Blogher '06 Session Discussion: Business Blog Case Studies on Day Two
by Elisa Camahort

10th in our series introducing you to each of our BlogHer Conference '06 sessions and their speakers, and finding out what you would like to get from each session. Today, I bring you from Day Two:

Business Blog Case Studies: Yvonne DiVita, Susan Getgood & Toby Bloomberg lead a rap session with you, the BlogHers, about what has worked (and what hasn't) when implementing blogs for business.

So, what better way to explain the session than to let Susan, Yvonne and Toby explain it?

This panel isn’t about us. It’s about all of us. Call it an “unpanel.� Call it a “rap session.� What we call it doesn’t matter. What we do, does. And what we are going to do is share our business blogging stories and then build a set of business blogging “best practices� based on our experiences. Everyone is part of the panel, and we’ll just do the best we can to keep up with the brilliance in the room.

Here’s the format. The first half of the session is devoted to case studies. Our goal is eight – we have three committed, so we need you BlogHers who plan to attend the session to step up and volunteer to share yours. How do you do that? Respond to this message and tell us “I’m in� and let us know about the blog URL you plan to discuss in July.

During the session you’ll have 5 minutes to tell us the objectives of the blog, what worked, and what didn’t. Giving us the URL in advance lets us all check out the blog so you have to spend less time in exposition. And please, participants, do at least take a look at the blogs volunteered for the session. It will help us all get to the meat, which is creating our best practices deliverable.

Because what’s an unpanel without a collective product [You can see, Susan (who wrote this) really is a socialist at heart.]

The second half of our session is devoted to a group discussion. And we aren’t there just to chat. We want to leave the room with at least the shell of a best practices document –things that work become our best practices, things that didn’t are warning signs. This is the critical piece of this session. Without the deliverable, we’ve had a nice chat. When we create this document, we’ve helped ourselves and others be better business bloggers. Cool, huh.

So, please, if business blogging is your bag, and you are planning to attend this session, consider sharing your story. Yvonne, Toby and Susan can fill the time, but we don’t want to. We want to hear from and talk with you. Way more fun :)

Here are the case studies already on deck. Add yours in the comments. First come, first served. Five spots left, and we will do the session in the order received on the BlogHer site.

Masi Guy at http://masiguy.blogspot.com/
Know Your Bones at www.knowyourbones.com
Our Fathers Who Art in Heaven at http://murak.blogs.com/
Research from Stephanie Hendrik, a doctoral student from the University of Sweden: Stephanie will present research about when companies do inauthentic things with blogs. Things like fake blogs and fake commenters. Due to ethical considerations, she is keeping the the blogs in the study anonymous, but she is preparing a brief abstract for us which we’ll post here.

Also 2 questions we know we’ll get:
Q. Can I talk about more than one blog?
A, Yes, but you still only have 5 minutes. Use them wisely.

Q. Will you stop taking volunteers after the 5 spots are filled?
A. Nope, keep signing up. People may decide to go to another session, or that they don’t really want to speak. Some people may take less than 5 minutes so we’ll have extra time. Who knows what will happen. Until it happens! So please sign up. We’ll go in order received until the time allotted for case studies runs out.

And just so you know who your session hosts are, meet:

[img_assist|fid=576|thumb=1|alt=Toby Bloomberg] Toby Bloomberg is the Diva of Marketing. Toby spoke at last year's conference about how to monetize blogging and keep your credibility. She has certainly seen the highs and lows that come with business blogging. (BTW: did you know that only 15% of our BlogHer 2006 speakers were BlogHer speakers in 2005? Well, now you do.) Toby is also a volunteer Team member for BlogHer. This year she's been helping wrangle our media sponsors, and she'll also repeat her teamwork with Nancy White to help our Birds of a Feather flock together on Day Two.

[img_assist|fid=568|thumb=1|alt=Yvonne Divita] Yvonne DiVita (aka Jane) who made her mark writing a book called Dickless Marketing. As Yvonne would say: what's not to like about that? Yvonne is a consultant who specializes in marketing to women and in helping authors self-publish. Yvonne brings readers back to her blog with regular features like Smart Women Online (and Smart Men Online too.) And Yvonne is also going to be one of our intrepid live bloggers, blogging what's going on outside the meeting rooms!

