The Summit on Blogging and Democracy in the Commonwealth

Yesterday was The Summit on Blogging and Democracy in the Commonwealth, and I would say that it turned out to be a success. Though we were unable to come to full conclusions on many topics (we attempted to leave politics aside, but other differences were still readily apparent), the debates were civil and very informative. The common bond of blogging for Virginia allowed us all to unite and bring awareness to both potential threats to blogs and the influence that the blogosphere has in the Commonwealth. Though it is certain that we will never be able to resolve all of our political differences, we found some common ground in our blogging.

Besides that, it was a good time. I had the pleasure of seeing John Behan again; he has been both one of my favoite bloggers and one of my biggest sources of support. I also got to meet Steve Minor and Shaun Kenney, both of whom were very intelligent and friendly. I even enjoyed meeting some of the liberal bloggers. As much as I disagree with him, Waldo Jaquith is a very agreeable guy and an undeniable leader. On a small side note, early (or is it late?) congratulations for your upcoming wedding Waldo; I intended to say so yesterday, but that thought got lost among the other conversations. I also got the opportunity to meet fellow current Wahoo bloggers Mike Slaven, Cari, and Jane, although mutual friendElliot was unable to attend. It was good getting the opportunity to talk to them all. And for anyone who is a little curious, Cari has a humorous take on my anonymity (and I do appreciate that she is maintaining it).

Bloggers commenting on the Summit (as more comment, I will update this post):
Jim Bacon (and again here)
Chad Dotson, formerly of the pseudonym John Behan
Cari
Jon Henke
Waldo Jaquith
Kathy
Norman Leahy
Lowell
Max Power
Will Vehrs
James Young

UPDATE 8 PM: For whatever reason, I missed that "the artist formerly known as John Behan" decided to go by his real name, Chad Dotson (scratch that; as I read now, I see that the change has happened today, as he notes here). I've known for about four months, but I respected his wishes to remain anonymous, as I am glad that many including Chad have done for me. I'm not sure when he did this, but this post has been changed to Chad's real name. Now, how to avoid slipping back into calling him "John Behan" in future posts? Oh well, I suspect he will not take too much offense to such a mistake.

Also, thanks to Chad (well, I remembered here at least) for the link.