May 15, 2008 12:17 PM

Aaron Silverstein, editor of political blog SquareState.net

Mark_Wolf(Q) Welcome Aaron Silverstein, editor of SquareState.net. Tell us a bit about SquareState.net and your involvement with it.
Aaron_Silverstein(A) SquareState.net started out as Soapblox.net/colorado, I think it was on the heels of the 2004 elections. It was the creation of a Colorado computer programmer using the screenname 'Pacified.' He was actually the developer of the Soapblox platform which is used at many of the top community sites today. At the time I was running a one-person blog of my own, and Pacified recruited me, Johne, and others to provide content at the new site. Over a short time, readership built, and the fact that those readers could so quickly become writers helped the site to grow to be an effective townhall for people engaged in progressive Colorado politics.
johne(C) And it only took us about 6 months to come up with that name. No pointing out Colorado is actually rectangular. Rectangle State doesn't sound as cool.

NotAaron(Q) Hey Aaron. Bloggers often talk about the freedom to post whatever they want. However, on your site, you actually limit what people can post and what posters can say on your site. Sometimes even deleting comments entirely. Isn't that hypocritical?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I don't feel it is at all. Under the old media there were only a few voices that were able to be heard. There is now plenty of space on the internet for voices of all kinds. The freedom for someone with other views to speak is right there. They can create a blog and say whatever they wish (and people certainly do!) What you seem to want is the freedom to use a community that we built to advance the views of people who want to tear down that community, and I don't think that is a freedom I recognize. You have a right to send emails, but you do not have a right to send emails using my email account. It is as simple as that. We support all views, and we support our own right to have a site where we can give voice to ours. There is nothing we are doing to stop anybody from claiming the same voice, and on the internet there is no barrier to entry like in the large corporate media.

johne(C) Here are our rules clearly spelled out: SquareState is a community and, as in any community, there will be people with whom you agree and disagree. We can all manage to get along if we just follow some simple, common sense rules for our discussions. SquareState has no objections to heated discussion or disagreement, and we welcome impassioned discussion, but there are lines that common sense should keep you from crossing: 1. The first rule of SquareState is DO talk about SquareState. Our discussions and organizing can only be more effective with more participation. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, and pets. 2. Don't be an %%%. This should be enough for most folks, but if that's not clear enough, keep reading. 3. Racism, bigotry, threats of violence and other hate-filled language is strictly prohibited -- from those on the right side of the political spectrum and the left. 4. No personal attacks or revealing of private information is tolerated. This is grounds for immediate banning. 5. No sock puppets. Posting under multiple blognames is grounds for immediate banning, ridicule, and outing. This is a case where your personal information will be revealed so don't do it. Similarly, if you work for a campaign or otherwise have a conflict of interest please disclose it ahead of time. Ideally put such a disclaimer in your signature line. More on that later. We're going to find out anyway and it's going to look not only bad for you but also your candidate or issue campaign. 6. Stay on topic. When responding to a diary or comment, don't hijack the diary with random issues. Respond to the topic being discussed, write your own diary, or post it in an open thread. 7. No comment spam. Advertising an unrelated site by posting a comment is not tolerated. If it's not relevant to the blog, don't link it. This rule is loosely enforced in open thread diaries where the purpose is a collection of odd and random thoughts and discussions. 8. Troll ratings are for trolls, not people you disagree with. They play an important role in the community to self-moderate, so please use the ratings appropriately.

Mark_Wolf(Q) How did SquareState get selected as part of the Democratic National Convention's State Bloggers Corp?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) There was an application process similar to what any media would have where we described who we were and what access we were requesting. They also had us submit traffic statistics and other information so they could measure which choices would best further the mission of tearing down the walls between the convention and the country. I was on their radar from early on. I have been covering the convention for over a year and was with the media when they launched their HQ, when they did the walk through of the site, when Gov. Dean has visited town, so they were well aware of us and the work we do. And there were also things involving the Colorado Rapids and Guam, and I can go into that if anyone asks.

