2009 Conference Program_rev8

8/6/2019 2009 Conference Program_rev8

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM

JUNE1920,2009CHICAGO,ILLINOISUNIVERSITYCENTERCONFERENCECHICAGO

ConferenceSponsors:


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BLOGGING WHILE BROWN 2009 PAGE 2

Welcome to Chicago!

Blogging While Brown is delighted to extend warm greetings to everyone attending

the 2nd annual conference. This year, the conference is being hosted in the city of

Chicago, a city known for its dining, culture, shopping and entertainment, at the

University Center Conference Chicago.

This event marks another milestone in the

conferences vision to unite Bloggers of

Color to exchange their experiences,

knowledge and ideas.

One of the new features of the this years

conference is the Beginning Bloggers Boot

Camp, a full-day session being held on Fri-

day, June 19th. The workshop shows the

commitment that Blogging While Brown

has to broadening reach of the blogging

experience.We hope all of you will enjoy the exciting

new topics and new friends that were

sure youll meet.

Thank you for coming, and enjoy!

Buckingham Fountains, Chicago, Illinois

FROM THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS


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CONFERENCE SPONSORS

Blogging While Brown would like to thank our sponsors for theirgenerous support.

Silver Sponsor

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding

company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates AT&T operating

companies are the providers of AT&T services in the United

States and around the world. With a powerful array of net-

work resources that includes the nations fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading pro-vider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the

best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in

the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verseSM

and AT&T DIRECTVSM brands. The companys suite of IP-based business commu-

nications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets,

AT&Ts Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COMorganizations are known for their

leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again

ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNEmagazines list of

the Worlds Most Admired Companies. Diversity Inc named AT&T among its Top 50

Companies for Diversity in 2009. AT&T moved up 20 spaces in the 2009 rankings

over last year from 22nd to 2nd. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the

products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at

http://www.att.com.

2009 DISCLAIMERS 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 3G service not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logoand all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated com-panies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
http://yellowpages.com/http://www.att.com/http://www.att.com/http://yellowpages.com/


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Conference Bags Sponsor

Founded in February 2005, as a labor of love, by Jory Des

Jardins, Elisa Camahort Page and Lisa Stone, BlogHer's

mission is to create opportunities for women online to

pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. Today, Blog-

Her is the leading participatory news, entertainment and information network for

women online. BlogHer now reaches more than 14 million women each month via

annual conferences, a Web hub (http://www.blogher.com), and a publishing net-

work of more than 2,500 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates (http://

blogherads.com). Committed to supporting other grassroots events born of passion

and commitment, as BlogHer was, we are proud to return as a sponsor for BloggingWhile Browns second year.

Live Streaming Sponsor

NextGenWeb.org is an open-discussion forum on how

broadband, and the networks that support it, affect our

lives. NGW unites real people across the country to talk

about how they use broadband to solve some of Americas

pressing societal issues: keeping and creating jobs, enhancing health care, helping

modernize our education system, protecting our environment and making public

safety a priority to name a few.

NGW just launched its 2.0 version and features blogs, vlogs, videos, social network-

ing connections and live streams. With this newly designed site, NGW is aiming to

inspire users to become more active participants in the many debates that are tak-

ing place on broadband.

NextGenWeb was founded by the broadband providers who are part ofUSTelecom,the broadband association. These companies provide broadband on a fixed and

mobile basis. And, they invest billion of dollars each year to build out, maintain and

upgrade the nations communications infrastructure.
http://www.blogher.com/blogher_conference/confhttp://blogher.com/http://blogherads.com/http://blogherads.com/http://blogherads.com/http://blogherads.com/http://blogherads.com/http://blogherads.com/http://blogher.com/http://www.blogher.com/blogher_conference/conf


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Monroe AndersonMonroe 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 Americas best-known media corporationsDow

Jones, Johnson Publishing Company, the Tribune Company, Post-Newsweek and

Viacom. In 1988-89, he had a stint in municipal government, serving as Press Sec-

retary for Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer. Anderson has executive produced and

hosted his own local CBS TV show, Common Ground, written signed op-ed page col-

umns 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 ConteeCheryl Contee is a partner and co-founder of the social media

consultancy Fission Strategy where she specializes in online advo-

cacy, engagement, and communications. Prior to launching Fis-

sion 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 cam-

paigns. 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 Communica-

tions as Senior Producer for International Networks for television brands Discovery

Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids and

more.

