In Austin at SXSW, for a panel tomorrow on deliberative democracy and technology.

Yesterday, heard Jeffrey Veen make a great point on how technology can fuel post-conference follow-up. Blogs, he suggested, may be a better way to keep the conversation going than the traditional "Hey, let's start a listserv" exhortations (which, as we all know, work about as often as friendships after summer camp).

A networked (scattered?) collection of blog posts may have more penetration, more authenticity and maybe even more long-term effectiveness than listservs among a self-selected minority who start with good intentions but often lack the time - and even more often the project - to focus their work.

Today, on the Blogging While Black panel, the discussion has the momentum and vitality of something still rare and excited to recognize itself. Lynne Johnson is moderating with a highly-structured but really productive list of questions.

Also have to point out that the audience - and the conference attendance - looks to be about 85% white.