Jack & Jill Politics

I’m sitting next to Sam again today online & right now we’re kickin it in the G20 HQ inside a wide security perimeter. Sam (@SamGF) was the Obama campaign blogger and is here with Blue State Digital which is co-sponsoring the @G20Voice bloggers along with groups like Save the Children, Oxfam, Comic Relief (which is huge in the UK btw and recently raised $58 mil in one TV special) and ONE campaign.

Sam kindly interviewed me yesterday. It was an honor — I’m a fan of his work: his vision to highlight the passion, diversity and commitment of Obama supporters online as a campaign strategy to inspire others was a big part of getting Obama elected. It was fun last night swapping war stories from the 2008 election over pints with other bloggers. What a crazy spectacular ride it was. Of course his stories are way better than mine! Here’s a slice from Sam’s perspective here:

I’m here in London as part of G20Voice, a gathering of fifty bloggers from around the world, who will be given media credentials for the G20 summit tomorrow. This is the first global summit to credential bloggers along with mainstream media outlets – a sign of the growing power of grassroots bloggers and citizen journalists.

G20Voice was inspired by the Big Tent – where hundreds of bloggers from across America gathered to connect with one another, meet with key political leaders, and blog directly from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Cheryl Contee of Jack and Jill Politics, who is here at G20Voice representing the American blogosphere, reflected on the Big Tent and how bloggers’ voices are increasingly being heard:

“The Big Tent was something that had never been done before. G20Voice is a smaller group, but the goal is the same: bring bloggers who might otherwise have trouble getting to a venue and getting access, and to provide a bridge with the government (or other entity) to facilitate that.”