Thoughts on Netroots Nation 2010

Last week I, along with 3 other ZeroDivide staff members and 12 ZeroDivide scholarship winners, attended Netroots Nation 2010.  It was my first time attending the conference and I was excited to meet and learn from like minded people who understand the power of tech to effect change on the issues and in the communities they care about.  I was not disappointed.

Knowing that it was the first time for most, if not all, of our scholarship winners, I was interested in their thoughts at the beginning of the conference.  We all sat down for lunch on the first day with a few other ZD friends and I was able to to ask them about their impressions and expectations after only half a day.  Excitement, networking, and informative sessions were common themes in their responses.

On Day 2, I ran into Shamako Noble of Hip Hop Congress, another scholarship winner, and he shared his thoughts with me about the first day.  He was impressed by the people in the sessions and the fact that they continue the conversations well past the end of the sessions.

Now that the conference is over, I can't wait to read and hear about their final thoughts.  I know that I came away with a lot of useful information and lessons learned, especially regarding communication and engagement online and off.  Knowing the individuals at the conference would be tech savvy and well versed in online campaigning and organizing, I was impressed by an equal emphasis on offline participation.  It was both informative and moving to hear the stories of those that moved out from behind the glow of their computers to become active offline participants.  I heard stories of individuals who began learning about an issue online and as they slowly became more informed and involved, they felt the need to participate offline as well.    This reminds me that the online petition signers and the one-click email senders are all very important.  You already have their ears/eyes and with the right stories you can engage them further.