My "You Are Not Your Audience" blog post from April was picked as the 'Best of' for Messaging this year by NTEN. They just sent out word in their newsletter. What an honor! Thanks, NTEN.

Here is an excerpt from the post: more

I would like to introduce to you Age of Conversation 2.
AOC2 a collaborative book effort featuring written thoughts on the role of conversation in marketing today from 237 marketing professionals who blog in the United States and 15 other countries. For the second straight year, I am honored to have been included as one of the bloggers/authors featured in the book (my essay, entitled "Show Me What You've Got" appears on page 32). More information is available online at http://www.ageofconversation.com. more

I am not an economist, so I can't say for sure whether the US Economy is in a recession. I do, however, watch television and read the newspaper, talk to friends and clients, and generally live in the real world -- so I see that the economy is struggling and people are facing tough times. If nothing else, the boom times are over (for now) and we are in the midst of a pretty significant market correction. more

I have been on the road for the past two weeks -- first in Denver at the Democratic National Convention (where I was on staff as a member of the Democratic National Convention's online content team) and more recently in Minneapolis, where I was attending, and blogging, the Republican National Convention (as Special Press, aka Credentialed New Media). more

I travel quite a bit for work. For the most part, I enjoy it. But travel also comes with its challenges -- of late, the airlines have cut back on the amenities in response to rising fuel costs, there are fewer direct flights making even simple trips a lengthy endeavor, and other travelers are on edge about security and cranky about poor service. more

I am an Ambassador for OneWebDay, a global celebration of the web that takes place every year on September 22nd. There is more information at www.onewebday.org. more

I am guest posting over at Idea Blob this week. Its an interesting project from Advanta that allows people to promote ideas, share thoughts, and start projects.

Check out my first idea, about open source policy-making (and of course go vote for it): http://ideablob.com/ideas/2780-Open-Source-Policymaking more

Are you going to Netroots Nation?

Netroots Nation is America's largest gathering of progressive bloggers -- now in its third year (it was originally known as YearlyKos). This year the convention will invade Austin, TX from July 17-20 and feature more than 100 sessions focusing on how technology intersects with and is changing democracy in America. Here is a short list of the speakers: Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Van Jones, Lawrence Lessig, Darcy Burner, Paul Krugman, Harold Ford Jr., James Rucker, John Dean, Brad Miller, Rick Noriega, and of course Kos. more

Earlier this week, at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York, a coalition of media, policy, and advocacy experts launched a new initiative that calls on Congress and the president to act in the public interest by enacting a plan for the wired and wireless Internet built upon the following principles. The project is called Internet for Everyone (http://internetforeveryone.org/)

NOTE: The organization that launched this project, Free Press, is a client of EchoDitto -- but we do not currently play a role in this initiative.

I won't try and summarize all the important points made during the session. Andy Carvin from NPR did an excellent job of capturing everyone's remarks, so you can see as close to a transcript as you'll find on his Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/acarvin) - look for the #pdf2008 tag, and keep digging because he transcribed much of the content from the conference. more