I’m posting from the bloggers/MAIN meeting at the Rocket Club in West Asheville. There are more than three dozen folks in attendance.
Gordon Smith (screwy hoolie) did an intro, now Wally Bowen (MAIN/WPVM) is talking about his vision of a way to aggregate a readership for local blogs and citizen journalists.
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Wally’s talking about grants available for citizen-journalism, and the idea of using new networking tools: cell phones, video cameras, content management, networked computers to create a new type of journalism and build community.
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Now he’s talking about why “progressive” isn’t left or right, liberal or conservative, but rather top-down. Progressives are grassroots activists, from all walks of life … he mentioned Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican progressive.
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Gordon: “Are you here to listen, or to share?”
he noted that people blog for a wide variety of reasons — political, personal, promotional, etc.
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“BlogAsheville” said that the site just evolved. No particular goal.
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Wally: talking about how we can utilize citizen journalism via WPVM. Also talking about how the consolidation of the Web is threatening net neutrality and the telecoms are getting their hands on all of our data. Using that data to build profiles of how people use the internet to use for marketing. Mentioned the Microsoft bid for Yahoo, the consolidation of data by Google, ATT announcing that they will be the internet copyright cops. He thinks congress will not be likely to enforce any regulation on those businesses.
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Gordon talking about the unused TV spectrum that could be used for wireless service.
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Greg Lyons: WPVM can offer a megaphone for the community. The relationship between the radio and the Web can be synergistic. He mentioned that Gillian Coates’ new show will in some ways be an audio blog. She concurred, that she will be doing street interviews.
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too dark to identify people here in the bar, ideas being offered about ways to enhance, interconnect local blogs.
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7:35
Wally talking about using the Web to keep people connected with legislative changes that affect the internet, about improving the aggregation of news to keep people in touch with local politics.
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Up to four dozen in attendance now.
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Shelly, from WPVM “Listen to Women” talked about need for more training on how to blog, tools that might be used.
Blog Asheville: said tried that at Bele Chere, teaching people basics.
Unidentified: have taught myself to use droople. I’m sure we could organize a one-time seminar at the West Asheville Library. Come on down, I’ll show you what you need to know.
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My connection died for a while. some great conversation about the possiblities for organized blogging, anonymous blogstorms, etc. Paul Van Heden (”Brainshrub.com”) mentioned the current battle between “anonymous” and the Church of Scientology as an emblematic battle. He noted that the blogosphere could take on mainstream media in the same way.
At 8 p.m. the meeting devolved into conversation, pizza and drinking. Life is good.
