It is official, thanks to the kindness of the people behind Yearly Kos and Major Danby's offer of a shared room, I will be in Vegas this year.
I will primarily be there as an aid to other media people as I am essentially bringing a portable recording studio. However, I have a secondary project that I would like to get all those attending involved with.
I have many years of experience in radio and I have been wanting for some time to put something together for public radio about Daily Kos, either for All Things Considered or, better still, This American Life. I want to talk about Daily Kos both as a community and as a force for change. It's sort of a cornerstone in a personal thesis I have about how the Internet has vastly changed our culture in ways we have not even begun to realize yet. I believe that the next generation, assuming the world continues to progess, will view friendships and connections in completely different ways, ways we are starting to understand ourselves. How many people here do you consider good friends despite not even knowing what they look like?
Yearly Kos will be a chance for many people who have essentially enjoyed each other's company to come together face to face for the first time. I want to know what you think about that.
I also want to know what you think about the ways you think that Daily Kos has helped make America a better place. Many of us think that we are helping to change America with this site. I want you to talk about ways it has inspired you to do things, be politically active, change your views, etc.
So, while you're there, seek me out. I will most likely be surrounded by audio gear and I look like this. As you can see, I'm pretty distinctive, so I shouldn't be hard to find.
If you see me, let me take you aside and record your thoughts and impressions. I want to edit them together into something special, maybe even do a longer version for attendees. I'm going to use my NPR and PRI connections to do everything I can to get them to air it too.
I have absolutely no rules about what you can say. All I want you to do is sit down in front of the microphone and speak your mind. The rest is up to you.