You gotta hand it to us queers — we’re a talkative bunch. At least its not just mindless blather

It’s our first day in Minneapolis for Netroots Nation, which actually begins tomorrow. LGBT bloggers, online activists, journalists and org staffers have gathered a day early for a special Netroots Nation LGBT Netroots Connect pre-conference.

I’ve been to plenty of conferences and other events with many of these great folks, including many I now call good friends and colleagues, but today has been different. No bitch sessions. No hand wringing. No stinging condemnation of national organizations or movements. We’ve talked real strategy, real issues and real concerns. It’s an amazing breath of fresh air for events like this — or, at least, the events I’ve gone to. There’s nothing better than a bottom-up meeting of the minds and everyone can always appreciate and learn from good brainstorming sessions.

Thanks goes out to Michael Rogers, the pre-conference director, and presenters Michael Crawford, Heather Cronk and Barbara McCullough-Jones. They’ve run a smooth and interesting event so far.

I’ll be in Minneapolis for the rest of the week. Keep checking back for updates and, who knows, maybe a good interview or two!