military track

… by C. Blake Powers

Yes Virginia, There Is A Military Track At BlogWorld

Wait! What? Why?

Well, there is a military track for a number of reasons, and this year’s track is very different. Members of the military, and military families, were early adopters of new and social media. It was a means of keeping in touch, and sharing important information within the community. It rapidly became an important means of sharing topical and accurate information about the military, strategy, tactics, and more with the military-interested public.

Sites such as the Mudville Gazette, the Thunder Run, and Blackfive quickly became the go-to sites for the public and the media looking to get timely information on what was going on. These sites and others also became a place where people could ask questions, debate topics, and — even more importantly — get reliable information and help on care, benefits, and other issues that affect the wounded and those returning.

As social media came of age, the sites and the people behind them moved into that arena as well. Some of the discussions and debates have moved to realtime or near-realtime in that environment, and information can be shared much faster as a result. The net result is also that members of the military, as opposed to the military itself, are adapting and adopting quickly to the changes, and want to get ahead of the curve as much as they can.

So, last year we asked those attending what they would like to see on this year’s track. We listened, and have a stellar line up that should be of interest to all attending Blog World.

Our first panel on Thursday is at 1:30 pm (1330 hours) and features documentary film maker and communications consultant JD Johannes talking on “Quit F’ing Guessing: Using Math and Behavioral Economics to Win the Battle of Ideas” He will be sharing tried and proven means of measuring and maximizing the impact of your blog.

Our second panel starts at 2:45 pm (1445 hours) and features Jim Brown of Slingshot SEO, talking on “SEO for Specialty Content” He will be exploring how SEO and content marketing are not just for large blogs, but especially important for those dealing with specialized content.

The final panel starts at 3:45 (1545 hours) and deals with the very serious topic of “Blogging Through Loss.” Rachel Porto, a military widow, and Mandy Myers, who’s lineman husband was killed on the job, will talk about the ups and downs of dealing with the loss of a loved one while sharing life and loss in new and social media.

We hope that you will join us for these very special and interesting panels. The topics are of importance to the online military community, but are equally interesting and important to almost anyone in new and social media. Come join us, learn a bit about us, and — most importantly — learn about important topics from experts in the field.