Blogging While Brown

Blogs Attending Blogging While Brown 2010, Washington,DC

2010-06-22T00:48:00.004-05:00

The following are some of the blogs represented at Blogging While Brown 2010.

BWB 2010 Confirmed Speakers

2010-04-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

We are happy to announce our initial list of confirmed speakers for BWB 2010. More speakers will be announced in the weeks leading up to the conference.

Lola Adesioye

Lola Adesioye is a socio-political commentator. She is a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper (where she writes a weekly online column), The Economist, The Huffington Post, ARISE magazine and TheRoot.com. Until recently, Lola was also Deputy Editor of African-American news site, TheGrio.com.

Born and raised in London, England, of Nigerian heritage and now living in New York, Lola brings a unique and well-informed international perspective to the topics that she writes and talks about. She also travels extensively, and has lived in post-apartheid South Africa.

With a grandfather who was one of the forefathers of journalism in Nigeria, the media is in Lola’s blood. Undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Social & Political Science from the world-renowned Cambridge University also inform her work. Lola regularly appears on TV & Radio, as a talking head for CNN, MSNBC, BET, the UK’s Channel 4 News and the BBC. In 2004, Lola appeared in a critically-acclaimed BBC documentary series entitled ‘Black Ambition’ which documented the final year (pre-graduation) of a handful of black Cambridge University students.

Dedicated to giving back to her community, Lola recently got a group of Cambridge alumni together to begin an educational fund which will provide financial assistance and mentoring for minority students. She also is part of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative, a body of over 100 high caliber Nigerians who are dedicated to transforming Nigerian society and is on the New Media Advisory Committee for the Applied Research Center.

www.lolacreative.com

Angela Benton

Angela Benton’s experience spans a variety of industries and roles. She has worked at several InterActive Corp businesses including RealEstate.com, LendingTree.com, and RushmoreDrive.com. Additionally she has held roles at Bizjournals.com, UPS, and Homes of Color Magazine. Throughout her career she has worked in a variety of roles in design, marketing, development, and digital strategy. Her expertise lies in New Media.

Presently Angela is the CEO of Black Web Media, which publishes BlackWeb20.com the leading online publication for African-Americans interested in Technology and New Media. Black Web Media’s mission is to be a catalyst for innovation and inclusive ideas on the web for African-Americans.

Angela also speaks on topics such as diversity in the web and media industries, web trends, web strategy, and web 2.0’s effects on urban media. She was recently named as one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 150 in the Technology and New Media category along side David Drummond (Google) and Ray Ramsey (One Economy Corporation).

Angela graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications with a specialization in Digital Design. She has also completed postgraduate coursework in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.  

André Brock

André Brock is an assistant professor at the University of Iowa and studies the Internet and other technologies from a critical race theory framework. In many ways, technologies are structured to reflect an "ideal user"; one which subliminally (or even explicitly) seeks to mold users into the prescribed template – typically Christian, heterosexual, white, male, and middle-class. In recent work, he has examined the construction of race on the NY Times Freakonomics weblog; representations of race and gender in videogames; and the intersections of race, hip hop, and representation in the African American blogosphere's reactions to Kanye West's Katrina monologue.

Maurice Cherry

Maurice Cherry is creative principal at 3eighteen media. His client list includes top companies and agencies such as AT&T, YELLOWPAGES.com, Grady Health Foundation, NASA, and more. Cherry also works with tech startups, small businesses, and many others. Cherry holds degrees in both mathematics and network and communications management, and brings a high level of strategic expertise, future-forward creativity, and agile problem solving to 3eighteen media's clients. Cherry also does independent consulting work and has several years of project management experience under his belt. Cherry's passion for technology and good design is contagious. He has written for several technology websites on numerous facets of online marketing and branding. Cherry is also the creator of the Black Weblog Awards, which is entering its sixth year. Cherry is also an authority on social media and technology for political campaigns, and has served as Director of New Media for the Borders for Atlanta Mayoral Campaign in Atlanta, GA. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, playing video games, travelling, haphazardly spelling words the British way, and writing the next great science fiction series.

Cheryl Contee

Cheryl Contee is a consultant whose private practice specializes in helping major non-profit organizations, tech startups, Fortune 500 companies and leading trade associations manage their brands and their campaigns online with a focus on Web 2.0, social media and blogger relations. She is also a blogger and co-founder writing as Jill Tubman on one of the top 10 black blogs online, Jack and Jill Politics. She has over 13 years of award-winning interactive expertise and previously served as lead digital strategist for Fleishman-Hillard for the West Coast in San Francisco.

Patrice Grell Yursik

Patrice Grell Yursik is a Trinidadian born writer who now lives in Chicago and works as a full time blogger and freelance writer-for-hire. Her blog, Afrobella.com has won more than ten online awards including five Black Weblog Awards, and is listed at #7 on Konector's list of top 50 Beauty Blogs.

Scott Hanselman

Scott has been blogging since 2002 and his technical blog gets over a half-million hits a month. He's been podcasting a weekly show for over 200 shows. He works out of my home office for Microsoft as a Principal Program Manager, aiming to spread good information about developing software, usually on the Microsoft stack. Scott has done stand-up comedy, beat poetry, been an adjunct professor at university, written or worked on a half-dozen books, is an amateur linguist with a focus on Amharic and Zulu, and will talk technology to whoever will listen.

Danielle N. Lee, Ph.D

Danielle N. Lee, Ph.D., studies animal behavior and teaches biology and urban ecology. As an active member of several scientific societies and science blogging communities, Danielle encourages students from under-represented groups to study science and pursue science careers. Danielle’s interest in outreach to under-served groups, particularly African-Americans includes mentoring undergraduate and high school students, participating in after-school science programs, and speaking to youth groups about careers in science and ecology. She was selected as the 2009 Diversity Scholars Award by the American Institute of Biological Sciences for her contributions to science and promoting diversity within the field. Her science blog, Urban Science Adventures! ©, introduces the young people and the scientifically naïve to science through urban ecology and environmental science. In 2009, she attended in the ScienceOnline meeting, a science blogging conference of scientists and online science communicators. There she co-moderated a panel on promoting ethnic diversity in the sciences. She also created the Diversity in Science Carnival – an online vehicle for promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) diversity to larger audiences. Her blogging awards include the 2009 Black Weblog Best Science and Technology Blog (Popular Vote) and her work has been featured in the 2009 Open Laboratory Anthology of the Best Science Writing on the Web.

Ananda Leeke

Yoga + Creativity + Internet Geek = Ananda Leeke. Leeke is a lawyer turned “Jill of many trades”: innerpreneur, author, artist, coach, and yoga teacher. Her mission is “Empowering U2BU through creativity coaching, Reiki, self-care, social media, volunteerism, and yoga.” She penned That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (2009) and her debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One (2007). Both books celebrate Leeke’s passion for yoga. She is currently writing Sisterhood the Blog: Soundbytes from the 21st Century Women’s Online Revolution (2011) and Love’s Troubadours – Symon: Book Two (2011).

Presently, she serves as the DC Social Media Examiner for Examiner.com. She also teaches online yoga classes for computer users on Stickam.com and MomTV. Leeke taught yoga for computer users at Blogalicious, She's Geeky DC, and Latinos in Social Media in 2009. In June 2010, she will teach a yoga class during DC Digital Capital Week. Visit www.anandaleeke.com to learn more about her. Follow her on Twitter too: http://twitter.com/anandaleeke.

Luvvie

Luvvie is co-founder of The Red Project Collective, a national organization that raises awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on minority communities (women, people of color, LGBT). The Collective was started as a result of the success of The Red Pump Project, which started as a campaign to get bloggers to "Rock the Red Pump" on their sites to talk about HIV/AIDS and its effect on women. Red Pump now has a brother initiative (The Red Tie Project), and 40 ambassadors in 20 states around the country.

When Luvvie isn't Red Pump Rocking, she blogs over at AwesomelyLuvvie.com, where she roasts, rants and raves (and *wall slides*). She can also be found shopping for shoes, traveling and getting blocked by short, unfunny comedians on Twitter (@LuvvieIG).

