March 30, 2007
French Politics Takes On Second Life
The four major candidates in France's Presidential election have opened headquarters in the virtual world of Second Life.
Interactive forums allow avatars--virtual citizens--to engage in debates, attend political rallies, and even take part in "piggish" protests. Unlike US politicians whose headquarters have remained virtually unvisited save a few incidents of vandalism, the French candidates draw a significant number of daily visitors. Campaigns have reported daily visits for Royal at 20,000, 11,000 for Le Pen, 10,000 for Sarkozy, and 7,000 for Bayrou.
But virtual life is not so different from real life according to Guillaume Parisi, a member of the youth branch of the National Front Party who convinced Le Pen to become the first French Presidential candidate to open a headquarters in Second life. "Every time we organize a public event, we expect far left militants to come and demonstrate against us. Second Life is not that different." The battle between Le Pen and protesters that included push guns and pig grenades in January is proof of that. Le Pen's site was left in ruins.
"The emergence of political headquarters represents the next generation of Internet-based political campaigning," says Wagner James Au, a Second Life blogger who witnessed and reported the attack of Le Pen's headquarters. "The French are by far the most passionate about real-world politics in Second Life."
Second Life may only draw a crowd of the tech- savviest voters, but in an election where only a few points separate the contenders no one can afford to be absent.
French Politics in 3-D on Fantasy Web site
A Piggish Protest in Second Life
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 26, 2007
E-Activism: America is Catching On
E-activism is on the rise internationally and is finding a niche among America’s youth.
While young, politically minded German citizens were gathering in Second Life to protest against right-wing extremism, French youngsters were debating the merits of presidential candidates. As for the youth of America, they are catching on.
Students are increasingly finding it very effective to sign online petitions or blog about issues. "E-activism and blogging online are so much more popular these days as venues for youth expressing their opinions and expressing discontent," said Phaedra Pezzullo, an assistant professor of rhetoric and public culture at
At first glance, this online activism seems quite removed from the political culture. But both forms are appropriate in their respective generations, because they make appeals to the youth of those decades. While marching, picketing and rallying were popular among the Bohemian romantics of the 60’s and 70’s digital dissidence and democracy are popular among members of the Internet generation.
Some may argue that E-activism is not enough, but others view these first baby steps into our ‘second life’ as the beginning of something huge. If the Earth is truly flat, then the Internet is the steamroller. As these Web 2.0 technologies continue to spur the development of online communities, the Internet will from this point forward forever be used as a forum for civic debate and discussion.
Links:
Protests marches going way of Internet
Wes Boling, PoliticsOnline Intern - Spring 2007
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 23, 2007
"The Game Has Changed"
Why won't 2008 be like 1984, or 2004, for that matter? Viral video, That's why!
User-generated-content and YouTube have yet again taken center stage in the US political elections. The first YouTube attack of a 2008 presidential hopeful features a "mash-up" clip of a 1984 Apple advertisement and Hillary Clinton.
The original advertisement aired in the 1984 Superbowl as the world's introduction to Apple's Macintosh computer. The 74 second clip was altered to present Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton as "Big Brother" with her face on a big screen and audio clips from her Web site speaking to the crowd of drones. The woman sprinting toward the screen with a jackhammer in hand has an an ipod in her ears the Obama logo superimposed on her shirt. The video ends with an "O" in the place of the Apple and BarakObama.com printed across the screen.
The clip has been viewed almost 2.5 million times making it the object of much attention from both the mainstream media and the blogosphere. Titled "Vote Different," the clip's creator has been identified as Phillip de Vellis. De Vellis was a strategist for Blue State Digital at the time of the posting, but has since separated his ties with the company. Barak Obama's Web site was created by the company but Obama, Blue State Digital, and de Vellis all maintain that de Vellis was operating as an independent citizen.
Asked about the Macintosh video on Tuesday, Clinton said: "I'm happy if its taking attention away from my singing. My singing was bad enough. I'm just happy that nobody is tuning into that." Clinton is referring to the YouTube clip of her singing an off-key rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. That clip has been viewed over 1 million times.
