A few weeks ago, Melinda and I attended the Netsquared conference (N2Y3) just outside San Jose in sunny Santa Clara, California. We were attending on behalf of Ask Your Lawmaker, one of the 21 featured projects chosen to participate in a dialog about how non-profits can use web sites for social benefit. The conference provided an opportunity for the 21 featured projects to share their experiences, challenges and successes while competing for three grand prizes.

Although AYL did not win, Melinda and I had the great pleasure of meeting a staggering number of people during the two very long days of the conference. We also learned a lot from some of the other finalists, including: MoveSmart.org, Squarepeg and second place award recipient Knowmore.

There were also a fair number of congressional transparency and accountability groups. One that we were excited to learn about, the Anti-Genocide Action Tracker allows users to view a 'report card' of how different representatives rate on genocide legislation. Others that we were already familiar with -- and some day we hope to team up with -- include three other Sunlight grantees: last years big winner MAPLight, OpenCongress and MetaVid.

All and all the Netsquared conference was an excellent experience and opportunity. As Melinda, Ari and myself move forward on redesigning and improving the Ask Your Lawmaker website, widget, and service we plan to draw on a many of the lessons learned from the other Net2 projects as well as our discussions with other industry leaders and tech gurus at the conference.

As we begin this process, feel free to forward me any suggestions you have on improving the site by sending an email to askyourlawmaker@cncnews.org