April 17, 2004

More Tales From BloggerCon

So I skipped Sox-Yankees, Game 1 of the Playoffs (where the Celtics, like I thought, are getting dusted by Indiana), and the first honest-to-god spring day in Boston since like 1987. And went to BloggerCon, where, like I expected, I came away with a fervent wish for more time and more energy to work on this little clambake we call BunkoSquad. People are doing some really amazing things out there in Blogstonia.

The first panel I went to was called "What Is Journalism?", moderated by Jay Rosen of NYU. There was a good mix in the crowd of bloggers, professional journalists, and various combinations of the two. We never really answered the question, but there was a lot of good discussion about traditional media, the blogsphere's role in bringing to light underdiscussed stories, and where (if anywhere) the line between traditional media and blog-media is being drawn.

Second was a panel on blogs and libraries. I started succumbing to the hot room and fatigue, so I bailed on that a little early and shot the breeze with Sooz, Shannon, and Jessamyn (whose father used to work with my Dad - small world!)

Then a panel with Rebecca McKinnon on international blogs, which was pretty much all news to these US-centric quarters. Things I learned: the Iranian blogging revolution has made Farsi the 3rd-widest-used language on blogs; news of the SARS epidemic in China slipped around the government blackout due to blogs and SMS feeds; blogging is (slowly) catching on in Central Africa. If you're like me, and feel you ought to know more about what's going on in the world, this is pretty exciting stuff.

John Perry Barlow is currently leading a panel which I'd love to have gone to, but I'm just too damn exhausted. Time for a little rest, then to the end-of-Con reception.

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