It used to be just the folks from the TV or newspapers who could make the jump to the other side of the table, but today brought the announcement that Kiersten Marek, lead blogger over at Kmareka.com has taken on the role of campaign coordinator for Cindy Fogarty's mayoral run in Cranston. Add that to Eileen Spillane and Thomas Kalinowski, the bloggers down in Middletown and Newport who are running for office, and RI Future's Matt Jerzyk going to the Democratic convention as an accredited blogger, and you know the netroots are finally being taken seriously here in Little Rhody.

Plus, if you have a few minutes, take a peek at the YouTube interview Kiersten did with Fogarty last week. This stuff is game changing: for the candidates, the communities, and the traditional media who are used to playing intermediary roles.

Way to go Kiersten. Yaay!