Christian Crumlish, or rather, xian (which is his internet identity), has written a book that I've been expecting. It a historical explanation of what's happened with politics through blogs and the internet, but goes beyond that, to a multitopical way of explaining the transformation.
We use technology to enhance the things we care about. What's happened online didn't really invent something new, it's merely revitalized the local community that's dissipated in this nation over the past century. That's really a concise explanation of why Dean for America's netroots during 2002-2003 happened, and why we continue here today beyond that moment. Xian has interviewed many of those that took part in the effort, showing what it meant to get politically involved locally through the internet, and becoming a decentralized movement that emerged into a collective power with Dean as a spokesperson. The book provides the reader an indepth look into the thoughts of those that shaped the technology that was used by the decentralized movement called Dean for America. But xian reaches beyond the political participation, and the tech-speak side of the blogosphere, into the greater community phenomenon that's happening online, and therein presents a much fuller grasp of what it all means and where it's all going. The political blogs reside within a greater sphere, if you will, and what we experience through political participation on Daily Kos, MyDD, and others, is happening with all sorts of issues and life topics on different parts of the internet. Issues such as group support, transactions, and identity. The book is rich with actual experiential description.
For us, blogging is the epicenter of all this that's happening toward a renewed democratic expression. It is community, it is about action, it is about transforming the political system. It's through the real work of many that this will happen. In this book, xian does the historical work of putting the pieces together through interviewing many (yes, kos is interviewed in the book) of those bloggers, techies, leading thinkers, and by sharing his own ordinary online experiences.
The Power of Many is a snapshot of this time, just as it's happened, describing the moment that the web reached critical mass and started to have a signficant impact on the real world.