Gina McCauley

Called “the Dean of Black Bloggers” and “a woman who's on the cutting edge of the internet and social media," Gina McCauley is one of the most influential African American digital media content creators in the world. In 2007, she was named to ESSENCE magazine's list of the 25 Most Influential African Americans. She has written for ESSENCE magazine and ESSENCE.com, The Guardian, and The Observer. Her blog posts have been quoted or mentioned on CNN, Entertainment Tonight, and the CBS Morning Show. She appeared on PBS NDTV, NPR, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, RTE Radio 1 in Ireland, XM radio and Frontline: Digital Nation on PBS.

In 2007 she launched What About Our Daughters?, a blog dedicated to combating negative portrayals of African-American women in popular culture and in 2008, she launched Michelle Obama Watch, a blog dedicated to monitoring the good, the bad, and the ugly media coverage of Michelle Obama. She founded Blogging While Brown, the

first international conference for bloggers of color. In addition to designing and implementing the curriculum for digital literacy training, she is a frequent presenter at some of the largest social media conferences in the world, including Blogher, South by Southwest and Blog World Expo.

Latoya Peterson

Latoya Peterson spends her time editing the blog Racialicious.com - the intersection of race and pop culture. She is contributor to Jezebel.com and has written for Vibe, The American Prospect, The Atlantic, Bitch Magazine, Clutch Magazine, the Women's Review of Books, Slate's Double X, Salon's Broadsheet, The Root and the Guardian. Her essay, "The Not Rape Epidemic" was published in the anthology Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (Seal Press, 2008). She is currently working on projects related to race, pop culture, and video games.

Carmen Dixon Rosenzweig

Carmen Dixon Rosenzweig guides truth seekers who have a strong conscience and a desire to make the world a better place by showing them how to engage in honest and authentic conversations about race armed with understanding but without shame or overwhelming fear.

Those who work with Carmen can expect to emerge with renewed feelings of optimism and a re-energized connection to humanity and sense of possibility.

Prior to creating All About Race, Carmen spent more than a decade on the front lines of broadcast journalism, corporate public relations and crisis management honing her skills as an expert communicator. As an ABC News producer, Carmen won three Emmy Awards. She is a graduate of Yale University.

Now Carmen writes for AOL BlackVoices, hosts “All About Race” on BlogTalkRadio and conducts seminars and motivational presentations from the place on the racial frontier where the quest for understanding and tolerance faces down anger, reluctance and fear

Nichelle Stephens

Nichelle Stephens is a blogger, editor and social media strategist. She is the editor of PepsiWeInspire.com,a branded lifestyle blog for African American women. She is also the co-founder of Cupcakes Take The Cake, the most popular blog about cupcakes, finance and small business tips.

Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston is a comedian, author and vigilante pundit who successfully combines technology, politics and comedy. He co-founded the black political blog, Jack & Jill Politics in the summer of 2006, works as the web editor at The Onion and hosts Popular Science's Future Of on Science Channel. Baratunde has contributed to Vanity Fair, The UK Independent and WNYC's The Takeaway, and with over 23,000 followers he tweets very, very hard.  Mr. Thurston, which he goes by in his bio, has often used satire as an expression of his activism and technology as a medium for that expression. He has self-published three books, including Keep Jerry Falwell Away From My Oreo Cookies and is currently writing How To Be Black, which will be published by Harper.

Baratunde was nominated for the Bill Hicks Award for Thought Provoking Comedy, declared a Champion of the First Amendment by Iowa State University, and called “someone I need to know” by Barack Obama. His stage presence has earned him speaking duties at the National Conference for Media Reform, Netroots Nation, South by Southwest Interactive & Film and Web 2.0 Expo. He has been featured various media outlets including ABC, NPR, BBC, CNN, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, C-SPAN and ComedyCentral.com.

Baratunde resides in Brooklyn, lives in The Internet and has over 30 years experience being black.

Workshops and Panels for Blogging While Brown 2010

2010-04-19T05:11:00.000-05:00

Friday June 18, 2010

9:00-12:00 - "Beginning Blogger Boot Camp"
MLK Branch Library

5:00-6:30 - "Blogging While Brown: Who We Are, What It Means, Why We Matter"
Washington, DC Convention Center Room 206

6:30 Reception - Washington, DC Convention Center Room 206

Saturday June 19, 2010

Washington, DC Convention Center Room 207A

Workshops & Panel Discussions begin at 8:15 AM

Featured panels and workshops include:

“Yoga and Stress Relief for Social Media Users”

"Technology Review"

Beyond Gossip, Hip Hop, Hair, and Politics:Bloggers and Change Agents and Educators”

“The Business of Blogging: BEYOND Ad Networks”

“Why We Can't Wait: Technology and the Fierce Urgency of Now.” - Unique opportunities for people of color in the digital age and what might happen if fail to seize those opportunities.

“Town Hall Meeting”

“Break Through Bloggers”

More panels and workshops to be announced soon!

You can follow us on Twitter @BWBConference for daily conference updates.

Where Are They Now?

2010-03-07T06:25:00.001-06:00

The first annual Blogging While Brown (BWB) Conference was held in 2008 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. It was the first international conference for, by, and about bloggers of color. Two years later BWB has grown to become the premier blogging conference dedicated to collaboration, education, and innovation among bloggers of color and is set to host its largest conference to date in Washington, DC.

As we look forward to BWB 2010 we will take a look back at some the past conference attendees and presenters in a featured titled, “Where Are They Now.”

This week BWB focuses the lens on blogger, entrepreneur, photographer, and graphic designer Angel Laws.

Angel is the 25 year old creator and editor of the award-winning blog Concrete Loop. She started this blog in 2005, because she could no longer stand the absence of popular culture blogs aimed at the Black demographic. The blog has seen tremendous success since its launch, and today receives more than 500,000 visitors a day.

At BWB 2009, in Chicago, Angel lead a panel titled, Bloggerpreneurs. This panel demonstrated how bloggers could monetize their blogs to increase capital.

“Concrete Loop focuses predominately on black entertainment with attention to detail and a graphic design flare,” says Angel. Her personal motto is, “Quality not Quantity" and she applies that successfully to her blogging.

Apart from blogging at Concrete Loop, Angel keeps a personal blog scrapbook at Angel on Fire, which she updates regularly with anything and everything close to her heart.

In Angel’s opinion, the BWB conference is a valuable and important event because, “It's a great place to meet other people in your profession.” According to Angel, blogging can be a very isolating experience. However, attending BWB makes it possible to meet other bloggers and that is terrific opportunity. Angel believes that learning new things, getting advice and networking with fellow bloggers makes attending the BWB well worth it.

From a personal perspective, Angel admits that she learned some new and highly beneficial organizational techniques while attending BWB. She also learned that there are many different ways to achieve blogging success.

Angel predicts that the state of the Black blogosphere, which is already quite developed and high in quality, will only get better in the years to come.

Angel is currently busy trying to make Concrete Loop even more successful, mainly by working on branding and employing more staff. She is also refocusing and revamping her personal blog, Angel on Fire. Being the creator of one of the leading Black entertainment blogs on the Internet Angel certainly knows the formula for success and there is no doubt that she will only get better with time.

You can follow Concrete Loop on Twitter at @ConcreteLoop.

By Aminah Hanan and Vanja Kovacic

Where Are They Now?

2010-02-20T05:23:00.003-06:00

The first annual Blogging While Brown (BWB) Conference was held in 2008 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. It was the first international conference for, by, and about bloggers of color. Two years later BWB has grown to become the premier blogging conference dedicated to collaboration, education, and innovation and is set to host its largest conference to date in Washington, DC.

As we look forward to BWB 2010 we will take a look back at some the past conference attendees and presenters in a featured titled, “Where Are They Now.”

This week BWB focuses the lens on attorney, blogger, journalist, and writer Heidi W. Durrow.

Heidi is a graduate of Stanford, Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism and Yale Law School. She is the recipient of a Fellowship in Fiction from the New York Foundation for the Arts, a Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Writers, a Jentel Foundation Residency, and won top honors in the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition and the Chapter One Fiction Contest. She has received grants from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the American Scandinavian Foundation, the Roth Endowment and the American Antiquarian Society.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Heidi has worked as a corporate litigator and as a consultant to the National Football League and National Basketball Association. She is the co-host of the award-winning weekly podcast Mixed Chicks Chat and the co-founder and co-producer of the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival, an annual free public event that celebrates stories of the Mixed experience.

