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When Bloggers Converged on Nashville: BlogNashville 2005
Before Twitter was founded, in May of 2005, I was a freshman at Belmont University. The tech buzzword was blogs-blogs-blogs, and bloggers were beginning to meet and have “unconferences” like BloggerCon to help figure out this new medium. The first such event to hit Nashville was organized as “BlogNashville” and was hosted in my college’s student life center. I attended and it blew my mind. I officially became fascinated with the intersection between technology and social interaction. Below is my coverage of BlogNashville in its original form. PHOTO CREDIT: jdlasica Voices of the Internet—meet in the flesh By Nathan T. Baker, 5/10/05 A blogger is someone who regularly posts information and/or thoughts on a website. Bloggers often reference other blogs and exchange comments allowing for online communities to form. Now bloggers are experiencing more opportunities to interact physically—not just through dialogue on the Internet. The following is an instance of this trend during the three-day blogging conference, BlogNashville. This article is organized with timestamps, which are a characteristic of blogs. Friday, May 6, 2005—Bloggers Travel to Nashville: 3:57 pm—“In Nashville now…It was an odd drive; the blog documentary producers put a producer in the back seat…and a cameraman in the passenger seat and interviewed me while I drove,” Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com posted. Glenn Reynolds, a well-established political blogger, has many names: The “American Idol” of Bloggers, The Professor, The Sysco Router—fellow bloggers seem to take enjoyment in thinking up new names. 5:33 pm—“I haven’t a clue what it will be like tonight. IDanphillips.blogspot.com don’t think I have ever met but one blogger before. I have no idea whether I will feel out of place or feel I have discovered a lost tribe of brother and sister bloggers,” Dan Phillips of Danphillips.blogspot.com posted. The conference is totally free. People are coming for many reasons: 7:57 pm—“I’m just off the plane sitting in the Courtyard Marriott enjoying free wi-fi [internet access] and on my way to the opening party for BlogNashville. It’s a gorgeous evening…I’m excited by the breadth of issues to be covered here,” Henry Copeland of Blogads.com posted. There have been a handful of similar conferences across the nation. This is the first in Nashville. 9:47 pm—“And the truth is I know nothing [except that] Glenn Reynolds and his [website] are given credit for starting the blogging revolution. Everyone speaks of him in soft tones, punctuated by whispers of envy,” Dan Phillips of Danphillips.blogspot.com posted. Glenn has been appointed to open and close the conference on Saturday Saturday, May 7, 2005—The Gathering at BlogNashville: 6:00 am—Belmont University’s student life center opens. The New Century Journalism program at Belmont University is hosting the event and the Media Bloggers Association is the chief sponsor. 7:43 am—A middle-aged man buys coffee in the corner of the student life center. Tables and chairs are set up under the high roof of the main lobby. The lady behind the register asks, “So what are you guys doing today?” “Just a little meeting,” the man replies. “How long will it go for?” “All day,” the man says—and then he exits with his coffee. 7:45 am—Registration begins. Participants get a folder with a schedule and write their name on a lanyard. 7:51 am—Glenn Reynolds walks into the main lobby. A man sticks a cell phone in front of Glenn’s face and a picture is taken. This is a normal practice among bloggers. The room is soon filled with the sound of computers booting up. People mingle with coffee. The room is saturated with technology and excitement. 8:02 am— Andrew Marcus and his independent documentary crew arrive. Equipment is rolled in and a tripod is unfolded in the back. 8:21 am—“Can everyone hear me in the back?” Bob Cox, a key planner of the event, says into the microphone at the front. Bob introduces Glenn Reynolds and Glenn steps to the microphone. Glenn is convinced that interaction is better than listening to speeches, so he opens it up for a discussion on what everyone wants to get out of the conference. Throughout the conference, the bloggers not only interact with each other, but also with the Blogosphere—or all the connected bloggers on the Internet. 