Blogging the Con

Well, the convention bloggers have started to check in, though so far they're mostly offering tales of flights and hotel arrivals. Jesse from Pandagon, though, has staked a claim to the first post from the convention floor.

...you realize that this is as much a production as a concert or, well, anything else. This isn't a wellspring of patriotic fervor, or of partisan furor - it's a bunch of people trying to make the lights work and get their skin tones balanced for the camera, people trying to make sure that we can make phone calls and get on the internet.

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The set itself looks beautiful, but nothing comes to mind so much as when I used to act. The set, the entrance, the preparation...precisely because this has turned into such a show, it seems as if the politics itself has bled out of it in favor of putting on the absolute best show.

He's right, of course. It's been that way for a long time now. It's a prime time production, with the delegates on hand as the 'cast of thousands' extras. That doesn't mean there won't be some good stories to be found, but they'll be human interest, not political drama. The bloggers may be the folks best situated to find those stories once they get past the initial rush of just being there (and being there is a rush, no matter what year you make it or what kind of credential you're packing).

I have high hopes for 'em, anyway. Dave Winer's conventionbloggers.com is a handy one-stop shop for keeping track.

Good luck to all of ya - make us proud!