Durrow's writing has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, The Literary Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Callaloo, Poem/Memoir/Story, the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, Essence magazine, and Newsday. She received writer Barbara Kingsolver's 2008 Bellwether Prize for Literature of Social Change for her first novel The Girl Who Fell from the Sky.

At BWB 2008 Heidi, along with Fanshen Cox, hosted the workshop “Podcasting 101”. The workshop highlighted how bloggers could host podcast in conjunction with their blogs to expand readership and allow listeners to contribute to discussions in real time.

As a BWB alum, Heidi believes that the conference helps to raise public awareness about what people of color are doing and saying on the Internet, something that is often completely overlooked by mainstream media. On a more personal level, Heidi encourages bloggers to attend BWB because, as she puts it, “You’ll make great connections at BWB and you’ll learn a lot. People—not just in the sessions—are eager to share their experiences with blogging and you can learn a lot from those informal conversations.” She also credits BWB with giving her the opportunity to learn more about technology and other social media outlets to help promote her work.

Since attending BWB 2008, Heidi has published her debut novel, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. The novel tells the story of Rachel, a teenage daughter of a White Danish mother and a Black American father, who is the only survivor of a tragic family event. In the course of the story a dark and mysterious past is revealed, and Rachel must find a way to move beyond her grief and finally confront her identity of being a biracial young woman in a world that still doesn’t see far beyond Black and White.

Heidi credits blogging at her personal blog, Light-skinned-ed Girl, for keeping her spirits up during the difficult process of revising her manuscript for publication and the long wait after signing the contract to finally seeing her novel in print. “Novel writing is a lonely sport,” says Heidi. “Blogging created an instant community for me as I engaged in conversations about issues and ideas that mattered to me.”

Since the publication of her novel, Heidi is now Podcasting weekly at Mixed Chicks Chat, writing for its companion blog at www.mixedchickschat.typepad.com, and touring to promote her book. All of you aspiring novelist can checkout Heidi’s blog Light-skinned-ed Girl, where she is blogging about the novel writing process, offering valuable inside information on what it is really like to be a first time novelist promoting your book, as well as the good, the bad, and the ugly on the journey to becoming a published author.

To learn more about The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, as well as the schedule of Heidi’s upcoming readings and appearances at heidiwdurrow.com. Heidi's novel can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Indie Bound, and Powell's Books. An audio version of the novel is available at Highbridge. Enter promo code “Heidi” and receive a 20 % discount.

You can join Heidi's Facebook Fan page by clicking here and follow her on Twitter @heididurrow. You can also check her out Goodreads.

By Aminah Hanan & Vanja Kovacic

If you are a past BWB attendee or presenter and are interested in being featured in "Where Are They Now?" please contact Aminah at aminah@bloggingwhilewhilebrown.com

BWB Announces Blogging Day of Service 'Free Blogger Boot Camp'

2010-02-19T05:45:00.001-06:00

The 2010 Blogging While Brown Conference will kickoff with a Blogging Day of Service 'Free Blogger Boot Camp' at the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Library in Washington, DC.

Blogging While Brown is committed to obliterating technical barriers to participation in one of the greatest technological revolutions in human history, content creation and distribution by ordinary individuals online. Class, race, geography, and income should not be barriers to full participation in the information revolution. Therefore, 2010 marks the first annual Blogging While Brown Day of Service. We're bringing back our wildly successful Beginning Bloggers Boot Camp, except this time, the Boot Camp is FREE and open to the public.

“It's our gift to our host community and a tangible manifestation of our goal to live in a world where everyone can blog,” said Gina McCauley the conference founder.

This year's Beginning Blogger Boot Camp will be taught by Gina McCauley. McCauley is also the creator of the What About Our Daughters and Michelle Obama Watch blogs. She is also one of the most sought after new digital media speakers.

This course is extremely hands on and could be one of the largest classes we've ever conducted. The session will be intensive and is designed to equip new bloggers with the technical requirements of blogging prior to the start of the conference.

The Boot Camp will kick off Friday, June 18, 2010 at 9 a.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library located at 901 G St., N.W. in Washington, D.C. The library is located just steps away from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the Henley Park Hotel. Space is limited to the number of computer terminals. Please reserve your space today!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOT CAMP IS FOR BRAND NEW BLOGGERS. IF YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED BLOGGER & WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP WITH THE BOOT CAMP PLEASE CONTACT AMINAH AT AMINAH@BLOGGINGWHILEBROWN.COM.

To register for the free Boot Camp click here.

Blogging While Brown 2010 Conference Badges

2010-02-18T04:11:00.003-06:00

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Blogging While Brown 2009 Schedule and Workshop Descriptions

2009-05-31T17:10:00.000-05:00

For more information about the Blogging While Brown conference for www.bloggingwhilebrown.com

SPEAKER BIOS

Monroe Anderson

Monroe Anderson is a cyber columnist who is a veteran, award-winning Chicago journalist. His columns appear on his political blog, Monroe Anderson (http://monroeanderson.typepad.com/), as well as on the Ebonyjet.com, Huffingtonpost.com, Newsvine.com, UK/EU Progressive and AgoraVox websites.

As a career journalist for more than three decades, Anderson has worked for some of America’s best-known media corporations—Dow Jones, Johnson Publishing Company, the Tribune Company, Post-Newsweek and Viacom. In 1988-89, he had a stint in municipal government, serving as Press Secretary for Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer.Anderson has executive produced and hosted his own local CBS TV show, Common Ground, written signed op-ed page columns for both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, and was the editor of Savoy Magazine.Anderson was a reporter on the Obama press bus covering the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. He was also an accredited blogger at the Democratic National Convention.

Cheryl Contee

Cheryl Contee is a partner and co-founder of the social media consultancy Fission Strategy where she specializes in online advocacy, engagement, and communications. Prior to launching Fission Strategy, Cheryl was Vice President at Fleishman-Hillard San Francisco where she acted as lead digital strategist for the West Coast, helping clients manage their brands and online campaigns. Before Fleishman-Hillard, Cheryl led the interactive team as Vice President at Washington , DC public affairs firm Issue Dynamics Inc. where she launched and led the group blog BloggerRelations.com. Previously, she was the Web Director for Oceana, an international marine conservation organization. Before Oceana, Ms. Contee launched 40 multi-lingual Web sites for Discovery Communications as Senior Producer for International Networks for television brands Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids and more.

Cheryl serves on the board of Netroots Nation, the preeminent organization and conference for technology and progressive politics and also chairs the board for CommonGoods.net. She writes as Jill Tubman for the award-winning & top-ranked black political blog JackAndJillPolitics.com which she founded in 2006. Cheryl has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Magazine, BBC and CNN among other media appearances. Cheryl's work in the interactive sphere has been recognized with over 20 awards. Cheryl was appointed Fellow for the Edge Program founded by tech legend John Seely Brown at the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine in 2008. Cheryl is regularly invited to speak at conferences and events. She received her B.A. from Yale University with a major in ethics, politics and economics and has an international executive M.B.A. from Georgetown University . In her spare time, Ms. Contee enjoys hiking, yoga, movies and tai chi sword.

Carmen Dixon Rosenzweig

Carmen Dixon Rosenzweig guides truth seekers who have a strong conscience and a desire to make the world a better place by showing them how to engage in honest and authentic conversations about race armed with understanding but without shame or overwhelming fear.

Those who work with Carmen can expect to emerge with renewed feelings of optimism and a re-energized connection to humanity and sense of possibility.

Prior to creating All About Race, Carmen spent more than a decade on the front lines of broadcast journalism, corporate public relations and crisis management honing her skills as an expert communicator. As an ABC News producer, Carmen won three Emmy Awards. She is a graduate of Yale University.

Now Carmen writes for AOL BlackVoices, hosts “All About Race on BlogTalkRadio’ and conducts seminars and motivational presentations from the place on the racial frontier where the quest for understanding and tolerance faces down anger, reluctance and fear.

Eric Easter
Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing, Inc. He writes about politics, culture and technology for ebonyjet.com.

