The new name was chosen to reflect the participation of a broader audience of grassroots activists, campaign workers and volunteers, thought leaders, messaging technology innovators as well as local, state, and national elected officials.

The convention offers three days of programming: panel discussions on emerging issues in politics and society; training sessions to support more effective activism; keynote addresses from speakers of national stature; an exhibit hall; networking and social events.

The convention received a significant amount of coverage in traditional media, including a write-up in the New York Times which said that the event “seems on its way to becoming as much a part of the Democratic political circuit as the Iowa State Fair.”[2] Gina Cooper was the founder and first director of YearlyKos, later to be Netroots Nation.

The candidates were Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson.

Notably at this event Hillary Clinton refused to join John Edwards and Barack Obama in a pledge to stop taking money from Washington lobbyists.

[6] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were expected to appear, but were held up in Washington due to various votes.

[9] The event captured international headlines when the Democratic Congressional leadership seemingly abandoned the "public option" during the Health Care debate and Howard Dean spoke forcefully that the party would reconsider this issue and not compromise on it.

[10] Clinton quipped at a shouting audience member, "You know you should go to one of those Congressional health care meetings," and went on to say that the implementation of the policy was not what he envisioned or how it was originally defined and that it was ridiculous that $150,000 was spent "to get rid of an Arabic translator" and that 130 servicemen and -women known to be gay were allowed to serve in the first Gulf War until "they kicked them out.

Brian Schweitzer, Ed Schultz, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Ben Cardin, Sen. Tom Udall, Rep. Alan Grayson, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Jared Polis, Rep. Donna Edwards, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Van Jones, Rich Trumka, Tim Wise, Lizz Winstead, Majora Carter, Markos Moulitsas, Tarryl Clark, Bill Halter, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Gerald McEntee, and Eliseo Medina.

He said in part, "If we don't protect Net Neutrality now, how long do you think it will take before Comcast-NBC Universal, or Verizon-CBS Viacom or AT&T-ABC-DirecTV or BP-Haliburton-Walmart-Fox-Domino's-Pizza start favoring its content over everyone else's?

Prominent featured speakers included Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, former Senator Russ Feingold, Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak, Vermont governor Howard Dean, Van Jones, White House Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer, John Aravosis, Shannon Augare, Senator Mark Begich, Senator Ben Cardin, Rep. Judy Chu, Lt. Dan Choi, Rep. Keith Ellison, Tarryl Clark, Dr. Heidi Cullen, Rep. Donna Edwards, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, Laura Flanders, Sen. Al Franken, Rep. John Garamendi, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Jane Hamsher, and Montana State Rep. Ellie Hill.

Netroots Nation 2011 had an international presence with bloggers and activists from 24 countries including Germany, Morocco, Yemen, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and China participating.

The conference culminated in the first ever Freedom from Fear Awards program, which highlighted immigration activism and featured an original song from Jill Sobule, They Say They Want Our America Back.

[18] Prominent featured speakers included Rebuild the Dream co-founder Van Jones, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, Congressman David Cicilline (RI-01), winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics and NY Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman, Carol Shea-Porter, AFL-CIO’s Rich Trumka, AFT President Randi Weingarten, soon-to-be elected senators Elizabeth Warren, Mazie Hirono, and Tammy Baldwin, Ai-jen Poo-National Domestic Workers Alliance director, and Rhode Island State Representatives Teresa Tanzi and Chuck Rocha.

[19] On June 22, Nancy Pelosi participated in a Q&A session and was booed by the audience for saying that Edward Snowden had broken the law by revealing information about the NSA’s surveillance programs and she defended Barack Obama on the topic.

Vice-President Joe Biden delivered the opening keynote on Thursday afternoon, touching on topics including marriage equality, compassion for immigrants, and expanded voting access.

We must be here to build a movement.”[21][22] On Friday, Senator Elizabeth Warren addressed the crowd, calling for tougher regulations and oversight of Wall Street and ensuring that blue-collar families can earn a livable wage and retire with a social safety net.

The closing keynote on Saturday included speakers Representative Keith Ellison and New York Times bestselling author Steve Phillips, who spoke about the importance of fighting together for equality and progress (and against Donald Trump).

Joseph Geevarghese and Brittany Butler from Good Jobs Nation discussed ways American workers can stand up for their economic values.

On Friday, plenary speakers included West Virginia activist Paula Jean Swearengen, former Congressional candidate Randy Bryce, Rep. Ruben Gallego, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Janine Jackson.

As the conference ended, many participants, led by labor organizer Dolores Huerta and others, marched to the State Capitol Building in protest over the right-wing violence in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier that day, which resulted in the death of Heather Heyer.

Colette Pichon Battle of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy spoke about grassroots organizing, and Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba challenged the audience to dismantle structural disenfranchisement.

Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro challenged progressives to reach, register and mobilize the strong majority of Americans who want change now.

Speakers included Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Deb Haaland, Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Stacey Abrams, and then-candidates Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman.

Speakers included Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, Sen. Tina Smith, Reps. Raul Grijalva, Mondaire Jones, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Joe Neguse, Katie Porter, Rashida Tlaib, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, WI Lt. Gov.

Speakers included Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, newly-elected Congresswoman Summer Lee, Abigail Disney, LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter, AFA President Sara Nelson, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolfe, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas, Chris Smalls of Amazon Labor Union, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Leigh Chapman, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, Pennsylvania State Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta and Sara Innamorato, and Pennsylvania State Sen. Lindsey Williams.

More than 110 organizations including 1Hood Media, ActBlue, American Federation of Teachers, Daily Kos, Black Male Voter Project, Pacifica Strategies, Mobile Commons, Democratic National Committee, Planned Parenthood, Comcast NBCUniversal, MoveOn and more participated as sponsors or exhibitors.

Approximately 120 organizations sponsored or exhibited at the event, including the American Federation of Teachers, ActBlue, Black Male Voter Project, CallHub, Pacifica Strategies, and Upland Mobile Commons.

Many members of Congress spoke including Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Summer Lee, Greg Casar, Delia Ramirez, Maxwell Frost, Jan Schakowsky, Chuy García and Sean Casten.

Many Representatives spoke including Cori Bush, Barbara Lee, Delia Ramirez, Greg Casar, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib and Ro Khanna.