I attended about half of Friday's conference to see if it would erode my skepticism. It didn't. Hoder's blogging and the democratic promise of meetups may exist on the same continuum, but the cab fare from one to the other will kill ya. I think it is a matter of when, not if, big business and big-party politics co-opt the meetup.com model. As for bloggers blogging about the signifance of their blogging, does anyone still believe cyberspace will bring those "weary giants of flesh and steel" to their knees?