Watching the convention from home, generally you only see inside the hall where big wigs are speaking. What I didn’t realize was that the Democratic National Convention is much bigger than that. There are so many events happening. The Pepsi Center is only one part of the story. It was cool seeing Michelle Obama and members of the extended Obama family on the convention floor. There are a lot of celebs wandering around — at the Pepsi Center I caught a glimpse of Gayle Knight (as in Oprah and Gayle). That was exciting! I said hello and she hollered back over her shoulder. Wolf Blitzer was being interviewed by local Denver tv right beside me. In front of the building the Daily Show correspondents frolicked.

I also got a good look at the bloggers lounge and the media tent pavillions at Pepsi Center. In the bloggers lounge at Pepsi Center, they actually have a den mother and den dad to keep the bloggers behaving. Ha.

Many of the events require rsvps — there’s a lot of security here and different levels of access and ease of movement depending on your VIP status. Are you walking, taking the bus, got a private golf cart, riding with a driver or in a limo? (I’ve been taking the bus a lot & walking.)

Michael Baisden spoke a couple of hours ago at the Big Tent. Van Jones is up now. Alfre Woodard is speaking tomorrow on humanitarian aid to Africa along with Will.I.Am who is speaking on Viral Video at the Starz Green Room later this week. I’m just tossing out a few names to give you a taste. I plan to be spending a lot of time in both these places. There are a lot of great events scattered around including quite a number of happy hours, get-togethers and parties. The Huffington Post actually has a spa here at the Big Tent. Ari Melber got a mini-facial! It’s all meant to facilitate relationship building and building the foundation for stronger collaboration. Laptops, cameras and cell phones are thick among the crowd.

There’s a lot of positive energy here and it’s such a thrill to be a part of it. The folks here in Denver all seem super-excited about the convention although many of them seem shy or even intimidated about getting involved in more than a peripheral or supportive way. This is a purple state and there’s a real groundswell of pride here that this historic convention is taking place in their hometown.

I’ve taken a lot of video with various personalities/speakers and I will be getting those up asap.

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