Why do I mention it? Well neither of my brilliant proposals for sessions at South by Southwest Interactive 2007 were accepted, but I really, really want to go. It’s a lot easier to ask my organization to foot the travel bill if I can get a free registration and a little good publicity for our many good ideas.
Also, I want to bring my husband who is even less likely to get his employer to pay for it. If I am already covered, I can better help pay for his registration. We already have a free place to stay with my grandmother who lives in Austin.
So if you are putting together a panel for next year, please consider what a fun and informative speaker I can be. People said I was the highlight of my SXSW panel last year in spite of being the least famous person on it.
Here are the two panels I proposed, but I can talk – at length – about just about anything. (Just ask my husband. 😉 )
- If All Politics is Local, Why Are you Still Reading DailyKOS?
In the small ponds of city and county politics, bloggers can be very big fish. Just like the much-celebrated national bloggers that aim to set the tone in Washington, local blogs are increasingly influential. Like their national counterparts, local blogs also have the eyes of the media, elected officials, and even voters. Local political blogging can arguably be more powerful than national blogs – join us to discuss the potential and the reality. - Advocacy 2.0: Movement-building in the Age of Connectivity
The technology shifting our culture is also changing the context for political and issue organizing. Nonprofits and community groups have been getting on the cluetrain. New organizing strategies leverage today’s tools to empower and connect activists and volunteers to each other and action. Call it user-oriented, bottom-up, network-centric, or web 2.0. Campaigns must encourage their supporters to express their voices or they’ll take their time, opinions and dollars elsewhere.
Other things I would kick ass talking about include:
- Second Life, especially advocacy and social change work therein
- Nonprofits, how they do and don’t use technology, what they need, and what they want
- Social networks, mapping and analysis, tools, use in community organizing
- Blogging and community, both virtual and not, blogger outreach
- Local advocacy, municipal and county politics, city planning, growth management, local candidates and campaigns
This is why I like you! I would totally put you on a panel if it were up to me.
Ruby, I thought you were a cinch – especially considering the innovative SL forum. Some of the currently approved forums are kind of ugh but that won;t stop me from going…
Hope some one signs you up…
SO you gonna go?
No-one has put me on a panel yet…
Hey Ruby.
I am lucky enough that someone put me on their panel. This means I have an extra ticket. The thing that I really really want to do is get the organizers to get that an Unconference 2 days at SXSW would rock. They seem to think it is ‘essential’ to have the 250 speakers for the INteractive all on the program by January ‘other wise no one would come’ this is rediculous. People cause because it is fun and to socailize with everyone else. They don’t ‘care’ who the panelists are. they are there more to be with everyone. So why not unconference. Anyways maybe be you can help me design and run a network centric campaign (by the attendees) to convince them (The organizers) that next year 2008 SXSW should really ‘be’ interactive.