So, I have to admit, the idea of asking Moreno to co-author this blog with me was party inspired by Ezra Klein and Jesse Taylor over at Pandagon.net. Here were two young guys, one in Ohio, the other Cali, both interested in politics, both articulate and witty, and both spend way too much time on the internet.
Kinda sounded like me and Moreno except for the Ohio, articulate, and witty parts. But we’d work on that I figured.
Anyway, like many others, I had been following pandagon.net for quite a while now. I kind of lumped them together with all the other intelligent young bloggers, pseudo journalists, and pubescent pundits out on the scene right now. But you can imagine my surprise when, walking into work last week, I saw Jesse on the front page of the LA Times Sunday Calendar section. It seems these two have been getting quite a bit of attention ever since the DNC wrapped its arms affectionately around bloggers.
Anyway, it’s a pretty interesting article that manages to stir that “just think of the possibilities” excitement which makes a blogger feel like he or she can make change by hammering away on the keyboard 30 minutes every night. I’ll be posting again soon on whether or not I think that’s really true. Here’s an excerpt of the article:
These virtual pamphlets are a great equalizer, allowing recent college graduates “with no connections” (as Taylor describes himself) as well as a cadre of other ordinary, articulate citizens unprecedented access to the national political proceedings steamrolling through Boston this week.
“The presence of the Internet is changing democracy,” says Doc Searls, senior editor of Linux Journal and co-author of “The Cluetrain Manifesto,” a book on Internet commerce. “It’s a place where the citizens actually have a chance to be involved,” he says, referring to the heated discussions that take place on blog message boards. “You can’t be involved in television.”
