A few things occur to me when I realize that Estonian teenagers and Persian (Iranian) electroclash bands are organizing online through Orkut. First of all, that the future of humanity has some hope. Second of all, it makes me wonder about trying to actually organize in that way. A brainchild may be hatching at this very instant; the future of direct action.

Also, saw Good Bye Lenin! which is good and has a soundtrack by the guy who did the music in Amelie. It touched my idealism, and did a really great job of keeping it real politically. Nuance can be a good thing, especially when human beings are involved. And the protagonist's love interest is a Soviet student nurse. I recommend. It's good to remember that the Cold War happened, and that for a lot of people it was a really big deal.

The Public is making a comeback. It'll be global, it'll be more interested in good living and good government than with any old ideas about revolution. The Public wants peace.

Fuck it, I'm a prophet. I'm going to spout off about the future like I know what I'm talking about. I've done it before, and I'll do it again.

Here's a note to the Pundits and other (self)Important People of the world: your days are numbered. As the network paradigm continues to supplant broadcast-based hierarchy (a revolution that will probably take another 20 to 30 years before we can say anything with historical certanty), the Andy Warhol metric of notoriety is slowly giving way to the David Weinberber rule; everyone's famous for 15 minutes vs. everyone's famous for 15 people. This doesn't mean there aren't Important People out there. It means we don't waste time with the notion that the 10,000 individuals who populate the mass-media ecology are any more intrinsically noteworthy than the rest of us.

I was sitting in my bathroom the other day trying to put my finger on what was to troubling to me about the Personal Democracy Forum. It wasn't just the disorientation that comes from being suddenly in the middle of an idea-space rather than on the edge; and it wasn't just the feeling of being co-opted that comes from people mouthing my message with questionable sincerity; it was the strong elitist vibe that occasionally spiked through the air.

I believe that the coming wave of civilization, if it's to be a positive one rather than a regression (still an open question, I'm afraid), is powered by rennaisance ideals like meritocracy, peaceful ambition and widely distributed opportunity. It is not a world of uniform outcomes or forced equality, but it is a realm where the truth of human potential is realized. Where we recognize and make the most of our abilities; and where those who are momentarily ascendent do not come so much to consider themselves as being in any real way above the rest of us.

Fame doesn't go away, nor does wealth or positions of high power. There will always be leaders and owners and celebrities, but a more open and level playling field invites there to be many more of them, and in turn to render them more civil and connected to the wholeness of the world. In a networked civilization, power is humble, because it cannot be solidified. The only way to retain power is to remain fit. There are many ways to do it, but thinking you're better than anyone ain't one of 'em. The masses aren't asses; they'll factcheck your ass, and 500 of them probably have more original thoughts and better writing than you do, so try not to talk down to them.

So we'll see a breaking of the old system of elites, and likely the creation of many new circles of power. A year or two ago, people talked about the A-list of bloggers, the most fit of the first movers, but now with thousands of writers joining the fray literally every day, they're just one of many centers of social capital. An influential group of individuals, sure, but now somewhat less important as vastly more voices speak up.

Here's an example. An anonymous blogger writes about cable news. He/She writes so well and so insightfully that the word is that it's done by some well-known player in the biz. It's an 18-year-old college freshman. People are surprised, but why? So you really think people in the professional world of 24-hour cable news are that much more eriudite or informed than an above-average 18-year-old? Oh man, rude awakening.

This is going to happen more and more, and I don't mean cheap identity tricks; I mean people are going to have to realize that there are way more talented people than there are famous, and that the balance of power is shifting. Fitness is the future.

A couple big updates for you; one professional, one more personal. You can read down and get the personal, but in keeping with how my life has been going for the past six or eight months, the personal comes first.

So I went to the Personal Democracy Conference and I was sort of bored. There interesting things transpire, but at the same time nothing really happens. I probably shouldn't say that, but I don't think I was the target audience for the thing, so I don't think I'll be hurting anyones feelings by being brutally honest.

I've heard all this before, only now more "important people" are saying it. The words I believe in are there, but they mouth them without passion. It sounds like politics as usual. It feels corporate. That this is a kind of progress I have no doubt, but the magic is gone. The little moments that peek through are good, but I don't know what to make of all this. It's the feeling I got the other week at the Tank -- the same surreal feeling of hearing what sounds like a self-echo -- but much more strong, and kinda unpleasent.

It makes me feel illegitimate. All the words are here, the words that I believe in, but little of the understanding and no one with passion. There are parts and people where it feels close; but there's a lot of resistence and a lot of faking it. The powers that be fear change. The redistribution of power isn't going to be a completely smooth process. It rarely is.

But few people were there pushing the revolution. Trippi did a good Trippi, talking up the future, but most of the others from the Dean camp were reflective or subdued. They had a chat screen behind the panel for some of the sessions, which provided some good live moments (technical difficulties aside) but what came through more than helpful contextual information was frustration. We're not hitting it yet. There's an elephant in the room that everyone can sense; but everyone is also blind, so no one knows what it is. I certainly don't have the answers.

The organizers should be commended. Such a conference, not to mention such a format, is a bold experiment. My sense is that it's difficult to talk about the emerging union between politics and technology without moving rapidly to tactics, to specifics and plans of action. It's also difficult to have a conference on something that's just emerging, that nobody really understands. The real players and honest minds will admit that they are inside something that is in flux, that they understand little and that nothing is fixed. The more hackish will step up act like they know. One kind tends to go on a panel more than another, tends to talk more, tends to dominate the atmosphere some.

A perfect example; David Weinberger was there, so wonderfully open honest about it all. I quipped to him in the lobby that I was glad he brought his "authentic human voice," and I don't know if he knew I was being sincere but I was. He's my McLuhan, a father (or at least kindly uncle) to the movement, and he's one of the few voices up there that I felt was actually and honestly attempting to grapple with the moment.

But as I said, the organizers should be commended. It's quite a thing, to bring all these folks together. Someday maybe I'll get to be one of the guys on the stage. That would be fun. I like talking to an audience.

As with most conferences, the real action was on the margins; in the cocktail reception and food-getting afterwards. I got another chance to goof around with Matt Stoller, who I now realize reminds me amazingly of Chris Wild. I got to talk a little more with Micah, Rob, Britt and Joe, who I think of as my grown-up allies and co-revolutionaries. I got to meet some great people from Indyvoter (attractive and almost San Franciscan Niana) and Billionares for Bush (adventurous and honest Andrew). Justin Krebs from the Tank put me in touch with a bunch of good people. I saw some familiar friendly faces from the Digital Democracy Teach-In. I shook an elected officials hand. I got to say hi to Matt Gross, who I had kind of avoided before because I didn't know if he knew who I was. Finally I got to drink a nice tall drink with Jay Rosen, who gave us some good hustorical analysis and a some excellent vocabulary to weild.

It's more social connections than you can ever use at one time, but I think the theory is that you're panning for gold, and everyone knows that most of the folks there are silt; and we're ok with that. Some good will come of this. The cause of humanity was advanced.

Gore summs the situation, which is something I've been working on too. I'm not too mad about it though. To be honest, I find it comforting when "the adults" come through with the good word. Makes me feel like a little less of the world is riding on my shoulders.

It's a long read, but it's good. Hints of pedantry at points, but 99% on target. I'll have to do a youth culture translation I suppose.