Hey there, readers! Today and tomorrow, or until my batteries die, or until I can't stand it anymore, I'll be liveblogging the First Annual BlogPhiladelphia "unconference." This post will be constantly updating throughout the day, so it's going to stay at the top of the Phillyist main index. But be sure to scroll down for the rest of our regular content, and see full liveblog after the jump! (Meanwhile, forgive us any resulting funny HTML, folks. We're fixing mistakes as soon as we find them.)

UPDATE: Philly Future posted a pretty comprehensive list of livebloggers from Day 1. We want you to read Phillyist's coverage, of course, but you should check out some of the other sites, too.

(All comments/notes after the 3:51PM update are from the Open Grid session.)

5:31PM: That's it for me today. I'm off to see MaPhillyist. Be sure to check us out tomorrow for more liveblogging!

5:27PM: Don't buy new video cameras when they first hit the market: the hardware usually gets released before the software codecs.

5:17PM: Note to self: check out Wine Library TV. Immediately.

5:11PM: Viddler sounds like a cool new idea: you can add tags to videos (for example, I show up on the video at 5:02, etc.), record video responses at the exact moment of the video that you want to comment on, and link to or embed clip excerpts rather than whole videos. Also, they're currently giving away two iPhones. Woohoo!

5:10PM: Hooray, Mac, for making it harder to plug in to a projector. (We love Macs, but differen't isn't always better.)

5:00PM: How had I never heard of PANMA?

4:50PM: Yay! A site called Prerollr Revlayer provides a way to monetize video content on YouTube, Google Video, Viddler, DailyMotion, Veoh, SpashCast, Revver, MySpace, VideoJug, and more. We post videos daily on Phillyist, so this is quite exciting - but you can even do it on your personal blog!

4:45PM: The guy speaking right now (whose name, alas, I did not catch) has a tattoo of binary code on his arm. This amuses me verily, and I wonder what it's code for.

3:51PM: Why do people insist on standing in the back of the room and talking instead of letting people listen to and participate in the unconference? Breakout session: "How to Deal with Negative Comments, with Scott McNulty (Blankbaby, Fork You, TUAW). I'm attending this session rather than the cityblog session because I'm curious about people's takes on commenting systems like Phillyist's new one. Takeaways and observations:

• If anyone ever threatens your safety in a blog, you should notify the police immediately.


• People seem to be a little paranoid about posting comments on generic websites. We don't blame them - that's why we have spam email accounts.


• Quote of the day: "In some sense, we've all become Paris Hilton." The idea being that as bloggers, we open ourselves up to negative comments by being in the public eye, no matter how small the public is.


• Some blogs actually don't get negative comments. Amazing.


• Blogs are a conversation – the general consensus is that comments that don't add to the conversation can be deleted.


• Someone suggests a negative commenter "hall of shame," in which your negative commenters are made fun of, and their contact information is given. That idea frightens us.


• Another suggestion: think of how you would have this discourse face-to-face, rather than on a blog. It promotes civility and reduces negativity, on both the part of the blogger and the commenter.


• Difference between "bad" comments, "negative" comments, and outright dangerous or slanderous comments.

3:20PM: Snack: soft pretzels and Tastykakes. How cute and Philly.

3:10PM: I definitely had my computer plugged in for over an hour, and it said I was fully charged, but my battery is down to 39% and I've only been unplugged for an hour. I think I need a new computer.

2:15PM: Breakout session: "Paid Blogging and Commenting," with Chris O'Donnell (TechDirt). I will admit that I am attending this session purely in the hope that someday, I can get paid to sit on my ass all day and blog. Also, because a part of me, though I know better, hoped that the Chris O'Donnell hosting the panel would actually be this Chris O'Donnell. Takeaways and observations:

• Two ways to think about paid blogging: ads (obviously!) or getting paid for what you're writing about – what you know and love. This sounds good to me. Anyone want to give me a job?


• "Ghostblogging" – per the bullet above, does anyone want to pay me to write their blog?


• Hmmm... People could pay you to link to their products/businesses in your blog. Maybe I need to start name-dropping more. But it may be a little unethical.


• We're twenty minutes in, and it feels like this group has been hijacked.


• How is it that I've never heard of spider food, but everyone else seems to know exactly what it is?


• There's a blogger code of ethics? Seriously?


• There is a seven-year-old here following his dad around (his dad appears to be a photoblogger) and wearing an "I'm a Mac" shirt. I think that may be the coolest kid ever.


• If you want to sell ads, advertisers want to know approximate age of readers, zip codes, and male/female ratio. Unique users/30 days and pageviews are helpful, too. If you know how long someone stays on your site, that's also helpful.


• IAB=Internet Advertising Board. Who knew?


• Bloggers who make money apparently need to get a business privilige license, especially in Philadelphia.

1PM: Lunch break. Back in an hour, folks. Thanks!

