May 31, 2005
Podcasting The News
MSNBC.com and NBC News have entered the podcasting game according to Poynter.
Beginning in June, NBC News will deliver hourly updates and "select portions of its network and cable news programming via podcast."
The podcasts will be available via MSNBC.com. Content is to include news and business headlines; "White House Beat"; "Techwatch"; and highlights from MSNBC cable programs like "Hardball With Chris Matthews" and "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." NBC News also has been testing podcasting with segments from "Today" and the "NBC Nightly News."
ABC News also has begun podcasting.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Running The Numbers
Some Interesting Tidbits From The RNC’s BlogFood
125 Million Voters Turned Out In 2004
According to a Census Bureau report, 125 million Americans turned out to vote in 2004, which is 64 percent of American's 18 years and older. Amongst the findings are that more women than men voted, Minnesota had the highest turn out with 79 percent and Wisconsin was second with 77 percent turn out.
FactCheck.Org: Biography Of A Bad Statistic
FactCheck.org released a new study yesterday noting the statistic that abortions have increased under President Bush that many Democrats are repeating – including DNC Chairman Howard Dean – is false.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Daily ePolitics Buzz Brief
Iranian bloggers focal point of elections... and more
National
- FEC Treads Into Sticky Web Of Political Blogs (Chicago Tribune)
Web loggers, who pride themselves on freewheeling political activism, might face new federal rules on candidate endorsements, online fundraising and political ads, though bloggers who don't take money from political groups would not be affected. (May 31, 2005) - French Blogger Is EU Cause Celebre (MarketWire)
A high school teacher from Marseille has become famous across France and the blogosphere thanks to his one-person campaign against approval of the European Union constitution. (May 31, 2005) - Jeff Jarvis, On The Inside Blogging Out (Washington Post)
Jeff Jarvis, a former critic for People and TV Guide and a founding editor of Entertainment Weekly, has moved from writing for millions to blogging for thousands, slinging opinions on subjects ranging from the war on terror to car stereos. (May 31, 2005) - MoveOn.org's Anti-Catholic Paranoia (FrontPagemag.com)
Democrats lost the evangelical vote decades ago. As the last election showed, they are now in danger of permanently losing Catholics. (May 31, 2005) - The Gang Of 14, Blogged Down In The Middle (Washington Post)
It was the perfect storm for the blogosphere, an issue on which both right-wingers and left-wingers could rise up in rare unison and smite the craven offenders. (May 31, 2005) - AmericanBlog.Org Announces FREE National 50 State Blog Infrastructure (MarketWire)
The New Generation of Blogging. Bloggers, newbie writers and information seekers can now go to one site, AmericanBlog.org for information around the country, and enter the USA of blogging. (May 31, 2005)
International
- Iran Crushes Blog Spring (Wired)
Hossein Derakhshan is on tour. In the past few years, he has become the public face of Iran's beleaguered bloggers, more than a dozen of whom have been arrested for their politics. (May 31, 2005) - Hackers Attack Bali Ban Website (Boarder Mail)
Hackers have forced the partial shutdown of a website urging Australians to boycott Bali because of Schapelle Corbys conviction on drug smuggling charges (May 31, 2005) - Cambodia's Ex-king Has Computer, Will Blog (Canada.com)
Sihanouk has been a giant on the Asian political scene for 50 years. (May 31, 2005) - Bloggers Of Iran (Yahoo)
Did you know that on the eve of the Iranian presidential election, that country--with 70 percent of its population under 30--has 75,000 bloggers? (May 31, 2005)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 27, 2005
Ex-President Launches Website
Detained Philippine president Joseph Estrada is using the web to tell his side of the story as he awaits trial on corruption charges.
The website gives the 68-year old former president an outlet to proclaim his innocence while he remains under house arrest at his vacation villa outside Manila. If convicted on the corruption charges, Mr. Estrada could face the death penalty.
The site, www.erap.ph, contains reports on his graft case, charging that it is politically motivated, as well as an archive of statements put out by his political supporters. It also contains an e-mail address where readers can "ask the president" various questions.
