For the final session of the day, blogger co-founder Elisa Camahort Page discussed with three intelligent panelists how blogging and social media have gained power at the indiviual, as well as the community level.

The Panelists

Dana Rudolph has over a decade of marketing and business strategy experience in the online industry. As a blogger and journalist, she began an online community for lesbian mothers that offers tips on parenting, politics and resources. She is currently a stay-at-home-mom of he

Isabel Walcott Hillborn is an Internet startup consultant and an expert in strategic Internet marketing, social media, user generated content and online communities. She began SmartGirl.com, the first user-generated online community for teenage girls.

Beth Kanter is a trainer, blogger and consultant to nonprofits and individuals in effective use of social media. She has worked on projects that include: training, curriculum development, research and evaluation. She is a professional blogger and writes about the use of social media tools in the nonprofit sector for social change.

Q: How did you begin using social media tools?

Dana: Began working in social media because she felt that there wasn’t a lot out of information online that spoke directly to her. Parenting blogs had general information but wasn’t always inclusive of her lifestyle. She tries to make posts as inclusive of people from different walks of life as possible. Though you can’t necessarily please everyone all the time, it’s important to try to be mindful.

Beth: Adopted her first child from Cambodia 8 years ago. She started a blog about Cambodia to learn about the culture without knowing she would really be connecting with people from Cambodia. Slowly learned media for social change. In December 2004 she discovered BlogHer and signed up for the 2005 conference. She had an amazing experience connecting with other women and has followed her passion through a learning journey.

Isabel Walcott Hillborn: Has always been interested in user-generated content and after the dot com crash there weren’t many jobs available. Rather than sticking with what she knew, she shifted gears and took a job managing software engineers and consulting on the side. She soon discovered that her consulting business was actually her dream job. Some people pay the rent and others fuel the fires of their passion.

Q: Do you use your blog for fundraising or promoting charitable causes?

Beth: Does a lot of pro-bono work for Cambodia. She’s done bake sales, clothing drives and grassroots fundraising. Since she’s been blogging she has done more outreach and fundraising and uses social media outlets like blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Along the way she has built up an amazing community of people who care about Cambodia.

Q: What were some things that were serendipitous that happened to increase your sight visibility and what were some purposeful steps that you took?

Dana: At first she did not do any marketing because she wanted to grow comfortable with the software and develop a voice in the beginning stages. You only have one chance to make a first impression. A combination of factors led to her success, including networking with an alumna of her college and from her past life along with spearheading a blog carnival.

Isabel: Is not a 100% believer in serendipity, because a lot of events that have had the most impact for her have not been positive events, but negative events. It’s very important for anyone who has ever faced a setback to be able to take your next step and make it a positive one rather than dwelling on the negativity.

Q: How do you stay interested in blogging? What keeps you going?

Dana: Besides caffiene, she thinks Feedreader is essential. If you’re not already using a feed reader it’s a great idea. She is motivated by her son’s growth and the country’s politics. She is hoping she can help change the world that her son is growing up in to make it a better place. Became a parenting blogger to fit in with her full-time job as a mother.

Beth: Blogging is about learning; she is excited and inspired by learning. The dialogue with people on her blog keeps her motivated. She enjoys sharing ideas and celebrating successes with colleagues and peers from the nonprofit sector.

Isabel: If she had nothing but time she would only be working for her clients and on the internet. The question for her is what gets her to stop and step away from the computer. To put the work down and get something else done for a little while. You also have to be okay with dropping the ball. It’s not possible to keep piling things onto your plate otherwise things will fall off or it will get too heavy. Learn to say no and let things slide. Remind yourself that you have to take care of yourself and do activities such as exercise. Having a family also motivates her to balance personal life with work.

For a for a full recap of the panel, click here.