8:39 am—“The Saturday fun and games start in less than a half hour. Imagine, if you can, this space filled with over 300 participants from around the world—luckily I’m here early and have a good seat.” “And the free wi-fi [internet access] that Belmont University set up for the occasion is smoking, so there’ll be updates throughout the day,” Doug Petch of dougpetch.com posted. The room is full and people crowd to the sides of the walls. People are taking turns discussing their hopes for the day. 8:47 am—A woman speaks up during the opening discussion. She just got an email from a blogger who wants to know where to chat online during BlogNashville. The Blogosphere is always an email or post away. 8:59 am—It has become a tradition to open these types of conferences in song. After some dialogue, a song is decided upon and the bloggers sing: O beautiful for spacious skies, 9:44 am—“BlogNashville is in progress. And here is someone’s post—as it happens. It might not seem like such a cutting edge event. We’ve been able to turn to CNN and other stations for news from around the world, instantly. But, now this technology is in the hands of the individual, at a very low cost. Now that’s a force to be reckoned with,” Kevin Barbieux of Nashvilleis.blogspot.com posted. 10:08 am—Jason Clarke posts chatting information on the conference website. “If you’re in the rooms, please post summaries so people who are watching at home can participate,” Jason posted. 10:21 am—A local reporter approaches an attendee and asks for an interview between the first and second discussion sessions. “I am pretty clueless to know what all this is about really. Just to be honest…” the reporter said as he walked to his camera. Bloggers often don’t agree, but most agree that at its core, blogging has something to do with free speech and dialogue. Also, most of these bloggers are simply having fun being bloggers. 10:48 am—“There are so many nerds in this room…” “I’m in a session about money…the discussion is raging. Henry touched on the uniqueness of blogging…the kind that will attract advertisers,” La Shawn Barber of Lashawnbarber.com posted. 10:50 am—A young attendee checks different blogs for updates. Like many other participants, he sits with his computer during sessions. On Glenn’s website, he spots himself among some pictures taken earlier in the morning. Throughout the day, there was a recurring joke that there should be an alter call for all those who haven’t started a blog—those who haven’t joined the Blogosphere. 4:52 pm—“I started a blog this morning” one man says during the closing session. The room erupts in applause. 9:06 pm—“BlogNashville…was the first blogger conference I have attended. Hopefully, it won’t be the last. It was great to meet in person so many of the bloggers whose work I have come to know and respect…” Donald Sensing of Donaldsensing.com posted. Sunday, May 8, 2005—The Dialogue Continues 3:45 pm—“Again, it looks like another blogging conference is selling out… remarks from the likes of no less than J.D. Lassica indicate that the conference seemed a bit too centered on one topic: how to make money from your blog… Adam Shostack’s seminar looks like it was popular, but not enough to warrant hanging out like a good conference usually does (in my experience as a lecturer)… It seems to me that Northern Voice was the last great blogging conference,” Markus Sandy of Apperceive.blogs.com posted. Bloggers often don’t agree, but they agree to continue the dialogue. Links: The conference homepage: HYPERLINK “http://blognashville.org/” http://blognashville.org/ Video interviews by Glenn Reynolds: HYPERLINK “http://instapundit.com/vids/blognash.mov” http://instapundit.com/vids/blognash.mov What people are posting about the conference: Images of the event: HYPERLINK “http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/blognashville/” http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/blognashville/ We are more connected. We are empowered. Things move quickly. Those are some of the things we’ve known for a long time. Makes me value strong writers of the past so much more, and makes me dislike bloggers that overuse the words “new” and “revolution.” Funny how we often learn the same things with each wave of new technology. Also funny how the things we learn, we really already learned years ago.
Some of the best advice on reading I’ve received came from Kevin Twit: Read old things along with the new, so you see what is culture and what is constant.
For amber waves of grain;
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!…
HYPERLINK “http://www.technorati.com/tag/BlogNashville” http://www.technorati.com/tag/BlogNashville
