who have experienced the healing force of a community of blog readers who hang on their every word, and talk right back...always right when they needed to hear a voice come back out of the wilderness. Hear powerful stories about how Susan (aka WhyMommy), Laurie Kingston, LoveBabz and Christine (aka Flutter) feel the healing force of their blogging communities. Share your story too.

How We Communicate: Open Source Participation: How to advance to the next levelHopefully our panel on why you should get involved with open source will leave you convinced you want to get started...like yesterday. If so, this panel will take it to the next step: We'll take a look at some very popular open source blogging platforms and show you how to start contributing to the projects...and how to get more involved as you go along. Angie Byron will be on hand to cover Drupal. Stay tuned for updates on the gurus who will be on hand.

MommyBlogging: When the Road To Motherhood Is Anything But Smooth: Infertility, Adoption and Miscarriage BloggersJoin Lori from Weebles Wobblog, Monica Mingo, Pamela Tsigdinos and Melissa from Stirrup Queens for a frank discussion about what it's like to realize you are not on the fast track to motherhood. These women are in different stages of dealing with infertility issues, but there is one common thread. They all want or wanted to become a mom, and have found roadblocks and detours obscuring what seems to be so easy for others. Is infertility one of the last things that nobody wants to talk about? Not in this blogging community.

Track Six

Break

Closing Keynote: Living the Truman ShowHeather Armstrong's first book was just released in April (and she has other impending opportunities yet to be announced.) Stephanie Klein is a blogger, an author, and is now in development with NBC working on a pilot for a series based on her autobiographical books based on her autobiographical blog. Heather and Stephanie are the perfect people to close BlogHer '08 with a discussion about what it's like "Living the Truman Show*." Bloggers everywhere are putting their lives online...and now into other media too. We'll talk to them about how it feels to put yourself under that microscope. Heather and Stephanie may live it on a bigger scale than most of us, but haven't you experienced some or all of these symptoms?

Parts of life get nearly fictionalized in your own head as you plan your next blog post about events happening in real-time

People confuse you with a character and forget you're a real human being

As your friends, co-workers and family become more aware of your blog they either get caught up in it all...or get more and more uncomfortable.

By blogging we sometimes put ourselves in a fishbowl. Hilarity (and sometimes other not-so-funny stuff) ensues.

*The Truman Show was a movie from 1998 about a man who discovers his "life" is actually a reality TV show that the entire world is watching.

Closing Reception

What?

BlogHer Open Space, the "Unconference"