“Is the largest haircare platform and trusted thought leader inspiring millions of multi-cultural beauty enthusiasts through original content, branded entertainment, social media, product reviews, data and commerce. ”
Learn more about TextureMedia at their website, http://www.texturemediainc.com/.
Get more information about the conference session to be presented by TextureMedia at the 8th Annual Blogging While Conference here.
The Bajan Texan by Keitha
Lifestyle
Learn how to turn my blog into a business.
Expand my following.
Meet others in my niche.
Lifestyle
Home decor and parenting
Yes, I would love to do more collaborations whether guest posting or YouTube collabs.
I am working on an ebook to make a blogspot.com blog look professional and customized.
I want to be the next B Smith! I would like to expand into merchandising home decor and entertaining products.
Womans Reflection by Bijee
Lifestyle
To get an overwhelming amount of knowledge and spark for additional creative projects I am currently working on.
Loved writing and I saw it as a outlet to "talk to myself"
Honest, real discussion about relationships, parenting, friendships and life through my experiences and life lessons.
Motivational, Faith, Lifestyle
As a catalyst for a book or two and possibly multi-authored.
Welcome Flashed Ink as a sponsor of the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference.
“Innovative jewelry inspired temporary tattoos for serious (and not so serious) fashionistas and socialites. Flashedink Tattoos are perfect for the summer, winter, parties, festivals, concerts... anywhere you and your skin might be seen having fun. Just apply, or LET US... and GO!
”
For more information about Flashed Ink, visit their website at http://www.flashedink.com/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.
Join us as we welcome Izea back as a sponsor of the 8th Annual Blogging While Conference.
“IZEA is the leader in Social Sponsorship. We created the first creator marketplace in 2006 and support the largest sponsorship ecosystem in the world through The IZEA Exchange. Our company connects Creators who blog, tweet, pin and post with leading brands who sponsor them. Brands receive influential content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. Creators are compensated for their participation and partnership.”
For more information about Izea, visit their website at http://corp.izea.com/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter.
The Sophisticated Life by Nadeen White
Travel, Food, Wine & Culture
Meeting and connecting with bloggers of color.
Learning how to grow my reach and brand.
Personal experiences related to travel, food events and restaurant reviews, wine articles as well as posts on music, art & culture.
Advice on using Google Analytics data to improve page views and reach the proper audience. Best way to pitch to brands and become a brand ambassador.
Keep learning and networking and sharing. We all have knowledge that we can share with each other to improve and grow.
Join us as we welcome Pure Via as a sponsor of the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference.
“At the Whole Earth Sweetener Company we believe in a clear vision of people everywhere enjoying a natural, wholesome quality of life. We believe in an ecological cycle that joins the food chain, people and the earth: each is reliant upon the other through a simple and natural connection.
That’s why the Whole Earth Sweetener Company was born - to bring the world 100% natural sweeteners and a new generation of sweetened food and beverage products.
We believe companies, like individuals, must assume their share of responsibility as active participants in their communities. We will continue to work with all our partners to improve agricultural methods and stevia processing techniques. It’s good for us, our employees, the farmers and the earth.”
For more information about Pure Via, visit their website at http://www.purevia.com/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter
Please welcome Black Enterprise Magazine as the Premier Sponsor of the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference.
“BLACK ENTERPRISE is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. Since 1970, BLACK ENTERPRISE has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers.”
For more information about Black Enterprise Magazine, visit their website at http://www.blackenterprise.com/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter
now a word or two by amy juicebox
-figure out the next steps
-meet/network
-find a boo. LOL. just kidding.
i would leave supremely long comments on other blogs because i had a lot to say. friends and fellow commenters would tell me i should start my own blog - but was afraid. i eventually did one random september afternoon out of boredom!
un-niched bloggers.
guidence on how i can maintain who i am as a blogger, but expanding my reach
-write drafts, multiple drafts mean future potential posts
-dont be afraid to promote yourself
-attend twitter chats
the blog’s goal is to be a space of positive and fun interaction. you should leave:
*smarter
*happier
*wanting to come back
(two out of 3 won’t be bad)
We're proud to announce that the Kapor Center for Social Impact is returning as sponsor of the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference.