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
http://bloggerrelations.com/http://bloggerrelations.com/


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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 blogJackAndJillPolitics.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, poli-

tics and economics and has an international executive M.B.A. from Georgetown Uni-

versity . In her spare time, Ms. Contee enjoys hiking, yoga, movies and tai chi

sword.

Carmen Dixon RosenzweigCarmen 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 conver-

sations about race armed with understanding but without shame

or overwhelming fear.

Those who work with Carmen can expect to emerge with re-

newed feelings of optimism and a re-energized connection to hu-

manity 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, reluc-

tance and fear.
http://commongoods.net/http://jackandjillpolitics.com/http://jackandjillpolitics.com/http://commongoods.net/


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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 re-

ceived his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Techno-

logical 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 commu-nity 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) Corpo-
http://www.blacksgonegeek.org/http://www.bdpa-chicago.org/http://www.bdpa-chicago.org/http://www.blacksgonegeek.org/


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rate Advisory Council (CAC). Milt has received over 20 awards and honors at the lo-

cal chapter and National level including the most prestigious National BDPA Out-

standing Chapter President Award, Outstanding Contributor Award, Member of theYear 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 beauti-

ful 12-year-old twin daughters, volunteering for BDPA initiatives.

Kerrick Henny

Mr. Kerrick Henny, Executive Director for Public Affairs serve as AT&Ts national

point person for the major African-American constituencies and oversees AT&Ts

stakeholder relations for Federal and National Third Party Groups.

For over 20 years, Mr. Henny has been a key figure in Texas statewide business,

political, and community based organizations, major fundraising campaigns, and in

the advancement of various community projects. Mr. Hennys understanding of in-

stitutional partners has been paramount to the successful engagement of and the

partnership with key stakeholders.

Mr. Henny has been an active member on the following notable boards, including,

the Julia C. Hester House, the United Negro College Fund, the Houston Area UrbanLeague, the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Business Alliance,

the Texas African American Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the Corpo-

rate Advisory Board for the State of Texas National Association for the Advance-

ment of Colored People. Additionally, Mr. Henny is a member of Leadership Hous-

ton and the United Way.

Mr. Henny is also the Co-Founder of Brothers With Vision, an innovative program

designed to mentor at-risk teens and to assist them with completing high school

and preparing them for the workforce. His contributions have resulted in the par-ticipants individual growth and academic achievements.

Mr. Henny has been recognized by the diverse communities for his achievements.

His accolades include, the 2006 Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce Executive

of the Year, the 2005 Texas Legislative Black Caucus Outstanding Texan of the


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Year; the 2005 Houstons Friends of Friends Network Positive Male Role-Model of

the Year; and the 2004 Knights of St. Peter Claver Humanitarian of the Year.

Mr. Henny is a native of Houston, Texas and graduate of University of Houston. Heis married to Adrienne Henny, and the proud father of Kristopher.

Angel Laws

Angel Laws is the 24 year-old creator & editor of popular online en-

tertainment 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 findhim giving back and blogging over at ybpguide.com, a site meant to

engage the young innovative tech evangelists of color.

Bruce Montgomery

Bruce Montgomery is CEO, Executive Producer and Host of Technology

Access Television, Chicagos weekly TV show on and about technology.

Bruce is also the producer and co-host of Critics in Black, a weekly TV

show that critiques movies, music and television entertainment.

Bruce established his technology consulting firm Montgomery & Com-

pany in 1989 to address the information management needs of his cli-

ents in business, education, government and the non-profit sector. Prior to becom-

ing an entrepreneur Bruce developed his expertise in technology and marketing
http://brightplum.com/http://ybpguide.com/http://ybpguide.com/http://brightplum.com/


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working for the companies of Control Data, Entr Computer, Unisys, and Sprint.

