Defending the American Dream — Welcome Address

Sitting in the San Antonio Room for the welcoming address for Defending the American Dream Summit.

The topic of the address? Winning in a Web 2.0 World: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Govern.

The irony is that we have no access to the Internet (I’m typing this on Notepad since I have no access to my blogging software). The Hotel does have internet. For $4.95/hour. Which, I might have bit the bullet and purchased…except the basement room that we’re in doesn’t even have access to that paid network.

UPDATE — Obviously, since you are reading this…I was finally able to connect to the Interwebs. Albeit at $5/hour. Nice touch, planning committee.

If you’re going to have a conference where you discuss how to win in the Internet, and invite a bunch of journalists and bloggers to your conference…maybe, just maybe, you should provide those participants with wireless access.

I have zero doubt that the Nutrooters downtown have internet access galore.

Strike 1.

There are supposed to be about 300 attendees here today. And the morning welcome address (which is supposed to run from 8:45 to 10:00) is the only scheduled session on the agenda this morning. So, you might assume that everybody, or almost everybody, would be attending the morning session.

So, it doesn’t make much sense that the session is being held in a broom closet. There might be enough seating for 100 people.

Strike 2.

So, instead of me actually live blogging the morning welcoming address (being paneled by Rob Bluey, David All, David Almacy, Matt Sheffield), I’m bitching about the exceptionally poor planning.