johne(Q) Should we talk about the difference between bloggers, political bloggers, and newspaper journalists?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I think that is a really good distinction to make. There is not just one type of bloggers. There is an ecology of people who use the tool of internet in different ways. Even if we were to just look at political bloggers, you have some award winning talented 'traditional' journalists like those at ColoradoConfidential, you have watchdog groups like MediaMatters/Colorado, there are great mobilizers of offline action like ProgressNow, and then you have people who generate and foster community dialog like we do at SquareState.net
Aaron_Silverstein(P) We have pundits, pamphleteers, protestors, and reporters. The interaction between them creats this phenomenom called 'blogging' that is still transforming its definition.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Must say you had the funniest headline in the Bob Schaffer ad flap: Mt. Macaca. Did you write that one?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) That was not one of mine. That is one of the nice things about having so many voices there. You get to hear some fun stuff.

Mark_Wolf(Q) How many regular contributors do you have and will you add more for the convention?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) That varries substantially. It depends on who wants to contribute, and everyone is welcome to come and post diarys, so on some days we have people posting on climate issues, elected officials like Rep. Carroll may be letting us know about bills she is supporting, there can be any number of casual readers. In October of '04 just before the midterms, we had about 110,000 page views, and we are ramping up to beat that. The convention will definitely push an increase in contributions, but it is not our choice to 'add' people, people 'add' themselves. Unlike print media where budgets limit how many staff you can have at an event, there is an unlimited number of eyes, ears, and mouths we can bring to every story. We let people self-select if they want ot be a part of that.

Mark_Wolf(Q) What could the mainstream media learn from the bloggers?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) We fill different and complimentary niches, and I would argue that the more democratized online venue is a good deal more mainstream than the corporate media, but if there were one thing I would like to communicate to some of the great professional working journalists, it is that 'he said - she said' is not objectivity, and upsetting both sides is not balance. There is a real value to memory, and I know working journalists have them. It upsets me when they report a lie, and then the lie is exposed, and then the next day they just accept the next lie from the same liar. I would like to see them fill their broader duty of informing their readers about the biases and histories of the people feeding them the sound bites.
johne(C) And yet giving both sides equal time is what is still taught in Journalism School

Mark_Wolf(Q) How do you think political blogs have influenced political campaigns?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) It has, and will continue to transform the landscape. Right now they are perfecting how to use the new tools to do the old things better, but I think soon we will see them using the internet to do totally new things. Dean and Obama have really used the net to reach out and raise funds from small donors, expand the communications reach of multi-state campaigns, and to organizing teams of volunteers. It is a good implementation of top-down ideas. What really excites me is the grassroots-up potential of this interactive media when the volunteers discover how to use these great tools better to push their ideas upwards into the campaigns.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Some believe political blogs contribute to polarizing the culture. What's your response?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I think that sort of 'polarization' is seeing the political spectrum through the old eyes of Left vs. Right. When you have the old tools it is useful to lump things together and create one team vs. another team. Online, everybody gets to be their own team and they get to have their voice on single issues or the range of issues that appeal to them. I may disagree with you on three things and find common ground on four. The real devision tends to be between people acting honestly and in good faith, and people who put spin in front of values. The internet is brutal on those people because fact checking is so readily available. If Wadhams tries to spin Schaffer as being a Colorado native when the guy spent so much of his life until recently in Ohio, then the internet can burn him in real time. The divisions stop being partisan and ideological and start being more about the real way people can disagree on real issues.

Mark_Wolf(Q) What do you foresee as SquareState's role during the convention?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) We are going to be sitting with the Colorado delegation, and will be covering issues that concern our community. Part of my job in that chair is to bring the convention out to the readers, but there is another part that involves the readers reaching into the convention. I spoke to Gov. Dean, and it was very much his intention that the State blogs serve as a way for the voices of the constituents to reach their representatives in the room. He said he wanted a 'two way campaign.'

