November 29, 2006
Cyberspace Plea - Run, Obama, Run!
A campaign to persuade Illinois Senator Barack Obama to run for President has been launched in cyberspace.
Within the last week at least three sites have been launched or revamped to persuade the freshman senator to make a run for President.
Fellow Illinois Democrat Senator Dick Durbin sent a letter to political supporters this week encouraging them to sign a "Run, Barack, Run" petition. This petition hosted at www.runobamarun.com is just one of the petitions that has a specific goal in mind - showing Obama that he does indeed have the support of Democrats across the nation.
"In all my years in politics, I have only met one other person who connects with people as well as Barack does: former President Bill Clinton," Durbin wrote in his letter.
Two other draft Obama efforts are online. Democrat Todd Webster, who was a spokesman for former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, created at http://www.runobama.com. He said more than 400 people had signed his petition as of Tuesday, six days after he launched the site.
Another effort went online in October and was revamped this week: http://www.draftobama.org/node. A press statement on the Web site says it was created by computer technician Ben Stanfield of Rockville, Md., who purchased the domain name in 2004 after seeing Obama's keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention.
Obama will make a trip to New Hampshire, the first primary state, in the early part of December to meet with State Democrats for a belated celebration of the midterm election victory. Perhaps after this trip we’ll get some indication of how successful the online efforts have been.
Obama to Make First New Hampshire Visit
Durbin's online petition: Run, Obama, Run
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 27, 2006
Hey Techie! The CIA wants YOU.
Apparently looking good in a tuxedo and being good at karate are not essentials if you are considering employment at the CIA. Who would have thought?
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks President Bush called for a 50 percent increase in the Central Intelligence Agency's ranks of operatives and analysts. The agency began a strong recruiting campaign that has been revamped in the past year with television ads and a strong Internet campaign.
The agency's personality test, the equivalent of a help-wanted sign, is posted on the closest thing the agency has to a front door — it’s Web site. The frivolous quiz is designed to encourage job applications while dispelling myths about the agency, some of them born of the James Bond stereotype.
Since the new advertising began last year over 135,000 applications have been received — a number that has more than doubled since Sept. 11, 2001. Many experts argue that this strong push for recruitment online will certainly bring quantity, but not necessarily quality.
But according to the AP the CIA is focusing on the Web generation. "They were born with ear buds in their ears. They are ADD and it is contagious," said Tom McCluskey, the CIA's chief of hiring and employee development, referring to attention deficit disorder. "We need that kind of talent here."
Think you might be cut out for a job at the CIA? Check out the site!
CIA Retools Web site in Recruitment Push
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 21, 2006
Al Jazeera English: On a TV Near You
Al Jazeera English, the first English language international news channel headquartered in the Middle East, launched last week to over 80 million cable and satellite homes worldwide.
In addition to cable, ADSL, mobile platforms and satellite, Al Jazeera English is also available as a live stream to the one billion users of the Internet worldwide. Al Jazeera’s English language website, aljazeera.net/english has been re-launched with the English language channel to reflect the channel’s look and feel and editorial content. It also provides live streams of the channel together with RSS feeds, e-mail newsletters and interactive discussion boards.
Al-Jazeera English will initially broadcast for 12 hours a day before becoming a 24-hour news operation from January 1, 2007. It will broadcast from studios in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC, in addition to 20 other countries. It will be available to 80 million homes - double its target audience - in Europe, Africa and South East Asia.
Since its launch 10 years ago Al Jazeera radically changed politics in the Middle East and now with a goal to "revolutionize TV news by giving voice to the oppressed South" its international English syndicate may very well change global politics.
Will You Watch Al Jazeera English?
The Al Jazeera Invasion
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 17, 2006
French Socialist in Cyberspace
Ségolène Royal used an Internet-fueled, personality-driven campaign to capture the Socialist Party's nomination for president and boost her bid to become France's first female head of state.
Cyberspace has helped Royal brand herself as a political outsider and relative newcomer at a time when polls show that French voters are fed up with disarray and paralysis in the government and are pining for a fresh face.
Her campaign Web site (http://www.desirsdavenir.org/ , which translates as "Desires for the Future") features blogs that solicit views on the economy, unemployment and immigration. Chapter by chapter, she is writing and publishing a book on the site that has been likened to a political manifesto.
Her use of the Internet sets her apart from some UMP leaders, such as Chirac, who 10 years ago stood transfixed before a computer mouse and asked, "What's that?" The incident was ridiculed as an example of French backwardness. And Nicolas Sarkozy has tried to make an asset of the fact that he has no computer in his office, explaining to an interviewer that he doesn't have time for one.
Maybe Sarkozy should take a page from Royal's book, because it looks like taking the time to establish a Web presence pays off.
Battle Royal Looms for French Change
French Socialist Using Web to Win Over Voters
French UMP Site
French Socialist Party Website
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 15, 2006
Does Ann Coulter Speak For Women?
The Center for the Advancement of Women has launched an online national advocacy campaign called "Ann Coulter Does not Speak for Me."
The independent, nonpartisan, non-profit organization and education institution is dedicated to advocating the advancement of women and has created this campaign to bring attention to the absurd and sometimes misogynistic comments made by the political pundit. The Center for the Advancement of Women offers facts and data to help supporters and activists respond to Coulter's comments and claims about the female sex.
The centerpiece of the "Ann Coulter Does Not Speak for Me" campaign is an interactive Web site where users can click and spin the Counter Coulter Wheel. Once the Wheel lands on a topic--from 9/11 Widows to the Right to Vote--a Coulter Comment appears, followed by a factual statement by the center countering. The campaign encourages views to take action by signing an e-petition that says "Ann coulter does not speak for me." Supporters can also post a sticker on their blog or webpage (graphic at left) and send friends an e-card about the campaign.
