Bloggers on the Bus

The world of online networking and communication has exploded in the last decade. Social networking sites, YouTube, and blogs offer hours of entertainment, but have also become important vehicles for activism.The "netroots," as Eric Boehlert calls this phenomenon, have risen to incredible power, and never has that been clearer than in the 2008 presidential election. Bloggers on the Bus traces the major events that rocked the campaign trail and reveals the stories of the online activists who made it all possible. In the tradition of Timothy Crouse’s essential bestseller, The Boys on the Bus, Bloggers on the Bus goes inside the modern world of liberal politics to reveal the stories and scandals at its very heart. Boehlert exposes just how much influence the online community—and especially the blogosphere—had on the outcome of the 2008 elections. Bloggers have set off an industry debate about journalism and privacy and have changed the face of campaign strategy. This ad-hoc, mostly pro bono, community has been able to change, in telling and significant ways, American politics and media. Colored by vivid portraits and character sketches, this book will reveal the new wave of changes that has revolutionized progressive politics. Like the many passionate reporters and observers who came before them, these men and women are breaking new ground every day. Bloggers on the Bus will chronicle that media and political rebellion as it unfolds and introduce readers to the fascinating players involved.