Here's What's on the Menu at Blogher 2007 in Chicago

(Edit on 6-20-07, with some exciting news for those who live far away or just can't attend the actual conference. Blogher announced yesterday that there will be a virtual Blogher 2007 Conference using Second Life. You need to download Second Life and register to attend virtually, but it's free. Follow that link for more information.)

Many of you know that Elise, Alanna, and myself are writers for the site Blogher.org. Our job there is to spotlight food content we find on the web, an assignment that has us reading lots of food blogs looking for something unique. Besides running a website to spotlight women bloggers, the folks at Blogher produce conferences about blogging twice a year. (Men are welcome to attend the conference, too.) Some of you may remember hearing about food bloggers at Blogher 2006. This year the ladies of Blogher have allowed us to give a lot of input to create content specifically of interest to food bloggers. Last year I learned an amazing amount about blogging in two days, and this year there's even more food-related content. Below is a post I wrote on my blog about the conference offerings, which I thought would be of interest to FBS readers. (Full disclosure: I do get paid a very minimal amount for writing for the Blogher site. They have not asked me to post this notice here, nor am I being paid to do so.)

Learn About Food Photography

The talented Bea from La Tartine Gourmande and Lara from Still Life With and Cook and Eat will share some of the ways they get those fabulous photos, with Photoshop expert Jan Kabali leading the discussion and throwing in a few tips of her own.

Learn about Technical Tools to Build Blog Traffic

The lovely and generous Elise from Simply Recipes and Vanessa Fox from Google will do a repeat of their popular session from the March Blogher Business Conference about ways to help more people find your blog.

Relive the Menu for Hope with Pim

The charming and well-traveled Pim from Chez Pim will touch down in Chicago long enough to speak at a session on fundraising where she'll share her experiences in raising money through the popular food blogging fundraiser A Menu for Hope.

Hear Food Bloggers Dish About Foodblogging

There's sure to be a lively discussion when Shuna from Eggbeater, Alanna from A Veggie Venture, Susan from FatFree Vegan Kitchen, Nupur from One Hot Stove and Jasmine from Confessions of a Cardomom Addict talk about the ins and outs of blogging about food. That's a lot of food blogging talent, and I'm the moderator for this session, so if you're planning to be there, I'd love to hear what you'd like me to ask this crew of well-known bloggers.

There's more, including sessions about writing reviews, establishing a "brand" for your blog, Blog-to-Book, the business aspects of blogging, web design, and moving to a self-hosted blog, to name just a few. If you want to read about all the other sessions, check out the schedule for Day One and Day Two. Visit Blogher.org to register or get more information about hotels and venues.

Let Us Know if You're Coming!

There are plans to organize some kind of Food Blogger Meet-Up during the conference, although we don't know for sure where or when. I am also keeping an ongoing list of the bloggers who are coming in this post about the conference on my own blog. If you're coming to Blogher, leave a comment here or on my blog to let us know so we can include you in those plans.

This post written by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

IACP in Chicago--a three part question

I doubt there will be time for much of a meet up, but I'd love to know if other food bloggers are planning on attending the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in Chicago this week. If you are, will you post your name in the comments section? (and please say "hi" if you see me! I'll do the same)

I was intrigued to attend after reading so many food blog posts about the conference in Seattle last year. As food bloggers and food blog readers, what aspects of the conference would you most like to read about this year? I am hoping to blog from the conference, or at very least when I get home.

Finally for those of you who attended last year, any tips for those of us attending for the first time?

Thanks everyone and Happy Easter!

This post was written by Amy Sherman from Cooking with Amy