Schedule

9:00 am Welcome and Introductory Panel Discussion

Welcome: Professor Michael Lavarch and Professor Brian Fitzgerald

Chair: Peter Black
Panelists: Senator Andrew Bartlett, Duncan Riley, John Quiggin, Nicholas Gruen

    * Why are blogs becoming so ubiquitous?
    * What is unique about the Australian blogosphere?

10:15am Coffee Break

10:30am Breakout Rooms

Room 1: The Politics of Blogging
Sponsored by GetUp!

Discussion Leaders: Mark Bahnisch, Senator Andrew Bartlett, Brett Solomon, Graham Young

    * Right, left or centre?
    * Who cares?
    * A politician's perspective
    * Blogging the 2007 Federal Election

Room 2: Researching Blogging and Blogging Research

Discussion Leaders: Axel Bruns, Jean Burgess, Melissa Gregg

* What's there to research about blogging?
* What research methodologies can be used to research blogging?
* How do blogs support the research process?
* How do blogs contribute to disseminating research?

Room 3: Blogs, Creativity and Creative Commons

Discussion Leaders: Elliott Bledsoe, Jessica Coates

    * What is Creative Commons?
    * How can I use Creative Commons on my blog?
    * Showcasing Creative Commons and blogging

Room 4: Legal Issues

Discussion Leaders: Professor Brian Fitzgerald, Dale Clapperton, Nic Suzor

    * What can I say without defaming someone?
    * What can I take from other websites and blogs?
    * Encounters with the Law (or the threat of it)

12:30pm Lunch

Launch of Marett Leiboff’s book “Creative Practice and the Law”

1:30pm Breakout Rooms

Room 1: Citizen Journalism

Discussion Leaders: Axel Bruns, Graham Young, Rachel Cobcroft

    * Grassroots vs mainstream journalism?
    * Video/photo citizen journalism?
    * Is there any original reporting by citizen journalists?
    * Case Study: youdecide2007

Room 2: Blogs and Education

Discussion Leaders: Tama Leaver

    * Why blog in education?
    * Examples and reflections?
    * Should academics blog?

Room 3: Business and Corporate Blogging
Sponsored by Microsoft

Discussion Leaders: Des Walsh, Nick Hodge, Joanne Jacobs

* Can businesses afford not to blog?
* How do you measure return on investment of time and money?
* Should the CEO blog?
* Blogging codes

Room 4: Building a Better Blog

Discussion Leader:  Duncan Riley

    * Improving content
    * Improving design
    * Making money
    * Podcasting and vodcasting

3:30pm Coffee Break

4:00pm Final Discussions

Final Discussion 1: The future for blogging - what's next?
Sponsored by Kwoff

Discussion Leader: Dan Walsh

Final Discussion 2: The future for your blog - promoting your blog and building traffic

Discussion Leaders: Des Walsh, Yaro Starak

5:00pm End of Conference