After being identified by The Huffington Post, de Vellis wrote a blog entry where he pointed out the impact of the dialogue created by this compelling user-generated-content.
"There are thousands of people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it--by people of all political persuasions--will follow. This shows that the future of American politics rests in the hands of ordinary citizens. This is not the first citizen ad, and it will not be the last. The game has changed."
Experts believe that the 74 second pitch could become a watershed moment in 21st century political campaigning, and the beginning of the end for traditional advertising.
YouTube Vids-
1984 Apple Advertisement
Vote Different
Star Spangled Banner
Related Articles:
Watching Big Sister
Anti-Clinton Ad Puts Spotlight on Obama
Mystery Creator of Anti-Clinton Ad Identified
Posted by Buzz Webster at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 19, 2007
MySpace Seeks to Make An "Impact"
MySpace, the Internet's largest social networking site, has released a new section that will be politically dominated.
Following the trend set by YouTube just a few weeks ago MySpace, too, has dedicated a section to the 2008 politicians. Called the Impact Channel, the new section will have a specific emphasis on the 2008 presidential election. As of now, it links to 10 candidate profiles including Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden, and Dennis Kucinich and Republicans John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul.
"As the Country's most trafficked Web site, MySpace will play a powerful role in the upcoming election," Chris DeWolfe, MySpace's chief executive said in a statement.
MySpace executives predict that the site can help influence young swing voters. About 86 percent of its US based users are already of age to vote and since the election is a little less than two years away a 16 or 17 year old today may be eligible to vote in 2008.
Aside from the presidential focus, the front page of the new section includes issue based events, videos and news feeds. Also, as it has in past elections, the site features voter registration tools in coordination with the Declare Yourself campaign.
As we get closer to the impending primaries and election we expect to see this feature grow with more candidate's profiles and resources for the site's users.
MySpace Impact Channel
The Future President, On Your Friends List
Presidential Hopefuls Make MySpace Pages
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 16, 2007
Politics Online Conference - Day 2
The second day of the Politics Online Conference was just as packed with motivating and informative speakers as the first.
The morning's first plenary session, You Don't Need Ink to Be Heard, was moderated by Jeff Jarvis of the Buzz Machine and PrezVid. Panel members included Jeff Brady from the Washintgon Post, David Plotz from Slate, and Jay Rosen from New York University. The panel focused on mostly on media relations, both for traditional journalists and bloggers. The speakers addressed the declining number of print subscribers and the growing use of the Internet in progressive campaigns, specifically within the 2008 presidential campaign.
The second plenary session, entitled "Got Data," was sponsored by NGP software and CMDI software. Aiming to "bring sexy back" to data management the presidents of both organizations, along with two other bipartisan panel members, explained the benefits of effective data management for both political and non-profit campaigns. Additionally, this session featured the release of the new IPDI publication, "Constituent Relationship Management: The New Little Black Book of Politics. A Guide to CRM in Politics."
The afternoon sessions, slightly more specific and definitely more intimate, were split into two sessions with four sections each. I chose to attend the Campaigning in a Web 2.0 World and Total Constituent Impact: eCommunications in Elected Office. The first, moderated by Justin Perkins from Care 2, offered a review of tools, and how they are used by non-profits and political campaigns. The session was mainly interactive, offering a significant portion of the session for Q & A. From social networking to content management systems this session was prescriptive and encompassing. The second, and last session of the conference, featured several staffers from current elected officials offices. They discussed integrated communications including email - surveys and e-newsletters - and new technology - iTownHall live conference - as tools for communicating with constituents.
Both the morning and afternoon sessions were informative and practical for organizations aiming to implement new opportunities and technology into their campaigns.
For more information on the Politics Online 2007 Conference check out the live blog. It's a great resource for the most up-to-date information as it is frequently updated by IPDI bloggers.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 15, 2007
From the Politics Online Conference
Today - Thursday, March 15 - begins the 14th annual Politics Online Conference.