11:25AM: Breakout session: "The NEW Work/Life Balance: Keeping Your Blogs and Social Media Life Separate, with Alicia Dorset (MS&L, Digital/GM Fastlane, and FYI Blogs). Takeaways and observations:

• It's probably a good idea not to link to your MySpace and other social networking sites, not just when you're applying for jobs, but also if you've got a widely-read blog. People will make fun of you. (Thank god I've got my social networking pages restricted.)


• Hmmm... Maybe I shouldn't be writing for Phillyist under my real name. Props to you, Pencopal!


• People will Google you. They may even print up everything they find about you. Terrifying.


• There may be ways to hide from Google. But what's the point?


• Note to self: If I'm going to do anything stupid on the web, I should be sure to do it under an alias.


• MySpace is your "travelling resume." That's scary, considering that my MySpace page talks about movies and music – I hope I didn't just get my job because I listen to Modest Mouse!


• Apparently, "mommy bloggers" are celebrities. I don't think I'd ever even heard that expression until twenty minutes ago.


• People will spam your online wedding guestbook. Spammers are relentless.


• Oooh... those mommy bloggers get lots of free stuff. Think it would work if I pretended to have a kid?


• Consenus: bloggers like when people comment. So comment, people!


• Somebody at BlogPhiladelphia just asked what a blog is. Three people did a Scooby Doo-style double take.


• I think that this discussion has moved pretty far from its topic. But that's okay. It looks like we're having more fun than the group on the other side of the room.

10:53AM: And, now plugged into the south wall. Right behind a column, so I can't see anything. Except for the table where I left my stuff. And Joey Sweeney's back.

10:35AM: The panel (see 9:35 timestamp) is about over, and I'm expecting a massive run on outlets in the ballroom. I'm getting ready to charge the south wall. I should have gotten one of those instant battery charger thingies. I have no idea how I'm going to keep my computer charged today.

10AM: Goddamn, the wireless here is slow. Or maybe it's just maxed out.

9:35AM: Panel: "The State of Social Media and Thoughts on the Future," moderated by Joey Sweeney (Philebrity), and featuring Caroline Marks (Ziddio.com), Vincent Veneziani (CrunchGear.com), AJ Daulerio (Philly Mag and Deadspin.com), Neal Stewart (Flying Dog Brewery and Open Source Beer Project), and Emily King (Intelligent Travel, a National Geographic blog). Takeaways and observations:

• Apparently, all bloggers live in their parents' basements and blog in their underwear.


• Print media outlets have finally figured out that blogs matter (yeah, blogs!), and have begun to look to blogs to figure out where to take their publication content.


• Bloggers like beer. So beers have started having blogs.


• We can thank Gawker for legitimizing online publications (read: blogs). Thanks, Gawker!


• Snark: an essential, if not necessary or constant, component of the blogosphere.


• How refreshing: National Geographic's blog is fact-checked. (But then doesn't it remove the immediacy of blogging?)


• Key to repeat readers on your blog: a good sense of humor. Check!


• File under no shit, Sherlock: bloggers don't usually have much of a budget.


• Good question, posed by Sweeney: "What is up with the internet and cats?"


• Ziddio, a subsidy of Comcast, invests in other sites. They should invest in us! We'll make videos if they give us cash. Or feed us. Food is good.


• Denver has the largest beer convention in North America. Who knew?


• World of Warcraft > Second Life because you can kill the people you're "networking" with. Awesome.


• Scary: a lot of medical students have started using Second Life to practice techniques.


• Someone asked: "Can you hear me now?" and the whole room erupted into laughter. We are such nerds.


• Holy crap! Intelligent Travel has a one-week turnaround time on their posts. That doesn't really sound like a blog to us.

9:30AM: Fact, per Josh Hallett: "Bloggers don't always make good public speakers." We don't know whether to be offended or to nod in agreement.

9:27AM: Rule of the unconference, per Josh Hallett of hyku.com: "No Tools!" Heh. He clarified by saying he meant no assholes. And no jargon.

9:24AM: Holy crap! In our goodie bags, we were given access cards so we could use Wireless Philadelphia before anyone else. Bet you wish you were here, instead of reading the coverage, right?

Also, we were just informed that this will be a mostly waste-free conference. They're even composting the leftover food. I'd make a joke here, but that might be too obvious.

9:15AM: Registration for the first day of BlogPhiladelphia was scheduled to begin at 8AM, with events set to begin at 9AM. I didn't get out of bed untiil 8:30. That's because I was up until 4:30. (Mommy's visiting. I had to clean.) Fortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly, BlogPhiladelphia has started a few minutes late. Meryl Levitz, the head of the GPTMC, just apologized on behalf of the mayor for his absence, saying, "You know how much he loves technology." Insert room full of bloggers making iPhone jokes here.