BlogLeft Conference Wrap-up (Part 1)
What a great day. There were so many great moments at the BlogLeft Conference. Check out the liveblogging at Political Cortex - and speaking of Political Cortex, you fine folks at PC all rock harder than a rockin' thing to allow BlogLeft folks a spot on your front page. Your help and hospitality is very much appreciated.
Our day kicked off great with a greeting by Worcester Mayor (and candidate for Lt. Governor) Tim Murray who spoke about how he got involved in politics on a grassroots level.
Our morning keynote speaker Stirling Newberry had a great speech about drilling down on the essentials of blogging. Keep things simple. Take information and break it down. Write about local candidates and issues that local newspapers often miss. Another important point Stirling made was how important it is for bloggers to support one another and link to each others blog posts. This piling on has the effect of concentrating attention on a particular subject and giving it more weight. I have to say that I have been reluctant to do this in the past because I thought it made me a lazy blogger to just link to other blogs. Also, as a blogger, I try to put my own opinion out there and not just write "me too" posts. The solution is to link, but also write what I think as well. Stirling also said that we should make sure that our comments are turned on. I am SO busted. Lynne pulled a face at me when Stirling said this, and I nearly busted out laughing.
Our afternoon keynote speaker Fred Clarkson talked about his writing and how he became involved in progressive politics through the 2002 Robert Reich campaign. Out of that experience grew Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts. Fred's passion for activism really comes through as he speaks. He spoke eloquently about our responsibility to engage and activate voters and bring more people into the process. (tagged from the liveblogging) "How is it that people talk about polls instead of getting people to the polls." Right, on Fred. We must go from just talking and get down to doing.
Fred also talked about how blogging fills a vacuum left by the media. He gave an example on how the Berkshire Eagle newspaper was reluctant to interview Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick because they had no intention of covering the 2006 races until November 2005. The Berkshire Eagle was eventually shamed into covering Deval Patrick, but only after bloggers raised a sufficient ruckus over it. If the media wont do their job, bloggers will be more than happy to fill that vacuum. The Deval Patrick blog interviews this past summer are proof of that.
Fred wrapped up his speech with the ominous warning that Massachusetts was about to become Ground Zero in the fight for equal rights for gays and lesbians. The religious right will bring whatever money, man-power and other resources to bear on making sure that marriage equality does not stand here in Massachusetts.
This is a frightening thought and is in no way hyperbole. I see how far DINO Rep. Emile Goguen (D-Fitchburg) is willing to go to spread this message of intolerance. My own Rep. Robert Hargraves (R- Groton) joined in a lawsuit filed by Liberty Counsel (you can follow that wingnut trail all the way to Jerry Falwell) The idea that Massachusetts legislators (including some democrats!) would bring that sort of bigoted influence into our state is frightening indeed. Fred is right. We need to be aware, and we need to be prepared to counter these tactics.
Lunch and breakouts are next, but it's been a long weekend of bloggerific fun and long-haul hockey trips, so I'm going to have to put a ellipse on this until tomorrow.
Our day kicked off great with a greeting by Worcester Mayor (and candidate for Lt. Governor) Tim Murray who spoke about how he got involved in politics on a grassroots level.
Our morning keynote speaker Stirling Newberry had a great speech about drilling down on the essentials of blogging. Keep things simple. Take information and break it down. Write about local candidates and issues that local newspapers often miss. Another important point Stirling made was how important it is for bloggers to support one another and link to each others blog posts. This piling on has the effect of concentrating attention on a particular subject and giving it more weight. I have to say that I have been reluctant to do this in the past because I thought it made me a lazy blogger to just link to other blogs. Also, as a blogger, I try to put my own opinion out there and not just write "me too" posts. The solution is to link, but also write what I think as well. Stirling also said that we should make sure that our comments are turned on. I am SO busted. Lynne pulled a face at me when Stirling said this, and I nearly busted out laughing.
Our afternoon keynote speaker Fred Clarkson talked about his writing and how he became involved in progressive politics through the 2002 Robert Reich campaign. Out of that experience grew Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts. Fred's passion for activism really comes through as he speaks. He spoke eloquently about our responsibility to engage and activate voters and bring more people into the process. (tagged from the liveblogging) "How is it that people talk about polls instead of getting people to the polls." Right, on Fred. We must go from just talking and get down to doing.
Fred also talked about how blogging fills a vacuum left by the media. He gave an example on how the Berkshire Eagle newspaper was reluctant to interview Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick because they had no intention of covering the 2006 races until November 2005. The Berkshire Eagle was eventually shamed into covering Deval Patrick, but only after bloggers raised a sufficient ruckus over it. If the media wont do their job, bloggers will be more than happy to fill that vacuum. The Deval Patrick blog interviews this past summer are proof of that.
Fred wrapped up his speech with the ominous warning that Massachusetts was about to become Ground Zero in the fight for equal rights for gays and lesbians. The religious right will bring whatever money, man-power and other resources to bear on making sure that marriage equality does not stand here in Massachusetts.
This is a frightening thought and is in no way hyperbole. I see how far DINO Rep. Emile Goguen (D-Fitchburg) is willing to go to spread this message of intolerance. My own Rep. Robert Hargraves (R- Groton) joined in a lawsuit filed by Liberty Counsel (you can follow that wingnut trail all the way to Jerry Falwell) The idea that Massachusetts legislators (including some democrats!) would bring that sort of bigoted influence into our state is frightening indeed. Fred is right. We need to be aware, and we need to be prepared to counter these tactics.
Lunch and breakouts are next, but it's been a long weekend of bloggerific fun and long-haul hockey trips, so I'm going to have to put a ellipse on this until tomorrow.
posted by susan at 11:27 PM
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