His current work includes serving as the Chief Technology Officer for Paradise

Homes and Development which is constructing Americas first Smart, Green andWireless residential community on a 100 acre site in Canton, Mississippi.

Bruce serves on the Board of Directors of The MIT Enterprise Forum of Chicago, The

Illinois Technology Association, Mayor Daleys Council of Technology Advisors and

The Chicago Convergence

Bruce majored in marketing at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and at-

tended Amos Tuck Graduate School of Business at Dartmouth College in Hanover,

New Hampshire.

Bruce is a graduate of The Johnnie Colemon Institute and will be awarded his di-

ploma in October for completing the intensive Universal Foundation of Better Living,

Inc. (UFBL) Teacher Training Program.

Jonnice Slaughter

Jonnice Slaughter runs a successful Public Relations and Branding bou-

tique named ChatterBox Publicity, LLC, headquartered in Atlanta,

GA. The firms 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 ex-

perts. Their clients have been seen on BETs 106 and Park, BETs Hip

Hop Awards, BETs 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 Maga-

zine, 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 me-

dia. 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.


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BLO GGI NG WHI LE BRO WN 200 9 PAGE 12

Pam Spaulding

Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher ofPamsHouseBlend.com,

honored as Best LGBT Blog in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards. A

regular contributor to the progressive blogs Pandagon and The Bil-

erico 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 commentaryon CNN during the 2008 presidential electioncycle; 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 out-

reach specialist for Free Press, the national, non-profit media

reform organization. She blogs for Free Press Web sites, includ-

ing SavetheInternet.com and StopBigMedia.com, and has a col-

umn 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 byAlterNet.org, ColorLines, Fairness

and Accuracy in Reportings Extra, and the Womens 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 Roadand Wired Less: Disconnected in

Urban America. Prior to joining Free Press, Megan was a national political reporterfor In These Times magazine, a staff reporter and editor for The New Standard, and

worked extensively as a freelance journalist.
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4224http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3935http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3935http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4224


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CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

