A nice blurb on Elizabeth Edwards and ConvergeSouth in this morning's N&R (unposted). I guess I'd quibble over describing it as a "tech conference," because it's really a user conference for a largely non-techie group of people and journalists who want to do stuff on the web...a distinction without a difference? Maybe. But the whole point of this stuff is that it's so easy yahoos like me can do it, and I don't want to scare anyone off...

Speaking of EE's session on successful online communities, here's an example of not managing a community so well, as discussed by another of our session leaders, Robert Scoble.

And here are some thoughts on what it means for a person known best in a political context to lead an "apolitical" conversation.

A previous conversation about political diversity at web conferences. We did, of course, end up having a Nashville blog conference, which saw more political hackles raised than others I've attended...

UPDATE: Thoughts from Elizabeth Edwards.

Comments

[Don Moore]

The more it becomes a USERS' CONFERENCE - the better. We tend to overwhelm users, which tends to keep them away. We can do our techie/geek stuff on the side, at night, etc. We need users; because without users, we have no readers.

It becomes a tree falling in the forrest - with users, are we just blogging among ourselves?

[Joe Killian]

I agree - but try getting "user's conference" past copy...

[coturnix]

I've been watching this disaster unfold over the last couple of days. They are really going to get burned big time now.

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

Facebook is in deep dodo but ConvergeSouth is looking better all the time.

[coturnix]

Billy, a beer is on me.

[Doug Clark]

Just a side note: I mentioned to John Edwards today in passing that I noticed Mrs. Edwards would be here next month for ConvergeSouth. He said, "What's that?"