Archive for December, 2006
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links for 2006-12-30
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Tomorrow night, a record-high texting surge is expected in countries across the world — 125 million will be sent in the United States, 200 million in the United Kingdom, and 200 million in Beijing and Shanghai — even though Chinese New Year is later in
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Bebo is readying the launch of its first advertiser widgets, small Web applications users can embed in their personal Web pages.
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Just as Napster shook up the recording industry several years ago, YouTube is giving TV and the movie biz a clearer picture of online video’s future.
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John Edwards’ Online Presidential Launch
The online world is buzzing about the online-heavy launch of John Edwards’ campaign for President. Jeff Jarvis summarized it this way:
So John Edwards announced his presidential announcement on YouTube in a video made by Andrew Baron and Joanne Colan of Rocketboom (who put up their own interview the next day) and Chuck Olsen (who, Andrew reports, is flying with Edwards to make video for the official campaign site). The digital cool doesn’t end there. Edwards tells you to text the word “hope” to a given number to get more instructions; how mobile. As NewTeeVee reports, he has Robert Scoble trailing around with a camera as well. He’s “live-bloggin” (their usage, not the usual meaning) at Daily Kos. He’s trying to create is own sort of Peace Corps called One Corps with people signing up online to do good deeds under his brand (they will “fight poverty” and, oh, while they’re at it, flog candidates who “support One America ideals’ [that was the old name of this campaign effort] and spread the word by calling radio stations). And tonight he’s having an online town hall from Iowa.
How cyber can you get?
Is this all just a publicity stunt to look modern and cool or is this a turning point in how campaigns are run? We’ll know in about a decade.
I think we will know whether John Edwards, and other candidates for President in 2008, are serious about the use of the internet and change the way they campaign well before a decade has passed. Change is already taking place. I wonder what impact those changes will have on politics - and what use of online is really worthwhile when promoting a political activity like this. What will John Edwards’ next announcement look like and how much of his campaign will be geared towards the online audience (as opposed to complementing his outreach to all audiences, to balance or bypass television coverage, for example)? How will the online momentum that he is able to generate translate into real votes on Election Day (remember, Howard Dean had all the online momentum before the 2004 primaries began but couldn’t translate them into wins in key primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, dooming his quest).
I have high hopes for the Edwards campaign and their online efforts in particular. But I don’t want this to become a debate about what an internet-driven campaign should look like, or a media-driven frenzy over ‘who is going to be the internet candidate’. Every candidiate should launch their campaigns online in some way because a big part of the electorate looks online for some part of their news, or political information. But every campaign, Edwards included, should also have a substantial grass-roots base, a sophisticated media strategy, a good message and some credible policy positions, advertising, and a host of other things. The smart campaigns know this. And when we look back in November 2008 at which candidate was elected as our next President, it will be the one who mixed all those pieces best that wins the day.
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links for 2006-12-29
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Former senator John Edwards of North Carolina scooped himself Wednesday when advisers testing his campaign Web site posted the news that he is running for president in 2008.
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Unlike its network rivals, CBS News did not break into its programming for a special report on former President Ford’s death, instead running a printed “crawl” at the bottom of the screen with the news.
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Fox Sports is launching full length game downloads - beginning with the 2007 college football bowl games.
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links for 2006-12-22
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links for 2006-12-21
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Each year, Google, the most popular search engine, releases an annual “zeitgeist” of the search terms that gained the most in usage in 2006, giving the world a peek behind its bare-bones home page and a window into the world’s mind. This year, the top sea
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The American entertainment industry, a world leader in movie and TV production, is now taking the lead in developing video content for mobile devices, the so-called third screen.
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A new breed of search engine aims to help them figure out which local stores have the goods in stock.
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A new website for the Archdiocese is coming — and starting early next year, O’Malley also plans to regularly record video messages for downloading from the Internet.
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WSJ assistant editor Joseph Rago says blogs are “Written by fools to be read by imbeciles.”
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links for 2006-12-20
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This week, John Edwards will launch a series of short documentaries on his Web site, OneAmericaCommittee.com, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses of life on the campaign trail.
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Political Ads on iPods?
From Washington Whispers…
The Future of Politics in an iPod
It wasn’t long ago that we told you of how the Democrats and Republicans were preparing a new way to reach voters in 2008 through their mobile technology and iPods. Well, now we know why. Republican pollster David Winston tells us that new research found that 40 percent of 2006 voters ages 18 to 34 own iPods. And many don’t make time to watch lots of tv, choosing instead to TiVo their faves or record podcasts. So what will be the best way to reach those critical voters in 2008? Through their iPods, he says, especially when the mp3s go wireless. “That’s the next environment,” he predicts, “where people will get their information.” His tip to the pols: Make the ads riveting. The best example: losing Maryland Senate candidate Michael Steele’s family-focused tv ads, some of which featured a cute Boston terrier.
I think he’s on the right track. The big question, at least for me, is whether political advertisers will recognize the difference between the message and the medium. An iPod, like any other piece of technology, is simply a delivery mechanism for content. People like watching TV, listening to music, and playing games on their handheld devices because they are away from home or don’t have access to other forms of technology where they usually get that stuff. Will political ads be compelling enough to get people to watch, simply becuase they are available for an iPod or similar? its not about the content of the ads alone - as he suggests. Its about the political process as a whole as well.
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links for 2006-12-18
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The rapid rise of digital technology, which enables ordinary people almost anywhere to record images and post them quickly on the Internet, is changing the way the world witnesses history, not to mention the dependable misbehavior of celebrities.
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The power of the Internet not only makes it possible for donors to find organizations and causes they support around the world, but it means that even small amounts by individuals can make a big difference because of the sheer volume of givers.
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links for 2006-12-11
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links for 2006-12-07
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Shoppers online are tipping each other off on everything from how the latest fashions fit to who’s wearing them.
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Reality shows don’t unfold just on television any more. Now you can play with a show’s characters on your cellphone.
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