Wandering around the Renaissance at the Politics Online Conference

11:59 a.m. Lunch begins in about fifteen minutes. I'm supposed to be meeting the ever elusive Joshua Levy for a bona fide interview, but he is still nowhere to be found. Maybe he misunderstood our designated meeting area. I thought I was clear. No matter. I've prepared for the interview, but maybe he hasn't. Or maybe he just wants to write me off as a stalker. Who knows.

Some of the titles of the 11:15 a.m. break-out sessions:

"Cyber Terrorism" - Infectious viruses. Hackers. People who want to bring your site down and what to do about it.

"Practical Data Strategies for Mobilization" - Sounded interesting, but I am walking around, listening in at the door. Nothing of substance catches my fancy, although, the topic was fairly well attended.

"Optimizing Your Search Marketing Program" - Getting out the message. Websites need to promote, promote, and promote some more to build an audience. I've heard talks like this before, but it was good to get a brief refresher.

"Does Web 2.0 Work in Politics?" - The room was packed. I think it might have been hot inside. Again, listening at the door. A continuation of the morning plenary. Wished I had more time to sit down and take it all in.

"Meet the Tchnologists: Online Media" - The topic speaks for itself, right? Session heads include Matt Boyd of ValueClick Media and Trent Walter of Advertising.com.

12:15 p.m. And now I'm sitting at a table with Richrd Kosinski, V.P. of Political Advertising at Yahoo.com. Richard is telling me about an organization that runs something called, "The Pollies," an award program akin to the Oscars for the online political community. This is an event I'll be checking out more thoroughly. But for now, it's time for lunch.