BlogHer09: Day 1 - Swag Bags, Big Brands, Networking & More!

BlogHer '09 is the premiere conference for women bloggers. Bastille Marketing is here for the first time and so far, it is all its cracked up to be. While I have missed the majority of today's sessions because I have been hanging out on the Exhibit floor networking like a madwoman, the feedback overheard and the tweets indicate that people are pleased with the content.

There is swag galore! My BlogHer '09 roommie and former NMS colleague, Leslie Bradshaw, has unboxed in full digital glory all of the goodies we've received so far. Check it out - from Mr. Potato Head, to a vibrator (?!) and a female urination device, to yummy Ragu recipes, to numerous thumb drives creatively concealed in cute boxes and even bracelets.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the big brand response at BlogHer. Not only have major brands come out in a huge way to support (and woo!) the bloggers here, they have also been totally creative in how they have done it. PepsiCo has several brands represented in an impressively large booth at the entrance of the Exhibit Hall. What strikes me about PepsiCo - a brand I am quite familiar with - is that they took a philanthropic approach to their brand presence. Each area of the booth has a product line, but also promotes a philanthropy - for example, a book donation drop-off, green energy, etc.

Bissell is located in the back corner and I had to go remind them how much I adore the Steam Mop that I just purchased. Ann Taylor has a great booth with their lead stylist present and several outfits from their new fall line debuting here in Chicago at their Michigan Avenue store on Sunday morning for BlogHer attendees. Mary Kay has two booths and a great presentation as well with their virtual makeover tool. Hanes wowed me with their foot massage booth, and the adorable set-up of the booth - the wall was covered in t-shirt wallpaper, the benches were made from t-shirts with embroidered tees and undies. Their swag was a t-shirt bag - see Leslie's pic of it! Super cute.

While so many booths were amazingly creative with the design as well as their give-aways, the homerun goes to PepsiCo's Propel Water. Why? Because they really thought ahead - they are offering a service that they will pack up and send all of your swag home for you! All you do is pay for the shipping costs. Brilliant.

Off to more networking at the PepsiCo sponsored cocktail party, then dinner. Then the party of the night - Mommy Needs a Cocktail Party! Can't wait.

Great Reading: 10 Ways To Jump Start Your Social Media Thinking

Today's reading included a great piece from Jason Falls geared toward social media practitioners and is a great reminder to turn things upside down every once in a while. I had a boss early in mind career who was frustrated with the sales staff because we were lagging behind our yearly numbers. He told us all to change our shower routine the very next morning. What? Yes, try changing your morning shower routine, it forces you to really pay attention. It also stimulates the creative juices and for me, it usually gets me over a mental block. Here is a roadmap of how to think differently about the way you typically design a social media marketing plan for your clients:

1. Design a plan that does NOT include Facebook, Twitter or a corporate blog.


2. Look at your Facebook strategy. Apply it to MySpace and fix what won’t work there.


3. Assume your most passionate consumers are only engaged on forums and message boards. Develop five tactics to reach them.


4. Imagine your target audience is blind or deaf and find methods and tools to communicate with them successfully.


5. Write a Wikipedia entry about your product, service or campaign. Now re-write it without the B.S. as a consumer would.


6. Take 10 pictures that, without captions, visualize what you’re trying to communicate. Upload them to Flickr as a set and look at them every day.


7. Write a news report about the success of your campaign, starting with the headline that you achieved your goal and write the success story in reverse chronological order, imagining the blueprint for your success.


8. Go find a random, niche social network outside the realm of your target’s footprint and find a meaningful way to reach that audience with your message.


9. Ask yourself, “What would make the boring, old clerk at the corner store tell me about this?” Find a way to weave that in to your strategy.


10. Have the “What Are We Missing” brainstorming session outside, sitting on the grass while having a picnic.

You should read the whole article - its very worthwhile!

Celebrate the Storming of the Bastille (July 14) - Philly-Style

Only in Philadelphia would a former prison and alleged haunted location have a full-on bash in honor of the Bastille!  Check it out - and you might just find me there too!  And watch out - TastyKakes are thrown from the tower as part of the celebration...mmmm that in and of itself is worth the trip!  Hopefully, they will have some peanut butter KandyKakes

NYC Steps Up Support of Media Industry, Includes Freelancers

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES EIGHT INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK CITY

NYC has a unique challenge - it dominates the US in terms of traditional media outlets, although it is also home to numerous "small to medium-sized media companies, those with less than 500 employees, [which] account for nearly one-half of all employment in the sector." Old media meet new media. David meet Goliath. Who will win? And thus, the MediaNYC2020 project was born.

While most of it relates to support of the traditional press corps, it does offer support to the social media industry and citizen journalists, particularly through the Hive@55.

The eight points of this initiative include:
1. NYC Media Lab
2. Media Tech Bond Program
3. Media and Tech Fellowship
4. NYC Start-up Procurement Initiative
5. NYC BigApps Competition
6. Media Freelancer Hive@55
7. JumpStart New Media
8. International and Domestic Recruitment

There are many compelling points to this initiative in my view, but most importantly Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York recognize that social media is not only a player - but a significant contender. Enough so, that they are facilitating partnerships between the old media and new media worlds. So when you are faced with a challenge of a potential client or internal decision maker saying they don't see any value in social media or the Web 2.0 world, this is a great example to show them.

For more info or to participate in the forum, visit: http://www.nycmedia2020.com/

Spoiler alert: the site hasn't officially launched yet - in signing up for an alert as to when it does launch the site got wonky and gave me an error message. Great initiative, let's hope they can get their act together enough to have a working website!

Bloggers: Protected by Journalism Shield Laws - Yes or No?

I'm an avid follower of Simon Owens' Bloggasm which just published this news:  Judge rules bloggers not protected by journalism shield laws   Posted using ShareThis

I'm extremely disappointed to see this ruling, as is TechDirt who originally covered the news.  Why am I so disappointed?  Not because this is a slam against bloggers and their credibility as citizen journalists (if the traditional media thinks they are credible enough to have incorporated them in their business model as a way to stay alive in the new media world, than really what more proof do you need?), but more because this judge is so misinformed about the new Information Age.  I'd like to know if he consulted with someone knowledgable about social media and the blogosphere for this ruling - it sure doesn't sound like it.  I question whether or not Shelle Halle got a fair ruling.  And, if not, where does this leave the rights of bloggers everywhere who post credible information?  Will this stop citizen journalists from publishing breaking news?  Will this prevent whistle-blowers from confiding in bloggers?

Additionally, in doing further research to compile my thoughts on this, I have discovered that there are decidedly different rulings on similar cases as compiled nicely by the Blogging Journalist

Tell me your opinion.  Should bloggers be protected under the same laws as journalists?

Blogging for Beginners: An Ad Council and Google Panel Presentation

On Tuesday, I was a panelist on behalf of The Advertising Council presenting Blogging for Beginners to an audience of nearly 100 Non-Profit and Government Agency marketeers. It was great fun and I shared the stage with some impressive people -

• Galen Panger - Google for Non-Profits
• Amy Ganderson and Dave Connell from The Nature Conservancy
• Bob Curtis from TSA

Take a look at my presentation below - I did the opening introduction and the overview of blogging. Would love your feedback and/or questions!
Blogging for Beginners

View more documents from Jenni Collins.