5 And A Possible

A Buzz in Your Ear

Acts of Faith in Love and Life

Afrobella

All About Race

Around Harlem

Around NYC

Awesomely Luvvie

Beyond-isms

Black Gyrl Cancer Slayer

Blacks Gone Geek

Blank Bare Clean

BlogHer

Bronzeville Change

Brother Bartell

But Youre A Girl

Carlos in DC

Change You Can See

Chartreuse

Color of Change

Concrete Loop

Consumer Blast

Cyber PR Urban

Dallas South Blog

Dragon Fly

Ebony Jet

Flack Me

Fresh Manna of the Day

Global Wire

Global Wire

Goddess Intellect

Hajj Flemings

Harmonic Leadership

Have a Wonderful

IT Empowers U

Jack and Jill Politics

Kiamsha.com: That Which Awakens Me

Listen to Leon

Live Life Posh

Love a Black Woman
http://www.abuzzinyourear.blogspot.com/http://actsoffaithinloveandlife.blogspot.com/http://www.afrobella.com/http://www.allaboutrace.com/http://aroundharlem.com/http://around-nyc.com/http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/http://www.beyondisms.com/http://blackgyrlcancerslayer.wordpress.com/http://blacksgonegeek.blogspot.com/http://blankbareclean.blogspot.com/http://www.blogher.com/http://bronzevillechange.ning.com/http://brotherbartell.blogspot.com/http://butyoureagirl.com/http://carlosqc.blogspot.com%20/http://changeyoucansee.com/http://chartreuse.wordpress.com/http://www.concreteloop.com/http://www.consumerblast.com/http://www.cyberprurban.com/bloghttp://www.dallassouthblog.com/http://nnlm.gov/pnr/dragonfly/http://ebonyjet.com/http://www.flackme.com/http://www.wordpress.com/freshmannaofthedayhttp://globalwire.blogspot.com/http://globalwire.blogspot.com/http://goddessintellect.wordpress.com/http://www.hajjflemings.com/bloghttp://www.harmonicleadership.blogspot.com/http://haveawonderful.net/http://itempowersu.com/http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/http://kiamshacom.blogspot.com/http://listentoleon.net/http://livelifeposh.blogspot.com/http://www.loveablackwoman.com/http://www.loveablackwoman.com/http://livelifeposh.blogspot.com/http://listentoleon.net/http://kiamshacom.blogspot.com/http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/http://itempowersu.com/http://haveawonderful.net/http://www.harmonicleadership.blogspot.com/http://www.hajjflemings.com/bloghttp://goddessintellect.wordpress.com/http://globalwire.blogspot.com/http://globalwire.blogspot.com/http://www.wordpress.com/freshmannaofthedayhttp://www.flackme.com/http://ebonyjet.com/http://nnlm.gov/pnr/dragonfly/http://www.dallassouthblog.com/http://www.cyberprurban.com/bloghttp://www.consumerblast.com/http://www.concreteloop.com/http://chartreuse.wordpress.com/http://changeyoucansee.com/http://carlosqc.blogspot.com%20/http://butyoureagirl.com/http://brotherbartell.blogspot.com/http://bronzevillechange.ning.com/http://www.blogher.com/http://blankbareclean.blogspot.com/http://blacksgonegeek.blogspot.com/http://blackgyrlcancerslayer.wordpress.com/http://www.beyondisms.com/http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/http://around-nyc.com/http://aroundharlem.com/http://www.allaboutrace.com/http://www.afrobella.com/http://actsoffaithinloveandlife.blogspot.com/http://www.abuzzinyourear.blogspot.com/


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The SuperSpade

Theo Talks

Urban Beauty

UWISHUNU

We Are Black Women

YBP Guide

Marty Blogs

Miss Theda

Mocha Mom 365

Monroe Anderson

Naomi Christine

Pams House Blend

Peruanista

Philena

Photo Solitude

Pocket Book Protest

Project New Era

Queen Tahj

Save the Internet

See Your Worth

Small World View

Social Media Socialite

South Shore Chamber

TATV

The Joba Group

The Smak
http://www.thesuperspade.com/http://theotalks.net/http://www.urbanbeautyonline.com/http://www.uwishunu.com/http://www.weareblackwomen.com/http://ybpguide.com/http://www.martyblogs.com/http://www.misstheda.com/http://www.mochamom365.net/http://monroeanderson.typepad.com/http://www.naomichristine.com/http://pamshouseblend.com/http://htpp/peruanista.blogspot.comhttp://philena.blogspot.com/http://photosolitude.com/http://www.pocketbookprotest.com/http://www.projectnewera.com/http://www.queentahj.blogspot.com/http://savetheinternet.com/http://www.seeyourworth.com/http://www.smallworldview.blogspot.com/http://www.socialmediasocialite.com/http://sshorechamber.blogspot.com/http://www.tatv.org/blogshttp://www.thejobagroup.org/http://thesmak.blogspot.com/http://thesmak.blogspot.com/http://www.thejobagroup.org/http://www.tatv.org/blogshttp://sshorechamber.blogspot.com/http://www.socialmediasocialite.com/http://www.smallworldview.blogspot.com/http://www.seeyourworth.com/http://savetheinternet.com/http://www.queentahj.blogspot.com/http://www.projectnewera.com/http://www.pocketbookprotest.com/http://photosolitude.com/http://philena.blogspot.com/http://htpp/peruanista.blogspot.comhttp://pamshouseblend.com/http://www.naomichristine.com/http://monroeanderson.typepad.com/http://www.mochamom365.net/http://www.misstheda.com/http://www.martyblogs.com/http://ybpguide.com/http://www.weareblackwomen.com/http://www.uwishunu.com/http://www.urbanbeautyonline.com/http://theotalks.net/http://www.thesuperspade.com/


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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE


FRIDAY, JUNE 19

The Beginning Bloggers Boot Camp 8:30 a.m. 4 p.m.