Hajj E. Flemings
Hajj is the founder of Brand Camp University the premier personal branding conference and author of 'The Brand YU Life: Re-thinking Who You Are Through Personal Brand Management'. He has been featured on ESPN.com, BusinessWeek.com, BlackEnterprise.com, various blogs and travels nationally speaking as a branding expert enabling personal and business brands to remain relevant. His branded clients include NFL athletes, Ford Motor Company, Skechers Footwear, U.S. Department of Defense (Telecom Division) and numerous colleges and universities to name a few. His book was selected as one of Fast Company Magazine 2008 Readers Choice Business Books of the year.
He is a former collegiate athlete turned adjunct lecturer at his alma mater, Michigan Technological University, where he wrote the personal branding curriculum. He received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and his MBA from Lawrence Technological University.
He is married to his lovely wife, Kasandra.

Milt Haynes, PMP

Milt is a sought after motivational speaker, coach and mentor and has helped thousands advance their careers in IT. Milt founded Blacks Gone Geek a social networking initiative dedicated to promoting Blacks in Technology. Milt uses blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, Facebook, LinkedIn, CollectiveX, Yahoogroups, Twitter and his web site, (www.blacksgonegeek.org), to stay connected with an online community of IT professionals.
Milt has been a BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates) member for over 18 years and has served as BDPA Chicago Chapter President and National BDPA President. Milt currently serves the Chair of the BDPA Chicago (www.bdpa-chicago.org) Corporate Advisory Council (CAC). Milt has received over 20 awards and honors at the local chapter and National level including the most prestigious National BDPA Outstanding Chapter President Award, Outstanding Contributor Award, Member of the Year Award, Presidents Award, Service Award and the Spirit Award. Milt holds a Bachelor of Science in Computing Science from Columbia University, New York, New York. Milt spends his spare time enjoying family activities with his wife and beautiful 12-year-old twin daughters, volunteering for BDPA initiatives.

Angel Laws

Angel Laws is the 24 year-old creator & editor of popular online entertainment blog, Concreteloop.com. Now coming up on its 4th year since conception, the blog has been featured in TIME, Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe and countless other magazines and media outlets. Angel is also a part-time photographer (photosolitude.com) traveling nationally with various celebs covering exclusive events and photo shoots.

Fredric Mitchell

Fredric Mitchell is a professional web developer specializing in Drupal development over at brightplum.com. Although his affinity for all things interweb borderlines on unhealthy, his wife assures him that his son will grow up just as much of a tech nerd as he is. You can also find him giving back and blogging over at ybpguide.com, a site meant to engage the young innovative tech evangelists of color.

Bruce Montgomery- To be added

Jonnice Slaughter
Jonnice Slaughter runs a successful Public Relations and Branding boutique named ChatterBox Publicity, LLC, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The firm’s client roster includes music conferences, film festivals, faith-based events, models, actors, media personalities, charity events, consumer and lifestyle products, restaurants and fashion and beauty experts. Their clients have been seen on BET’s 106 and Park, BET’s Hip Hop Awards, BET’s Lift Every Voice, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, VH-1, MTV, The Insider, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, CNN, Essence Magazine, NY Times, Detroit Free Press, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Rolling Out, Clutch Magazine, Billboard, Ebony, Jet, People, US Weekly, and more.
In 2008, ChatterBox Publicity made the transition from traditional publicity and Public Relations to focus on strategies that incorporated digital and social media. Jonnice Slaughter shares tips and explains the emergence, fascination as well as the need to utilize these tools on a weekly basis on the popular blog, FlackMe.com, where she is one of the PR industry featured experts.

Pam Spaulding

Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of PamsHouseBlend.com, honored as Best LGBT Blog in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards. A regular contributor to the progressive blogs Pandagon and The Bilerico Project, Spaulding has also guest blogged on Firedoglake, Glenn Greenwald's Unclaimed Territory on Salon, and Americablog. She received the 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award from The Monette-Horwitz Trust for making significant contributions toward the eradication of homophobia.

Spaulding has provided commentary on CNN during the 2008 presidential election cycle; Pam's House Blend was also credentialed as part of the general press pool to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. A Durham native, Pam lives in the Bull City with her wife Kate; they legally married in Canada in 2004.

Megan Tady

Megan Tady is a blogger, grassroots organizer and online outreach specialist for Free Press, the national, non-profit media reform organization. She blogs for Free Press Web sites, including SavetheInternet.com and StopBigMedia.com, and has a column at In These Times where she writes about media access and ownership, quality journalism and an open Internet. Other media-related articles have been published by AlterNet.org, ColorLines, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s Extra, and the Women’s International Perspective (Wip.net). Megan also produced two documentary series about the digital divide in the U.S. called Five Days on the Digital Dirt Road and Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America. Prior to joining Free Press, Megan was a national political reporter for In These Times magazine, a staff reporter and editor for The New Standard, and worked extensively as a freelance journalist.

Blogging While Brown 2009 AT &T Scholarships Now Available

2009-05-05T23:40:00.000-05:00

AT&T is funding a number of scholarships to attend the Blogging While Brown conference. The scholarships cover full conference registration. In addition, AT&T is funding full scholarships to attend the pre-conference boot camp for non bloggers on Friday morning and afternoon prior to the start of the conference.

If you are interested in the scholarships, you can learn more at BloggingWhileBrown.com and click "Scholarships" in the menu bar. You can go directly tot he scholarship form by going here.

2009 "Call for Workshops" Now Open

2009-01-28T20:06:00.000-06:00

Workshop Submission Guidelines
Call For Workshop Proposals
Planning is well underway for the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference. The International Conference
for Bloggers of Color (bloggingwhilebrown.com) is scheduled for June 19-20, 2009 at the University Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Blogging While Brown promotes intellectual, social, and cultural development of the blogging community by
bringing bloggers of color together in one location to share knowledge with each other. Last year's inaugural Blogging While Brown Conference was an excellent opportunity for many bloggers of color and their readers to meet and interact for the first time. Participants were able to discuss current issues of interest, network with like-minded individuals and organizations, as well as learn about the latest technology to assist bloggers with publishing their work and improving their readers' experience by fully utilizing in the latest social media offerings.

Blogging While Brown is currently accepting proposals for workshops that will appear at this year's conference in Chicago. There are three conference workshop tracks:

Track No. 1 - John H. Johnson Track
This track will feature sessions related to blogging about current events, news, politics, activism, and bloggers who are leveraging their online resources to get offline results.

Track No. 2 - Window Synder Track
This conference track will feature sessions related to the nuts and bolts of blogging such as technology, blogging widgets, increasing blog traffic, legal issues, design, layout and improving the reader experience.

Track No. 3 - Madame C.J. Walker Track
This conference track will feature sessions related to the business of side blogging, monetizing blogs, better marketing of blog sites, and getting your work noticed and published by mainstream media outlets.

Who may submit workshop proposals?
All individuals interested in bloggers of color and the issues of interest to them are encouraged to submit
proposals. Individuals from for- profit and not-for-profit organizations are also welcomed to submit proposals for consideration provided the proposed workshop supports the theme, goals or workshop subject areas of the conference.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2009.

You can download submission guidelines here.

Committee Opportunities

2009-01-27T07:57:00.000-06:00

Now that everyone has settled down from the election and the
inauguration, we wanted to provide everyone with an update about
Blogging While Brown.

Shawn P. Williams has graciously agreed to act as chair of the
Workshops and Panels Committee. Theo Johnson has agreed to oversee
the conference webcast.

The "Call for Workshops" will be going out shortly. You can keep up
with conference events by following BWBconference on Twitter, or
subscribing to the Blogging While Brown Conference blog.

Committees

Last year, many of you expressed interest in serving on one of the
conference planning committees. The committees are: Registration,
Workshops and Panels, Technology (webcast), and Outreach. If you are
interested in serving on one of the conference committees email
info@bloggingwhilebrown.com .

Early registration ends February 1, 2009. You can go to www.bloggingwhilebrown.com for more information about the conference.

Sidebar Badges Now Available

2009-01-05T19:36:00.000-06:00

For those who want to place a conference badge in their sidebar, they are now available at BloggingWhileBrown.com.

