Location
New School University
Time
May 24, 2004 - 2:15 pm
Description
Weblogs, Google and other technologies have entered the vernacular. They’ve already altered how many people learn things and disseminate them. Weblogs, for example, aren’t merely an interesting way for individuals to publish materials online. They are the modern loom, with which people are weaving a new fabric of ideas and opinions. They are the modern equivalent of gunpowder, with which relatively unknown groups can take fortified towns. Perhaps flashmobs and actions to flood influencers’ inboxes with coordinated messages are some new form of instant democracy. Or perhaps they are better tools for creating spin.
E-mail, weblogs and search engines are also not the only game in town. Outside the spotlight, away from the media, organizations are exploring ways to reconnect communities, debate important issues, mend journalism and keep politicians on the straight and narrow. These efforts include initiatives in Personal Democracy, Civic Journalism and Watchdogs, and they are finding one another — slowly.
- How does all this fit together? Which of these forces are fads and which are emerging trends?
- Will a new working arrangement evolve between established political forces and these newly evolved forms of personal democracy?
- How do you convert old-school electoral efforts into modern ones using the new technologies?
- What does it cost to participate in this activated, tech-savvy environment? Who is in this constituency? Who are the experts?
MODERATOR: Mark Halperin, Political Director, ABC News
Mathew Gross, Former Director of Internet Communication, Dean for America
Scott Heiferman, CEO, Meetup.com
Brian Kennedy, Chairman, Campaign of One
Jed Miller, Community Director, Web Lab
Eli Pariser, National Campaigns Director of MoveOn.org
David Weinberger, Author of The Cluetrain Manifesto