First, from the Association of Virtual Worlds, The Blue Book: A Consumer’s Guide to Virtual Worlds. It’s basically a directory of social networks and virtual worlds, including some that are in development.

Next, Wave 3 of a report from Universal McCann on Social Media.

Some highlights:

• China has the largest blogging community in the world with 42 million bloggers, more than the US and Western Europe combined.
• While blog readership in the U.S. has decreased by 2% since September 2006, globally it has increased by 23%, with a 57% increase in the Philippines.
• Brazil leads in terms of frequency of reading blogs. 52% read them daily, compared to 23% in the U.S.
• Percentage-wise, South Korea is the top country for starting blogs, and Mexico is number 5 (and the U.S. is way the heck down on the list).
• 56% of Brazilians manage their social networking profiles daily, and France is at the bottom of the list for creating profiles.
• BRIC markets lead in adoption of RSS, all 50% plus adoption (BRIC = Brazil, Russia, India, China)

BOOK BLOGGERS KICK OFF KIDLIT AWARDS’ SECOND YEAR CHICAGO – Will Harry Potter triumph among critical bloggers? Will novels banned in some school districts find favor online?

With 90 volunteers poised to sift through hundreds of new books, the second annual Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards launched on Oct. 1 at www.cybils.com. Known as the Cybils, it’s the only literary contest that combines both the spontaneity of the Web with the thoughtful debate of a book club.

The public’s invited to nominate books in eight categories, from picture books up to young adult fiction, so long as the book was first published in 2007 in English (bilingual books are okay too). Once nominations close on Nov. 21, the books go through two rounds of judging, first to select the finalists and then the winners, to be announced on Valentine’s Day 2008.

Judges come from the burgeoning ranks of book bloggers in the cozy corner of the Internet called the kidlitosphere. They represent parents, homeschoolers, authors, illustrators, librarians and even teens.

The contest began last year after blogger Kelly Herold (http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com)  expressed dismay that while some literary awards were too snooty – rewarding books kids would seldom read – others were too populist and didn’t acknowledge the breadth and depth of what’s being published today.

“It didn’t have to be brussel sprouts versus gummy bears,” said Anne Boles Levy, who started Cybils with Herold. “There are books that fill both needs, to be fun and profound.”

Last year’s awards prompted more than 480 nominations, and this year’s contest will likely dwarf that. As with last year’s awards, visitors to the Cybils blog (http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils) can leave their nominations as comments. There is no nomination form, only the blog, to keep in the spirit of the blogosphere that started it all.

For further info:

Anne Boles Levy

anne (at) bookbuds (dot) net

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6: Conference.

7:45-8:00: Check in. Pay your registration fees if you haven’t already, get your name tags and your Who’s Who cheat sheet. (We’ll have coffee and continental breakfast.)

8:00-8:10: Intro to the conference.

8:10-9:00: Kidlit Blogging, Part 1 (led by Tasha Saeker and others): How to get started, how to get ARCs, how to do reviews, how to do author interviews, what blog formats seem to work best, etc. There’s a lot of experience in this group, and I’m hoping many of you will have tips to offer.

9:10-9:45: Podcasting 101 (led by Mark Blevis and Andrea Ross): The how-to’s (and why-to’s) of creating and posting podcasts on your site. I just did a podcast interview on Friday–it’s the wave of the future, baby!

10:00-11:00 (room #1): Cybils Forum.

10:00-11:00 (room #2) Blogging for Authors (led by Robin Brande, Gregory K, Barry Lyga): websites, blogs, MySpace, why to, how to, the different philosophies thereof (sales & promotion, connection with readers, daily writing exercise, can’t stop talking, etc.).

11:10-12:00: Promotion Ideas for the Kidlitosphere (led by Jen Robinson): Brainstorming ideas for increased promotion of the
kidlitosphere as a whole, as a resource for readers/parents/ authors.

12:00-1:00: Lunch on your own (not alone on your own–you can find friends).

1:10-2:00: Kidlit Blogging, Part 2–the business side (led by Pam Coughlan): Brainstorming tips to improve your blog, attract more
traffic and links, keep your blog (and yourself) fresh, and generally kick it up a notch.

2:10-3:00: Kidlit Blogging, Part 3–the creative side (led by Anne Levy): How to establish your “voice,” how to maintain your writing quality, what makes for a good review, how to hone your reviewing skills.

3:10-4:00: The Ethics of Reviewing (led by Liz Burns): What do we do about personal relationships/potential conflicts of interest, “bad” reviews, copyright, and other ethical issues?

4:00-5:00: Meet the Authors (hosted by Esme Raji Codell of PlanetEsme). A chance to have a little one-on-one with some of the authors–a time to chat, interview, question, inspect.

5:00-6:00: Go away. Relax in your room. Brush your teeth, spiffy up.

6:00-7:00: Cocktails/mingle.

7:00-9:00: Dinner! Prize giveaways! Fun!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9: Brunch off-site (directions to be provided Saturday night), hosted by Esme, for anyone not leaving at the butt-crack of dawn. 8:30-11:30 AM–come for all or part.

For more info and RSVPs…

For writers, readers, and independent thinkers–book and story reviews by writers and readers, writers’ motivational articles, war stories from the publishing trenches, literary trends, religious controversies, free chocolate, and more.

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