BlogWorld & New Media Expo and the 2008 Milblog Conference

Myself and several thousand regular Bloggers and Milbloggers will be will be trekking across a vast desert (without people shooting at us) by plane, train and automobile till we arrive at a small southwestern town called Las Vegas this weekend for the BlogWorld Expo. Yes, it’s that time of year again for the 3rd annual Milblog Conference (small joke, the last one was May 07)where we have fellowship in person instead of across a cybernetic divide and people get to find out how much cooler we are behind a keyboard. Sponsors of the Milblog Conference include Military OneSource, Military.com and of course our trusty USAA. This year I am thankfully not on a panel (fear of public speaking) and can take part just enjoying the show and hopefully live blogging it (yay, Wireless internet!) Friday night I’ll be attending a pre-conference bash with my wife hosted by my buddies over at Blackfive at the world famous Penthouse Lounge. Here is a list of the schedule and hopefully see some of you there (you can also follow me live on Twitter.)

Panel topics/times are below:
Date: September 20th, 2008
Location: Blog World Expo, Las Vegas
Agenda:

10:30a – 11:00a: Opening Remarks and Presentation of 2007 Milbloggie Awards

11:00a – 12:00p: Are MilBlogs Still Relevant? In the wake of a successful military surge in Iraq, waning media attention and an election year, are MilBlogs as relevant to the national conversation on war as they once were?

12:00p – 12:15p: Break

12:15p – 1:15p: MilBlogging as a Community. A fascinating look at how the milblogging community was built, what it’s achieved and how deep and wide its reach has become. We’ll explore how milblogging gives a voice to supporters, parents and spouses of service members, and how that voice is effectively used to support an entire military community.

1:15p – 2:45p: Lunch Break

2:45 – 3:45p: DoD Live Bloggers Roundtable: We will be joined by Pete Geren, Secretary of the Army, and General George Casey, Chief of Staff of the Army, for a special edition of the weekly DoD Live Bloggers Roundtable. Secretary Geren and General Casey will take audience questions re operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other topics.

3:45 – 5:00p: Free Time (Sit in on other panels or stroll the vendor floor).

5:00 – 6:00p: The New Cadre of War Reporters. Reporting from the Green Zone is not an option for this gritty band of milbloggers. Today’s technology enables milbloggers and embedded reporters to report directly from the battlefield. We’ll talk with some of these milbloggers about their experiences in the combat zone.

6:00p: Closing Remarks