Blogging While Brown 2009, Chicago, IL , June 19-20

2008-11-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

It is my pleasure to announce that Blogging While Brown 2009 will take place June 19-20, 2009 at University Center in Chicago, IL.We're using Eventbrite again this year to handle registration. REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE. We're excited to announce that we've added a pre-conference intensive workshop called the Beginning Blogger Boot Camp. This pre-conference session is aimed at attendees who do not currently blog, but would like to learn how.

Housing

As you can imagine, housing in downtown Chicago during the summer can be somewhat pricey. Blogging While Brown remains committed to attempting to make attendance as affordable as possible. Although many hotels are available in downtown Chicago, we've also reserved rooms at the University Center for those attendees seeking a more affordable option.

During the school year, University Center serves as a state-of-the-art student residence, that opened its doors in the fall of 2004. Located in the heart of Chicago's Educational Corridor, University Center is just steps from Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University and Roosevelt University, the triad that formed this unique facility. Designed as a multi-institutional community specifically for college students from local neighborhoods and around the world.

Black Bloggers At the Democratic National Conentnion

2008-08-26T08:18:00.000-05:00

I am covering the Democratic National Convention over at the blog, What About Our Daughters, however, there are many African American bloggers covering this event. Here are a few:

You can follow them at thedenver7.blogspot.com.

Blogging While Brown Mini-Conference Video- Launch of Twitterholics Anonymous

2008-07-27T20:03:00.000-05:00

For updates about Blogging While Brown, please head to What About Our Daughters. We will be upgrading the conference website and moving this blog to the new site. We had a fabulous time in Atlanta. We hope you join us next year and you can also follow us on twitter our Twitter ID is BWBconference

RSVP for Sunday Brunch

2008-07-21T21:54:00.000-05:00

Attendees with Early, Regular, and Late Registration should have received and email with instructions on how to RSVP for Sunday Brunch

Updated Atendee List

2008-07-21T21:52:00.001-05:00

Blogging While Brown would like to thank our sponsors

2008-07-15T23:13:00.001-05:00

Blogging While Brown would like to thank our sponsors...

Blogging While Brown would like to thank our sponsors for their innovation, vision and commitment to the development of diverse and engaging new media content creators. They took the initiative to support one of the first international conferences for bloggers of color. We appreciate their support and encouragement. We will always remember that these companies and organizations were there in the beginning.

Free Press

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. Free Press believes that media reform is crucial not just for creating better news and entertainment, but to advancing every issue you care about. A vibrant, diverse and independent media is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
Their issues:Media Ownership, Public Media,The Future of the Internet,Quality Journalism, Civil Rights and Media Justice, Building the Media Reform Movement

BlogHer

BlogHer's mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. Today BlogHer provides the number-one community for and guide to blogs by women, via annual conferences, a Web network (http://www.blogher.com), and an advertising network of more than 2,000 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates (http://blogherads.com).

CommonSense Media, Inc

CommonSense Media is a web advertising agent built on a foundation of diversity committed to representing premium audiences to premium advertising buyers. We are a values based, progressive advertising agent committed to supporting sustainability and viability for diverse voices in the new online media world, including women, people of color, latinos and LGBT audiences.

We believe that our collective futures are only secure when we go out of our way to work together to build institutions that support out community work on behalf of the disempowered and disenfranchised.

SEIU ( Service Employees International Union)

The Service Employees International Union is 2 million working people and 50,000 retirees united to improve services and our communities throughout North America.

SEIU members are winning better wages, health care, and more secure jobs at home, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers, not just corporations and CEOs, benefit from today’s global economy.

SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America.

The Root

The Root is a daily online magazine that provides thought-provoking commentary on today's news from a variety of black perspectives. The site also hosts an interactive genealogical section to trace one's ancestry through AfricanDNA.com, a DNA testing site co-founded by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who is also The Root's Editor-In-Chief. The Root aims to be an unprecedented departure from traditional American journalism, raising the profile of black voices in mainstream media and engaging anyone interested in black culture around the world.

Late Registration Ends Today!: Updated LIst of Attendees

2008-07-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

The Following Blogs Will Be Represented At the Conference

Registration for Blogging While Brown Ends July 14, 2008

2008-06-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

We are one month away from Blogging While Brown! YAY! Registration for the conference ends July 14, 2008. There will be no on site registration. Register today!

Who's Attending The Conference?

2008-05-29T05:16:00.001-05:00

The following blogs and new media content creators will be represented at the conference. Some blogs have multiple attendees. We will update the list as new registrations come in. (Updated June 26, 2008)

Blogging While Brown Announces Workshop Lineup

2008-05-13T21:47:00.000-05:00

The Blogging While Brown Conference Planning Committee is pleased to announce the line up of confirmed workshop presenters. This group of presenters is a ridiculously talented group of individuals who stepped up to the plate to share their vast range of knowledge, education and real world experience to advance the growth and development of bloggers of color. They have our extreme thanks and gratitude for their service.

A town hall meeting and two "un-conference" breakout session topics will be announced at a later date. To register for the conference, go to bloggingwhilebrown.com. Speaker biographies are available here.

The Ultimate Blog Experience
Technology Keynote
Angela Conyers-Benton and Markus Robinson
BlackWeb20.com

Ever get the feeling you are 1 among millions of blogs? Looking for a way to stand out from the crowd? The Ultimate Blog Experience workshop will help blog publishers enhance the functionality and appearance of their blog. Attendees will learn what it takes to publish a top blog and how to implement traffic building strategies, beautify design, use widgets to your advantage, and develop engaging content. Come
prepared to take notes.

Secrets from a Media Insider:
How to Make News and Make the News Work for You
Carmen Dixon (“Carmen D”)
http://allaboutrace.com/

This interactive workshop will take you behind the scenes of how television news media works. Want your story featured on a local, national or cable news show? Learn who to call, the best time to call and what all producers and reporters are looking for.

Learn the basics of becoming camera ready. Interested in becoming an "expert?" We'll cover that, too. What's in your press kit? You don't have a press kit? You'll learn what any good press kit must have and should look like. And last but not least, the press release. By the end of this session you'll have a headline and a first sentence ready to go. Important: The session is only an hour and there is a lot of ground to cover. You'll be given a handout to take away, but just prior to the conference please watch at least two full half hours of network news broadcasts and at least two entire local news broadcasts.

Podcasting 101:Hosting a Podcast in Conjunction with Your Blog
Fanshen Cox and Heidi Durrow
http://mixedchickschat.com/

This workshop will cover the necessary steps for producing and hosting a live or recorded podcast to compliment your blog and how to expand readership by allowing participants to hear your voice and contribute to discussions. The workshop will cover various podcasting services and the process of producing a podcast.

“Umoja” From a Black Blogger's Perspective
R. Wayne Hicks ( “Villager”)
electronicvillage.blogspot.com

There are currently in excess of 70 million blogs. Everyday 120,000 new blogs are created. With so many people blogging out there, how do we find each other and how can bloggers of color work together to leverage new media content creation with social change? How did we get here and where do we go from here? How to we work together to get there?

“Umoja” is the Swahili word for “unity.” This workshop will cover on the history and future of the Afrospear, a group of African American bloggers, but it will also focus on how bloggers of color can work together to support and publicize the work of other bloggers. As part of the workshop, the presenter will cover the Black Blog Rankings, a unique blog ranking system that tracks and publicizes Black bloggers and how that system has helped to build the readership and exposure of Black bloggers.

Blogger Rights
Shwana Ruth-Bridges, Esq. (“Attorneymom”)
charactercorner.blogspot.com

Sometimes the internet can look like the days of the Wild West where anything goes. However, there are rules and if you violate them, you and your blog could face serious consequences. From free speech versus intellectual property law to defamation and those perilous “terms-of-use” agreements on popular free blogging services, this workshop will highlight some of the rights, liabilities and responsibilities all new media content creators face when they wade into the blogosphere.

For questions about the conference or conference sponsorships, you can email the conference planning committee here. To register for the conference go to www.bloggingwhilebrown.com.

Blogging While Brown Announces First Keynote: The Ultimate Blog Experience

2008-05-13T21:44:00.000-05:00

In keeping with its mission to promote the intellectual, social, and cultural development of the blogosphere, on Saturday, July 26, 2008, the conference will feature keynote speakers Angela Benton, Publisher of Black Web 2.0 and Markus Robinson, General Manager of Black Web 2.0. Benton and Robinson will be presenting a workshop titled“The Ultimate Blog Experience.”

