As members of the netroots and wider realm of political activism, we have many opportunities to share time, energy and (lest we forget) finances coming together to gather and share knowledge and build communities and promote the causes closest to our hearts.
Netroots Nation's got all that, in spades but... is that really what makes this convention special? From where I am sitting - to an extent, that's true. It has become a truly national stage for aspiring (and victorious) presidential candidates, amongst others seeking the honorable burdens of public service in our great Republic. Leaders in many realms of progressive politics step up and speak out. Sure, you can see such peeps elsewhere - but so many in one place? Perhaps Davos - any of you got tickets for next year? I don't.
But that's nt the real draw - not for me, anyway. For me, it is the blogosphere made incarnate. You take the society we deconstruct and reassemble here, one pie fight and kumbaya at a time, and set it for four days in the real world, and watch what happens.
And I swear to you, it is a beautiful thing to witness.
Thus, for today, I am writing about Living La Vita Live-Blog. It's more than just a parlor trick: it's a window into the vast possibilities of the netroots. We develop so many levels and channels of community online, every moment. We sense the changes to how we align ourselves as friends, allies... rivals sometimes (hey, a little competition is cool, it's all good). But it is a place like Netroots Nation where we see, in a big-picture way, what it really means to our real hearts and minds when so much of what we adore - even love - in the reflections and sentiments of others is brought into the flesh-and-blood reality.
Why I, Personally, Attend Every Netroots Nation
Many of you regulars are regulars on the fundraising, campaigning and organizing circuits. From the vantage of What Makes Political Action Work - you’ve seen it all. So why come to Netroots Nation?
Because its still a very special experience and it’s worth experiencing, that’s why. Netroots Nation gives people a once-a-year opportunity to live blogging. Which is where Live Blogging comes in… as a means to transmit this experience to others electronically, sometimes when they are in the same room, sometimes when they are on the far side of the planet – and to do both with equal ease. This collapse of distance for real-time multi-participatory discourse is very important and a key concept of netroots as a medium – with practical applications as a movement. (appropriately unread diary on this highbrow topic back in August 2009. Feel free to save this one for later.)
But how do you do it? Do you need special gear? Not really. Now, back in the day – oh, up to about three years ago, it was not always feasible to live blogging and live-blog at the same time. So, you might have had to take some mental notes, maybe jot down a thing or two – then go borrow someone’s computer.
I tell you, it was hard times back in the pre-3G Epoch. Of course these days of the High Technozoic, people have 3G/4G phones so it’s a whole different world. You can live blog your actual life on Facebook now. But it’s still not the same as a convention… because, seriously. People have their own actual lives. (Post about your pootie’s poops and you’re going to get filtered out, fast.)
So… what makes live-blogging while living blogging interesting? Different things. How about we start with the Live Blogging Something That’s Actually Political Activism angle? In Austin 2008 we live blogged Vote For Change:
If you are in Austin for Netroots Nation, you are invited to stop by the coffee shop and hang out and participate in the fun and joy that is live blogging...
...and/or get properly sworn in as a deputized registrar as we help turn Texas blue(bluer/blue-ier) as thoroughly described in casperr's Vote for Change at Netroots Nation -- you know you want to! diary.
here are the event specs, compliments of my.barackobama.com...
We're at the Hilton Hotel Lobby Coffee Shop*, (500 E. 4th Street) already (3PM CST) and getting geared up for deputiz[ing] and training, and heading out to register new Texas Democrats! The plan is to finish up at 6:00. If you want to join us later in the afternoon, drop a message here.
We're treating this as live news coverage! Offer support to the team! Or just give us some cheers and yays and woots woots! It's all good.
Besides, what beats live-blogging? :)
(As you can tell, I am a strong advocate of live blogging.)
Because that’s never enough we had SEQUEL live blogging the next day!. The point of this particular live-blog was not such much the importance of events but of places where people socialize. Every convention either has – or tries to have – at least one of these. At Vegas 2006 it was the tropical-theme bar near the poker tables. At Chicago 2007 it was the patio. For Austin 2008 it was the lobby. (FYI it was the lobby in Pittsburgh 2009 but Vegas II in 2010 had no central locale so that was kind of the suck.)
