It's been a little over a week since I climbed aboard Amtrak North East Regional train departing Washington DC. As we stopped through the great East Coast cities, I was bewildered by the decay of our urban infrastructure. City after City, the neighborhoods closes to the train stations were in complete shambles. On the approach to Baltimore, I counted at least 10 houses spewing ruble from their front doors. Many many more were shuttered tight; no one walked the streets. If it wasn't for Rootscamp NYC & DC, my heart would have stopped.

Around the beginning of August 2005, a group of progressive technologists modified the long standing exclusivity of Foocamp and started the planning Barcamp. In the meme of Open Space Technology, armed with a venue to host two days of free flowing and open conversations, Barcamps circled the globe and evolved into Govcamp, Podcamp, Artcamp, Copycamp, Drupalcamp... In September of 2006, the New Organizing Institute (NOI) and Emerging Progressives decided to grow their institutional knowledge and foster a 2006 political debrief; Rootscamp was born.

Using the exact same organizational tool as Barcamp, a wiki; Rootscamp's original scope was designed to be a simultaneous multi-city electoral debrief. After one month of diligent planning - it was obvious that "organically" styled camps, like cats, are impossible to herd. With four towns committed - San Francisco, New York City, Bloomington, Washington DC, and SecondLife - the New Organizing Institute and Emerging Progressives set out to learn Barcamp's best practices and pass them along to Rootscamp coordinators.

Long before Rootscamp, I was sold on the notion of "camping." As a technologist, community organizer, former political campaign staffer and NY State Senate employee - Barcamp was a natural home for people participating in online communities, exploring the edge of technology, and investigating real life applications with online programs. Not since my Sophomore year in High School did I feel the same raw energy and excitement of mental exploration.

What's most interesting is not the fact that "camps" are a phenomena, but they are physical manifestations of new web tools. At Rootscamp DC, Zack Exley - one of the founders of NOI, facilitated the discussion on the future of progressive movements which mirrored a similar discussion held a few days after the 2006 November election at Demos, a nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization based in New York City. At Demos' "Energized Electorate: Young Voter Turnout in the 2006 Elections and Beyond" - the League of Young Voters, Black Youth Vote, and Young Voter Strategies detailed how they empowered communities of young voters speak for themselves and vocalize their problems. Like NOI, these organizations have fostered leaders and provided venues for community conversations. These communities also have have a national infrastructure to assist.

From the national perspective, from election turn out and events at Demos and Rootscamp, people throughout this country are no longer willing to believe in organizations that broadcast messages. Blogs; video and photo sharing sites; social networking sites have reinvigorated power at the edges of society.

This is a long road from the 2004 Presidential campaign house parties. Howard Dean would not be Chairman of the Democratic party if Meetup.com did not exist. Democracy for America would not exist if the technology and organizational skills did not work hand in hand. As Technology evolves our society, collectively we long for those things that still make us human - face to face interaction.

No longer do we need any particular organization to tell us how to meet and whom should lead. Take a look at Creative Common's four year birthday party/2006 fundraising appeal, just edit the wiki and you are participating. If you take a look at another phenomena, coworking - independents, freelancers, programmers and small business are bonding together in professional environments.

While NASA explores theories of Coworking in SecondLife. All other Coworking locations are physical spaces, from shared living rooms, former lofts, to share offices. Individuals who would normally work out of their homes or cafes, now share professional environments. This day to day - Online and Offline connectivity are keys to a stronger interpersonal relationships and the future of business development. Born from a wiki, Camps and Coworking are pioneering a new level of syntethic/natural connectivity.

Is this really a new world, or do we finally have the tools to help each other achieve "the American dream?" For the past three years, we have seen the power of decentralized networks grow. No longer do we have to idly sit by and wait for the evening news. No longer are we married to a centralized network of information handed to us on a silver platter. Knowledge, information and wisdom want to be free. As it has always been, the power is in our hands. We have the tools to communicate, the institutions to help, and the knowledge to be the change we all want to see.

an edited, not-as-political copy of this article is posted on NewAssignment.net