Today we are thrilled to announce the Pathfinders who'll be leading the five paths for the second annual BlogHer Pathfinder Day.
Taking place on Thursday, August 2th, the day before the full BlogHer '12 conference begins, Pathfinder Day was created to to help answer questions that bloggers, regardless of how long we've been at it, often face: Where do I go from here? And, How do I help my blog get me or my work from where it is now to where I want it to be?
What is Pathfinder Day?
When she first announced it last year, Elisa described it this way:
Pathfinder Day is all about helping you dig deep and explore one of five different potential blogging paths.An all-day intensive, designed to accommodate only 40-50 attendees per path, you'll spend the morning in a fundamentals workshop, learning some real how-tos to progress down your chosen path. You'll spend the afternoon in discussion with two Pathfinders who have been down that path and want to share their stories, hear yours...and help you understand your next steps.
If that sounds like you, the BlogHer Pathfinder Day is for you.
Alexandra at Good Day, Regular People, attended last year, and had this to say:
Over the next two days, I kept running into people I had met at Pathfinder's. I got to know others I already knew online at Pathfinder's. All of this initial face to face contact was possible due to the smaller setting of this pre-conference workshop.I remember finishing PFD feeling relaxed, excited, and ready to ease into the BIG day of the official BlogHer kick off. I had made new friends, gotten my feet wet, and this pre-conference workshop felt like the most important day I had spent at BlogHer. These are the reasons I will attend Pathfinder's Day again.
What is The Pathfinder Day agenda?
The day is packed full of inspiring talks, nuts-and-bolts workshops and interactive discussions designed to help your path feel more like solid ground! You can check it out online, but here's the synopsis:
- 9:00-10:00: Breakfast
- 10:00-12:00: Morning Fundamentals Workshops featuring the Pathfinders and additional guest speakers listed below
- 12:00-2:00: Networking lunch
- 2:00-4:00: Afternoon Journey & Milestones Discussion Groups with the Pathfinders
What are the paths, and who are the "Pathfinder" discussion leaders?
My Blog as Life Changer, with Pathfinders Diane Lang and Deb Rox
Learn how to let your blog change your life, even when you aren’t expecting it to. Deb Rox and Diane Lang lead you down their unique paths, from bored road warrior to blogger business coach, and from school lunch lady to social media manager for BlogHer, respectively. You'll explore how to tap into the skills you have -- and develop the ones you need -- to change your life through your blog.
My Blog as Change Agent, with Pathfinders Cheryl Contee and Deanna Zandt
Learn how to use your blog for good, up to and including why, when and how to set up a non-profit vs. staying grassroots vs. launching a social business. Cheryl Contee, founder-partner at Fission Strategy and co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics, and Deanna Zandt, consultant and author of Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking, are your guides. Learn the difference these different approaches make, and explore which would achieve the change you want to see in the world.
My Blog as Business, with Pathfinders Susan Getgood and Liz Gumbinner
Learn how to use your blog to establish your expertise and develop a business around it. Susan Getgood, BlogHer's VP of Sales Marketing and author of Professional Blogging for Dummies, and Liz Gumbinner, EVP and Group Creative Director at the ad agency Deutsch and publisher of Cool Mom Picks and Mom-101, are your guides. Find out when and how to incorporate, how to attach value to your services, and how to protect yourself. Blogger and small business consultant Lauren Marie Fleming joins the morning business fundamentals session to decipher the legalese entailed in turning your blog into your business.
My Blog as Media Company, with Pathfinders Kathryn Finney and Jaden Hair
Learn how to monetize and widely distribute your content, building an ever-larger media footprint. Kathryn Finney, publisher of The Budget Fashionista, founder/CEO of TBF Group, LLC, and BlogHer Editor-at-Large, and Jaden Hair, television chef, food columnist, author, and award-winning food blogger at Steamy Kitchen, are your guides. Spend the day with them learning about strategy, tactics, and talking about how you can organize yourself to achieve scale.
My Blog as Book Proposal, with Pathfinders Stefanie Wilder Taylor and Kathy Cano-Murillo
Learn how to become a "blogger-author."Stefanie Wilder Taylor, author of (most recently) I'm Kind of a Big Deal and It's Not Me, It's You, and Kathy Cano-Murillo, author of (most recently) Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul, are your guides. They'll discuss the process of transitioning from blogger to author, from the query and the proposal to all the work that follows, and lead you in discussion of how you'll move from blogger to author.
If you're at a blogging crossroads, the BlogHer Pathfinder Day is for you. If you're looking to ground yourself and reinforce your goals before BlogHer '12, the BlogHer Pathfinder Day is for you. Most of all, if you want to find allies to forge ahead down your blogging path with you, the BlogHer Pathfinder Day is for you!
We hope you like it. And register today!
Yours,
for Elisa, Jory, Lisa, and the Conference Programming Team