“The Ultimate Blog Experience” will help blog publishers enhance the functionality and appearance of their blogs. Attendees will learn what it takes to publish a top blog and how to implement traffic building strategies, beautify design, widgets, and how to develop engaging content.

Angela Benton's experience spans a variety of industries including consulting for UPS, Bizjournals.com, Realestate.com, and Lendingtree.com. Angela also speaks on topics such as diversity in the web and media industries, web trends, web strategy, and web 2.0’s effects on urban entertainment. She been a panelist at South by Southwest and the Experience Music Project Pop Conference . She is presently leading design at RushmoreDrive.com. Angela graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications with a specialization in Digital Design. Angela is a member of the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment and currently serves on the Management Board of the Charlotte Network as Membership Director.

Markus Robinson is the Director of Information Technology for the College of Human Sciences at The Florida State University. Markus founded his own web design business in 1999 at the age of 19 and is an expert in new media startups, search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, advertising, application design and development and server administration. Markus is also the creator and Co-Founder of Culture Ads (cultureads.com) a culturally focused advertising network whose goal is to connect advertisers with multicultural online content and communities. Markus holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Systems from Florida A&M University with a minor in Business Administration.

Conference organizers hope that the conference raises awareness of bloggers of color and new media content creators who are helping to shape the face of the latest developments in new media technology.

“I hope this conference and its workshop presenters settles the misconception that people of color don't blog or are not involved in technology and new media content creation at the highest levels” said Gina McCauley, one of the conference organizers.
Blogging While Brown is the first international conference for bloggers of color. Additional information about Blogging While Brown workshop topics, registration, and conference events is available at www.bloggingwhilebrown.com

Blogging While Brown Announces Conference Schedule and Event Locations

2008-05-13T21:40:00.000-05:00

The Conference Planning Committee is pleased to announce the schedule and location of the events for Blogging While Brown, the first international conference for bloggers of color. The conference is being held in Atlanta, GA, July 25-27, 2008. For additional conference details and to register for the conference, go to the conference website at www.bloggingwhilebrown.com.

Conference Schedule

Friday, July 25, 2008

Fox Sports Grill, Atlantic Station

“Meet and Greet”. . . 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Georgia World Congress Center

Registration . . . . . . . . . . 8:30AM to 9:30AM

Workshops, Panels, & Keynotes ..9:30AM to 5:00PM

Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5:30 PM

Sunday, July 27, 2008

The Sun Dial Restaurant

Brunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:30AM

Hotel

Hilton Atlanta, Downtown, 255 Courtland Street NE

A block of rooms has been reserved for July 25, 2008 - July 27, 2008 at a rate of $99. Each room features 2 double-sized beds and other plush amenities.. Reserve your room at bloggingwhilebrown.com.

Who Are Yor Favorite Vloggers?

2008-02-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

We're putting together a panel on Vloggers for the Blogging While Brown conference. For those of you who vlog or like to watch vlogs, who are some of your favorite Vloggers? and why? let us know by sending an email to bloggingwhilebrown [at] gmail [dot] com.

Download the New Blogging While Brown Badges For Your Blog

2008-02-04T23:25:00.000-06:00

You asked for these so here is the html to make the BWB badges appear on your blog.

WORKSHOP PROPOSALS DUE FRIDAY, Feb. 8, 2008!

2008-02-04T23:09:00.001-06:00

WORKSHOP PROPOSALS ARE DUE THIS WEEK!!!! The deadline is February 8, 2008! You can download the forms on the conference website.

New Side Bar Button

2008-01-13T11:55:00.000-06:00

We have a new side bar button to promote the conference and are coming up with more. This is a longer narrower version than the one we had before.

Press Releases Go Out This Week- Posters Now Available

2008-01-11T21:41:00.000-06:00

Now that we have entered 2008, the conference planning process is getting in high gear. The conference homepage is undergoing a redesign and press releases announcing the conference will go out this weekend.

We also have a conference poster that you can post at work, church, school, or wherever you believe people interested in the conference may gather. You can download it here.

We want to remind you that the conference is for bloggers, their readers, and others such as grassroots organizations interested in leveraging their online activity with offline results.

Welcome Aboard Our New Sponsorship Coordinator, Kevin

2008-01-09T08:14:00.000-06:00

We want to welcome Kevin McAllister to the BWB Planning Committee. He is going to be coordinating sponsorships for the conference. He can be reached at kmcalli@bloggingwhilebrown.com.

To review the available sponsorships, you can review the sponsorship packet and the order form.

Don't forget that the deadline for submitting workshop proposals is February 8, 2008. Registration is still underway.

Blogging While Brown Call For Workshops Now Open!!! YAY!

2007-11-26T22:49:00.001-06:00

Planning is underway for Blogging While Brown: The First International Conference for Bloggers of Color, scheduled for July 25-27, 2008 at the Georgia World Conference Center and Hilton Downtown in Atlanta, Georgia.

The most important purpose of the conference is to share knowledge. The conference will promote intellectual, social, and cultural development of the blogging community by bringing bloggers of color together. Blogging While Brown is an opportunity to meet other bloggers and blog readers of color for the first time, discuss current issues of interest to bloggers of color, network with individuals and organizations interested in leveraging online activity with offline results, and learn about the latest technology that will assist bloggers with publishing their work and improving their readers experience by fully engaging in the newest media technology.

Blogging While Brown is currently accepting proposals for workshops that will appear at the conference.

Three Conference Tracks

Track No. 1 - From the Screens to the Streets: News, Politics, and Social Justice- This track will feature sessions related to blogging about current events, activism, and bloggers who are leveraging their online resources to get offline results.
Track No. 2 - Blogging Building Blocks-This conference track will feature sessions related to the nuts and bolts of blogging such as technology, blogging widgets, the business of blogging, monetizing blogs, increasing blog traffic, legal issues, design, layout and improving the reader experience.
Track No. 3 - The Blogs of Our Lives -This conference track will feature sessions related to entertainment, gossip, lifestyle and social networking, how not to get sued, artist promotion, and the blogs that are our favorite guilty pleasures.

Who may submit workshop proposals?

Any and all individuals interested in bloggers of color and the issues or interest to them should submit proposals. Individuals from for-profit and not-for-profit entities may submit proposals for consideration provided the proposed workshop supports the theme, goals or workshop subject areas of the Conference

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FEBRUARY 5, 2008.

Don't wait until the last minute!

Download the Workshop Proposal Form.

I for one would love to see someone put together panels on following topics:

Blog-a-holism: When readers spend more time on the blog than the blogger ( Y'all know who I am talking about)
Internet Ike Turners:How to Fight Back when You and Your Blog is Attacked
The Belligerent Blogger's Guide to Mental Health: What To Do When We All Can't Just Get Along.
Why Won't This CSS Work? - Internet Explorer 7 Won't Display My Expandable Posts, What Do I Do
Help Me Quit My Day Job:I Was Born To Blog
What To Do When the News Finds You

You can find some other suggested topics on the Blogging While Brown blog.

Be As Creative as you want to be. Work with other bloggers and blog readers. If you have any questions, email bloggingwhilebrown [at] gmail [dot] com.

Don't talk about it, be about it!

UPDATE: YOU CAN ATTEND SESSIONS IN ANY TRACK. CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INCLUDES ALL OF THE SESSIONS.

Track No. 1

From the Screens to the Streets: News, Politics, and Social Justice

This track will feature sessions related to blogging about current events, activism, and bloggers who are leveraging their online resources to get offline results.

Track No. 2

Blogging Building Blocks

While bloggers of color are very diverse and cover a wide variety of subjects and interests, most bloggers want to increase their blog traffic, have access to and master the latest internet technology, and many desire ways to generate income from their blogging in hopes of blogging full time. This conference track will feature sessions related to the nuts and bolts of blogging such as technology, blogging widgets, the business of blogging, monetizing blogs, increasing blog traffic, legal issues, design and layout and improving the reader experience for your blogosphere.

Track No. 3

The Blogs of Our Lives

This conference track will feature entertainment, Gossip, the Bloggerratti, Lifestyle and Social Networking, how not to get sued, artist promotion, our guilty pleasures.