“The Kapor (pronounced KAY-por) Center for Social Impact relentlessly pursues creative strategies that will leverage information technology for positive social impact. We primarily work with underrepresented communities, focusing on gap-closing endeavors.
We believe that when the community of tech leaders reflects the diversity of the United States, tech will play an integral role in closing gaps and disparities that exist in this country. ”
For more information about the Kapor Center for Social Impact, visit their website at http://www.kaporcenter.org/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter
Life In 4-Part Harmony by Sandra Y. Lewis
Wellness
I'm hoping to grow into writing books and speaking on the topics in my blog.
I want people to get to know me and what I offer for enhancing their well-being.
I wanted to outline my Life in 4-Part Harmony strategy more clearly and link it to my brand, The Living Source.
Tune into your power source.
Find your rhythm.
Connect to your passion & purpose.
I'm interested in meeting people who blog about:
Purpose-driven living
Self-development
Spirituality
Alternative, Integrative or Complimentary healing
Wellness
Entrepreneurship
Social media for small business/entrepreneurs
Align your blog with your purpose and passion
Develop a bank of posts or posts ideas so you don't feel pressed to think of something each week
Keep some of your favorite books about your topics close. When you're stuck, pick up one and open it. Write about whatever shows up on the page that you turned to when you opened the book.
Writing books the grow out of my blogging and speaking.
Offering online self-development courses
Speaking about the topics on my blog
Offering wellness and self-development services
The Two Riveras by Yaimani & Yadira Rivera
Lifestyle
We are newbies in the blog world (b. Sept. 2014) and are interested in learning a vast majority of things including the legalities one should know when blogging to how to maximize your SEO.
We are also excited to be attending our first conference for bloggers of color and the possible collaborations and friendships that can grow from it.
It's our online journal that we are sharing with the world.
One of our mottos is Own it, Live it & Love it! As we get older it is important to take every moment we encounter and embrace its full potential. The blog is a way for us to capture those moments and someday look back and say, "Damn, we had fun!"
We love to meet bloggers from all walks of life, but food and travel bloggers are a must.
Know your intentions!
In our short journey in the blogging world, we've learned you are exposed to so many other blogs/ideas that your wants, desires and wish lists keeps growing and can pull you in different directions. It can be an overwhelming process. We always make it a point to bring it back to our intentions. Everyone has a reason why he/she started a blog. Bring it back to that start - that point - that reason. It can serve as a guiding hand when stimulated and/or inspired by new things. Knowing your intentions can also help restrategize your blog as you incorporate new ideas and create new collaborations.
I have high hopes that we will have established a partnership with leading hospitality corporations and will be making a profit from the blog, no matter how big.
Truly Tafakari by Dara Tafakari
Lifestyle
Blogging While Brown 2015 will be my first blogging conference ever! I’m beyond excited to meet fellow bloggers, learn more about blogging as a business, and become a smarter blogger in the process. Making genuine connections offline is an area I would also like to improve upon. I hope I come away from the experience with information I can use and the wherewithal to turn plans into progress.
I started a blog because I made a life-changing decision not to take a new job, but to use the time I had to write more. I also needed somewhere online to write because Facebook “notes” were not the business! I saw how other bloggers had created communities and I wanted to experience that for myself.
When you come to Truly Tafakari, more than anything, you will find a voice that is unafraid to say all the things you think about Black life in America. You will find your “yasss” and your “Amen.” I also love highlighting creative Black women and men. My blog is not just about "The Struggle"; it’s the funny, everyday pieces of life, race, and pop culture that make being Black so glorious. And biscuits. You will also find biscuits there. And oh, you will definitely find me: a quirky wife and mother living life unapologetically Black.
In the pantheon of Black bloggers I admire, Luvvie Ajayi is high on my list because she manages to incorporate humor and truth in a way that seems effortless. I also love Denene Millner’s voice, Afrobella (Patrice Grell Yursik)’s graciousness, VerySmartBrothas’ balance (and the world’s best commentariat), and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ brilliance.
