I'm finally back from Netroots Nation, which despite being a conference for bloggers is so packed that it's almost impossible to find time to write.

I had an amazing time. Highlights: going all fan boy when I met netroots success story Donna Edwards (who later showed up at one of the many parties over the event and stood on the bar to make some remarks), met some very nice folks from the Jeanne Shaheen campaign and other organizations, and was ecstactic over a very special surprise guest.

Also, some guy with funny ears sent in a message.

I had the fortunate opportunity of attending a session at the Netroots Nation conference on "America's Role in the World after the Bush Presidency" with a specific focus on foreign policy. Prior to attending the session, I was familiar with the term, "Pax Americana," coined as a term referring to the United States' post-WWII military and economic position. A significant part of the world had looked to the United States as a nation filled with opportunity and prosperity.

Jason Rosenbaum, who blogs for the Sentinel and has been on several excellent online strategy panels this weekend, just posted slides from two panels about blog management.

Many of the tips (particularly with regard to repostability) are ones that we've been considering for the YP4 Blog. I hope that the slides will be useful to those of who you run your own blogs.

What looks valuable to you? What do you think is goofy? 

Working outside of the box is the title of a panel I'm sititng in right now at the blogger conference, Netroots Nation, in Austin. The panel is about how to find and run progressive candidates. It was introduced by Dean Nielsen of Progressive Majority who proclaimed with certainty, twice, that P.M. is the only progressive candidate recruitment and selection organization. The point of this blog is not to call that claim into question, but it is to acknowledge that the candidate recrutiment out of existing youth leaderhsip develpment organizations is a pipeline that needs to be built and brought to scale.

I'm blogging again from the Netroots Nation conference in Austin, Texas, and continue to be impressed with how my fellow participants have jumped on this technology as a means of expressing ideas, opinions, and general information that might not have otherwise been available. As the conference has progressed, I have a deeper appreciation for how the Internet, including the blogosphere, has helped us connect with each other, even at the international level, almost instantaneously.

Last year at Netroots Nation, I argued extensively with a middle-aged man who fervently believed — no matter what evidence I presented to the contrary — that young people are politically apathetic and, in particular, don't vote.

Nobody's making that argument this year. Instead, folks — and by "folks" I here mean people over the age of 35 or so — are marveling aloud at the youth turnout, especially around the Obama campaign and the Democratic primaries. Some are confiding their concern that youth may not hold their representatives accountable once they're elected.

Live from Netroots Nation! The most redundantly covered event on the internets. Ever sense Neanderthal man scraped two opinions together to make a flame, he has dreamed of such a place. Two interesting things that have happened and I have learned.

1.    You know that crazy guy who comments on the blogs you read? The one with the bad grammar? Yeah, he talks like that.

2.    Wesley Clark and Howard Dean were the keynote speakers last night. Immediate Vice-President speculation/debate over who was better looking. Clark won after Dean tried to smile.
…

Howard Dean should never smile.

More soon! 

I've been fortunate enough to join some of the YP4 staff here at the Netroots Nation Conference in Austin, Texas. One of the goals I shared with other YP4 attendees was connecting with other leaders in the progressive movement who have used the blogsphere as a means of pushing our respective social concerns, particularly racial/gender/economic justice. While my main passion lies in healthcare reform and inequalities in health, based on my personal experience and academic/civil work, I recognize the need to learn about other areas, including the environment, workers' rights, access to affordable higher education, and how they affect our nation's health.

Rumor has it there are 2,000 people in this room, listening to General Wesley Clark. And Baratunde Thurston, of Laughing Liberally fame, is chiding conference attendees (somewhat jokingly) for ignoring the Greenpeace canvassers on the sidewalk. (Shout out to Project Hot Seat.)

The progressive bloggers conference Netroots Nation (formerly known as YearlyKos) is coming up in Austin next week. Maybe you're going — members of the YP4 Blog Team are — or maybe you're not. Either way, here's your opportunity to ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi your most burning questions.

Gina Cooper, director of the conference, wants you to submit questions you'd like her to ask: