To tackle this changing landscape, Tim O’Reilly - the founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, Inc., open standards advocate, coiner of the term ‘Web 2.0,’ and buzzed-about short-list candidate for BO’s tech czar - stops by to discuss the MSM’s supposed collapse post-election, the opportunities MSM leaders are missing in their obsession with their own demise, and some of the major technological initiatives discussed at the recent Web 2.0 Summit he hosted in San Francisco with John Battelle. He also addresses some essential job qualifications for the soon-to-be-named tech czar and handicaps who among the digerati he thinks could best handle the job (not him, he says). Other topics addressed include how Twitter is creating new channels for people to communicate with government and consume news, and whether the President-Elect’s new media strategy really does offer the much-hyped transparency that netroots junkies are orgasming over, as Slate’s John Dickerson took umbrage with earlier this week.

Listen here.

Arianna interviewed Eric Schmidt last night while she filled in for Rachel Maddow. They touched briefly on the soon-to-be-appointed CTO in the BO administration. A friend sent me this interesting article from Slate yesterday, which questions whether Obama’s web-savvy approach is really just a more democratic way of accessing White House spin.

“If the Obama team wants to use this tool, great. And he should use all the other innovative tools he perfected during his campaign to press his agenda and rally his supporters. But let’s not claim it’s an advance in transparency. Obama shouldn’t get credit for transparency, which is hard and bold, when he’s merely harnessing new technology for his self-interest.”  Full commentary from Slate here. 

Annenberg’s fearless new media leader on the future of advertising in digital. VERY USEFUL.

My friend Jason Pollock talks about his documentary, “The Youngest Candidate,” on CNN International, assuring the rest of the world that enthusiastic young Americans are ready to work toward diplomatic, peaceful relations abroad. Good job, JP!

Halfway through the program, MediaLizzy joins to discuss the overwhelmingly self-reinforcing comments on our HuffPost piece. I’ve never been fond of pundits who can’t take criticism, but I was shocked by the number of readers who really believe that Republicans are predominantly whack jobs. I wanted to write the post because there are compelling people like Lizzy out there who are going to emerge as the new leaders of the party. They need to organize better online and we progressives need to start listening to them instead of immediately pointing fingers at Fox News and RedState. (Read Federalist No. 10 if you’ve got doubts about tyranny of the majority.) The comments are the equivalent of suggesting that liberals can only be characterized by Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton. Looks like some liberals have let this victory get them a lil bit sassy pants. 

Listen to the show here or click on the blue Blog Talk Radio player to the right >>.

“As I sat in the various sessions contemplating the extensive possibilities at our feet when bold leaders push existing boundaries, my Twitter feed continued to ding on my Blackberry with updates from Romenesko and Jay Rosen: reports of more of the same old MSM coverage of layoffs and predictable navel-gazing about election bias born of the hierarchical point-counterpoint inverted pyramid storytelling model. The irony was biting. What is a journalist if not someone who hopes to enable others with the information they need to solve the problems of our time? To connect individual citizens with their communities? Shouldn’t newspapers be the ones championing this enterprise? 

The American Press Institute is huddled behind closed doors this week in crisis mode discussing how to save the deadwood editions that still turn a profit. You have to wonder if it’s just like watching the unplugged McCain campaign be pummeled by underestimating Web 2.0 technology. Since we won’t know until they publish a report what exactly they’re talking about, I am hoping the API conversation focuses less on redesigns and marketing gimmicks, and primarily on giving advertisers incentives to pay higher CPMs and invest in the redevelopment of dynamic, 21st century newsrooms that connect the distinct expertise of reporters with the emerging wisdom of the crowd. 

This doesn’t have to be a crisis: In fact, it is a time of great opportunity for those who are willing to make big bets — and implement them.”

Full column here.

“Liberals may be understandably ecstatic about the influence the blogosphere has had on the election results, but truly thoughtful and responsible citizens should have reservations about the absence of conservative dialogue. It’s too easy these days to consume self-reinforcing information, whether it’s O’Reilly or Olbermann, Drudge or Daily Kos. If we’re going to overcome the existing culture of ideologues to achieve the “change” we seek, it’s essential that we educate ourselves beyond our own beliefs.”