Hosted by the Institute for Politics Democracy and the Internet, the conference is being held at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Each year the conference brings together hundreds of Internet professionals from all over the world.
This year the conference has speakers from all ends of the technology and political spectrum. Over the course of two days there will be 5 breakout session and 20 breakout panels with close to 100 speakers who, thus far, have been eager to bring perspective to the growing market for technology in the political realm.
This year's keynote speaker, Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs for Google, spoke about "the good, the bad, and the unknown of online politics."
"How do we give voters the information they need without overwhelming them or alienating them?" Schrage asked. Addressing the role that Google and YouTube will play in the 2008 election, he was sure to make this point clear - identifying inaccuracies and falsities is not Google's business.
Google has, however, taken some new political initiatives. As of this election cycle, a sales and policy team has been developed to be dedicated to political campaigns. The team is available for questions at elections@google.com.
Schrage also made several predications for future elections including GPS tracking of candidates, mobile yard signs, and political spyware.
For more information and the most up to date information on the conference visit the Politics Online live conference blog.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 09, 2007
France Bans Violent Citizen Journalism
A new law passed by the French Constitutional Council forbids citizen journalists from filming violent incidents and uploading them on the Internet.
Presented as a solution to "happy slapping," which involves physically attacking someone to generate a reaction and take a video, the law aims to protect France's youth but the wording of the law is broad enough to have some civil liberties groups concerned.
Only “professional journalists” will be able to videotape and broadcast acts of violence. One is considered a professional journalist if it is part of a citizen’s "normal exercise of a profession... to inform the public." According to the new law, repercussions for citizen journalists include up to five years in prison and fines of €75,000 for disseminating images of the acts.
Ironically, the law was passed on the anniversary of the Los Angeles police beatings of Rodney King which were videotaped by a citizen on the street in 1991. In France today, such a video could land a vlogger in jail.
France Bans Citizen Journalists From Reporting Violence
France: Citizen Journalism Under Attack
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 05, 2007
China Censors Again
The Chinese government has blocked access to the blogging site LiveJournal cutting off its citizens from the roughly 1.8 million blogs.
SixApart, the company behind LiveJournal, says there are 8,692 self-reported Chinese bloggers on the site, a number that's likely low since it's based on information volunteered in user profiles.
GreatFirewallofChina.org, which tests connectivity to popular Web sites from within China, first spotted the block Friday. The timing of the block coincides with the National People's Congress meeting in Beijing, says Xiao Qiang, a Chinese dissident and founder of the China Digital Times.
According to Xiao, the event is often accompanied by stepped up security and a worsening of China's notorious internet censorship policies.
"For whatever reason (if) you've been blocked, it's almost impossible to get open again," says Xiao. "It could be one of the blogs in Livejournal has the content they want to block. They are very bluntly over-blocking sites."
While Livejournal might be unblocked after the March meeting, Xiao warns, "You never know when they are going to block it again."
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March 02, 2007
You Choose with YouTube
The “You Choose ‘08” channel debuted at YouTube this week enabling site users to navigate to individual presidential campaign candidate channels.
It brings together the individual video channels created by candidates including Barack Obama, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. They can post videos addressing particular issues or other footage while members of the public can submit video responses or written comments.
Candidates do have veto power over what appears on their channels, giving them a measure of control over embarrassing or undesired video surfacing on the Web. Featured on the sites so far is mostly professionally produced video of candidates giving speeches or in television appearances.
"So far none of the presidential candidates have grasped what is essentially different about video online," said Michah Sifry, executive editor of Personal Democracy Forum. "They still treat it like television on a smaller screen."
But to find a politician who really knows how to use the Web, Sifry advised looking overseas to British Conservative Party leader David Cameron. His Webcameron site is "very casual, sincere and relatively unscripted," he said. "He's much further along than any American candidate online."
YouTube's Official 'You Choose '08' Election Site All Buttoned Up
U.S. Presidential Hopefuls Flock to YouTube
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
