On the first day of South by Southwest Interactive, those pushing the envelope online among the African-American community took the stage for a panel titled “Black Blogging Rockstars.”  The panel featured Maurice Cherry of the Black Weblog Awards, Gina McCauley of Blogging While Brown, Deanna Sutton of Clutch Magazine, and J. Smith of the blog JBrotherLove.

Panelists tackled questions ranging from defining what makes a blogging rockstar, to what trends they see in the blogging space, to advice for once you hit the big time.

Here are the top takeaways (applicable to bloggers no matter what your race):

• Success is about quality, not quantity. “Everybody is a blogging rock star, as far as I’m concerned … to your audience, you’re a God, to all 25 of them.” – Gina McCauley
• We watched every blog become a political blog during the 2008 election.  This demonstrates the power of bloggers to influence any discussion.
• Don’t devalue your audience.  It should be based on influence, not web traffic.
• Be realistic with yourself if you’re in it for fun or money.  “I’m a big advocate of personal blogging. Sometimes you just want to talk to other people.” – J. Smith
• Producing content does bring you access to capital.  It’s okay to ask for ads and sponsorship.
• Network with influencers in your community.  Make sure you have a seat at the table with your counterparts from other communities.
• Many bloggers start for fun, but once you get attention, then you need to take it seriously.

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