Estrada, whose nickname is Erap, is being held under house arrest at his sprawling vacation house outside Manila while being tried on charges of plundering an 80-million dollar fortune during his 30 months in office.
Philippines' Estrada Takes Campaign To Cyberspace
http://www.reut ers.com/newsArticle.jhtml? type=worldNews&storyID=8572563
Detained Ex-President Estrada Launches Website To Give His Side
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl102122. htm
Estrada Launches Website To Air Side
http://news.inq7.net/top/in dex.php?index=1&story_id=37899
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 26, 2005
RedState Will Send Your FEC Letters
A kind offer from the folks at RedState:
Since our update last night, many of you have raised an important question that illustrates one of the major problems with the process at the Federal Election Commission - that they require your name and address to even accept a comment on a proposed piece of regulation.
We all know that not only do many bloggers operate anonymously or with a pseudonym, but that one of the near-cardinal rules for life on the internet is *don't publish your address*.
Accordingly, I am prepared to submit your comment on your behalf - using my name and address to meet the FEC's requirement. I will compile as many bloggers' comments as I receive by Friday close-of-business, May 27th.
If you'd like to take advantage of this - just email me your blog URL, blog title, and if you'd like - your name, along with whatever comment you'd like the FEC to receive. They won't be edited, simply compied into one document with an introduction explaining the problem - and why it shows such a weakness in their approach to regulating the internet.
If you have any questions - feel free to email me at mkrempasky@redstate.org.
Best,
Mike Krempasky
RedState.org
Posted by Buzz Webster at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 25, 2005
Oregon Legislators Unite On Blog
The Oregon House Democrats’ Blog is a new way to engage in open dialogue with the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
The 27 members of the Oregon House Democratic Caucus believe in an open government. Unfortunately, the rush of legislative business, as well as the limitations of space and time, prevents many people from communicating directly with legislators. This new blog enables any interested person to see the positions taken by House Democrats and to comment on them. It will provide the constant flow of information that legislators need to respond to constituents’ concerns.
Link
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Broadcast Machine Is Live
Participatory Politics is offering a great new tool that’s free.
“We're proud to announce the official release of Broadcast Machine, from our parent organization, the Participatory Culture Foundation. Now, anyone can publish video online with virtually no bandwidth costs.”
Link
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Islamist Web Site Indicates Top Insurgent Is Badly Wounded
An Internet site used by the group Al Qaeda in Iraq said today that its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had been wounded, and it asked for Muslims to pray for his recovery.
Can you really believe that Zarqawi is badly wounded? Can you really believe people are praying for his recovery?
Link
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Next iTunes To Support Podcasts
Everyone’s all giddy about the next version of Apple iTunes music jukebox, which will include podcasting function.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best Of The Web Call For Entries
The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology magazine have issued a call for entries on their 10th annual Best of the Web contest and Digital Government Achievement Awards (DGAA).
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
Daily ePolitics Buzz Brief
Lots of buzz in DC over the new online ad agency setting up shop.
Wall Of Thanks Debuts Online (Web Pro News)
President Bush said to troops in Iraq, "Thanks for your service." With Memorial Day approaching, millions of Americans can do the same online. (May 24, 2005)
E-giving Could Help Buck Poor Giving Trends (Church Central)
Giving is a spiritual matter. It’s not about the money. (May 24, 2005)
New Online Ad Agency Sets Up Shop In D.C. (Washington Business Journal)
A former ABC and Fox News producer is launching an ad agency to take advantage of broadband Internet technology. (May 24, 2005)
Politicians Are Pod People (Business Week)
Both Democrats and Republicans are warming to podcasts as a way of getting their message straight to their party faithful. (May 24, 2005)
Politicians Are Pod People (Business Week)
Both Democrats and Republicans are warming to podcasts as a way of getting their message straight to their party faithful. (May 24, 2005)
Inspired By Kos Dairy, Bloggers Take On U.S. Over 2002 Iraq Planning Memo (Raw Story)
In response to U.S. media silence surrounding the official minutes of a pre-war meeting leaked on the eve of the recent British elections, a foursome created a website referencing the memo written in the heart of British government, 10 Downing Street. (May 24, 2005)
E-gov Aims To Lose The 'E' (Federal Computer Week)
E-government will be entrenched everyday life when the Office of Management and Budget no longer oversees its implementation, said John Sindelar, General Services Administration deputy associate administrator for governmentwide policy. (May 24, 2005)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Issues Forums In The UK.
