Chartered Excursion - BlogHer

2:45 -- Room of Your Own Session -- Blogging Identities and YOU

Building our internet persona; how much to reveal/conceal.

Yay! Tanis is on the panel with Janet and Anissa. Tanis talks about how brutal having her real identity exposed was. Janet talks about why she continues to blog anonymously. Anissa talks about how she did the opposite and blogged openly about her child's cancer treatment, family, etc. Her Twitter persona is much different than her blog persona. Recently retired her family blog and started a new blog, more open, but less self-edited.

Long discussion of what to consider and the effects of how much or how little of yourself to put out in your blog.

1:15 p.m. -- Leadership Session led by Katie Ornstein of the OpEd Project. Current published OpEd punditry runs 85% male. http://www.theopedproject.org.

1. How do you establish credibility? Morning session.

Define OpEd -- An argument by an expert that's backed up by evidence that's timely and of public value.

Common sense trumps everything. If you have a better way, do it your way. This is not a formula; it's a tool kit.

Good arguments begin with a LEDE. A provocative quote or statistic, a colorful picture or quote, an attention-grabber.

Back up a lede with a news hook; must be timely. Things in the news; things that are NOT in the news, but could or should be; holiday or seasonal;historical events or anniversaries; trends (independent instances = journalistic trend); release of new data. Answers the question, "Why now?" Timing is everything.

Cultivate an approach that's creative and flexible to dramatically expand the window of your relevance.sion

Thesis -- A statement of your argument.

Argument -- Evidence and conclusion given in 3 points. 3 seems to be a magic number.

What constitutes good evidence? statistics; anecdotes/examples; quotes by experts or witnesses; studies/research results; credible news/events/trends; surveys; historical occurences; personal experience; logic.

Contribution-driven argument? An "aha" point of view. More interest; better perspective.

"To Be Sure" Paragraph -- Acknowledge the oposition's case. Fairness; more researched, educating; anticpate and answer "yes, but's." Dismiss or acknowledge validity of other arguments. Trumping counter-arguments. Personal caveats. Can also come up at the lede or the news hook. Use strategically.

Ask yourself if you care more about whether you are right, or if you are effective in persuading your audience. Show empathy and respect for an opinion that you don't share when using this if you wish to gain the most traction with your readers.

Conclusion loops back to the beginning; can also include a call to action. This is where solutions should be offered -- make them specific and doable.

Noon -- Fantastic lunch put on by Ragu -- loads of salads, chicken parm, a vegetarian rice dish, deep dish pizza, Italian cookies and chocolate chip canoli. (The Princess Mom would have waved the royal scepter in approval.) Free recipes, coupons and more goodies.

Miss Nancy arrived, and negotiating around the hotel has been a bit rough for her. Doorways too narrow, carpeting causing drag, no designated handicap seating in the dining areas -- stinks with a wheelchair. We'll get by, though.