Panels Committee Conference Call - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 8:00PM CST

2007-11-06T08:52:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone that responded! The Panels Committee meeting will take place Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 8:00PM CST I think that is 9:00EST and 7:00 Mountain and 6:00 Pacific( I think!). I will send out an agenda and we'll take notes and pass them on.

If you want to participate, join the Google Group for more info. If you are a member of the Google Group, log in for updates and information.

Meeting of the Conference Planning Committee

2007-10-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

Alrighty then,

Welcome new members who have indicated interest in serving on the Panels Committee. We need to have a conference call to discuss the process for determining how we are gong to select the conference workshops/sessions/seminars. Continue to post topics you are interested in seeing at the conference and continue to encourage your blogging friends and readers to weigh in.

We will need to draft the guidelines for submitting a workshop proposal, the deadlines, and also discuss the keynotes. If you have some draft guidelines from a previous conference that you have worked on, please post those on the Google Group.

If you have proposed deadlines for the various steps in the process, please post those as well so we can discuss as much as we can online before the meeting. At the conference call, please come prepared to indicate what specific responsibility or role you want to play in the process.

To the new folks, the way this works is I have listed a number of proposed meeting times, you should reply back to bloggingwhilebrown (at)gmail.com indicating which times you are NOT available for a conference call. So in review, don't email me saying when your ARE available. Email me indicating when you are NOT available. As always, even if you are unable to attend, you can have input by providing feedback via email or by posting on the Google Group.

Remind folks that the deadline for early registration is November 1st. We are off to a great start considering we haven't come up with a marketing plan. The folks on the last call can attest to the fact that I stick to schedule.

So here are the proposed times ALL TIMES ARE CST:
MONDAY November 5th
11:30AM to 12:15PM CST
8:00PM to 8:45PM CST

TUESDAY, November 6th
11:30AM to 12:15PM CST
7:00PM to 7:45 PM CST

Wednesday, November 7th
11:30AM to 12:15 CST
8:00PM to 8:45CST

Again, let me know when you are NOT available. If you are not available at all then memorialize your thoughts and send them in an email. We are also looking for someone to act at the Coordinator of the Panels Committee.

If you are interested in serving on any of the conference planning committees, you need to join our Google Group. You can use the widget in the sidebar or you can send an email asking for an invitation to bloggingwhilebrown at gmail dot com.

Panels Committee Meeting

2007-10-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in being on the committee to responsible for selecting the topics, workshops and panels that will be covered at the conference, make sure you join the Blogging While Brown Google Group. The committee will be meeting to establish the criteria and deadlines to submit proposals.

Also if there is a topic you want to see featured at BWB feel free to leave a comment on this blog.

BloggingWhileBrown.com is Live!

2007-10-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to everyone who's been waiting...our conference site is now live! You can visit at http://www.bloggingwhilebrown.com.

On the site, you'll find links to this blog, our wiki (which we will be updating this month) as well as links to registration and more information about our host hotel (the Atlanta Hilton Downtown) and transportation and sponsorship information.

First Conference Committee Conference Call

2007-10-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

Now that the host hotel and conference venue have been secured, it is time to assemble the Conference Planning Committee for Blogging While Brown. The conference will take place July 25-27,2008 in Atlanta,GA. FYI, the 20th Annual National Black Arts Festival is also going on during that time so there will be plenty to do that weekend in Atlanta. Early Registration is underway and ends November 1st. I want to thank everyone for their suggestions as we selected a location and venues, now the hard part begins.

As suggested, we will be having a conference call to start organizing the committee structure for the planning process.

Now if you are just interested in holding a workshop, you don't need to serve on a committee, you just need to subscribe to bloggingwhilebrown.blogspot.com ( I set it up on feedburner) and wait for instructions on how and when to submit workshop proposals.

I'll be sending out an agenda prior to the meeting feel free to add suggestions or revisions as I will be sticking to it strictly and under no circumstances will the conference call go over 60 minutes.

So I need to know when you ARE NOT available to meet. I am certain I will not be able to accommodate everybody, but I will try to select times that won't be too late for folks on the east coast or too early for folks on the west. All times are CENTRAL. So let me know when you ARE NOT available. If you have changed your mind, that is cool too.

Saturday, October 6, at 12:00PM CST
Sunday, October 7 at 4:00PM CST
Monday, October 8th at 8:00PM CST
Tuesday, October 9th at 7:30PM CST
Wednesday October 10th at 8:00PM CST

I'll send you the conference call instructions based on who responds. If you didn't get an e-mail about this teleconference and are interested, send an email to bloggingwhilebrown at gmail dot com

Early Registration For Blogging While Brown Now Open

2007-09-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

Whew! Finally, we thought this day would NEVER come, but it is here finally! Registration for Blogging While Brown is now open. Early registration begins now through November 1,2007! YAY! The first 100 registrants will receive a discounted price of $100. So e-mail all your friends and tell them about it now before we start promoting the conference.

You can register now using EventBrite:

Let us know if you notice any glitches during the process. Right now, the Event Brite page is processing payments through Paypal. We will be registering for Google Checkout processing this weekend. If web based registration does not work for you, email bloggingwhilebrown(at)gmail.com for instructions on how to register by mail.

HOTEL
The host hotel is the Hilton Atlanta Downtown, they assure me that our customized conference hotel registration page will be ready next week.

BLOGGING WHILE BROWN WEBSITE
BloggingWhileBrown.com is currently under construction, but should be up soon.

COMMITTEES
As soon as we recover from booking the hotel and meeting space, we'll get going on content planning.

SPONSORS
If you belong to a company or organization that you think would be interested in sponsoring the conference e-mail bloggingwhilebrown(at)gmail.com

THANKS
To all of you who gave event planning advice, thank you! We settled on Event Brite after a recommendation from this blog. Keep the suggestions coming!

Blogging While Brown Set for July 25-27, 2008 in Atlanta, GA

2007-09-19T09:57:00.000-05:00

Mark your calendars down. We got the hotel and the venue. The conference will begin with registration and some nightim social event TBD on Friday. Seminars, Panels, Workshops, etc. all day Saturday and a morning -- going away event of some sort. Again, the venue and locations have been obtained. What we fill them up with is up to us.

Karsh is working on the homepage and I am working on the conference registration page and then the committee(s) can start figuring out what content we want the conference to feature.

The revolution will not be televised, it will be blogged.

FYI, there are two other conferences going on at the same time in the same venue that should interest some of y'all. One is a huge arts festival and the other is the National Medical Association so you should have plenty of folks to kick it with that weekend.

Have Event Planning Experience or Have you Attended a Blogging Conference in the Past?

2007-09-01T15:18:00.001-05:00

Are there things that planners forgot to plan for that we should make sure we get from the venue? Parking? Lap Top issues, connectivity? Length of panels? Down time to blog or podcast? Etc.

The Latest.

2007-08-18T20:17:00.001-05:00

Folks we're definitely a go for Atlanta 2008, we just have to sign the contract for the venue.

Registration
As soon as we secure the location of the panels/seminars/ sessions, registration will go up. Online and off line registration will be available for those who do not trust internet payment processing.

Hotel
A block of rooms will be available.

Panels, Sessions, Seminars, Rountables Etc.
Once the logistics are done, then the hard work begins. If you would like to present a workshop or know someone who does, the BWB Conference Planning Committee or a special subcommittee will start a submission process. If you don't want to present a panel, but would like a session to cover a specific issue or topic, then you can continue to suggest those as well.

How to Serve on the Conference Planning Committee
All of the slots on the Conference Planning Committee are open and once the venue and specific dates are finalized, we'll post info on how to become a member. Ultimately the goal is to have a conference that reflects the interests and needs of those attending. This is for, by, and about US! In addition to the CPC, surveys will also be utilized to gauge the desires of the attendees throughout the planning process. When the opportunity arises, speak, or forever hold your peace. You might consider subscribing to this blog's feed by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

What we do know
Registration will likely begin on a Friday at midday and continue on throughout the evening to allow people to fly in and get acclimated. A Beginning Blogger Boot Camp is scheduled in the afternoon. That is separate from BWB for those who are interested in blogging, but haven't taken the leap yet. This will enable them to hop right into the conference. Somebody suggested a workshop for beginning bloggers in an earlier thread.

