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Milblog Conference: Panel 2, Milblogging As A Community
September 20, 2008
A look at how the MilBlogging Community Was Born. How MilBlogs have given a voice to supporters, parents and spouses of service members. Members of this panel are Melinda of Spouse Buzz, Beth of Soldier’s Angels and Fuzzilicious Thinking, Mrs. Greyhawk of Mudville Gazette, Karen of Parents Zone and Proud Liberal Army Wife and Sarah of SpouseBuzz and Trying to Grok.
As with the first panels, the panelists emphasized about how they often will write about things that they might not talk about to their friends, families, spouses and neighbors. Beth shared about Valor IT project and how it being a project of Soldiers Angels, and how the blogs have been able to reach beyond the milblog world to the general public to raise money for providing laptop computers to wounded warriors who are hospitalized.
Karen of Parents Zone shared how it different it is for an Army Wife to send her spouse off on deployment, then it is for them to send their child off to war. She stressed how the feelings of a parent are often much difference from spouses in regards to the emotions they go through, as well the fact that they’re often not involved with the informational and support circle in the military for spouses. Often the parents are a “forgotten” part of the military family and they often feel left out and unimportant. Her hopes are with Parents Zone are to provide a supportive community for parents of military members and provide a place where they can obtain information about the military. Often military parents may not have ever had exposure to the military, so they have many questions and experience much confusion, because they often are left out of “the loop.”
Mrs. Greyhawk shared about Dawn Patrol and how she utilizes that to highlight relevant information from the Troops downrange, as well the military community and sometimes even the mainstream media that might be relevant to the MilBlog community.
Audience memberss were asked to contribute their ideas and suggestions for what they would like to see in the milblog community. One audience member asked what plans there are to extend the support to the veteran community. Panel members share that they feel veterans are still welcomed in the milblog community and that there are numerous organizations and blogs out there still connect and support the veterans and consider them a part of the community. Beth shared how Soldiers Angels are looking at the long term aspect and how the veterans and their needs can be long term and how that support can continue for those veterans who still need that support. One lady in the audience who identified herself as a civilian with no military exposure, she identified that her reason for reading the military blogs, are so she can find out what needs the needs are and what kinds of things she as a citizen can do to support the Troops.
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Please enjoy a nice new tribute to soldiers and veterans at http://www.soldiersmeanmore.com
What a great synopsis! Thanks for sharing this for some of the folks that couldn’t be there in person. Looking forward to reading the rest of your posts.