We have one unconference, one competition and one networking conference all cooking in our burners. Come check it out!

Nota Bene : All text is taken verbatim from each event's site. I will be posting about each event shortly.
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Can you feel the love?

I went looking for a local newspaper coverage of last night's very public man-lovefest between Barack Obama and Bill Clinton in Kissimmee, Florida. Most national newspapers don't have actual local reporters on the ground, so you get a point of view that completely overlooks the cultural cues of the people in the event.

It's why Jim Stratton's article for the Orlando Sentinel is so refreshing. He described the energy surrounding the event in ... ahem ... celebrity terms : People were coming from everywhere to see Clinton and Obama on the same stage because it was like seeing the improbable pairing of Elvis Presley and Bruce Springsteen.

35, 000 travelled from across the region and queued for up to 6 hours for a chance to be part of a historic night. A night in which the pretend "first black President of the United States" was endorsing as "cheerleader in chief" the real and authentic first black President of the United States.

Epic. Truly epic.

ooVoo.com is a multi-person chat service that has turned the personal and often 1-to-1 idea of video IMing into a social networking event. Anyone with a computer, broadband connection and a web camera, can use ooVoo for real-time video calls with up to six people simultaneously.

So, to kick-off August as the beginning of the end of the US Presidential season (the Democratic Party's convention is at the end of the month, followed by the GOP's convention on the first week of September) ooVoo has convened a convention of their own, My ooVoo Day Political.
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Please help me reprise the Digital Ethnorati Panel at SXSW next year; and in the process, bring outstanding African American, Asian American, Latino, Native American and other minority teenage technologists to one of the most important new media conferences in the United States.

Liza with Bianca and Samantha, two awesome ambassadors for the Digital Ethnorati

One of my accomplishments this year was to be able to put together a panel at the prestigious South by Southwest new media conference, discussing the rising influence and importance of african american, latino, asian and other minorities early adopters of digital, new media and mobile technologies.

In this panel I attempted to open a reframing of the digital divide by asking the question : If minorities are such profitable early adopters of digital, mobile and new media technologies, why is it that we're still treated as if we were technology illiterate?

For that matter, Mini Khanlon's talked about the accomplishments of The Level Playing Field Institute and her experience as an upper class Indian woman who understood the social privileges of many Asian Americans.

The second presentation was with Stephen Wilmarth, Bianca Velez and Samantha Perez of The Center for 21st Century Skills. This presentation was heartbreaking, as one of the students of the program had been deported to Brazil and was giving her part of the presentation through Skype.
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I leave for JFK to get on a flight to Austin, Texas. No thanks to Continental Airlines, I will have a three hour layover in Houston.

Sigh.

I will check in once I get there. I will also post more about the panel and what we would like to accomplish with the launch of The Digital Ethnorati project.

For the feminists out there, pay attention. This is basically what I have been trying to do with y'all.

Stay tuned.

Though we've recently attracted a Kos-bashing concern troll, we'd like to point our readers in the direction of a fundraiser for the upcoming Yearly Kos Convention.

Via YearlyKos:

Join activists, organizers and on-lookers, as we drink, laugh and carouse liberally to celebrate the DailyKos community and prepare for the 2007 YearlyKos Convention.

With special guests Marcy Wheeler ("Emptywheel"), author of "Anatomy of Deceit" and Libby Trial blogger, the comedians of Laughing Liberally, the sweet eats of Eating Liberally, fellow Kossacks, bloggers & rabble-rousers.

Hosted by Living Liberally with Vaster Books, Young People For The American Way & the Kossack community of New York City.

Free food, cheap drinks, great gifts, lively conversation & progressive camaraderie!

Saturday, March 10th - 6-9pm
The Tank @ C:U - 279 Church Street
btw Franklin & White, just below Canal
A,C,E,J,M,N,Q,R,W,Z,6 to Canal; 1 to Franklin

$50 - YearlyKos Suggested Donation
$100 - YearlyKos Fundraiser Host

To register, please click here.