I need to learn simple dos and don’ts of blogging that I may have missed without the benefit of a supportive community. I often get the feeling that I’m trying to reinvent the wheel.
My top tips for bloggers would be:
1. Be yourself. Readers love authenticity and transparency.
2. Set boundaries. Know your niche well and give yourself the space you need to maintain privacy.
3. Engage with other bloggers on social media and in the blogosphere.
4. Be consistent. Readers love knowing when and where they can catch their favorite blogger!
5. Choose a broad blog topic that interests you and that can spawn many smaller topics.
I see my blog as a platform both to get my voice out there and also to connect with other like-minded people. To that end, in five years, I’d like to be writing my blog full-time, with staff writers, a mini shop where I can sell items, and hosting occasional events to meet readers and other bloggers.
My Quest To Teach by William D. Jackson
Tech & Education
My expectations are to learn how to create content that will reach a broader audience and provide information that encourages dialogue, engages diverse generations in conversations and allows for growth and interaction concerning community and civic issues. I hope through my examples I encourage other men and fathers to be active in their families, communities and cities. The broader audience is not exclusive to Blacks, African Americans, but the spectrum of cultures.
I challenged myself 10 years ago to share information that no one in Jacksonville, Florida or Northeast Florida was doing. I have worked for the Florida Department of Education, NASA, in higher education and public education. Learning about how to integrate, manipulate, evaluate and share information addressing technology. These helped me to expose my children to educational resources and tools that allowed them to be scholars. I want to give those same academic opportunities to parents now so their children will have the chances my children did. Also addressing issues like Bullying, Cyberbullying, Sexting, etc.
Malcolm X, Carter G. Woodson, Chinua Achebe, and James Baldwin,
Sharing their experiences and opportunities to co-blog and be part of other conferences to share information. Networking is very important.
I see my blog in 5 years as a consulting resource for youth, teens and young adults to guide them in using Social Media to Market and Brand themselves. To help parents understand that in 3 to 5 or 6 to 10 years the world will see almost everything about their child because of their engagement with Social Media.
My blog, My Quest To Teach is my passion to share information to parents and their children about being "smart" about their Social Media activities.
Michelle Breyer, Kami Smith, Evelyn Ngugi, Nikki Johnson
17 years ago, you could not find products, blogs or information for curly and natural hair. Michelle Breyer and the team at TextureMedia Inc. have changed the hair care landscape by turning their small niche website, NaturallyCurly.com, into a major media platform for women with textured hair. Join them as they share their story on how they did it, and how you too can position your niche to mainstream audiences.
Panelists:
Michelle Breyer | President and Co-Founder, NaturallyCurly.com
Nikki Johnson | Email Marketing Manager
Evelyn Ngugi | Social Media Manager
Kami Smith | Integrated Media Account Manager
Moderator: Cristina Cleveland | Senior Content Editor for NaturallyCurly and contributing writer at Camille Styles
Bios
Michelle Breyer
Michelle Breyer is a co-founder and president of TextureMedia Inc., a 16-year-old Austin-based social media network platform for people with curls, coils and waves. The company’s mission is to empower, inspire and connect millions of consumers, thousands of stylists and hundreds of haircare brands.
Breyer spent most of her career as a journalist, winning numerous awards during her 20-year career as a business reporter. Growing up curly, she had long been frustrated by the dearth of information on curly hair and the lack of curl-specific products and stylists who understood how to work with curls and kinks. NaturallyCurly was launched in 1998 with $200 and the help of a 13-year-old Web designer.
Today, the texture segment is considered a staple for most hair-care brands, and many credit that to NaturallyCurly’s influence.
Breyer lives in Austin, TX with her husband, Jody and 13-year-old curly daughter Emma
Nikki Johnson
Nikki is a lifestyle and hair blogger at NikkiChanel.com and an Email Marketing Manager at TextureMediaInc. She was named one of Austin’s Rising Stars by Tribeza magazine in 2014. She has worked with brands like SheaMoisture, L’Oreal, Carol’s Daughter, and Refinery29 to create one of a kind content and marketing campaigns for natural hair consumers. Originally from Houston, TX she moved to Austin to attend UT. When she’s not creating content you can find her running Town Lake or carefully curating the perfect Instagram photo. Follow her @nchanel.
