Jack & Jill Politics

I’m scheduled to speak at Personal Democracy Forum on Thursday June 3 in New York City on the following topic:

In Search of a Theory of Change: The Internet and Democratization,
with Evgeny Morozov, Ethan Zuckerman, Cheryl Contee, Ory Okolloh, and Micah Sifry.

Despite the fact that African-Americans are keenly interested and central to the discussion of the intersection of politics, government and technology,  diversity of attendees remains an issue to be overcome at one of the world’s premier conferences on that subject. It’s not for lack of trying and I know the organizers, Micah Sifry and Andrew Rasiej well enough to know that they are sincere in wanting the conference to look more like the population of New York City and the nation as a whole. Both Baratunde Thurston aka Jack Turner and I have been proud speakers and attendees. (I’m in the video above, btw, describing the 2009 conference.)

This conference is the kind of place where each person you’re sitting next to or waiting behind for the coffee is an internet superstar who’s had a hand in re-shaping the world we live in. If you are interested in how emerging technology is changing America’s (and the world’s) politics, this is a must-do. I know some super-smart, ultra-together brothers and sisters participate in the JJP community. Come on out. Now that 25% of the folks on Twitter are African-American at twice the rate of our population, it’s time for us to complete the next phase of our world domination plan — and this is a place to get even smarter faster on how to get that done. The people at PDF are the types of folks who know that the internet can make a positive difference for humanity and its empowerment. It’s exhilarating & energizing each year to be a part of that.

If not this year, consider it for next year, will ya? Also, whether you’re coming or not, follow #PDF10 to see what’s up during the conference and comment. Your perspective is needed. If you think you’d like to speak or attend PDF and have questions, feel free to holler at me.

I’d also recommend that you consider attending the Blogging While Brown Conference in Washington DC this year June 18-19. It’s the premier conference focused on black bloggers of every kind. It’s super-cool — you gotta come if you’re black and ya blog. We’ve got a great lineup of speakers and here too — every attendee is a pretty amazing person with whom to rub shoulders. I’m on the advisory board and both Baratunde and I will be speaking. We’ll have a separate BwB post soon that provides more deets but wanted to put that on your radar too. BwB may sell out this year — I’d recommend signing up asap.