[img_assist|fid=572|thumb=1|alt=Susan Getgood] Susan is another returnee from last year's BlogHer, where she spoke about Blogging for Business. With a name like Getgood, she just had to name her company Getgood Marketing! Susan is a no-nonsense blogger and marketer, who often hoses us down when we get to enamored of the hype! She helps companies add blogs to their marketing plans, and to see blogs for the indispensable tools they are. Given that business focus, and the nature of this session, I'm guessing she has a case study or two to prove it, no?

So, that's what we are envisioning for the session. But what do you think. What do you want to learn? What do you want to hear? What do you never want to hear again? What would make you attend this session?

And don't forget to propose your case studies...and to check out the case studies already on tap!

Submitted by Elisa Camahort (view blog) on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 1:38pm

Comments

 

Welcoming all bloggers

This session is sure to be exciting - Toby and Susan are the best! I can't wait to hear the input from the audience. That's so key. We learn so much from our clients, and from those around us - that it's amazing how long it's taken mainstream media to 'get it' - and I'm not sure they do, even now. Every conference I go to that promises to include the audience,then doesn't - is one more conference that I X out of my list to attend next year.

We're not like that. It's about you, not us. We'll get the ball rolling and let you take it from there. I expect to learn a lot.

Yvonne DiVita
Blogging for Books

Submitted by y2vonne on Thu, 06/22/2006 - 14:52
 

BlogHer 2005 was the first

BlogHer 2005 was the first conference that I ever attended where the structure was flipped. Altho panelists kicked off discussions attendees contributed about 75% of the conversation. It was exciting to learn from so many people.

I'm thrilled to join Susan and Yvonne - bloggers who are setting the bar for business blogging - and look forward to a lively conversation on how companies are creatively using social media as a marketing tactic.

Submitted by Toby Bloomberg on Sat, 06/24/2006 - 17:43
 

Abstract from Stephanie Hendrick

Here is the abstract from Stephanie Hendrick on her research:

"No one ever said that weblogs are a thing of fact rather than fiction, yet when a weblog is discovered to be written by someone other than who he or she says claims to be, readers often experience a sense of shock or outrage. In this presentation, I will claim that there are two features that make weblog identity unique and lead to the frustration readers tend to feel upon learning that their favourite weblog is written by an ‘other’ identity. The first feature is the creation of identity over time. Weblog identity is created through the summation of individual posts which develops and changes temporally and as the medium changes. As weblog identity changes, the potential of an identity being exposed as false increases. The second feature that makes the creation of weblog identity different than other online identities is how weblogs are conceptualized. While there seems to be a split between those who use weblogs as journals and those who use them as a journalist, the cognitive blends we use in the description and conceptualization of weblogs are heavily based in journalistic tradition; a tradition that lends itself to the true identification of the author. I will end with a case study which identifies markers of authorship from a weblog suspected to be written by an author using an ‘other’ identity and by comparing these markers with markers from the potential ‘real’ identity from a second blog."

Sounds fascinating. I'm really looking forward to it.

Stephanie's personal blog is called 'the sum of my parts' and can be found at http://www.sumofmyparts.org/blog.

Submitted by Susan Getgood on Wed, 06/28/2006 - 05:37
 

"Unpanel" format

We realize that this "unpanel" format is new, and perhaps a bit daunting, especially for people who don't normally speak in public. But, the whole point is to hear from those of you who wouldn't normally submit a speaking proposal to a conference but have great stuff to share, given the chance. Haven't you ever slowly simmered at a conference, sitting in the audience thinking, I know just as much as that putz on the panel? Well, Toby, Yvonne and I are not putzes but we do know that YOU know just as much about business blogging as we do.

Please consider sharing your business blogging experiences with all of us. And if you really don't want to stand up and speak, have I got a deal for you! Tell me about your case study. I'll present it, but you answer all the questions.

