Message Boards: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

Message boards are part of the internet, part of the pageant industry, and theyre definitely here to stay. But are they valuable sources of information for contestants or just an opportunity for tabloid-style trashing and bashing? Christie Cole-Pearson , pageant contestant and message board moderator joins Valerie to talk about everything you need to know about message boards. Then pageant industry insider Maria Beall talks about the negative impact message boards can have on contestants as well as the pageant industry.

Episode Segments:

The Bad Things About Message Boards Pageant Insider Maria Beall discusses how she became aware of message boards, her own bad experiences with them, why they are so addictive, and what people need to keep in mind while reading them.
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Starting & Moderating a Message Board Christie Cole-Pearson, who serves as message board moderator, shares some inside info on message boards, including how to find them, and how to start your own. She also talks about how she moderates her own board, and what makes a good moderator.
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Ning Communities Ms. United States Graziella Baretta, founder of Pageant Palace.com, and Liz Fogg-Ababon, founder of My Pageant Place.com, talk about their new websites & what make them unique in the Pageant Community.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Graziella Baratta Ms. United States 2008, Graziella Baratta has been involved with pageants for about 15 years and is the creator of the very first pageant networking site, Pageant Palace, while holding down three professions: Graziella is a performing artist/choreographer, image consultant and graphic & web designer. Graziella teaches dance and fitness on a regular basis and freelances with her companies B.YOUneek and G-Volution Dance Company. Her platforms this year are “Healthy Habits for Life” and “I aM for Women” inspiration and motivation to empower women. Click here to visit Pageant Palace

Maria Beall Maria Beall is a fitness professional of over 20 years and works for the largest fitness company in Virginia. She is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine and loves teaching group fitness. She is married to Michael and has 3 sons. Her former titles are Mrs. Virginia and Mrs. Gala. Click Here to visit her website

Christe Cole Pearson place 6th at the nationally televised Miss Teen USA Pageant (she missed the Top 5 by 1/100th of a point!) In December of 2005, Christie opened Custom Crown Cases, a Business that specializes in creating customized crown/tiara cases for storage, protection, or display! Nearly a year and a half ago, Christie was asked to help co-moderate a Voy Forum (pageant message board). Since then, with the help of the other moderators, our “Texas Beauty Shop” has been named as THE go-to message board for Texas USA pageantry information by members and visitors all across the world! Click Here to Visit Her Website