Sessions at BlogWorld New York 2012 on Thursday 7th June in 1A15

In the early days of New Media, the legendary “fam trip” (free travel to destinations interested in media coverage), was an elusive prize, available only to traditional journalists from huge national media outlets. In the ever changing environment of social media, destinations are now courting bloggers and podcasters, even those outside of the travel field!

Chef Mark Tafoya and Jennifer Iannolo of Culinary Media Network will share with you how they started out taking advantage of these trips for cultural and culinary exploration, and after nearly two dozen fam trips, built a whole new type of business model.

Becky McCray and Sheila Scarborough of Tourism Currents will share from the perspective of destinations courting media attention, and share with you how to make yourself attractive to a destination or business eager to invite you on a trip.

Key Points
1. Learn how you can travel to destinations worldwide for free
2. Learn how to travel smartly & lightly, and still get tons of great content for your blog, podcast, or video series
3. Know how to evaluate yourself the way a destination would evaluate you.

With professional podcasters, ranging from self-employed individuals to experience from the corporate front, audio and video content creators come together to talk about the realistic expectations of turning your podcast into a profit-making machine. This is not so much about the creation of the content itself, but more on marketing the content and proposing strategies in making the content marketable.

Key Points
1. When you start podcasting, don't quit your day job right away.
2. Making money through your podcast versus your podcast as a money-maker
3. Why Podcasting matters in a full marketing strategy

The hunt for great story narrators has expanded as magazines embrace the digital age and drive more of their content online. Audio magazines are always on the lookout to find talented readers for some of the biggest stories and authors in fiction. How do you get started? What are the requirements? What are editors looking for? What skills will help you reach the next level? All your questions will be answered by some of the most experienced professionals in the field.

Key Points
1. You will be supplied with tips on how to break in to story narration
2. A list of magazines that are looking for talented narrators
3. How to use social media to your advantage in the field

Science fiction has always been immensely entertaining and popular, and has improved the world in important ways, whether it’s inspiring the passion of top scientists (such as Carl Sagan and Edwin Hubble) or warning about the dangers of nuclear war (On the Beach), ecological disaster (Soylent Green), or totalitarianism (1984).

Now New Media technology is giving us the ability to disseminate these vital narratives like never before. What are some of the best ways to spread science fiction online, and what larger societal goals should science fiction authors and fans be advancing?

Key Points
1. You'll be inspired by stories of podcasters who have brought science fiction to the podcasting platform.
2. You'll learn what you need to consider if you desire to create a science fiction podcast.
3. Learn about how combining cutting-edge thinking with thrilling narratives, science fiction provides an ideal vehicle for disseminating important concepts among the general population.