Submitted by Susan Getgood on Wed, 06/28/2006 - 05:47
 

Unpanel

Susan,

Count me in for the Unpanel....I am willing to share my experiences good and bad!

Jody DeVere
President
www.waai.com
President - Ask Patty div CarsMagazine.com
www.askpatty.com

Ph: 888 854 9929
Cell : 805-208-1008
Fax: 805- 375-3922
eMail: jdevere@askpatty.com
AIM Screen Name : "askptty"

Submitted by Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty on Thu, 06/29/2006 - 14:10
 

90-Foot Babe

I'd be happy to discuss the character blog I wrote for Lee Dungarees in 2004, if anyone's interested. Yvonne and Toby are already familiar with the project.

Submitted by Average Jane on Mon, 07/03/2006 - 04:46
 

Welcome to the unpanel Average Jane and Jody
DeVere

Thanks for volunteering to share on the unpanel. Please post the URLs of the relevant blogs here so everyone has a chance to see them beforehand. We'll also have them onscreen when you are speaking.

Susan

Submitted by Susan Getgood on Tue, 07/04/2006 - 15:23
 

Sadly, the blog in question

Sadly, the blog in question is no longer live. However, I have screen captures and the full text on file, and I can put them together in the document format of your choice and send it to you, if it'll help.

Submitted by Average Jane on Wed, 07/05/2006 - 11:27
 

Pre-panel materials

Anything you can share in advance of the panel is helpful so we can spend less time in exposition, and more time on the conversation :-)

It can be pretty simple -- a few screen shots are probably plenty to give folks an idea of what the blog was all about.

Submitted by Susan Getgood on Fri, 07/07/2006 - 08:52
 

I don't normally speak in

I don't normally speak in public, which is why the internet is such a great place for me to work, but I have been thrilled with the effects of putting my web hosting business into a blog format, so yea, count me in.

I can't say I have a long term case study, but having had my business in a static format and seeing the results of moving it into a more dynamic element has really opened my eyes to the power of blogging and search engine placement.

Submitted by Someone Else on Wed, 07/05/2006 - 11:06
 

Business blog plan

On the recommendation of my friend and web host, Heather of Very Commerce (above), I added a blog to my business site: Firefly Diapers. I know Heather would point out the effect of the blog on search engine placement, but I like the way a blog brings order to chaos.

I had continually been adding more content as articles, commentary, and so on, but I like the way a blog allows me to add, sort, and resort dynamic content without having to create a permanently coded shape for the whole.

Since this is a business blog, I set out rules from the beginning to keep it business-like rather than making it personal. I would be happy to comment on my blog plan--what has worked and what I have completely ignored.

Submitted by Lori Taylor on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 09:45
 

Welcome to the unpanel Heather and Lori

I'm starting to get really excited about BlogHer. And so very grateful to the BlogHers who have stepped up to participate with us in our un-panel experiment.

To recap:
The materials you provide in advance of the session help folks get familiar with what you plan to discuss. It can be an abstract of research, as did Stephanie, the blog URL, or screen shots/text summary if the blog in question is no longer active.

Then during the first half of our panel, you'll have about 5 minutes to share with everyone
- the objective of the blog
- what worked
- what didn't

The we'll use the second half of the session for a discussion. Do we see any broad themes in what does and doesn't work. Are there warning signs if things are going to fall apart? We'll take the conversation wherever you guys want to go!!

Submitted by Susan Getgood on Fri, 07/07/2006 - 09:02
 

Playing at the boundaries

I included a link to my business blog in my previous post. You will find it here. I will be talking about my Blog Rules (part of my overall business plan) and how I have and haven't followed the plan.

This blog boosts my small business. I created it to nudge myself to test out ideas before creating full-length articles for the site, to add more keyword-optimized content, and perhaps to encourage a bit of interaction with customers--though that happens primarily with the polls I put on my blog.

