Yearly Kos Open Thread

by DemFromCT

After emptywheel's boffo perfomance yesterday on the Plame panel, today's schedule and Air America coverage can be found here.

Talk aboput what you want. I'm especially intereted in Peter Daou's triangle and how it can be applied to more than political blogging. In fact, it fits very  well with flu blogging (see pics below the fold).

Use this as an open thread.

The pic on the left is Daou's original triangle, with bloggers influencing media, and in turn influencing the parties. With flu issues, the flu bloggers influence media to push govenment and health officials. In fact, the model works for many other settings as well (companies using the media to influence consumers through ads and good press, e.g.). Oh, and btw, I've written Peter and told him I modified the triangle.

One of the fascinating differences is that flu blogging is politically neutral. We've told posters to keep American politics off Flu Wiki. That's because

1. many posters are from outside the US and
2. flu issues cut across all political boundaries

It's very interesting being involved with an issue that allws progressive-conservative collaboration, as many folks at Flu Wiki have no fundamental agreement about other issues from guns to religion (other viluntarily banned topics) to taxes to immigration. Yet, we can work together to apply Daou's triangle, hence the lack of ideology on the flu version.

Comments

[Muzzy]

Boffo indeed! Congratulations to emptywheel for her participation in the panel. I don't which is more impressive, her intelligence or her killer style. Cheers !

[Mimikatz]

I missed most of the Q&A session--didn;t realize it would go on so long. I do hope, EW, that there will be a summing up post in your inimmitable encyclopedic manner of "What I Learned At Daily Kos."

[mara]

Great job on the panel. Got to see a repeat last night on C-Span and am again amazed at the wealth of knowledge and integrity that was there. Good on ya :)

[Ardee]

I cannot help but believe that gatherings such as this by the left, in which the powers that (would) be gather to make the blogger feel important will end badly.

I have seen, again and again, how this system takes well meaning reformers and , by exposing them to the perks and ego gratification of power, subverts their zeal and turns them into just another politician or insider, playing the game and reaping the rewards.

It is my belief, undoubtedly not shared by those getting their adrenaline rush from rubbing elbows with fawing politicos and media starlets, that the real power of the blogging world lies in its refusal to work within that corrupted and corrupting system. Only by staying above the influence of a sick and no longer working system can we hope to make a difference.

By entering into that world I fear that all these sharp and perceptive bloggers will become as have the legions who preceded them, needful of the "special treatment" and no longer angry and not so disgusted with the system that now benefits them.

This is exactly how this system perpetuates itself, deflects rising criticisms and makes formerly well meaning and clear thinking critics into whores.

[DemFromCT]

Ardee, i doubt seriously that three days of being courted changes bloggers into K Street lobbyists. The rest of the year, they are who they are.

I didn't go (I was otherwise engaged), but i don't turn that into some moral high ground.