Hi folks -- I was just at the 2007 Milblog conference in Arlington. (I was trying to liveblog it, but as I've said many times before, I'm a pretty bad liveblogger.)
I'm also not a milblogger, and while I do read them, I don't really follow any on a regular basis. So I'm going to look at this from a general blogging and community perspective. (As well as that of an outsider.)
I'll knock out some quick highlights and follow up with some additional details and photos tomorrow (he said, hopefully).
* A lot of folks are part of a tight-knit, geographically-distributed community of military bloggers and families. Beyond the usual linking relationships and blogrolling, many of the folks participate in the work of Soldiers' Angels, which assists wounded servicemembers (including giving laptops to wounded soldiers -- I guess I should say, wounded "Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines" -- got to be mindful of those intraservice sensitivities).
* Like any online-meets-real world shindig, you had some folks meeting in person for the first time, so there's always elements of a pep rally, and even bits of celebrity and fandom when it came to some of the more prominent bloggers (including those most central to the charitable work).
* The prevailing sentiment among the milbloggers, whether active military, embedded civilian blogger (of which there were a few), veteran, or stateside civilian, is that they're fulfilling a vital role because the mainstream media (MSM) is basically getting everything wrong.
However, several bloggers voiced the need to work with the MSM, to engage, educate and build relationships with them, since bloggers (and not just military ones) have a symbiotic relationship with the media, and it's not going away.
* There were also a bunch of different sorts of media types there, as well as a few folks in different roles at the Pentagon, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
I will get into the individual sessions (there were 4 of them) tomorrow, though you can check the blogs of the panelists and other attendees for their own coverage, including photos and video.
Thanks -- Joe
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6 comments:
Hey Joe, it was nice to meet you today:)
Kathi
Hi Kathi -- nice talking to you -- I'll get the pics up tomorrow. -- Joe
Thanks for coming Joe, I had a blast!
Well, we learn something every day, and I got a good look at the milblogs thanks to you.
Jimmy
Soldiers' Angels is a pretty cool organization, it has a program in which US citizens are matched up with a soldier to correspond with. The citizen is given the name of a serviceman and writes (I think it is weekly) to him/her. A care package is also sent once a month. If anybody would like to help out our men/women overseas in this way, check out the link for Soldiers' Angels. You will be glad you participated in this worthwhile endeavor of helping our servicemen.
Krissy
http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink
I'd love to hear about the reactions to the Pentagon's new rules about soldiers and their families blogging and if anyone's actually going to follow those rules.
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