An evening social/get to know you session/ etc is planned later that evening immediately following the BBBC. Details will be filled in by the Conference Planning Committee.

Workshops will go all day long on Saturday and the conference will end Sunday morning so folks can travel back home. The facilities for the Sunday event will be reserved, but what happens Sunday morning will be determined by the Planning Committee.

A lot of time will be built in for people to come together organically and make connections during the conference and have a chance to enjoy the city together, meet and caucus.

Anonymity
The right to anonymous speech is a sacred one and we realize that many bloggers write pseudonymously, therefore if you would like to maintain your anonymity yet participate, arrangements are being made for you.

What Do You Want The Conference to Feature?

2007-08-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

As we've said before, the Blogging While Brown Conference is all about what you, the participants, want it to be. We've heard your suggestions for topics at the conference -- now we want more! Tell us what topics you want to hear covered at the conference. Keep in mind that we want topics that are going to be centered around blogging, podcasting and social media.

So let's hear it! After all, this is your conference, and we want the content to reflect what you want.

Blogging While Brown: The Wiki

2007-07-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

Hello all! As Gina said in her last post, the Blogging While Brown Conference now has a wiki! The wiki contains all the pertinent information gleaned from this site (posts and comments) and serves as our sandbox for the planning and coordination of the conference from here on out.

If you've never heard of a wiki, fear not; chances are, you've at least used one (Wikipedia, anyone?) and are already familiar with how they work!

A wiki is a collaborative website whose content can be edited by anyone who has access to it. Right now, I have access, and if you surf on over to the wiki, you'll see I've made placeholders for future sections of the wiki (attendees, schedule, etc.) as well as the following:

Resources (basically any suggestions for things to help aid the conference)
Sponsors (for those who want to donate money or supplies -- in the future, a PayPal link will be here for direct donations)
Suggested Topics (panel ideas, basically)
Volunteers (you can help out too!)

The more interaction that happens on this blog will help in adding more content to the wiki, so be sure to give us your ideas! This is the time to be active, not passive. However, if you choose to be a passive participator (why would you?) there are ways you can stay in the loop with what's going on as well:

Add the following code to your website or blog to automatically show a badge linking to our Wiki:
<a href="http://bloggingwhilebrown.pbwiki.com/"><img border="0" src="http://bloggingwhilebrown.pbwiki.com/badge.php" /></a>
Subscribe to the wiki's RSS feed using your RSS aggregator of choice. Google Reader is what I prefer, but there are several others out there, both web-based and standalone.

We're going full steam ahead now with the planning, so come aboard!

We have a Wiki! Thanks Karsh!

2007-07-24T23:12:00.000-05:00

Karsh was kind enough to set up a pwiki for the conference. It is beautiful. It has some FAQs about the conference. We might even be able to have the date set by mid August or earlier. So stay tuned.

Atlanta it is!

2007-07-24T07:31:00.000-05:00

Okay so nobody threw out any other cities and folks seemed to be cool even enthusiastic with Atlanta. I was supposed to be working on BWB for the past two weeks, but I got distracted by another little project I have been working on on my other blog that kind of got out of control.

So, this week I will take care of all the "paperwork" associated with getting BWB going.

So as soon as we have a location, we'll be ready to roll. If you are from Atlanta and have suggestions for good places to locate a conference so that people can go out and kick it in the evenings without having to have a car, send it in.

Continue to comment on what you want to do and learn at the conference because the content is going to be blogger driven. Folks you can still serve on the Advisory Committee ( Well technically I guess everyone who comments is on the advisory committee)which will drive the content.

Also, think about creative ways to deal with anonymous bloggers. Folks who want to come, but either don't want to reveal which blog they run or will reveal the blog, but don't want to reveal their names. I don't want someone to think they have to sacrifice their anonymity in order to take part in the conference.

Hundreds of Bloggers of Color in one Place. What do You do?

2007-07-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a lot of enthusiasm for Denver so what about Atlanta?

I've found an event planner to handle logistics. Now the hard part. Programming.

Do you want workshops, panels, seminars? If so, what about? I love technology, widgets etc. What would you travel across the ocean to see or do at a conference for bloggers of color?

Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Let's Get Started!

2007-06-16T14:03:00.000-05:00

Alrighty then. Who? What? When? Where? How? I guess I am going to have to prod people along on this process. So those who are wanting the be involved in the planning phase, lets get started. You can comment in the comments of this blog, but it you don't want to register, send your comments to bloggingwhilebrown at gmail dot com.

Who volunteers to be on the planning committee ( no obligation to attend)?
When do you think we should have this? ( I say at the same time as YearlyKos)
Where do you want this to happen? (Off the top of my head I am thinking Denver, No particular reason)
How? I don't know what this questions is? Maybe the question is HOW MUCH to you think a reasonable registration fee should be?
What should be the focus? ( I say social networking/entertainment and social justice/politics)
How long should it be? (I am thinking two days, a Friday and Saturday)

I am just popping these things off fromthe top of my head. Tell me what you are thinking.

Don't You Think It's Time?

2007-06-10T10:39:00.001-05:00

I started this blog because I think that bloggers of color are at an inflection point in the development of the blogosphere, afrosphere, blogtopia, or whatever word you use to describe this thing that we're all doing.

I have visited several sites where people have suggested various ways bloggers of color can come together to take things to the next level.

I think we're ready for our own conference similar to SXSW, Yearly Kos, or BlogHer. I started this blog to be an incubator to gather those who are interested in serving on an advisory committee to plan the first international interactive conference for bloggers of color. I am aiming for Summer of 2008. It will be an election year so I think that is a perfect time for gathering.

What do you think?

Blogging While Brown

Blogs Attending Blogging While Brown 2010, Washington,DC

BWB 2010 Confirmed Speakers

Workshops and Panels for Blogging While Brown 2010

Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now?

BWB Announces Blogging Day of Service 'Free Blogger Boot Camp'

Blogging While Brown 2010 Conference Badges

Blogging While Brown 2009 Schedule and Workshop Descriptions

Blogging While Brown 2009 AT &T Scholarships Now Available

2009 "Call for Workshops" Now Open

Committee Opportunities

Sidebar Badges Now Available

Blogging While Brown 2009, Chicago, IL , June 19-20

Black Bloggers At the Democratic National Conentnion

Blogging While Brown Mini-Conference Video- Launch of Twitterholics Anonymous

RSVP for Sunday Brunch

Updated Atendee List

Blogging While Brown would like to thank our sponsors

Late Registration Ends Today!: Updated LIst of Attendees

The Following Blogs Will Be Represented At the Conference

Registration for Blogging While Brown Ends July 14, 2008

Who's Attending The Conference?

Blogging While Brown Announces Workshop Lineup

Blogging While Brown Announces First Keynote: The Ultimate Blog Experience

Blogging While Brown Announces Conference Schedule and Event Locations

Who Are Yor Favorite Vloggers?

Download the New Blogging While Brown Badges For Your Blog

WORKSHOP PROPOSALS DUE FRIDAY, Feb. 8, 2008!

New Side Bar Button

Press Releases Go Out This Week- Posters Now Available

Welcome Aboard Our New Sponsorship Coordinator, Kevin

Blogging While Brown Call For Workshops Now Open!!! YAY!

Blogging While Brown is currently accepting proposals for workshops that will appear at the conference.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FEBRUARY 5, 2008.

Suggested Topics for Blogging While Brown - Requests for Proposals and Conference Tracks.

UPDATE: YOU CAN ATTEND SESSIONS IN ANY TRACK. CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INCLUDES ALL OF THE SESSIONS.

Panels Committee Conference Call - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 8:00PM CST

Meeting of the Conference Planning Committee

Panels Committee Meeting

BloggingWhileBrown.com is Live!

First Conference Committee Conference Call

Early Registration For Blogging While Brown Now Open

Blogging While Brown Set for July 25-27, 2008 in Atlanta, GA

Have Event Planning Experience or Have you Attended a Blogging Conference in the Past?

The Latest.

What Do You Want The Conference to Feature?

Blogging While Brown: The Wiki

We have a Wiki! Thanks Karsh!

Atlanta it is!

Hundreds of Bloggers of Color in one Place. What do You do?

Let's Get Started!

Don't You Think It's Time?