I was excited to go to Netroots Nation this year in PIttsburgh, but that excitement was tempered by some unease. Although I write for Amplify and have written blogs for other websites as well, I do not self-identify as a blogger (I know- gasp!), because to me my work online is a direct and necessary extension of the work I do offline. Unlike many of the people at Netroots, I am skeptical of the power of internet to truly be a democratizing and equalizing force- particularly when knowledge of and access to the internet is limited by socioeconomic status.

I found myself in several conversations at Netroots arguing this point, and was frustrated at times with many attendees/bloggers unquestioning acceptance of the power of blogging and online engagement to change the world around us alone. However, the most realistic treatment I saw of the power of online activism and reality of the multifaceted approach to dealing with privelege and social issues was the group that is supposedbly the most "tech-dependent" group- young people.

Netroots had caucuses throughout the weekend, designed to facilitate conversations about policy priorities in different groups. I attended the Women's Caucus, which focused mainly on getting women to run for office and healthcare reform, without much substance or new ideas being debated. I attended the LGBT caucus, which was, weirdly, sponsored by several organizations and projects, began with a presentation by GLAAD, and chose facilitators sitting on stage, using mikes and limiting intros and input over the informal set-up of most caucuses. Finally, I attended the youth caucus.

The youth caucus, a group of about 30 people, began with short and informal introductions and quickly we delved into issues of being defined as a group, defining what a youth movement means to us, and how to affect change and where. Participants entered social justice from many views- some were strictly bloggers, two were running for Congress, many worked on the Obama campaign or in the environmental movement, and at least one had started a nonprofit. We discussed the problem of being taken seriously by other groups and never being seen as a fully legitimate political bloc because we have no money to raise. We also discussed what a "youth issue" is, and the issues affecting people who are not going to college, who don't have access to unlimited internet or "youth caucus" sessions at national conferences.

What struck me about these discussions most however, is how balanced and realistic the tone was that focused on what we needed to address. Going around the room, the people in the youth caucus seemed to agree with me that blogging and online activism is a very valuable tool, but that it is part of engaging as social justice activists in our world in a variety of different ways. The people in the room with me there were also eager to do just that. I don't normally love those articles about how "Millenials" are one way or the other, because I think that ignores a lot of privilege that seperates my experience from the experience of another twenty-one year old across the river from me in Anacostia. But sitting in that room, I was reminded of the argument that "Millenials" see issues as interconnected and therefore solutions as interconnected as well. And it made me hopeful, that of  all the people I met at the conference, the young people in that room were people I was excited to see get to work and that I trusted to make real social change, both online and off.