Campaign 101-- Blogging and Emerging Technologies

First off I want to thank Lisa Renee of Glass City Jungle for the invitation to the Campaign 101 Training, hosted by the Young Democrats of Toledo.

It was also a pleasure to meet Mark Adams of Dispassionate Liberal and hear his thoughts on blogging and its uses on a political campaign.

I was reminded on what an "internet dork" I have become as I spoke about the possibilities of IPTV and the internet to would be activists, candidates and campaign managers. Overall, I thought the discussion of the Internet and blogosphere was basic but beneficial for those in attendance.

One thing that was an eye opener for me was the limited access to broadband or high speed Internet for a lot of people in Toledo and the surrounding area. I hope that the Wi Fi Toledo initiative can alleviate some of that burden.

We also have to continue to teach people how to effectively use the Internet. We need to do a better job at getting people to be less fearful when it comes to computers and the Internet. I am not Captain Technology nor am I Mr. Website, mostly I am curious, self-taught, and trained by my business partner who is blind. If he can do it, anyone who can read has the ability to learn how to navigate the web. So whenever I hear someone say they are computer illiterate, I have to laugh. If you can read, you can surf the web, design your own blog, or conduct intelligent research.

Overall, I believe the way we get our information is changing. That change will affect other areas of our lives, hopefully for the better.