Pacific Views

Drinking Liberally

David Alpert, Google's Technical Evangelism Manager (yes, that's the title right off his business card), spoke with me briefly this afternoon about his extracurricular political activism.

He's working with Drinking Liberally for "people who are interested in getting involved in politics [and would] benefit from ways to get involved that are fun and low impact. [The goal is to] build social connections with like minded progressives as a gateway into getting involved." On a personal note, I can certainly verify that political socializing is a gateway drug for activism.

Alpert said that it's as important for people to get socially involved and discuss issues as it is to become politically active through traditional campaign activities. He said that having friends to talk about politics with goes hand in hand with being active in the political world.

Alpert sees the next step in Cosmopolity, described as a progressive calendar guide, which is starting up in New York and Los Angeles. People can use it to find activity at any level of of participation they'd like. Activities are intended to range from small gatherings and fundraising concerts, to volunteering out of state for weeks on a political campaign. He hopes to expand the service to more cities with the help of local activists in other metropolitan areas.

Update: Corrected to reflect Alpert's proper relationship with Drinking Liberally.

Posted by nat in boston at July 27, 2004 10:23 PM | Elections | TrackBack(2) | Technorati links |