Saturday, June 10, 2006

Martinsville Bloggers Conference


How about a blast from the past? Here's a photo taken in 2006 at a conference in Martinsville, Virginia in which I was included on a panel to discuss the then-burgeoning weblog medium. I was, at the time, regional sales manager for Oldcastle, Inc. and, at the same time, a columnist for the Roanoke Times.
Seated on the stage are (left to right): Me, Dan Radmacher, then-editorial page editor of the Times, Norm Leahy, who contributes to the Washington Post and a number of other publications, and Jeff Shapiro, a columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The discussion essentially revolved around "old media" vs. "new media." That new media being the scourge of the dinosaur press - Facebook, Blogger, and a brand-new upstart - Twitter. The back-and-forth was a hoot.

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Ben Tribbett, Kat Wilton, Me, Alton Foley.
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An additional photo above.  The setting is the continental breakfast nook at the Hampton Inn in Martinsville. The time? The morning of the blogger's conference.

Seated with me at the table are Kat Wilton and respected Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Jeff Schapiro.

The guy on the left with the big grin?  Democratic Party suck-up and Russell County Commonwealth's Attorney Brian Patton.  Note the fact that he sits alone.  Speaks volumes.
A day in the life ...