Free public event focused on Issues Forums in the UK.
Issues Forum Event 2:00 - 5:00 p.m., Monday, June 6 (Optional session on e-democracy best practices starts at 1 p.m.) Conference Rooms One and Two Local Government Association Local Government House Smith Square London SW1 3HZ RSVP from:
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Fight Hunger
There's an exciting new global campaign that to raise awareness about child hunger.
Fight Hunger is part of a UN effort to reimagine the way that the world sees hunger. When you get to the opening page, you can click to feed a child, and the sponsors will donate 19 cents to WFP's global school feeding program. There is zero cost to you, and your click ensures that one child gets fed for one day. And more importantly, it shows the UN and the world that there are thousands of people out there who care. This has a tremendous impact on WFP's ability to secure the international funding they need to fight hunger.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Check Out Extreme Democracy
The Book and Discussion Forum for Networked Activists
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Amber Alerts Sync Gov And Mobiles
Steven Clift calls this the “first large scale effort to allow government produced information alerts to reach
More: Amber Alerts Distribution Expands Across Wireless Telephone Networks
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Adopt A Chinese Blog
Isaac Mao has announced the Adopt a Chinese blog program.
Bloggers in other countries can now help Chinese bloggers avoid censorship by hosting their blogs.
There’s now a temp project site on jot about "Adopt A Chinese Blog" program, and now a temp logo attached to the project, too. Some more tag related stuffs on technorati (adoptablog) and del.icio.us (adoptablog) will surely appear soon. (Hat tip Global Voices)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
StemPAC
There’s a new online effort fighting for stem-cell research.
StemPAC officially launched Today. The website is a new effort to “aggressively target elected officials who are holding up stem-cell research, and gently ‘persuade’ them to change their minds -- or ‘not so gently’ get them the heck out of office.“
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 23, 2005
Miss Beazley Eats Em Up
Play the game that sent bloggers barking.
The President's dog is guarding the White House. What could be more fun.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Daily ePolitics Buzz Brief
Former Philippine President is the latest cyberactivist and more.
US News
- Mobile Blogs Give Citizen Journalism Legs (News.com)
Cranking out a column after a presidential debate or publishing a prize-worthy photo of the next catastrophe just got a whole lot easier--no matter where or who you are. (May 23, 2005) - E-government And Beating The Boredom Factor (Computer World)
Govis keynote speaker sees a conflict between e-government and decentralisation (May 23, 2005) - US To Launch Sex Offender Registry Website (Reuters)
The Justice Department will launch a national sex offender registry Web site that will allow people to check state databases with a single search, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Friday. (May 23, 2005)
International News
- 'Downing Street Memo' Web Campaign For Coverage (NBC11.com)
Some things that happen in Britain we hear about, some things we don't. (May 23, 2005) - Philippines' Estrada Takes Campaign To Cyberspace (Reuters)
Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, on trial for plundering $80 million during his brief rule, took his campaign for release into cyberspace on Monday with the launch of his own Web site. (May 23, 2005)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 20, 2005
Daily ePolitics Buzz Brief
Google's contrversial yet hot, and so are new campaign tools in developing countries. Latest National and International news for Friday.
