Here I am in Denver, CO. Sitting at my preferred station at the Big Tent. thereisnospoon, theKK and I drove here from Los Angeles--we got in last night after stopping Saturday night in Grand Junction. Which reminds me: if you haven't ever driven here from California, it's worth doing. The drive along the 70 once you get into Colorado is an astounding stretch of gorgeous scenery, and it's cheaper than flying if you're carpooling in a Prius!
I really didn't know what to expect from this place, but here's the best way I can describe it: it's like a mini-Netroots Nation on hyperdrive. Markos said that even though he had a convention pass, he wouldn't be spending hardly any time at all on the actual floor because the Big Tent was looking like the place to be.
Damn right.
Outside of a somewhat limited power supply, this place is a blogger paradise. Fast wireless, energy everywhere, and surprisingly roomy--no cramped elbows.
So what makes it like a mini-NN? Well, first of all, there are panels going on constantly all day both in the tent itself and in the nearby Alliance Center, a building that houses a whole host of mostly progressive nonprofit organizations. Just take a look at the schedule. Like I said--a mini-NN, full of too many panels and other good stuff.
Also, it's a chance, once again, to say hi to all of your blogger friends that you previously thought you'd only see once a year--at Netroots Nation. So rather than go on and on, I'm just going to post some photos to let you get a feel for the Big Tent environment.
This is what the Big Tent looks like from the outside:
The main room is on the first floor, and most of the panels are on the second floor, up the staircase with the Digg banner (Digg is a major sponsor of the Tent). Not visible in the picture is the Alliance Center, which is a brick building immediately to the left. That's where some of the other events are taking place.
Inside the tent, it's a media junkie's paradise. Flat panel TV's are tuned into CNN for convention coverage, and just about everybody has a laptop open--reading, writing, emailing, taking pictures...or playing flash games. Whatever suits your interest. Here's what it's like in here.
Some of the VIP/sponsor organizations, like DailyKos and some others, have couches for their bloggers in the back of the tent. You can see a couple of the FP posters lounging on the couch here:
And, of course, one of the best parts of any blogger gathering is...the bloggers themselves. And I don't mean to play favorites or anything, but here's just a few of the people I've run into so far:
Some frontpagers: brownsox, Kagro X, and georgia10.
I've also encountered some friends from Virginia: here's Josh Chernila, a field organizer with the Jim Webb campaign, with prominent Virginia blogger NotLarrySabato (I'm unfortunately unaware of the identity of the gentleman on the left):
And the best part is, we're just now getting started. There's plenty more to come--the convention hasn't even started yet :-)
P.S. Since I'm not part of the official Calitics delegation, I am credentialed under my own personal blog, Far-Shooting Politics, which I otherwise rarely use. I owe my blog the obligation, therefore, to post regular Big Tent updates there. So come check it out from time to time!