johne(Q) psst, mention our small donor committee!
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I am going to clarify Johne here a little, in that the SquareState small donor committee is not owned by SquareState.net the blog in any shape or form, and does not have the same open governance like the website does, and is a very seperate entity under tax law. That said, Johne is part of a small donor committee called the SquareState small donor committee that helps candidates make a change to the politics in Colorado. I think you will find it at ActBlue.com and Johne can say some more about that.
johne(C) Okkkeeedokkkkeeee. Online fundraising really changed the landscape for then presidential candidate Howard Dean, Barack Obama and even Republican candidate Ron Paul. ActBlue has made an effort to begin doing this on a state and local level but because of the way campaign finance laws were written in Colorado they could do the same here. Instead, I created what's known as a small donor committee which can raise up to $50 per person and then redistribute those funds to state and local candidates. We do this through ActBlue with a different setup to keep the Secretary of State of Colorado happy. We haven't selected any candidates to support yet but are currently speaking with a few incumbents and one new State Senate candidate. We ask that those we support share the following beliefs: Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Health Care for All, Quality Education for all, Protection of the Environment, Reproductive Freedom, Reasoned Immigration Reform, Support of the Netroots.
johne(C) And now my blatant plug for my side project is through. Thanks!

Mark_Wolf(Q) How nasty do you expect the Udall-Schaffer race to get?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I suspect that Udall will run continue to run the positive community-based campaign that he has, which fits the man and is also the luxury of being the front runner. Schaffer is coasting on voter registration advantage right now, but with all of his skeletons and the scandal in the Marianas I think he will run the sort of Rovian campaign his manager Dick Wadhams is famous for. With so much money and power in play and the need to change the game, I expect a lot of mud to fly. But honestly, when has that not been the case in politics? What was the friendliest Senate battle between the two parties?

Mark_Wolf(Q) A story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that some political events (specifically conventions) have banned partisan bloggers who are trying to keep an eye on what the other party is up to. Have you experienced or heard about similar situations in Colorado?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I don't know what 'banned' means in this case. Right wing blogs in Colorado have and will cover the convention. If we are talking about partisan coverage inside the convention hall, I think the fact that FOXNews will be 'running the pool' and controlling all of the main cameras in the arena points to a certain willingness of the convention to include everyone. When I look at the blogs they chose, I do see a preponderance of prominent Left wing blogs from around the country, but I also see blogs like PolitickerNJ that has at least one former Republican Congressman as a front page writer, so I don't believe that differing viewpoints is something automatically disqualifying.

Mark_Wolf(P) Here's a link to that Star-Tribune story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/15/2245684.htm

Mark_Wolf(Q) Do you plan to cover any of the Libertarian convention in Denver over the Memorial Day weekend? Bob Barr's emergence as a potential standard-bearer and the potential effect on conservative voters has made the Libertarians more of a media story than usual.
Aaron_Silverstein(A) I do plan on that. One of Mike Gravel's staff is an online writer from Colorado named Skyler McKinley and I have been following Skyler and his candidate's journey. I expect it will appeal to a much smaller readership, but I will probably write a few stories about the Libertarian convention, and the international Sci-Fi convention that will also be in town.

Danny-the-red(Q) How do you see the conflict between anoymity and the vetting of sources in the blogging world?
Aaron_Silverstein(A) Great to see you Danny, I like your stuf at Pols. I think that the vetting of information is better in the blogging world because so many people are able to see things like Schaffer in front of Mt. McKinley and call foul so much faster. On the other side of the coin, one just has to look at the way the Pentagon was placing its propoganda in front of TV viewers with 'unbiased experts' to see that vetting just isn't happening well enough in other forms of media. I think also there are endless offline pressures on unpaid bloggers that aren't there on paid media, so some anonymity might be inevitable if we want people to speak freely. I have no problem with anonymous voting, and I have no problem with anonymous speaking. I have a problem with inaccurate information, and I think more voices and more access is what is best to cure that.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Thanks to Aaron Silverstein, editor of SquareState.net, which has been selected as part of the Democratic National Convention's State Blogger Corps. We'll have a transcript of this up in a few minutes.
Aaron_Silverstein(A) Thank you very much for having me here, and I hope you will come by the site from time to time to hep keep us informed about the things you have been seeing.