Citizens media weekend

We've just moved our citizens media social gathering to a larger venue on Friday. It's a two-day event, so here are the details:

Friday the 13th

Time: 6-9 pm

Place: Varnish Fine Art Gallery, 77 Natoma St. (between 1st and 2nd streets and Mission and Howard) in SF's SOMA. Check out their website. (This is a change from our original location, CNET.)

Admission: free.

Free appetizers. Cash bar for wine or beer.

Bring: Your smart phone, digital camera or camcorder (all optional, of course)

Theme: The remix revolution

Sponsors: The citizens media weekend is being underwritten by Topix.net and Knight Ridder Digital (thanks!)

Who'll be there: Dan Gillmor, Howard Rheingold, Craig Newmark, Mary Hodder and a long list of luminaries involved in various grassroots media efforts.

Book release: This is also the official book release party for Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation, which just went on sale at Amazon.

Who's invited: You are. We're expecting about 100 people to celebrate citizens media and grassroots culture. We originally asked folks to RSVP if they wanted to attend, but with this new venue, just come on by, and tell your friends.

Saturday, May 14

On Saturday afternoon, about 25 people will be gathering in San Francisco's Presidio to attend an invitation-only citizens media strategy session and to help spur Dan Gillmor's new grassroots media initiative. (Sorry, if we opened it up to everyone, we'd get much less accomplished.)

But: we really want to get your input. We have folks coming from such organizations as Craigslist, Grassroots Media Inc., Topix.net, GetLocalNews.com, Smartmobs.com, NowPublic.org, Downhillbattle.org, Knight Ridder Digital, the Bakersfield Californian's Northwest Voice, et al.

What collaborative efforts would you like to see come out of this? How can we join forces to create stronger grassroots media initiatives? Should everything be done at the local level (hyperlocal news), or should we try to build an organization, nonprofit enterprise or for-profit citizens media company with a national or international reach? We're thinking of holding a citizens media conference at a major university in the fall -- where should it be held?

Email me your ideas and I'll take them to the group.