• by July 12, 2004

The Democrats have finally issued press passes to bloggers who've been approved to cover the Democratic National Convention taking place later this month in Boston.

Trouble is, the Dems kind of disinvited 20 bloggers who had originally been approved. Originally, more than 50 were cleared for media credentials. Apparently, upon further inspection and background checks, the Democratic National Committee rescinded clearances for the 20. Could it be that the 20 were too left-leaning, too radical or just too frivolous?

The DNC has its own official blogger, Eric Schnure, who according to press reports, swears the rescinded invitations were no more than a screwup. He says that the DNC credentialed more bloggers than there was space--the disinvite had nothing to do with the bloggers' political leanings. The majority of those whose invitations were rescinded are progressives and lefties. In all, the DNC received slightly more than 200 applications from bloggers for press credentials.

A few of the bloggers cleared by the DNC include Dave Winer of Scripting News, Jay Rosen of New York University, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of the Daily Kos and PoliticalWire's Taegan Goddard.

Another blogger who was guaranteed a credential is Ana Marie Cox, the acerbic voice of Gawker Media's Wonkette. Cox is attending the convention via Viacom's MTV, according to a report in the Washington Post. MTV hired her to do her Wonkette thing during the convention. I predict tons of party coverage--yes, of the Dems--but also coverage of the party circuit, the behind-the-scenes antics of the Kerry and Heinz kids, the Gores, Chelsea, Bill and Hillary, and Hollywood A-listers.

Apart from the upcoming convention, today is Day One of Ad:Tech Chicago and we are here. Less than two months after its blockbuster-ish San Francisco show, online tech vendors, interactive industry leaders, marketers and agency folks have gathered in the Windy City to chew the interactive fat and contemplate the next big thing. The show promises some excellent programming and content, particularly from the consumer packaged goods point of view.

In fact, brand relationship management firm SoftCoin and Welch's, the grape juice people, are among the presenters. They'll discuss Welch's Road to Rewards Program as an example of a brand relationship marketing program. The 13-month initiative was created to boost sales of Welch's jams, jellies and spreads among its most loyal customers. There are a number of other consumer packaged goods brands that will be presenting case studies here as well.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association, headed by Pete Blackwell, the founder of PlanetFeedback, is also here, and we look forward to learning more about WOMMA and connecting with Pete.