"Flamewars are great for hits." Sure, we all know that, but how are they for your blog, your reputation, and your peace of mind? What happens when you find yourself in a war you never wanted to fight? Is being controversial for the sake of controversy worth it? How can you turn what appears to be an unwinnable situation into real dialogue? On the other hand, how can you have an impact if you're afraid to make waves?
Our panel features perspectives from all main points on the controversy continuum.
Speakers:
Kazia Mullin
(http://kitchentablemarketing.ca/) writes: I started my first blog in 2007, mostly for my own amusement. Even though that first blog never got more than a few visitors beyond my friends and family, I was hooked and have been writing for myself or other's blogs ever since. I'm now the Director of Strategies for a Kelowna based digital communications firm and proprietor at Kitchen Table Marketing, a blog about digital marketing. You could say blogs and social media have become a huge part of my life, but I still manage to get outside every now and again.
(photo by Robert Shaer) Lorraine “raincoaster” Murphy (http://www.raincoastermedia.com) is founder of raincoaster media, specializing in transformative social media training, as well as President Emeritus of Social Media Club of Vancouver, and has been a professional blogger and social media trainer since 2002. She specializes in teaching beginners and those with barriers to internet use, and in social media for social change.
Her flagship blog, raincoaster.com, has been studied as part of the New Media curriculum in three universities, and the comments thread on her Mummified Fairy post has been called “one of the most beautiful things on the internet.” She once got into a flamewar with the nation of Albania, and won. She conducts workshops in the transformative use of social media on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and blogs regularly to many different sites.
Rebecca Coleman (http://www.rebeccacoleman.ca) is a freelance theatre publicist, an actor, writer and producer, she is also very passionate about helping artists to be better businesspeople. Since 2007, she has become increasingly interested in using social media to market the arts, and writes about the subject frequently on her blog, The Art of the Business. She has written an e-book called Guide to Getting Started With Social Media for Artists and Arts Organizations, which helps newbies create a marketing plan using social networking as a tool. She teaches Social Media Marketing courses at Emily Carr University and at BCIT.