If any of you wondered why I disappeared right after the election, a time one might suppose I’d have a lot to say, there are two reasons.

Foremost, on Nov. 5 I hopped immediately on a plane to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 Summit, where I spent several days with world tech and media leaders discussing the future role of the internet in society. Incidentally, the Palace Hotel, where the event was hosted, had a very shoddy wireless connection, and every time I went to write something I was thwarted!! (Next year they are moving to the Westin, thank goodness.)

My absence extends beyond that, however. I’ve been reflecting on the nature of the blogsophere and what role I can play in it, given the sea of voices we are all flooded with daily. It seems that too much of blog world is about instantaneous commentary and aggregation. While I enjoy aggregating articles and videos for those with a similar perspective to consider, it’s not 1) something I can’t do more quickly and efficiently on Twitter, or 2) particularly thoughtful. That’s not to say blogs aren’t useful for news in that regard, and were I to ever rejoin the (gasp!) MSM or a more prominent blog, I’d be happy to re-engage in such a capacity. But I intend to slow down a bit going forward and make more incisive contributions to our dialogue about media, politics, technology and the role our millennial generation leaders will play in the exciting four years ahead of us. 

On the plane I finally had a chance to read the November issue of Wired, and encountered Paul Boutin’s proclamation that blogs are dead. That’s obviously not true over at HuffPost or TechCrunch, but for smaller publishers looking to make a profession or viable source of ancillary revenue they may just be a stimulating, time-consuming hobby. (This was a predominant belief at the Summit as well, particularly given the oversaturated market of start-up ad networks.) Since I write on sites with much larger audiences, I’m going to dedicate more energy to them, and use this as a place to aggregate my work for those who are interested. And, of course, the very exciting photo gallery. 

So, if you want to know what I’m reading and thinking about on a daily basis (surely I have a few stalkers out there!), I encourage you to sign up for my Twitter feed.

To listen, click on the blue Blog Talk Radio box to the right.

So … reallllllllly need to go to bed so that I don’t sleep through my plane tomorrow morning, or our fantastic Wilshire & Washington with Harvard KSG genius Zach Tumin, who will discuss how Obama’s victory will also be a win for technology and a new era of governance.

Still, a few thoughts for those of you who have followed me on this wild two-year journey.

It was a weird day because I decided to stay home in Los Angeles and run the local voting precinct, a choice that prevented me from paying too close of attention to media coverage, watching Obama’s speech until just now, or even celebrating with the usual suspects. Frankly, this was a bit sad. Still, it was a fantastic experience in the kind of grassroots activism this revival has always been about. I suppose I could have been traipsing through Grant Park with stars in my eyes, but I’ve gotten plenty of that over the last couple years and I’m very proud to have ensured that more than 500 people in my own community were able to fairly and efficiently cast their votes in this historic election. This is especially important to me since it’s always bothered me that California gets treated like an ATM machine when it comes to electoral politics. Waiting in line Sunday to vote in Norwalk and working with my amazing team in Silverlake today was exactly the call to service Obama made in his speech tonight. (Also, check out the pictures of my goofy precinct — which was actually a furniture store — in the gallery! Well, everyone but my ex-boyfriends. I woke up at 4:30am and didn’t shower today and I don’t want to spoil any remaining fond memories.)

We all need to ask ourselves what it was specifically that got us engaged in this campaign, and make a new commitment to continuing our efforts in that niche. For me, the issues of youth civic participation, gay marriage (which, sadly, we appear to have lost the battle on tonight in CA), immigration, ending the war in Iraq, technology legislation, and election reform continue to be the cornerstones of my personal engagement. Once I recover and celebrate for a beat, I hope to delve deeply into those arenas.

Beyond that, I’ve been working on some longer essays about lessons from the campaign trail that it’s now time to finish. Lately it has seemed like the schizophrenia of the blogosphere has impeded my ability to be analytically compelling. My Twitter issues alone have stymied many a great commentary; don’t even talk about my addictions to Facebook, Talking Points Memo and Blog Talk Radio. I love the instantaneous information, but as I cultivate this site and the conversations I’m instigating I hope to err on the side of quality. With that said, I am off to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 Summit, where I’ll be pondering some exciting questions with many great minds, and also writing writing writing. More later this week.