Yesterday, bloggers from throughout the Commonwealth gathered at Christopher Newport University to discuss various issues and to network with each other. Since this was my first Blogs United conference, I definitely learned a lot from the various discussions from the media panel (which featured journalists from both print and broadcast media outlets), the legal issues impacting bloggers, and learning about the new technology innovations that can be used to assist our efforts.
The media panel featured Julian Walker from The Virginian-Pilot, Anita Kumar from The Washington Post, Kimball Payne from The Daily Press’ The Shad Plank, and Ryan Nobles from NBC-12’s Decision Virginia. It was very informative listening to their accounts on the roles of media blogs.
After the media panel, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) talked about how members of Congress are utilizing new media. The Republicans in Congress now have a new media caucus, and they have been active with trying to get their message out using the new technologies. Wittman also addressed net neutrality and the issues surrounding bringing broadband access to rural areas.
Once lunch ended, we heard from Kevin Grierson, who discussed the legal issues impacting bloggers. This session was interesting considering the recent decisions by the FCC that would make bloggers (who receive payments from businesses that receive endorsements) account for them when filing taxes, as well as copyright infringement. There were several intriguing questions from this segment from the bloggers in attendance.
After the legal forum, the Congressional candidates panel took place. Bloggers heard from Scott Robinson and Krystal Ball, who are running for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District; Scott Rigell, Ben Loyola, Ken Golden, and Scott Taylor, who are running for the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District; Coby W. Dillard, who is running against Bobby Scott in the 3rd District; and Mike McPadden, who is running for the Republican nomination in the 5th District. You can read a more detailed account here.
Scott Hirons of the HRCC gave a presentation that previewed the upcoming General Assembly session, and the day ended with a technology presentation by Kenton Ngo of the New Dominion Project.
If you are interested in attending future Blogs United events, please check out the website. I look forward to attending future Blogs United events and networking with the other bloggers in attendance.
