Hey, are you going to Netroots Nation next month? Or are you thinking about attending? Well I’ve got 10 reasons below why you should stop by the Community and Exhibit Hall at the conference. As you might note, we added “Community” to the title because we are increasing our efforts to make the Hall a gathering place for attendees at NN. So without further adieu:
1) Morning News Dump
Grab your coffee before the keynote each morning while getting an update of the day’s news with "The Morning News Dump" with Daily Show co-creator and comedian Lizz Winstead and friends.
The Morning News Dump is sorta like "Morning Joe" except they won't have guests who have actually gotten everything wrong for the past ten years. There will be a healthy dose of progressive opinion, analysis, and mockery of conservatism--coming from the panel made up of Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, popular comedian Elon James and pundit & author Cliff Schecter.
Guests will include Pam Spaulding, Sam Seder, Shannyn Moore and a variety of others yet to be announced. It's nice to get a dose of the world before you launch into your Netroots Day.
2) Daily Kos Lounge
Our friends at Daily Kos (you may have heard of them) is sponsoring the Daily Kos Lounge. As Scout Finch, Dkos editor stated, “this will be the central networking and blogging space for Netroots Nation attendees. The Daily Kos Lounge will feature panel discussions, meet-ups, merchandise giveaways (via Twitter and Facebook), and book signings. We’ll keep attendees powered with the blogger essentials: coffee, WiFi, electrical outlets, tabled seating, and lounge furniture."
3) 70+ Exhibitors
In the Hall you will find many companies and organizations for you to connect, work with and support. Visit the exhibitor page on the NN website http://www.netrootsnation.org/... to find out just some of the companies and orgs you can meet in the Hall.
Oh, and btw, many of them will have drawings and giveaways. Look for “Cool Booth Events” at the end of this diary for a preview of some of these.
4) Refreshments
Yeah food! Yes, we will have a refreshment stand in the Hall. So if you have a meet-up scheduled in the Community and Exhibit Hall, you can grab a quick bite to eat and keep on working (or socializing). And as for my fellow vegetarians, I put in a request for a few options for us.
5) More Spaces to Meet and Work
We’ve added more work spaces in the Hall beyond the Dkos lounge for you to spread out and work.
6) Bookstore and Author Signing Area
Our bookstore is back. We’re pleased that local bookstore Magers & Quinn will act as our onsite bookstore. And we’ve also got a great line-up of authors in our book signing area including Wendell Potter, Joanne Bamberger (aka PunditMom) and Jeanne Devon (Mudflats).
7) Computer Stations
Need to access a computer, stat? Yeah, we’ve got that in the Hall including, for the first time, iPads (oooh!)
8) Contest for iPad
And speaking of iPads, we’re conducting our Hall contest again this year. Collect stickers from a number of exhibitors, drop off your completed entry form at the NN booth and you are eligible for a drawing for an iPad. Winner will be announced on Saturday night (but you need not be present to win.)
9) Catch Who is Getting Interviewed on Radio/TV row
Hang out in the Daily Kos lounge and you can catch the action on Radio/TV row.
10) Opening Reception and coffee breaks
When I was overseeing a conference many moons ago I forgot to order the morning coffee for attendees. Big mistake! Well, your morning fuel won’t be missing here. Thanks to the Faith Coalition for sponsoring all morning coffee breaks and AFSCME for sponsoring the Opening Reception (with food!) in the Hall Thursday Night.
Cool Booth Events
And here they are!
- Working America and the AFL-CIO is once again planning their union beer booth. As in the past two years, people who take an action for working families will be able to sample union-made beers at happy hours to be held Thursday and Friday afternoon.
- Public Citizen is planning to have a drawing at their booth. Winners will receive a free copy of “The Story of Citizens United,” an animated short video by Annie Leonard, of “Story of Stuff” fame.
- UCubed will be holding a drawing for their "Hire Us, America" t-shirts, in addition to other goodies.
- You know them, you love, it’s the BlogAd-flavored t-shirts! They will be giving a variety of them away in their booth. I still proudly wear mine from the first Yearly Kos conference.v
- DemSign will be bringing their custom T-shirt press to the show (and a whole bunch of made in the USA T-shirts. This meanis that anyone will be able to get any artwork, logo, slogan, photo, or message custom printed on a shirt right at the show. Anyone who wants to support their favorite candidate will be able to make a one-off shirt.
- At The Metaphor Project booth, Executive Director Susan C. Strong will offer pro bono coaching on "speaking American" about your progressive issue. Booth partner, The Democratic Hub, will demo his exciting new startup social network, designed to help you and your friends find just the right arguments for your message.
- Grassroots Solution is planning on doing a contest at its booth to give away two tickets to Rock the Garden at the Walker Art Center. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/.... Rock the Garden is on Saturday, June 18, from 3PM – 10:30PM. According to the Grassroots Solution folks this is one of the best outdoor concerts of the summer and it’s sold out. The Walker Art Center is a short walk from the Minneapolis Convention Center through the lovely Loring Greenway and Park: http://maps.google.com/...
- Get a chance to win a free Kindle Book Reader by leaving a business card at The American Prospect Booth
- At AFSCME's exhibit hall booth, with the theme 'From Memphis to Madison, the Struggle Continues' they will be handing out posters reminiscent of the ones used in the legendary 1968 AFSCME sanitation workers strike. The 'Collective Bargaining is the American Way” poster was carried by marchers 43 years ago when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr came to Memphis to stand in solidarity with workers who were fighting for dignity and voice on the job. AFSCME will also be giving away a limited number of copies of historian Michael Honey's book 'Going Down Jericho Road, which chronicles the strike and Dr. King's last campaign.