Evelyn Ngugi
Evelyn Ngugi is the Social Media and Community Manager at TextureMedia Inc., in addition to creating original videos and partnering with influencers to boost NaturallyCurly's YouTube presence. In her free time, Evelyn produces her own Youtube channel as "Evelyn From The Internets". She travels to Nigeria annually as the Social Media Manager for Social Media Week Lagos, and is the producer of the web series Austin While Black.
Kami Smith
Kami Smith is an Integrated Media Account Manager for TextureMedia, Inc., a social platform with the goal of empowering women to love their curls, coils, and waves. She consults with brands on the best ways to position themselves amongst the curly community to maximize impact and ROI. Kami previously worked with Greenleaf Book Group, Vendini, and ArtsBoston. She lives in Austin, TX.
Rachel Travels: Travel Black to Love by Rachel Hill
Travel
I am excited about the conference!
I intend on experiencing:
- meeting other Brown bloggers & networking
- learning how to monetize my blog
- other facets about the industry I am unaware of
Once I decided to quit my corporate job last summer, I realized there were not a lot of Brown travel blogs (on the same scale as say, "Nomadic Matt"), and none that I did find, were told from a perspective of a young, successful female who left a "GREAT" life in Corporate America to do what she wanted and loved!
Then came RachelTravels.com
In five years my blog will be allowing me to live a location independent lifestyle, doing highly paid speaking gigs and having coordinated group trips!
1) Stay consistent! Post at least once a week
2) Find the "voice" or personality of your blog and stick with it!
3) Do not lose your passion!
Learning how to travel on a budget, and a few funny posts about my experiences, and a Free Guide!
We're proud to announce BlogHer as a sponsor of the Blogging While Conference for the 8th year in a row. Their continued support helps to further our mission of serving as an incubator of creativity, collaboration and sustainability for emerging leaders in digital media and social change.
“Founded in 2005 by Lisa Stone, Elisa Camahort Page and Jory Des Jardins to answer the question, “Where are the women bloggers?”, BlogHer has become an unstoppable movement, inspiring women to find their voices and turn their passions into content, community and commerce, attracting some of the web’s best talent and top social sites, in topics from food and fashion to politics and parenting. Today the BlogHer community reaches an audience of 100 million across premium blogs, Web sites, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.”
For more information about BlogHer, visit their website: http://www.blogher.com/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.
See you in Austin. #bwbATX
As social media continues to evolve, so should your skills. Don't miss the opportunity to invest in your digital future at the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference. We have an awesome line-up of speakers and sponsors waiting to deliver actionable to help you catapult to the next level in your career. Register today!
We're proud to announce that Shea Moisture is returning as sponsor of the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference. We're looking forward to goodies they'll be sharing in our swag bags, too.
“SheaMoisture was grown from the ground up on the legacy of our Grandmother, Sofi Tucker. The daughter of healers in Sierra Leone and a widowed mother at 19, Grandma Sofi made handmade shea butter, African black soap, and other natural remedies, selling them in local villages to support her family. Her salves and soaps were soon sought after across the countryside - and four generations later, in the hands of her grandson Richelieu Dennis, her recipes and wisdom form the heart of SheaMoisture. Today, every one of our formulas harness the healing power of Shea Butter and the best of Mother Nature to nourish every member of your family, body and soul.”
For more information about Shea Moisture, visit their website at http://www.sheamoisture.com/.
Be sure to follow them on social media, too. Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
See you in Austin. #bwbATX
In the past year Austin has been thrusted into a complex conversation balancing the emerging title of the Silicon Valley of the Southwest and a city of innovation and an expanding economically segregated city. However, there is both ingenuity and thought-leadership taking place in Austin to help elevate the visibility and engagement of communities of color in the digital space and the world of blogging.
