LIVEBLOGGING: Blogger Workshop at the National Press Club

I’m at a blogger workshop at the National Press Club right now. They are holding it in one of the larger rooms in the Club and it is standing room only. I’m sitting on the floor. There’s well over 100roughly 170 people.

Panelists include Duncan Black, “Atrios” of Eschaton, Henry Farrell of Crooked Timber, Peter Daou of the Daou Report.

US Newswire rep, Peter Daou, Duncan Black, Henry Farrell, Patrick Hynes and Jacki Schechner

Patrick Hynes from Ankle-Biting Pundits just finished speaking. I’ll come back and fill in his talk.

[Updated: Patrick noted that Microsoft has over 2,000 employees with blogs. Why should employers be so afraid of their people blogging? It’s good intel — if employees are complaining about their company, then there is a management problem that needs to be fixed.

He also commented that any business needs to know what is being said about them and their products on the web. They should be monitoring the blogs, have rapid-response available, perhaps through their own blog.]

Jacki Schechner

Right now, speaking is Jacki Schechner, a producer from CNN’s Situation Room CNN’s Internet reporter. She says she spends all day reading blogs.

What about the question of credibility? She says blogs give a voice to real people. “I’m very passionate about the internet community.”

Henry Farrell and Patrick Hynes

Questions for the panel:

What does it mean as “consumers of news” once people begin “self-selecting” their information?

The panelists agreed that this was something of a problem, but that blogging in general makes connections for the reader to other viewpoints and is not as narrow cast as some think.

I don’t see too many people blogging which seems odd.

Peter Daou and Duncan Black

Peter Daou arguing that a bloggers reputation is on the line . . .

Duncan Black making a point I always make about blogs and the Internet: this question of credibility has always been there for any kind of news — blogging is just a different, more accessible venue for news.

How do you explain blogs to employers and others who are interested but don’t know anything about it?

Peter: people are talking to each other online. You have to be a part of the conversation. It’s part of how people talk to each other and it’s here to stay. Would you say don’t use email now?

Henry: in order to make blogging work, you have to use it to talk to people. Not as a bully pulpit.

What do you do if you work only with people who are more academic?

Duncan: check out TPM Cafe — more high-brow. Josh Marshall’s project. Used to be more stilted but it’s now more a conversation.

Jacki recommending Pundit Drone (?) for searching blogs.

Henry Farrell: Strength of blogs — irreverance. Weakness — lack of technical knowledge. A lot of amateur statisticians.

What about advertising?

Go to blogads — click thrus are staggeringly low. The value is in the impressions. One of the great things is you can change the ad as often and as quickly as you want.

Peter: has placed 100’s of thousands of blogads for political campaigns. Click-thrus very low: under 1%. The value is in inserting yourself into the conversation. The ad is an introduction.

What about anonymous sliming?

No different than anonymous sources elsewhere.

NOTE Thursday morning UPDATE: The person sitting next to me, who told me who the panelists were, thought that Peter Daou was Duncan Black and vice versa. So this post originally had the two switched and their comments misattributed. I believe it is correct now.

And one last thing. One audience member asked if women were bloggers. They sure are. Check out the Cotillion.