National
Craigslist For Media? (Media Is A Plural)
In case you haven’t noticed, (having suddenly awakened from, say, a persistent vegetative state) the blogosphere is officially “hot.” (May 20, 2005)
Non-traditional Sources Cloud Google News Results (Online Journalism Review)
Additional research suggests that the search engine's selection of online-only news sources to include in Google News skews its search results toward political extremes. (May 20, 2005)
White House Urges Full Competitive Sourcing, E-gov Funding (Government Computer News)
Congress and the Bush administration are renewing their battles over competitive sourcing and e-gov funding. (May 20, 2005)
International
China Goes Undercover To Sway Opinion On Internet (Reuters)
China has formed a special force of undercover online commentators to try to sway public opinion on controversial issues on the Internet, a newspaper said on Thursday (May 20, 2005)
Bloggers Rally To Support Voice Of Dissent In Iran (Journalism)
Bloggers are being urged to join the campaign of support for imprisoned Iranian blogger Mojtaba Saminejad who has been on hunger strike since 14 May. (May 20, 2005)
Ethiopians Use Texting In Election Campaign (Reuters)
Strapped for cash, Ethiopians in the capital Addis Ababa have discovered a new way of campaigning for Sunday's elections -- the text message. (May 20, 2005)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Blogging The Election... Iran's, That Is
Jeff Jarvis highlights blogging the election...
Hossein Derkhshan and others have started a very impressive blog to cover the upcoming Iranian election at Iranscan.net, in cooperation with Open Democracy. Hoder is also working on a new and attractive Persian news site called Rooz.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 19, 2005
Gov. Pawlenty Hosts Bloggers, MoveOn Hosts Pope
From RNC BlogFood email:
- In case you missed it Gov. Tim Pawlenty of
- MoveOn.org had this image up on their site and then removed it. National Review's Judical blog, bench memos, has the image now.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Beyond Red Vs. Blue
Here's a fascinating survey finding on political participation in a divided nation:
Among Democrats, nearly twice as many Conservative Democrats as Liberals cite one of the three network outlets as their main source of news (42% vs. 22%). Age accounts for much of this gap: The network news audience is older ¬ a third of those age 65 and older get most of their news from the networks, compared with 20% of those below age 30. And Conservative Democrats are, as a group, much older than Liberals.
To a surprising degree, Liberals (and young, well-educated people generally) are turning away from TV news in favor of the internet. Fully 37% of Liberals and 34% of Upbeats say they get most of their news from the internet, far more than any other group. For both groups, the number relying on the internet far exceeds any individual TV news source (network, cable or local) and approaches newspaper usage.
Source: The Pew Research Center (Hat tip John McNutt)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Podcasting: A New Voice On The Net
Here’s some advice from Michael Gowan at Tech Soup:
Podcasts are like Internet radio broadcasts, and they're gaining in popularity. What promise does the technology hold for the nonprofit sector? We'll show you how organizations are using podcasting now, and how you can get started.
More
Posted by Buzz Webster at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Pushing Power To The Edges
An important report focused in large part on online advocacy, non-profits, and the role of philanthropy was recently released.
Steven Clift recommends folks read it:http://evolvefoundation.org/?q=pacesummary
Clift - This line caught my eye:
"The key to understanding online civic engagement is not to focus on
the latest tool or even the latest tactic. Rather, the key is to
recognize that engaging people and organizations in this new
environment requires new ways of thinking and new organizational
models in order to build a more informed and engaged citizenry."
While my use own use the term "online civic engagement" tends to first focus on the need for democratic online applications that bring citizens (and
advocates) together online who hold different perspectives, online education for advocacy has a huge potential in the 501.c3 (tax-exempt non-profit world).
Posted by Buzz Webster at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Video Voter Coast To Coast
New York and Los Angeles Provide Video Voter Coverage
This is cool
The Center for Governmental Studies is pleased to announce that America's two largest cities – New York and Los Angeles – have implemented Video Voter programs for their 2005 Elections. The CGS Video Voter program seeks to provide American voters with direct and unfiltered information on candidates and ballot measures, in video-on-demand formats, directly from the candidates and ballot measure committees themselves, over multiple platforms (TV, cable TV, Internet, digital video recorders, iPods, etc.).
Posted by Buzz Webster at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Daily ePolitics Buzz Brief
Even on a slow news day, controversy runs amuck.
