In 2007, I traveled to Chicago for the YearlyKos conference, which has since morphed into the annual Netroots Nation conference. One of the people I met there was Jason Barnett, who was taking the initial steps in setting up The Uptake, the Minnesota-based video outlet for citizen-journalism.
The value of The Uptake was mostly clearly demonstrated in streaming Minnesota’s Senate race recount effort.
| Bluestem Prairie is a hip (but not cynical) rural magazine for those who prefer take their corn with a progressive chaser and tongue planted firmly in cheek. |
Now Minnesotans will have a chance to have engage in their own state-level Netroots conference–and who knows which great new tool or venue will emerge in Netroots Minnesota sessions next month:
Progressives from all over Minnesota will gather in St. Paul on November 20th and 21st for the first ever Netroots Minnesota conference. This conference is an important way to strengthen our community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.
This conference will be modeled after the Netroots Nation conference (formerly known as the YearlyKos Convention). The netroots played a critical role in helping shape a national progressive agenda over the last several years. We hope to build upon that same success in Minnesota.
Go sign up for registration and suggest a panel or workshop. The next great idea coming out of Minnesota might be your own.
The Uptake’s Barnett, Joe Bodell the Minnesota Progressive Project, Bluestem, and representatives from state progressive organizations ranging from the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, Planned Parenthood, SEIU, Transit for Livable Communities, Wellstone Action, and other groups met on Monday to kickstart the conference.
That weekend in November will be a big one for me, with the conference going on at the same time as the Minnesota Farmers Union convention. Perhaps family members ofMFU delegates can be encouraged to attend Netroots MN–and bring a health piece of rural Minnesota’s grassroots to the table.
Comment