Fraters Libertas

MOB Post Script

Thanks to all who came out to the Keegan's Conference on Blogging and Journalism last night. A smashing success it was. Despite inclement weather and the normal winter viruses ravaging the upper Midwest, the body count of bloggers, blog readers, and the morbidly curious is estimated into the triple digits. The women were uniformly enchanting (especially those clothed in pajamas and/or part time employees of Burnsville steakhouses or local alternative weeklies or of the MN State Senate or aspiring saints from Edina) and the men full of good cheer and good conversation (conditions predicated by being full of Guinness, Harps, and/or Smithwicks, no doubt).

Last night I tracked down and talked to nearly all of those I targeted in advance, and met dozens of new, intriguing people, running new, intriguing blogs of their own (new MOB links to be added to the blog roll of FL soon). It was a terrific night, a description I've not seen contradicted by any of the bloggers already reporting from the scene. And apologies for this late, and truncated report. But as co-hosts we felt the need to go full out with our hosting duties (drinking, glad handing, drinking, back slapping, drinking) for the entirety of the affair. Plus a few hours before, and a few hours after. And it didn't end until the wee small hours when a few of the stalwarts attempted a gang blog conversion of Mitch Berg to the one, true church. Perhaps the only mission not accomplished all night.

In any regard, we're just now emerging from the fog. A few brain cells may have been sacrificed, but the memories, no, they can't take them away from us. It was the best MOB event yet, and we're already looking forward to the next - tentatively planned for some sultry Minneapolis summer night. Stay tuned.

Apparently there was kind of a B-list blogging event being held yesterday as well. Out in Harvard Yard, something called the Berkman Conference of Blogging and Journalism. Not exactly sure what was happening there, but according to Jeff Jarvis, they didn't have as much fun as we. A couple of highlights (as it were) featuring local boys made good:

I made a crack about Hinderaker as a Republican talking about hiring and diversity and he didn't crack a smile.

A reaction affectionally known around the NARN studio as the Hinderaker Humor Uncertainty Principle.

Jay [Rosen] at the close says Bill Buzenberg of Minn. Public Radio raised a most important point when he said his reporters are learning that the audience knows things.

We know things! Who knew? Is that anything close to "knowing stuff"? I think so. But it's just too bad MPR had to go all the way to Boston to find that out. Hopefully we'll see them at the next MOB event. But I want to make a good impression, so please, everybody, until further notice, don't forget things.