Come engage in a conversation with some of the thought leaders leading the conversation in the capitol city, while making their mark on the national stage. This surge of energy around the digital space/start-up buzz in Austin's community of color is being lead by voices like lifestyle guru, UrbanBushBabes' Nikisha Brunson, Taco Journalist Mando Rayo and co-founder of Localeur, the #1 blogging travel app, Joah Spearman.
REGISTER FOR BLOGGING WHILE BROWN 2015
Bios:
Nikisha Brunson | UrbanBushBabes / Pineapple Life
Nikisha Brunson is the Co-founder and Editor-and-Chief of two online life style sites Urbanbushbabes.com and Pineapple.life. Her expertise in natural hair, healthy living, cooking, DIY, and social media has helped to catapult her brands to over 200K+ viewers across her social media platforms. Raised in Brooklyn (NY), she currently resides in Austin (TX). She is a former public school teacher and has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Childhood Education. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan,Yahoo Beauty, Refinery 29, Carol’s Daughter, Essence, Camille Styles, Motel Rocks, Afropunk, Flare Magazine, Once Wed, Texas Monthly, Tribeza, Brides Magazine and ABC’s KVUE News.
Mando Rayo | Taco Journalism / Mando Rayo Collective
By day, Mando is a digital marketer and by night, a Taco Journalist. Mando is CEO and Engagement Strategist at Mando Rayo + Collective, a multicultural advertising agency based in Austin, Texas. Mando is an award winning Texas blogger and author of Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day. Mando's work has been featured on Bon Appetite Magazine, The New York Times, Slate, Texas Monthly, NPR and Latino USA. Mando works with local and national brands including TimeWarner Inc., Whataburger, General Mills, REI, Austin Film Society, Blanton Museum of Art, KLRU-TV, Austin PBS and is currently working on his next book, The Tacos of Texas with The University of Texas Press. Follow Mando on Twitter at @elmundodemando or @MRCollectivos.
Joah Spearman | Localeur
Joah Spearman is the CEO and co-founder of Localeur, an Austin-based startup with a mission to help you experience local wherever you go. Launched at SXSW 2013, Localeur was named the Best New Startup in Austin in 2013 and more recently has been named one of the top travel apps by The Today Show, Forbes, TIME, Mashable, MSN, MTV and The Men's Journal. Before Localeur, Joah was director of operations and strategic initiatives at Bazaarvoice before its 2012 IPO where he led the company's travel strategy, and co-founded the fashion segments for SXSW and ESPN X Games working with emerging brands such as Chicago-based sneaker line Bucketfeet and Australian menswear line Zanerobe. Joah previously co-founded a Downtown Austin-based pop-up sneaker boutique, Sneak Attack, and served as a social media and communication adviser in both Austin and Washington, D.C. for companies such as FedEx and Volkswagen, along with organizations such as the University of Texas and the Beijing Olympics.
Joah is currently serving on the board of directors for AIDS Services of Austin, which he joined in 2011, and as a member of the board for KLRU-TV (Austin's PBS affiliate), which he joined in 2014. Previously, Joah served as vice chair of the Austin Music Commission and as a member of the Downtown Comission, where he was appointed by the City Council and Mayor to advise the city on music-related and Downtown living issues. Joah was recently named one of the Top 10 Black Innovators of 2014 by MVMT ("Movement") 50 and was named the Emerging Business Leader of the Year by the Greater Austin Black Chamber in 2013 along with being a four-time finalist for the Austin Under 40 Awards.
Joah is the co-author of Real Role Models: Successful African Americans Beyond Pop Culture (Univ. of Texas Press 2010) and is currently putting the finishing touches on his second book, Indisputable: A Fan's Guide to the Live Music Capital. A long-time blogger at Diatribes by Joah, he has also been a frequent contributor to Huffington Post along with outlets such as Art & Hustle magazine, The New York Times Sports Blog, Xconomy and Austin publications such as Tribeza, Austin Monthly, and Vetta, and has spoken in more than 100 public schools around the country in partnership with Teach for America in cities such as Charlotte, Houston and Memphis, along with the Wharton School of Business, McCombs School of Business, and at numerous technology conferences such as South by Southwest and Tech808, a New York-based conference bridging the gap between the tech and hip-hop communities.
