July 24, 2007
The Old Embraces the New
The symbolism and setting of the debate reinforced the idea that this debate represents the coming of age of the ‘new’ media.
In one of America’s most historical cities, Charleston, SC, and at the very traditional military college, the Citadel, the old media embraced the new. Citadel cadets, representing the old guard, led each presidential contender on stage, in to a new world, where any American can ask the next leader of the free world what he or she will do to make the United States a better place.
The questioners with the help of Anderson Cooper, the moderator, held the presidential contenders to the fire. Despite all the skeptics, CNN embraced the new age of user generated media. The debate was not just another cattle call, but it was a first in the sense that it was completely driven by user generated content.
In addition to the YouTube questions, CNN asked each campaign to create a thirty second YouTube type video. These videos showed a lot about what each campaign understands about this new age in political media. The Edwards campaign used their spot to challenge the old media via the new to focus on issues and not the frivolous.
In the future, it is hard to imagine returning to presidential debates where the candidates give non-answers to questions chosen by the pundits and media elite.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
July 18, 2007
Edwards Eventful Numbers Spike
In mid June, the Edwards campaign announced the "Demand and be Heard" competition on Eventful.com.
The city with the most demands on the event planning website will receive a visit by the presidential contender. Back in June, the conventional wisdom was that a major city would easily win the Eventful challenge. However, the CW was wrong.
The power of the Net is at full display because of the ingenuity of Shawn Dixon from Columbus, Kentucky. While Edwards’s numbers on Eventful were growing they did not begin to dramatically increase until Dixon began rallying Edwards supporters in Kentucky. To date Columbus has 1793 people demanding Edwards bring his presidential campaign to their town. The competition ends tomorrow and if the results hold up the presidential candidate will be visiting the small Kentucky town relatively soon.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
July 11, 2007
Ousted Thai PM Turns to the Web
Thaskin Shinawatra was the first Thai Prime Minister to lead a fully elected government for an entire four year term.
In September, following months of political instabililty, the leader of the Thai army, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, led a coup that stripped the elected government of all powers. Since this time Shinawatra fled Thailand, and now lives abroad but is creating a website to rally support and speak out against opposition.
The main goals for the new site are to defend his reputation and democracy against all charges levied by the Council for National Security(CNS), the current ruling powers in Thailand. The website, according to Shinawatra, will be a "two-way communication channel" between himself and his supporters in Thailand and abroad. Pro Shinawatra forces currently utilize www.hi-thaksin.net to counter the CNS and to promote democracy in Thailand.
This Website is just another example of the power of the Net. As mentioned many times before, the Internet is the great democratizing force of the 21st century. Whether it is average people or deposed elected leaders, the Internet provides a megaphone for a message despite powerful opposition. Internet driven opposition is a powerful force to organize around ideas not only in Thailand, but is spreading in China, Pakistan, and several nations in Africa.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
July 09, 2007
The Rise of Small Donors
Fundraising is rapidly changing in presidential politics. Clearly big money is still king, but small donors are playing an increasingly important role.
This cycle Barack Obama is crafting a new approach to political fundraising by obtaining smaller amounts from more supporters. By generating enough excitement for his ’08 campaign, Obama is receiving smaller donations, $100 or perhaps less from hundreds of thousands of people across the country. In doing so, the campaign is able to return to these smaller donors month after month to collect more cash. This new brand of thinking is already paying dividends, as Obama has shattered fundraising records thus far.
The Edwards campaign understands the value of small donors as well. During the month of June, Edwards focused on “small change for big change” fundraisers. The main goal for these events is to cultivate a list of small donors that the campaign can turn to in the future. In addition, by emphasizing small donor events, the campaign brings new people in the political process. Edwards used SMS technology for the first ever text message fundraiser, which also focused on smaller contributions.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