Park/Fountain Room

This one-day intensive workshop covers the basic building blocks of blogging. With

a focus on learning by doing, attendees will walk in civilians and walk out as

bloggers. The workshop will teach skills such as how to post text, links, images, au-

dio, and video, as well as widgets, gadgets, search engine optimization, micro-

blogging, podcasting and social networking. Along with technology, the session will

also delve into key facets of the art of blogging, including strategies for driving

traffic and growing an online community.

Registration Check-In 5 p.m. 7 p.m.

University Center Lobby

Welcome Reception 7 p.m. 9:30 p.m.

Lake Room

***********

SATURDAY, JUNE 20

Registration Check-in 8 a.m. 8:30 a.m.

University Center Lobby

Introductory Remarks

Workshop: The Competent Blogger 8:35 a.m.

Presented by Milt Hayes, www.blacksgonegeek.com

This workshop will cover tapping into talent communities using web 2.0 tools and

techniques to find lucrative and rewarding career opportunities. This is a must at-

tend workshop for anyone interested in building an online presence or pursuing a

long-term career in IT.


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This presentation will address all aspects of careers in IT and the core competencies

necessary to build and sustain a vibrant, fulfilling and prosperous career powered

by the web 2.0 social networking phenomenon. The workshop includes research re-sults from the 2009 IT Job Outlook Readers Poll, skill sets that are hot in the cur-

rent job market, and how to use social networking to get discovered for the hot

job opportunities.

Workshop: 9:45 a.m.

Using the Latest Tech Tools To Grow Your Blog

Presented by Kerrick HennyThis session highlights tools and techniques that can help blogs attract and retain

larger audiences while allowing for more frequent, on-scene blogging. Cheryl Con-

tee, Co-founder of Jack and Jill Politics, speaks about WordPress, Disqus and mobile

blogging have increased the traffic and influence of her blog. Naoke McCracken of

Automattic (parent company of WordPress), provides best practices on using their

technology online and via mobile to build your blog's audience and increase your

ease of use.

Panel: Netroots in Action 11:00 a.m.

Moderated by Carmen Dixon Rosenzweig, www.allaboutrace.com

Panelists: Megan Tady, www.freepress.net

Pam Spaulding, www.pamshouseblend.com

Cheryl Contee, www.jackandjillpolitics.com

Panelists will discuss how social media tools can be used to affect changes in policy,

improve communities, and influence elections.

GROUP PHOTO AND LUNCH


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Brand Camp University: 1:30 p.m.

Building a Strong Personal Brand Online

Presented by Hajj Flemmings, www.brandcamp.us; www.hajjflemings.com/blog

This workshop will teach attendees how to develop a digitally relevant personal

brand in a web 2.0 world using social media. Participants will learn how to identify

tools and strategies to create, define, and manage who you are distinctly to help

you define your space. Build and manage the character of you online brand and

community organically, authentically, and cost effectively with the top personal

branding tips.

Workshop Overview: Basics of Personal Branding, Defining your Value Proposition,Social Networking strategies for personal branding, Networking tips online and off-

line for career success, Organically building your community, Online reputation

management, Create a brand plan, Use Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter for busi-

ness and career development.

Panel: 2:40 p.m.

Whats Next For Traditional Media?Moderated by Monroe Anderson, www.monroeanderson.typepad.com

Panelists: Eric Easter, www.ebonyjet.com

Bruce Montgomery, CEO, Executive Producer and Host,

Technology Access Television

Panelists will discuss whether bloggers and citizen journalists can fill the void left by

changes in traditional media.


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Panel: Bloggerpreneurs 3:45 p.m.

Moderated by Jonnice Slaughter, www.chatterboxpublicity.com

Panelists: Angel Laws, www.concreteloop.com

Fredric Mitchell, www.brightplum.com

Panelists will discuss making a name for yourself in the world of social media and

networking your way to better opportunities and personal success.

Closing Remarks 4:45 p.m.


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Founder and Executive Director Gina McCauley

Conference Coordinator Shalon E. Evans

Workshop Planning Shawn Williams

Welcome Reception Bloggers of 5 And A Possible

Photographer Freddie O

Videographer D Jones Productions

Host Facilities University Center Conference Chicago

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


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Documents

2009 Conference Program_rev8