Why are you here at Blogging While Brown? - Socially Diverse (blog) - about recognizing the Black experience throughout the diaspora (West Indians, etc.) - Brandon White (blog - The SuperSpade) - about the "church experience" of fellowship with brown people online - Lisa Richardson - single mom, grad student, business owner; wanted to talk to other entrepreneurs and share their passion online What do you do on BWA to create a positive space for the people who visit your space? - me - try not to catch an attitude; sometimes, there can be a level of hostility; we try to listen to the community and dictate what they want to hear - Anna - full-time job to moderate comments to keep thoughtful people there; if you are providing poignant content, then people will stay and talk Women: How do you keep people coming back? - Teowanna Clifton (That Teowanna) - modern pop culture through the eyes of the contrarian; extremely personal in her blog, not just out there saying things, but tying it to a lesson she has learned - Joy Buchanan - started blogging 4 years ago; wanted to make sure that she could find women like her who were in the same situation as her ($16K credit card debt); trying to find a sense of community and camaraderie Men: Black Male Privilege; in your blogging lives, do you feel that your identity as a Black male shapes the way you blog online? - Leon Scott (ListentoLeon.net) - comes from his identity as a Black man to fuel his content; "it's funnier when it's true" How do you sustain yourself online? - Not just how do you create a space, but how do you maintain it? how do you maintain your sanity? - Baratunde Thurston (Jack and Jill Politics) - get help from volunteers; build a strong support system; if you can't pay, ask them to chip in and become a part of what you're doing! - Nyasha Buchongo (Alliance for Digital Equality) - Kamala Harris Blog; be known for your integrity; keep your content consistent and position yourself as an expert - Sierra Calbert - Question: concerned about comments; if you provide the content, should you take the comments personally? -- Me (if you provide thoughtful content, then the community may self-police itself) -- Anna (she will ask them to leave to keep the community at a certain level) - Latoya Peterson (racialicious.com) - mentions Online Media Law Group (omln.org) - also talks about how the larger you grow, the stronger your hand needs to be with respect to comments because you could be held legally liable; "Oppression Olympics" Advice To New Bloggers - Latoya Peterson - be honest to yourself; set your boundaries to see what's sustainable for you and what you're looking to achieve - Mark T. - used to be at CBS, MTV, Comcast; "I hope you will find a way to create power. Real power. If you only go for the money at first, you won't get the power, because you'll become a sucker." As you think about what makes you happy, know that you are the best hope. Keep in mind what is NOT getting said, NOT getting done, and NOT getting put together. There's power in numbers. Folks are power. Find your voice. Build a network of networks. - Curtis Johnson - NAACP, Communications - organizing folks under a common purpose without slighting their differences - Edward James (theblackyouthproject.com) - study to explore the political and social attitudes of Af-Am 15-24 - trying to reach out and go beyond "the Academy"; question: how can we go beyond the walls of "the Academy" and reach regular people? More advice to new bloggers Me: have a strong offline support system Anna: consider being anonymous or using a pseudonym; limit your social media intake Andre: "How do you know these people are Black?"; be vigilant on what your online presence is, and continue your work!