Thank You
Inspiring. Dedicated. Forces to be reckoned with.
These are just a few of the words that come to mind for the fantastic
group of people who joined together at the Blogger Summit in DC on March 14-16. There was a shared sentiment among many in the room that this
is just the beginning of a great collaboration and that together in
our own states, circles and spheres, this group can make great things
happen. You are all clearly regarded as leaders in the progressive
space.
For the incredible work you have already done and the enormity of what
you have ahead - Thank You all for everything that you do to build the
progressive movement. We know that we all have an important role and
together we can do amazing things.
There were a number of people who helped make the Blogger Summit
possible. From the earliest conversations almost a year ago, to the
collaborative effort of friends and partners in the last two months,
to the nearly 70 people who participated throughout the weekend - it's
safe to say that this first-of-its kind meeting was definitely a
success.
For all the people who helped make the Summit a great success:
Laura Packard (NOI) for without whom some things, both large and
small, would just not have been possible. From brainstorming ideas, to
mail merging, to leading the Statewide Blogger session, Laura was
fantastic.
Wendy Norris (CIM) for helping recruit, share session ideas, providing
ongoing advice and leading the Citizen Journalism session - not to
mention flying out from Colorado to help with the entire weekend.
Nirmal Mankani (The Seminal) for being a supervolunteer, leading a
terrific session on Tools and Resources, and getting Lola much needed
coffee on Sunday morning (thank you!!!). (We love the NOI grads who
just keep coming back for more!)
Alan Rosenblatt (CAPAF) for securing the amazing space at CAPAF,
recruiting some great policy experts and for spending your weekend
with us. (You spoiled us with that great space!)
Tyler Hall and Alex Pryor (CAPAF) for helping with all things A/V and
logisitcs both big and small and setting up a fabulous room! You guys
are troopers!
Matt Browner-Hamlin (Dodd) for somehow managing to send dozens of
emails in the middle of FISA to help us recruit some of the amazing
bloggers who attended the Summit.
LN Rock (AAPP) who helped recruit awesome African American political
bloggers and helped start the discussion of the racial divide in the
progressive movement and blogs.
Tracy Russo (Edwards) for taking time from her post-campaign trip to
Paris to send out dozens of emails and for returning in time to lead a
spirited discussion about how bloggers and campaigns can and should
work together.
Matt Ortega for passing on the names of Latino bloggers and for
stopping by on Sunday to say hi.
Adam Green (MoveOn) for your fantastic energy, ideas and for spending
your Saturday with us to talk about Building Coalitions and Empowering
Readers.
Ali Savino (CIM) for advising us through the entire planning and for
giving us amazing access to CIM's staff and resources.
Jeff Morley and Robin Marty (CIM) for not just co-facilitating
sessions on Citizen Journalism and FOIA requests, but joining in all
of the conversations and being a great resources for the bloggers.
Karl Frisch, Erin Hofteig and Jeremy Schulman (Media Matters) for
being awesome internet watchdogs and sharing some of your tricks of
the trade.
Joel Silberman for waking everyone up in 2 seconds flat on Sunday
morning and taking time to give one-on-one media training sessions to
bloggers throughout the day. Truly amazing.
Cliff Schecter for flying out early with your family to teach us all
how to use wit and humor to outsmart our opponents on national
television.
Cenk Unger for joining in the Podcasting and Blog Radio session and
sporting a great St. Paddy's Day hat.
Jason Rosembaum for leading the Tech Tools session and helping build
out our resources page on the Wiki.
Brian Katulis, Andrew Jakabovics and Dan Weiss (CAP Fellows) and Ezra
Klien for coming into the office on Sunday to get into the nitty
gritty of your respective policy fields.
Matt Stoller for helping to brainstorm the initial ideas and plans for
the Summit and or helping to see it through. And for bringing the
amazing Darcy Burner who we all love to hear speak.
And to Darcy Burner herself, for taking time out her amazingly busy
schedule to continue to inspire and engage us all.
The Hill Communications Staffers who came on Sunday to talk a little
shop with some of their best blogger friends:
Sarah Feinberg w/ Rahm Emanuel (IL)
Brad Bauman w/ Tim Ryan (OH)
Jonathan Godfrey w/ John Conyers (MI)
Murshed Zaheed w/ Harry Reid (NV)
Karina Newton w/ Speaker Pelosi (CA)
Jesse Lee w/ Speaker Pelosi (CA)
Nathan Havey w/ Diana DeGette (CO)
Erin Allweiss w/ Earl Blumenauer (OR)
Rachel Racusen w/ George Miller (CA)
Justin Hamilton w/ George Miller (CA)
Chris Shields / Woolsey (CA)
Yoni Cohen / Stark (CA)
Will Jenkins w/ Tim Bishop (NY-1)
Zach Goldberg w/ Rush Holt (NJ)
Steve Dwyer w/ Steny Hoyer (MD)
Matthew Beck w/ Charlie Rangel (NY)
Angela Barranco / Crowley (NY)
Jeff Sharp w/ Ed Markey (MA)
Our Sponsors whose support made this amazing weekend possible:
ARCA Foundation
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Center for Independent Media
Media Matters
BlogAds
Also, thank you so much for your incredible blog posts about the
Summit, NOI and the work we're all doing. We want to keep hearing
about your work, how the Summit has helped you and how we can continue
to be a resource for you in the future.
Again, thank you for all that you do to move a progressive agenda!
Lola Elfman and Judith Freeman
New Organizing Institute