The Center for the Advancement of Women has launched this campaign to bring attention to Coulter's repeated inappropriate messages that they claim will become acceptable group-think if she is left unchecked and not countered.
For anyone any advocate of feminism looking for facts to fight back with--this site is worth checking out.
Source: Email News Release by The Center for the Advancement of Women
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 11, 2006
Wrap Up – 2006 Election on the Web
Internet activism such as viral videos, blogs, and advocacy campaigns made a huge impact on the midterm elections.
The impact of online videos were especially big. The two biggest cliff-hangers in the Senate the morning after were--you guessed it--the two senators who had the biggest gaffes exploited on YouTube. Remember Senator George Allen's "Macaca" moment? Apparently Virginia voters did and when they went to the polls they supported his opponent, Democrat Jim Webb. And Montana voters didn't take too lightly to Conrad Burns napping on their time and taxes either. John Tester defeated the incumbent by a narrow margin.
On Election Day hundreds, if not thousands, of online news outlets, advocacy sites, and political blogs were constantly updated from the first exit poll until the last race was called. This year’s voters rushed to the Internet for coverage in record numbers, far exceeding prior election years (Check out the Stat of the Week).
Bloggers also took the lead in reporting problems at the polls. Several campaigns were announced asking voters to document their Election Day experiences such as Veek and Vote and Video the Vote. There were also documented cases of voter intimidation. Erick Erickson, RedState’s chief blogger, included a report in Philadelphia, along with a link to a video on YouTube that appeared to show a certified poll observer (armed with a video camera) being blocked from a polling station.
Also, experts are saying that online campaigns may also be responsible for the record high number of young voters in this year’s election. About 24 percent of Americans under the age of 30, or at least 10 million young voters, cast ballots in Tuesday's elections that saw Democrats make big gains in Congress. That was up 4 percentage points from the last mid-term elections in 2002.
Internet activists turned out big time this year. They helped the Democrats claim their biggest win since 1980.
Blogs Take Lead in Reporting Polling Problems, With Supporting Evidence on YouTube
Young Voter Turnout Up for Second Major Election in a Row
ePolitics Post: What We Can Learn About Online Politics From the 2006 Campaign
Poynter Online Post: Election Night Innovations
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 08, 2006
Election Night Internet Innovations
There were lots of technological innovations on the Web that made this election year different from years past.
Continuous coverage was reported by bloggers all over the country. Most notable was CNN's Blog Party in Washington DC. Bloggers from Wonkette, MyDD, RedState, The Huffington Post, and several others spent the evening posting about election results and their potential impact on the race for the control of Congress.
Citizen journalism was also big this year. Voters all over the country documented their Election Day experiences. They reported machine problems, insufficient numbers of machines and lines so long that people were leaving before they voted. Then they posted those videos on YouTube. Examples: Veek the Vote and Video the Vote.
And although news outlets have always provided graphics to show the winners, this year marked some pretty fancy features. Nearly every news outlet had an interactive graph or a map that allowed users to track gains in the Senate, House, and gubernatorial elections.
Some good examples are Google Earth Election 2006 Layer, New York Times Election 2006 Map,
CNN America Votes 2006 and The Wall Street Journal Interactive.
This year also marks the most content available to voters online. Numerous websites were dedicated to helping voters make it to the polls, learn about candidates and educate themselves on issues.
Regardless of the outcome, which--in case you have been living under a rock--ended with the biggest Democratic gain since 1980, the Internet has proven its usefulness when it comes to politics.
Source:
Poynter Online Election Night Innovations
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 06, 2006
Veek The Vote
Presented by Youth Noise, Veek the Vote is a project that allows voters with camera mobile phones to document their election day experiences!
To participate, simply take videos of election related content--lines at polling stations,
any prevention activities, rallies, odd/inappropriate signage near and
around polling stations--and email it to vote@veeker.com.
About a minute after a photo or video is sent, it will appear in a embedded player at veekthevote.com. This user generated content (UGC) can then be embedded anywhere on the web: on blogs, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Veek the Vote has created an open-source mobile video communication network, enabling complete democratization of election coverage.
Veek the Vote empowers Americans to be more than a statistic captured by exit polls on Election Day. Whether they’re taking to the streets in protest, waiting patiently (or impatiently) in line at the polls, or stuck behind a desk, Veek the Vote 2006 lets America show and see Election Day in a way never before possible.
Sites:
http://veekthevote.com/
http://www.youthnoise.com/YN_home/
Source - Press Release: YouthNoise and VEEKER Present 'Veek the Vote 2006'
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 03, 2006
Elected Officials Muck Up Iraq War, Again
"Operation Iraqi Freedom Portal," a Web site containing documents captured during the Iraq war, was shut down this week after experts raised concerns about its content.
According to the New York Times, the site--set up by the US Government--posted documents that weapons experts said contained detailed accounts of Iraq's nuclear research and detailed instructions on how to build an atom bomb. About a dozen documents provided charts, diagrams, equations, and long narratives about bomb building.
The report cites that National Intelligence Director John Negroponte resisted setting up the Web site, but George W. Bush approved the Congressional Republicans' initiative in hopes that analysis of some of the 48,000 boxes of documents seized in the war would provide some evidence in the search for proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Access to the site has been suspended "pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing." They had better do some serious reviewing before the site goes live again and hope that the information has not already fallen upon the wrong eyes, like Iran perhaps.
Once again we see an unattractive portrait of the conservatives in Congress. Have they put our national security in danger again? And how will it affect voter turnout in this time of growing disenchantment with the current Republican administration?
Source:
NYT: U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer
Reuters:U.S. shuts Web site Said to Reveal Nuclear Guide
Posted by Buzz Webster at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
