[Live Blogging – Please excuse type and grammar errors and lack of links!]
Day One: So, you have this crazy idea…
You want to start a community-based blog site, but aren’t sure where to start. Melanie Morgan, Nancy White, Susannah Gardner & Lauren Gelman are among those who will help you examine what’s out there, define what you can do differently, and create a plan to develop content, promote your efforts and watch your back.
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Nancy the chocoholic: Brought chocolate to share – Community is giving to others without expecting anything in return!
Only one person in the room didn’t have a blog
How many people involved in community through blogs?
Laurn Gelmen – community blog re women’s issues within male-dominated law school
Starting a community blog: focus the site – i.e. is somebody else already doing it or are you providing a unique voice? For instance, many women’s issues blogs, but are there any community blogs for women in law school? This is more specific.
Discussed how they can leverage their blog to make a difference for women within the law profession.
Melanie Morgan – New Media Collective
Social network for people of color in digital media marketing – SPECIFIC ISSUE
Susannah Gardner
Constantly renewing community because people come in to connect, get what they need, then they move on.
Networking and facilitating connections.
Nancy White
March of Dimes – Share your story: families with babies in neonatal intensive care
Largely non-bloggers who started to blog through this community
Had to learn and become internet savvy – i.e. not a good idea to post cute pictures of your naked toddler
Patterns in blog communities
1. One blog/one blogger – through allowing comments, these bloggers often are the bridge for others to find their voice and begin their own blogs
2. Boundaried Community – inviting in other voices
3. Central Connecting topic/group – intersection of blogs
What is the social interaction? Who controls the tools? That person/group holds the power.
Topics – of small groups
1. Getting the crazy idea – how do I develop a community?
2. Tools, tracking, marketing, creating the platform
3. Feeding your community over time
4. keep yourself out of trouble – legal issues
Assignment: capture the best idea you hear to share
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Small Group #1:
Community blog ideas:
People with illnesses to connect
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMUNITY?
– for the individual
– for the community
“My blog is a way to get crap off my chest in a public way – I have to own it†– cathy
Blogging vs message board
– Forums, you can pop in and out with comments / less about the individual’s identity, more about the community
– Blogging needs to be sustained / more about identity
Talk to the potential community about what THEY want
Purpose may change over time
Being responsive to each other is the value that drives the community – comments important
Use of surveys – Masterful question writers can get good survey results – need to know how to ask the right questions
Ideas: Skype-casts first Friday of the month for community participants
Meme’s draw community in, like “day in the life†from papernapkin.com
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[updated for second group]
Small Group #4
concerns for sites with other people publishing on it –
– copywrite – make someone on your site in charge of copywrite violation information (i.e. an email to send information re the infringement so it can be investigated)
– porn
– libel
What is your site? More like a newspaper (liable for content), or like Yahoo (not liable for content)
Key words for libel (when you write) /slander (when you speak)
-say something that can be proven factually inaccurate = libel (saying joe is gay (libel), vs joe is an asshole (not libel))
– must prove that what is said is false
– possible okay phrases “in my opinion†“I think†– but you can still get in trouble if you say, “I think joe is gay.â€
– different test for a public figure: not only prove it was a false statement, but that you KNEW it was a false statement and that it harmed them.
Regarding a grassroots rally for a cause to make change (i.e. pressuring insurance companies to change policy) – posting an email address or business address for sending correspondence is okay, as long as you are not encouraging assault or libel.