US
1. GOP Podcasting (U.S. News) The GOP is betting that a lot of voters, maybe even older Americans, are getting down with the latest pop culture hit. (May 19, 2005)
2. Bloggers Find Mixing Work Life With Private Life Can Spell Trouble (Post-Gazette) Discussing family life with a worldwide audience may get you in trouble with the mom or the ex-girlfriend, but if you bring your employer into it, and attach your name to it, there can be more serious consequences. (May 19, 2005)
3. US Government Wi-fi Networks Wide Open (The Inquirer) Many US government networks could be hacked by a wi-fi user sitting on a park bench, according to a congressional report released by the Government Accountability Office. (May 19, 2005)
International
1. Online Forums, Bloggers Become Vital Media Outlets In Bahrain (Online Journalism Review) The small Persian Gulf nation has been moving toward democratic reform, but a registration drive for Web sites and the arrest of a popular online forum owner have sparked outrage in Bahrain's nascent blogosphere. (May 19, 2005)
2. China Blocks Popular Gay Website (smh.com.au) China has blocked a popular website devoted to providing information and support to the nation's large but closeted homosexual population. (May 19, 2005)
Anyone in or been to Bahrain recently? Care to fill us in on the inside perspective?
Visit PoliticsOnline more ePolitics news.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 17, 2005
Mayoral Candidate Has Sense Of Humor
A candiate running for mayor of Bethlehem, Penn, created a hilarious web clip based on viagra.
Anthony Rybank made the video for TV and then added it his website. (Hat tip Bob Hoffman at PoliticalGateway.com)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
GroupServer To Power The E-democracy Decade
Steven Clift is on to something extraordinary
From Clift:
For almost eight years we've waited for an online tool that we can use on our own site that combines e-mail and web forums in a truly accessible and usable manner.
The wait is over:
http://e-democracy.org/groupserver - Includes 20 minute video tour http://groupserver.org - Official site
GroupServer is a new social software platform for online groups. In short, GroupServer is a smart e-mail list combined with a simple web forum. The website for an online group supports the forum with file sharing, a member directory, and other group features.
It is a unified, free/open source database-driven tool that Minnesota-based http://E-Democracy.Org/uk helped extend using New Zealand-based GroupServer with funding from the UK Local E-Democracy National Project/ODPM. This is clearly a global effort.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
UK Election Online Post Mortem
UK candidates fail to harness Internet, while news media thrives.
High Hopes For The Internet Sri Carmichael of The Guardian captured the enthusiasm of many at the onset of the elections writing, "the UK is embarking on its first internet election, and in many ways the battleground is cyberspace can be more significant than disaffected council estates in Cardiff Central or Enfield North." Big Vote Was No Big Deal The One Big Vote pre-election poll was not unlike MoveOn.org's online vote to select a democratic Nominee in June of 2003. Although no candidate won by a clear majority MoveOn.org's support, Howard Dean received a major boost in the online world by coming out on top. Both votes were early attempts to show the power of the internet to create momentum for a candidate, though both failed to do so in the end. However, by Election Day it was apparent that the internet hype would have little to do with the outcome. Quite simply the internet failed to be an effective tool for gathering support and getting votes. In retrospect the internet flop wasn't necessarily because UK campaigners failed to use proper tools in the online arsenal, it's more likely that they just failed to have a candidate like Howard Dean. A Great Website Doesn't Equal A Great Candidate Though, BBC Technology Analyst Bill Thompson argued contrary at the start of the campaign season, he was quick to point out afterwards that it "wasn't an 'e-election' in the sense that the Internet and online activities could be considered in isolation from other aspects of the campaign and media coverage." However, there were some great leaps forward in online campaigning, as Thompson noted post mortem. As one might expect the BBC, raised the bar for how elections should be covered online, however Channel 4, Silicon, and The Guardian also ranked very high for their online coverage. As UK polling day drew near, wired voters searched in droves for the best election news and information. Lucky for them, online media had never been so comprehensive; and in the case of the BBC, so interactive. The BBC kept good on its promise to deliver 'the first truly interactive election coverage' offering an imaginative and absorbing section, according to a review by Journalism.co.uk. An animated Peter Snow hosts a raft of interactive tools including a quiz, seat calculator, and poll tracker - while the real Peter Snow provides video instructions on how to use the interactive swingometer. The