Altruism vs Narcisscism: what's in it for the online reviewer?

Bloggers are gaining more authority when it comes to products and entertainment, but there are challenges we face as "non-traditional" media.

This panel—featuring a parent blogger, book blogger, movie reviewer and an Elite Yelp-er—will discuss the ins-and-outs of review blogging, beginning with how to get started and addressing a number of topics such as including/omitting spoilers, making your blog stand out, handling a negative review, working with companies, and more.

Nicole Christen runs two blogs: MyRealReview.ca (product reviews for Canadian families) and CanadianMomBlogger.com (personal blog). When she's not parenting, blogging, or tweeting, she is busy working toward a Master of Educational Technology degree through UBC. She has two active boys and another baby on the way. Needless to say, she is rarely bored!

 Kyrsten Jensen writes: I've run the gamut of selling shoes and $4,000 Frette sheet sets, to 14 hr days in a Level 3 biohazard lab working on an infectious disease vaccine, to selling stem cells to medical researchers.  If nothing else, my strange career path has shown me it's still not what you do at work that's interesting, it's how you fill the additional hours.  I knit, I roller skate & referee, I volunteer as a science mentor for high school girls, I regularly read the NYT & the Economist for fun, and I even cook occasionally. 

Monica Miller is a Vancouver blogger who works as a writer/editor/designer and is pursuing a career in publishing. She graduated from Langara College's Publishing Program and SFU's Writing & Publishing Program. Monica blogs at www.monniblog.com about things that are happening around the city, book reviews, places she’s gone, and any crafty hobbies. She began blogging to provide a creative space for herself and it quickly progressed into a space to make new friends and engage with other bloggers.

 Marina Antunes writes: I had too much to say and no place to say it so in 2005 I started blogging reviews. By 2007, MAD About Movies was in full swing complete with podcast. It wasn’t enough. With a plan for world domination, I joined a number of other like minded film writers and www.rowthree.com was born. In the years since its inception, Row Three has created an atmosphere of community in family which is fostered through extended discussions via the comments sections.

In 2009 I was recruited by one of the largest genre websites on the web. As Assistant Managing Editor of www.quietearth.us, I was tasked with expanding the site’s already far reaching arm in the genre market to include arthouse, independent and foreign film. We really are the UHF of film sites.

I currently divide my time between both websites but I still have my eyes on world domination.