Scott Heiferman, the CEO of Meetup (and a member of PDF's advisory board, I should add), just gave a terrific keynote address on the future of connected politics. Here's his vision: We're going from flash mobs and bricks-and-mortar organizations to flash, emergent, people-powered, long-lasting, open, influential, agile, chapter-based, institutions/organizations/unions that have card-carrying members and meet regularly face-to-face to act on common concerns. He called this the "Napsterization of organization." (I told Mary Hodder, sitting to my right, that she should ask for a fee--she grinned and said she'd take a nickel.)

We need a "Constitution-wizard," he said, in other words tools that help people create such new kinds of powerful federations. One step in that direction is going to come from Meetup, which starting next week, Heiferman announced, will allow all the members of a Meetup category group (Pug owners, Townhall.com fans, knitters, or the fastest growing Meetup category of stay-at-home-mom's) to talk to members of the same group, worldwide.

This is about not just changing the world, he said, but saving the world--from big business, big government, big money, etc. People are watching Big Brother, too. (Call that sousveillance.) "Net-based collective action and group power has hardly begun," he admitted, but predicted huge and subtle changes around the corner. "Bet on that which gives citizens control," he added, quoting Jeff Jarvis.

This is great stuff. (And as best as I can tell, the distinguished scholar Robert Putnam didn't really respond to it, alas.) But I'm a little frustrated by the rose-colored lens that Scott is wearing. His company's own data shows that the people using Meetup are predominantly white, upper middle-class and well educated. I'd like to hear him deal with the implicit class and race biases here. Put another way, is it possible we're just going from a system that is very responsive to the top 25% of the socioeconomic ladder to one that is more responsive to the top 33%?

Oh well, we just ran out of time.

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