Beeb even staffed Alan Connor, as Daily Politics' internet correspondent, focused solely on providing e-Election news. Visitors could share their views on dozens of important issues through the site's Have Your Say online debates. Blogs likewise played a larger role on the website this year, offering first-hand reports from around the country, as well as the best of the newspapers, web, and e-mails. And much of the BBC online coverage is available via email, RSS feeds, and mobile/PDA's. A 3G voter's panel was an especially interactive feature, giving a taste of the future convergence of technology and reporting in elections. Throughout the election campaign the BBC asked a panel of 20 voters to share their views in text and in video, using 3G mobile phones and video cameras. Their contributions were then posted to Election website for viewing and commentary. The BBC was rewarded for the coverage, logging more than 45 million page impressions on the BBC News website's election section on 6 May, with more than 3 million people using the site to keep up to date with the latest developments. If there was something missing from the BBC (which was very hard to find), it was the inability to keep the conversation flowing across all of its mediums. There was a significant amount of user comments and interaction such as with the voter panel, and Have Your Say features, but there was no way of bringing it all together. The Guardian Unlimited also provide excellent coverage of the election, but should also be commended for stepping out ahead of other news websites by bolding asking for feedback on what viewers thought of their election coverage. They asked readers what worked, what didn't, and what should be done differently next time. To give the Guardian one more boost, the rise of the UK's 05 online campaigning enthusiasm can arguably be traced back to the US in October 2004. The Guardian launched 'Operation Clark County' hoping to influence voters in Ohio through a letter writing campaign. Cyber Journalist cites a small sample of the interactivity available. A comprehensive direc tory of sites covering the elections can be found at the DoWire UK wiki-Directory Conservatives Break Into The Vault Labour Gets Gun For Hire Liberal Democrats Glide On Cutting Edge New Flashy Websites And Emails Worked - Sort Of Swingers Revive Tactical Voting Blogs Breakout The UK election witnessed an explosion of blogs, from candidates to journalists to the just plain weird. Richard Kimber of Keele University created a webpage of hundreds of websites and blogs following the UK election. The main blog issues ranged from the economy, taxation, asylum, immigration, Iraq, public services and to perhaps most crucially, the character and personality of each of the three political contenders. The blogs provided plenty of content but it's too early to predict the election served as a breakthrough for the most popular sites. Don't Blame Lack Of Internet Access If we could add just one word to Coleman's quote, it would be that Parties are not quite sure what to do with them --- "yet." Publisher's Note: The BBC has been a client of PoliticsOnline for years, which could distort our objectivity. But hey, compare for yourself and then try to tell us it's not great.
Online advocates (including PoliticsOnline) had high hope that the internet would revolutionize the UK elections in 2005. Having witnessed the successes and failures of the 2004 elections in the United States, the UK now had a plethora of tools and tactics to garner support and get voters to the polls. And because UK candidates basically have one month to campaign, it seemed that the rapid response and efficiency of the web would certainly be utilized.
The enthusiasm seemed justified when an online pre- election poll showed bad news for the favored Prime Minister Tony Blair. Nearly 25,000 voters participated in One Big Vote in early April, which predicted a victory for Conservative Party leader Michael Howard. It appeared that online activists were once again working to overturn the status quo. Howard's only real victory was his Party's website claimed more traffic than Labour.
The former US Democratic Nominee brought energy to the 2004 Presidential race that was a perfect match for online campaigning and supporters. Dean taught pundits that an alternative candidate with internet savvy can be a great candidate, but a horrible candidate with top rate website is still a horrible candidate. UK candidates were far from horrible, but they weren't the poster children for the World Wide Web either.
Inspired by the Republican Party's successful use of direct marketing in last November's US election, the Conservatives relied more on direct-marketing- targeting techniques than in previous elections. Following a visit to the US to meet Republican Party officials, Dr Liam Fox, MP and co-chairman of the Conservative Party, borrowed a copy of the Republican's Voter Vault database software package, according to a source involved in the campaign. As UK blogger Robin Grant noted, even the design of websites copied us election campaigns such as the Conservative Party borrowing much from GeorgeWBush.com.