A couple of my friends write wildly revealing personal blogs. I run screaming from personal blogs and even avoid reading theirs. I sell in the midst of a very chatty, very friendly (probably too friendly) online community. I didn't want to slip into making my business blog too personal, so many of my blog rules are reminders to myself about how far I should take any personal information.

I will add more about my blog rules and playing at the boundaries of the personal and the professional. If you prefer a more thorough summary, I can provide that.

Thanks for letting us jump in. I'm looking forward to the conversation and to the best practices document. I just love those collective documents.

I am trying to figure out how to be two places at once, though, so I don't miss the other great sessions at the same time. Please tell me we can go online or get DVDs of the other sessions. Pretty please.

Submitted by Lori Taylor on Tue, 07/11/2006 - 16:43
 

Come, Come Talk to Us

Wow! See what happens when you let a little thing like 'work' take over your life. I missed all this really great stuff. Susan - when you told me your idea of this panel, I thought it was superb! And I was honored to be asked to serve on the panel - along with you and Toby. Now, I'm humbled. Humbled and excited and thrilled all over again, to see the interest that's emerging. I can't wait to hear the stories. All of this is fascinating - because it's the collective minds of so many smart women, tackling a new, burgeoning business tool - together. Ain't life grand?

Yvonne DiVita
Blogging for Books

Submitted by y2vonne on Sat, 07/08/2006 - 17:04
 

I left my biz blog url (also

I left my biz blog url (also in my signature). If it would be more helpful to those of you who are organizing the unpanel, I can create a short text summary of what I want to share of my experience.

Heather
Business: Small Business Web Hosting Services

Submitted by Someone Else on Sun, 07/09/2006 - 21:46
 

Un-panel here we come!

Ladies,
What great gals you all are. I'm tingling all over in excitement. Ok, I get overly dramatic at times, but hey, that's my thing. I like being dramatic.

I'm not being dramatic when I say women rock the blogosphere, even though too many people don't know it. I'm watching the comments here, and checking other panels, and I keep wishing Blogher was a whole week long.

Yeah, yeah...nobody could probably take a whole week off of work - or, maybe we could. If we brought work with us, and made Blogher part of our 'job'...connecting with the women of the blogoshpere has to impact our working lives.

Meanwhile, we're lucky to have 2 days this year. And, I'm lucky to be part of this panel. I have LOTS of questions for the participants. Be prepared!
Yvonne DiVita
Blogging for Books

Submitted by y2vonne on Tue, 07/18/2006 - 08:18
 

FInal Words about Unpanel, cross posted from
Marketing Roadmaps

Cross posted from Marketing Roadmaps

Well, regular readers have noted that blogging has been ultra-light recently. Reason? Burning the midnight oil on client work so I can enjoy my trip out to BlogHer at the end of the week.

I am really looking forward to the whole conference, but particularly the Saturday "Unpanel" on Business Blogging.

More than once, I've had a bit of angst about this, worrying that maybe nobody would step up and volunteer to share their case studies.

Well, I needn't have worried. My fellow women bloggers have come through and we are going to have some great case studies to get us started. And I hope that EVERYONE attending the session chimes in as we go along. No experts here. Just folk figuring it out as we go along :-)

I've posted a summary doc with all the links to the various case studies on my site. You should also check out the BlogHer post on the session (where this will be cross-posted.) One of the blogs is no longer active, but we have some docs and screen shots, also on my getgood.com site. Please, if you are planning to attend this session at BlogHer, take a few minutes to check out the blogs. While we will have WiFi, we will NOT have an overhead projector during the session.

And don't forget, we have a great giveaway, thanks to Debbie Weil , who couldn't be with us but has donated a copy of her new business blogging book. Hot off the presses!

My thanks to the wonderful women who have volunteered their case studies for this session: Stephanie Hendrick, Jody DeVere (Ask Patty), Celeste Lindell (Average Jane), Heather Sanders and Lori Taylor.

And a special thank you to my co-panelists Toby Bloomberg and Yvonne DiVita who joined me in this experiment, and without whom the blogosphere would be a far less pleasant place.

Thanks! See you in San Jose.

Submitted by Susan Getgood on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 19:04