BlogHer in Spirit Topics for Saturday

Here are the topics I’ve chosen for Saturday’s BlogHer in Spirit! If you blog about the topic, let me know so I can add a link to you in my sidebar.

Workshop Topic #1: Identity & Obligation
Do you control which parts of your identity are exposed? Do you feel an obligation to represent for your gender, race or culture? Do you feel you’re not allowed to comment on issues facing a group to which you don’t belong? Maria Niles moderates a discussion with Karen Walrond, Dawn Rouse, Marisa Trevino and Carmen Van Kerckhove on how we slice and dice our identity. Read more here.

Discussion Questions:

• How do you decide what aspects of your identity you will reveal in your blog: culture, sexual orientation, political ideology, religion?
• How do you feel about using your real name? Your childrens’ names?
• If you blog about your race, religion, etc, - or even a personally difficult time of your life - do you feel it opens you (and your family) up to attack and/or do you feel it is a wonderful way to promote acceptance and diversity?

Workshop Topic #2: From Here to Autonomy
Blogger as entrepreneur…fact or fiction? What does it take to leverage blogging to make a living? Heather Armstrong, Arieanna Foley and Jennifer James know from experience. They’ve each become blogpreneurs in different ways: superstar blogger using an ad-based model; professional blogger who writes for more blogs than most of us read; subject-matter expert blogger with writing, editing and speaking gigs around her subject. Rachelle Bowden grills them on best practices and pitfalls. Read more here.

Discussion Questions:

• Do you have any tips for turning your blogging into a full-time career? Are you interested in “blogging for a living?”
• How can you use a blog to drive traffic to another web site or business venture?

Note: I wasn’t all that jazzed about the topics for Day Two, and my discussion questions seem a little lame. But I will be interested to hear what others have to say, so please feel free to address any issue - not just my discussion questions!

Enjoy!