For the Labour Party, American's once again didn't just offer advice on tools, but volunteered their services. Americans took polls, conducted focus groups and helped refine the Labour message according to the Washington Post. The outside helped turned into a little bit of controversy when the Labour Party announced it had hired Zack Exley, former internet strategist for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
The Liberal Democrats had the most to gain and campaigned on the cutting edge of technology. The Party started podcasting as a way of spreading their electoral message. The podcast's were made available through the party's blog. Liberals pushed their anti-Iraq war stance with a mobile, viral game that gives players the chance to suggest alternative ways of using the £5bn the Labour Government spent on the war. They also imitated the online advertising strategies of Liberal groups in the U.S., which by the way raised 60 percent of their funds online.
In the US election campaign emails became the life blood of communications. For the first time in presidential history, people on the ground level could receive direct communication in such a way that personally and quickly brought them into the campaign. While most UK Parties significantly enhance their communications, either the short or election season or apathy failed to grow beyond supporters who were already engaged.
Tactical voting has been a lot like teenage sex. There's always an awful a lot of talk about it, but nothing ever really happens. However advocates in the UK were certain that this time around would be different. Early projections for the 2005 poll estimated that up to 20% of the UK might vote tactically, trying to unseat an MP, or even swapping votes in marginals. In the end, the vote swapping sites had little or no impact much like the vote paring websit e during the 2004 US elections.
One argument is that the US election was impacted more new technology because over 68 percent of homes have internet access. In the UK 58 percent have access. While there is no denying the numbers, what is equally important is the use of mobile phones in the UK. Also text messaging is a relatively new way of communicating in the US. However, there are now more cell phones than people in the UK, where nearly 80 million text messages are sent each day. It's clear the technology is available in the UK, it just has not been harnessed.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
May 12, 2005
MeetUp Backlash
TownHall.com is not happy and is dropping Meetup to create their own service.
As most of you know, Meetup has started charging monthly fees for members. Meetup expected some groups to drop off with the announcement, but claim fees were necessary to start turning a profit on their service.
Here’s an excerpt from an email sent out by the President of TownHall.com this morning.
Regrettably, we were recently shocked, as many of you were, to learn about the implementation of Meetup group fees – $19 per month ($228 per year) to be paid by each of the group organizers. Moreover, I was notified of the change only one day prior to each of you. As a paying and longtime customer, I was not pleased about how this was handled. This is not how Townhall treats its readers and I certainly don’t want Townhall’s good name to be associated with such practices.
It goes on to say that the group has decided to “Build our own Townhall.com Meetup-type service and transition away from Meetup.com.”
The response we received was unanimous! Effective this Thursday, Townhall.com will officially end its relationship with Meetup.com. In place of Meetup, Townhall will begin developing a custom solution to better cater to the needs of our Townhall Meetup members and organizers [Option #2].
You can expect the following improvements:
Currently, we expect to offer a Beta version of our service sometime in September 2005. If you would like to be updated on site developments, please register here.
http://www.townhall.com/meetup/
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 10, 2005
Tennessee Gov Starts Blogging
Governor Phil Bredesen is the net's latest blogging politco.
Governor Bredesen launched a new blog this week and as the Instapundit noted, he's already receiving feedback from fellow netizens.
The Governor stated up front that he won't be blogging daily, but hopes to post on a regular basis.
Let me confess upfront: I won’t be blogging every single day. But I will, on a regular basis, use this space to share my ideas on issues and provide personal dispatches from trips I take and events I attend, like the National Governors Association conferences. Stay tuned for more entries.
Welcome to my new web site and blog. This is a major improvement over my old web site and includes a number of new features, such as: enhanced design; links to local government sites; signup for email updates; and an online opinion poll.
Meanwhile, spend some time getting familiar with the new site. It's a big step forward in my efforts to communicate with you directly on what’s happening at the Capitol. I hope you find it worth reading. Talk soon, Phil Bredesen.One of my favorite additions is a tool that cross-references recent news items with my top policy priorities. For example, click on the “Budget” area in the quad box to the upper right and you’ll not only see my budget priorities but you can also “read related news,” including archived press releases and speeches related to this topic. Finally, if you know a child who’s interested in government, check out my new and improved “Kids’ Page,” which includes Tennessee trivia, fun facts and links to other family-friendly sites.