Although the convention is happening at the appropriately-named convention center across the street, and there is certain a great deal of milling-about and schmoozing taking place there, the hotel lobby is definitely where it's at.
At the moment sarahnity is "just reading all the diaries on Netroots Nation and finding out about all the events that I have missed...because there is too much going on!!!"
clammyc is live-blogging his diary and he has just given me permission to link and rec his diary Election theft disguised as the "Bradley effect". What a mensch, letting me do that. :)
navajo is taking pictures of people, including me. :)
trashablanca and floja roja are looking for Carnacki. If you are out there, post a comment. :)
highacidity says "Hi!" and is posting pictures. Lots of 'em. UPDATE: "And it's one word!"
Carnacki is now here. Shook his hand. Woot.
paradox: "Tell everyone I say hi!"
Malacandra has an interesting comment about elevators being Faraday cages earlier. "I don't know if it's true of all elevators but it's true of that one," he clarifies just now. :)
lulu57 wants me to tell Carnacki hi, though he is standing 10' away. :)
Of course, the Mother of All Live Blogs remains Live Blogging Lunch With Jerome A Paris
I was looking for a gag diary concept for today, when an idea just walked right up in the form of Jerome a Paris.
His stomach is seven hours in the future, I was hungry, so we are camped out in Mix, the Hyatt's cute little bar that was SLAM packed with Kossacks yesterday evening.
As we are both cheese-eating French-loving surrender monkeys, we just ordered two cheeseburgers and sides of fries...and Corona beers. :)
So....send in your questions for Jerome or me.
I will try to answer as flippantly as possible :)))
Update: Brillig and Kath25 and now Javelina have stopped by to inquire why Jerome and I are giggling so much. :)
Update 2: Jerome insists that he laughs in a manly fashion :)
Update 3: Shockwave, DemocraticLuntz, A Siegel and DooLittleSoThere have joined us!! W00t!!! Anybody here at YKOS who wants to party/blog with us is welcome :)))
Update 4: W00t! Ambriosius and Begone in da house!!! My peeps!
Update 5: Virgomusic has just shown up!!!
The comments are especially righteous (Jerome and I had to log on, post comments, log off, pass laptop, log on, post comments, etc. the entire time… and we were eating lunch at the same time!).
So why all this mirth? And goodwill? And why is this live-blogging travesty tolerated?!!!
Well, sociologically speaking, a big reason is the self-selection of any convention experience – people are paying good money and spending good time to be part of the Netroots Nation experience. These are folks with politically intense lives – all of them. Their interests are much more highly correlated with each other than with the general U.S. voter population – and they know it . (And despite strong commonalities they still have pie fights ,which is a fascinating study of the hard-coded aggressive streak in human nature.) But to see and experience a Netroots Nation is a fine study in the other hard-coding: the ability of the human psyche, when given fertile soil, to grow strong communities and ties of friendship, and to grow them quickly.
Now, bless our generic hearts, all of us have counterparts (one, a few… lots) with whom we just don’t seem to master the Fine Art of Low-Bandwidth Text Bonding. The good news it is much easier to sort out such antagonisms – and recognize them for the trivialities they are – in the convention setting. One of the most prominent examples from my own past is Mike Stark. We had, once up on a time, strongly divergent views on the merits of ambush video-journalism. Then we met up at the Chicago convention in 2007. We had some beer. In 2010 (Las Vegas II) he helped me smuggle beer into a cash bar party. See? Bonding!
So come to Netroots Nation Minneapolis! If not, come to Netroots Nation eventually – and in the meantime check out the live blogs. Reader feedback (see the comments) is the efforts are appreciated.
Maybe the technology of live-blogging will change but someone’s got to show up and do it. For the time being, I’ll be one of those doing so.
I’ll see you there, living blogging and live-blogging it… or you’ll see me here. That’s the beauty of it. : )