South of the James

The month of August has been Tour de Southside for me as I’ve spent every weekend somewhere in that neck of the woods for political or personal reasons. From Danville to Clarksville to Kenbridge and South Boston, my Pontiac has burned up 360 and 58. Thus, it was fitting that I had the pleasure of wrapping up my rural road warrior tour in Martinsville at the Saturday session of the Blogs United event.   Alton, Barnie, Anne & Co. did a great job of hosting us. Although I couldn’t make Friday’s session due to a little thing called my mama’s birthday party (she proudly celebrated her 30^th birthday for the 30^th time), I heard that the dinner and pajama party were tons of fun. It was great to meet many of the great VA bloggers for the first time – like the legendary Ben Tribbett, the Rhodes’ (sans burqa), Kat, Kilo, and many, many others – and to reconnect with fellow travelers like Brian, Josh, Norm, Steve, Waldo, and Chris. It was a distinct pleasure to chat with Will Vehrs, a fellow pot-stirring on the south side of the James, and I enjoyed working with my fellow panelists Eric Monday (a good lawyer) and Greg Letiecq. As other folks are doing a great job at rehashing the events of the weekend, I’ll spare you more of the same.  

The Martinsville event showcased how far the Virginia blogosphere has come over the past year or two. Blogs, blogging, and bloggers are now part and parcel of the lexicon of Virginia’s political mainstream, having helped shoot down a political appointee, won a US Senate primary, and brought a stratospheric sitting senator a little closer to Earth (and possibly out of the running for 2008). All of this happened over the course of 2006’s first eight months.

Where the two Sorensen blogging summits were nods by the so-called “establishment” to the growing prominence of the craft, the Martinsville event, with an agenda and guest list just as prominent, was yet another “Hello, World” moment. This grassroots movement was run by bloggers for bloggers about bloggers, and it drew the attention of notable politicians figures, future statewide and congressional candidates, and the oft-maligned MSM. Add one more notch to our belts. We are now part of the wallpaper.   Coming out of Martinsville, the question to be answered is “What next?” Some folks think that we should continue to raise the level of professionalism and discipline, engaging in more “responsible” blogging. On some level, that may be true, yet it seems that in the free range marketplace of ideas that the blogosphere represents, the invisible hands will continue to exercise the power of the mouse-click in determining which sites are worth reading and which ones should be cast on the scrapheap of digital irrelevancy.

The Wild West element that makes political blogging and bloggers infuriating is also what makes affords fresh eyes on politics and policy. For those who call for ethical codes or better self-policing, such elements will eventually evolve, though they should be as unrestrictive as possible so as not to choke out fundamental creativity. From the vantage point south of the James, only three rules need apply: acknowledge the facts, disclose biases and/or conflicts-of-interest, and be consistent with anonymity or pseudonyms.   

At any rate, Martinsville was a success, and I look forward to heading that way next year. If not for the blogging, the ride into Virginia’s heartland will be an education in and of itself for those who haven’t tasted God’s Country. And, as long as the food from Pigs ‘R Us keeps flowing, a good time will definitely be had by all.