Let me confess upfront: I won’t be blogging every single day. But I will, on a regular basis, use this space to share my ideas on issues and provide personal dispatches from trips I take and events I attend, like the National Governors Association conferences. Stay tuned for more entries.
Meanwhile, spend some time getting familiar with the new site. It's a big step forward in my efforts to communicate with you directly on what’s happening at the Capitol. I hope you find it worth reading. Talk soon, Phil Bredesen.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Conversate Launches
Participatory Politics is proud to announce Conversate, an instant online discussion space.
From the website:
Conversate is really an experiment. We think a lot of people feel frustrated trying to have group conversations over e-mail, and Conversate is one way to reign in the problem. We’re very interested in your feedback on this beta version.
Here’s how it works: simply fill in the title of a new conversation and enter the e-mail addresses of whoever you’d like to talk with. Your group will receive an e-mail invitation to join, and by clicking on the link they’ll be brought to an online discussion space for whatever you want to talk about. Your conversations can be public or private, and Conversate is free.
We think it's better than group e-mails because your friends and family won't get annoyed with inbox clutter. Plus, nested comments are way more legible than a bunch of people trying to quote each other in replies.
Once you create a Conversate account, there are a number of ways to make it even easier to have conversations online and stay in touch. You can subscribe to an RSS feed of new messages in different conversations, or if you prefer the old-fashioned way, you can receive e-mail alerts of new messages.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 09, 2005
New Blog Huffs And Puffs Star Power
Arianna Huffington's blog Huffington Post went live today.
Arianna Huffington's blog Huffington Post went live today. The site is home of star bloggers such as Mike Nichols, Ellen DeGeneres, John Cusack, Harry Shearer, Michael Isikoff, David Frum, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and others.
Ed Cone summed up the new blog nicely:
“Huffington Post launches. First celeb posts pretty awful, but then so are many first non-celeb posts at other blogs, so let's give it a chance.”
Also a couple of other blogs to launch in the past week are Newsbeat 1, a new Canadian blog, focusing heavily on the ongoing scandals, and Feras123, a Palestinian blog.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 03, 2005
Google Says No To Conservatives
Little Green Footballs uncovered a possible Google bias, revealed when a consersative group attempted to run a Google ad.
RightMarch.com conducted an experiment with Google ads; they took one of the anti-Tom DeLay ads that Google runs when you search for “Tom DeLay,” and simply replaced DeLay’s name with Nancy Pelosi’s name. Then Rightmarch.com paid Google to place their ad—and Google rejected it.
But the anti-DeLay advertisement they copied word-for-word is still running.
Could the bias possibly be any more blatant?
The rest of the story.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Democratic Divide
Dr. John McNutt just passed on a very interesting article he came across at First Monday.
The article "Democratic Divide" is not too optimistic about the internet's impact on democracy. But, it does have cool charts and graphs.
Here's the abstract:
Remote Internet voting has been proposed as a solution to low voter turnout. It is tempting to see the use of Internet technology by a large segment of the population as a quick fix for making the voting process more accessible to a larger number of people. This argument, however, demonstrates a disconnect with the reality of Internet use; that is, that it happens in a place. Internet use is not an ethereal, boundary–less activity, it is situated in a spatial/geographic context. Reviewing this geographic context using Geographic Information System technology can reveal the serious limitations of a "point and click" solution to improving political participation.
Did you know about First Monday?
First Monday is one of the first peer–reviewed journals on the Internet, solely devoted to the Internet. Since its start in May 1996, First Monday has published 598 papers in 107 issues; these papers were written by 705 different authors. First Monday is indexed in Communication Abstracts, Computer & Communications Security Abstracts, INSPEC, LISA, PAIS, eGranary Digital Library, and other services. In the year 2004, users from 835,768 distinct hosts around the world downloaded 6,728,893 contributions published in First Monday. In March 2005, users from 73,086 distinct hosts around the world downloaded 861,675 contributions.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
