Rethinking Governance in the Age of MySpace

March 1, 2007

What: The Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise at the University of Southern California will host the inaugural David Abel Colloquium, which will feature a round-table dialog on politics in the digital age with experts from the media, technology sector and government. Panelists will debate to what extent social Internet networks like MySpace.com are changing representative government — and whether the change is for better or for worse.

They will consider such questions as:

• What if John Adams had a blog? How would he use it? What would he advocate?
• What does the popularity of MySpace, YouTube and Facebook portend for democratic governance?
• Will geographically based representation remain relevant in the age of MySpace?

When: Thursday, March 8, 4-7 p.m. (including post-event reception)

Where: The Galen Center Founders Club, USC University Park Campus. Parking is available at USC Parking Structure 2; the entrance is on Flower Street. Parking is free for media with valid press credentials. (Click here for directions.)

Who: Participants and speakers include:

• David Abel, Los Angeles civic leader
• Warren Olney, host and executive producer of KCRW's To the Point and Which Way, L.A.?
• Bob Hertzberg, speaker emeritus of the California State Assembly, former L.A. mayoral candidate, and partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw
• David Janssen, chief administrative officer for Los Angeles County
• Geoffrey Cowan, dean, USC Annenberg School for Communication
• Giorgio Vanzini, senior director, Government and Education Programs in the Public Sector, Microsoft Corporation
• J. Clark Kelso, chief information officer, State of California
• Jay Harris, director, Center for the Study of Journalism and Democracy, USC Annenberg School for Communication
• Joe Trippi, president, Joe Trippi and Associates
• John A. Pérez, political director, United Food and Commercial Workers
• Monroe Price, director, Project for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Phil Noble, founder, PoliticsOnline
• Ross Levinsohn, founding president, Fox Interactive Media
• Sunne McPeak, California state secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, and president and CEO, California Emerging Technology Fund