Anyone who's been to Netroots Nation can tell you: it's like Woodstock for liberals. There's simply no greater gathering of progressive minds anywhere in the country. For four days we're going to descend on the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh and, for lack of a better term, rock out. Past years have brought us a presidential primary debate, a keynote speech from Howard Dean, a chocolate fountain courtesy of Mark Warner, and hour after hour of scintillating discussion from panelists ranging from Marion Nestle to our own clammyc.
But the truth is that the trip to Pittsburgh is expensive. Airline tickets, hotels, food, cab fare, incidentals...it adds up. And some of us simply don't have the ability to travel for whatever reason, whether it's kids or work or disabilities or whatever. But there is a better way. Join me over the fold and let's talk.
It's called Netroots Nation in Second Life. We take the best of Netroots Nation, the panels, the discussions, and the keynotes and merge it together with exclusive online-only guests and musical acts and cram it all into a four day party. The best part is that it happens in the comfort of your own living room courtesy of Second Life, the Internet's premier online virtual world.
To participate you'll need to create a Second Life avatar. Refer to one of my previous diaries for basic instructions on how to do that. Your journey begins at SecondLife.com where you'll set up your account and download the free software. Over the next few weeks we'll be bringing you more about avatars, clothing, hair, dancing, music, parties and the like, but in the meantime we encourage you to come on into SL and get started. By the time Netroots Nation rolls around, you'll be an old pro and be ready to concentrate on the events live from Netroots Nation Arena. Check out the schedule of events at Cafe Wellstone and Virtually Speaking and pick out your first event to attend. In no time you'll be dancing at great parties with DJ Dano Bookmite and engaging in heady intellectual discussions with Virtually Speaking's CS Kappler.
The Reality Check Section of the Diary:
We love doing this. Netroots Nation in Second Life is run by some very dedicated SLers who have been at this for several years. It's our third annual virtual convention, and we couldn't be more thrilled to bring it to you. But the truth is that putting on this virtual shindig isn't free. We have some pretty serious expenses, the biggest of which is paying the rent on Netroots Nation Island (to the tune of $2000 a year). All told, our annual budget runs about $3000. As the convention draws closer we'll be bringing you fundraising events inworld with exclusive performances from some of SecondLife's best musical acts, but for now, here's our naked plea: if you have a few extra bucks, we could use them. Drop by NNinSL.org and click the PayPal link. Alternatively, existing Second Life residents can drop by Netroots Nation Arena and throw some Lindens in one of the donation jugs. Also, if you have a business or an online venture you'd like to promote, watch this space for future information on renting a booth on Netroots Nation Island.
Interested?
- Visit the website: NNinSL.org
- Follow us on Twitter: @NNXue
- Join the Facebook group and we'll keep you updated on what's going on.
- Most importantly, once you're in Second Life you can join our Second Life group, Netroots Nation.
Questions? NNinSL staff will be around to answer whatever questions you may have.