The official BlogWorld Description:

The Reawakening of Artistry: Using New Media to Make Consumer Media Significant – Again

With the avid consumer migration away from traditional distribution channels and mechanisms for the support of artistry, how can established and emerging artists reconnect with fans to not only sell and promote their work, but also shift participation from fandom to community. Join Brian Solis with special celebrity guests, Soleil Moon Frye, Jermaine Dupree and Anthony Edwards as they explore how new media tools and communities are ushering in a renaissance for traditional media while also inspiring its evolution into new formats and distribution platforms and channels while enhancing relationships between artists and fans.

The panel included: (the links are to their twitter accounts)

Brian Solis, Anthony Edwards, Jermaine Dupri, Soleil Moon Frye

My take-aways:

OK, here we go again.  Welcome to my brain.   I’m just going to let what I remember about the session flow…

First of all, it was a great panel of articulate, engaged celebrites from TV, music and film.  Brian Solis was a fantastic moderator and started the discussion saying that when celebrities first got on social media it was very inauthentic – assistants were in charge and they were all branding and commercial messages. But there is a shift and the point of the panel was to talk about that shift and how celebrities can and do use social media.

Some points that stuck with me:

Do your own social media – don’t outsource it because people can tell.

Don’t talk about using the restroom but let people get to know you.

Keep the “We” in Social web and not just the “Me” in Social Media.

You make the rules in how you interact with others in Social Media.  Yes, there is freedom of expression but if it is your blog, Twitter or Facebook, you decide who gets to say what.  Don’t take abuse.

Be kind and remember that even though you might be interacting with your thumbs, act as if you are face-to-face – keep respect in your interactions always.

Social Media is about sharing and connecting in real time.  Put yourself out there in a way that makes you comfortable.

Social Media has eliminated the need for a lot of middle-men – market research on fan base, etc. can be done by you, online.

Your message is instant and worldwide.  The internet is shrinking the world and helping people connect like never before.

So what do I take away from all this, for use by me, personally? A non-celebrity but artist looking to connect with my consumers?

Let others get to know me without giving out information that I think is too personal. It is ok to put boundaries around how you relate.

Don’t be afraid to be myself. Some might not like it but they won’t be my consumers, friends and fans anyway and that’s ok.

Help and connect with others. Social Media will work best when it is a two-way street – you can’t just throw your own stuff out there and expect to get anywhere.  Share. Help. Relate. Talk.

I make the rules. You can play the “Social Media Game” anyway you want so don’t let others tell you how it has to be done.  I was once told I HAD to have separate twitter accounts for business and personal.  I always disagreed and never did it.  By my rules, it is about letting people know me and I am a combination of life, fun, work and sharing.

Attending BlogWorld has been a great way to step outside of the ‘artist’ box and see what is going on in a lot of different industries.  I’m sure I’ll be processing everything for quite some time.

Would love to hear your thoughts on all this. (Oh yeah… one person said our blogs are only as relevant as our comments – hope not!  I think I get more email feedback than blog comments so my rules say – it’s still ok.  I believe I help people – even if sometimes that is only me by processing things in print!)