Okay, I’ll give the Clinton campaign a reasonable number of cool points for announcing the winner of her campaign song contest through a video that very cleverly parodies the last episode of The Sopranos. Of course, she then stomps all over the moment by revealing that The Chosen Song is by…Celine Dion??? A crime against nature, my friends, and one that will not soon be forgotten. If her campaign tanks, it shall surely be seen as Divine Retribution for this blatant affront to all that is good, beautiful and kind in the world.
Thanks to Burt Edwards for sending this along, and to the AP for putting it on every newspaper website in America. Click here to hear the song. Be warned! It fires automatically, and I refuse to be held responsible for the consequences.
Take a look at Media Matters today for a glimpse of the potential problems with mixing citizen-generated content and our current political culture — how segments of the mainstream media react when they’re presented with something other than the usual scripted campaign events and talking points. I’m talking about Obamagirl, of course (bless her heart), whose winsome smile and winning figure were all over cable news the past few days.
Was her crush on the candidate a plus for him? A minus? Who knows for sure, but some commentators were happy to fit the moment into a running media theme about Obama — that he’s too young and too pretty to be President of the United States. Obama lacks substance, apparently, despite the dry policy speeches he’s happy to give, and the Obamagirl video fits into the world-view of that part of the political commentariat that doesn’t want to take him seriously.
Google is diving into the public policy waters in a very, well, public way — the company has opened an internal policy blog to the public and will allow comments from readers. The initial burst of articles, previously published only for Google internal use, covers topics ranging from net neutrality to immigration to visits to the legendary and mysterious Googleplex by John McCain and John Edwards. The site’s also looking at policy-related uses of Google tools — such as a Google Maps mashup created by Sen. Ben Nelson’s office that combines stories, pictures and video of a recent trip to Iraq.
We’re seeking to do public policy advocacy in a Googley way. Yes, we’re a multinational corporation that argues for our positions before officials, legislators, and opinion leaders. At the same time, we want our users to be part of the effort, to know what we’re saying and why, and to help us refine and improve our policy positions and advocacy strategies. With input and ideas from our users, we’ll surely do a better job of fighting for our common interests.
This blog is part of the dialogue we’re hoping to foster.
More Blog Woes For John Edwards. Great idea! Let’s attack those bloggers. You know, the guys with free printing presses and unlimited ink.
Are the Netroots Stalling Out? A serious discussion of the limits of the blogosphere. My question: is Patrick Ruffini secretly controlling the Edwards campaign? Via TechPrez.
Two Hits Too Many: Gay and Lesbian Gangs Terrorize Metro Station. Online tie-in: MySpace was central to their capture. Suggested by a loyal reader (thanks Dad!), who’s still scratching his head over this one.
Hmmmmm, which of YOUR favorite campaigns will one day resemble this (controlled) implosion? One of nine Las Vegas hotel demolitions gathered for your afternoon viewing pleasure.
Damn, things move fast on the Interweb — yesterday’s “Crush on Obama” sound/video sensation is already available for download to your phone at RingTones08. Though it’s not my favorite clip on the site — check out this little John McCain ditty. No bass, but a great beat and excellent timing on the sample. Social media + politics + cell phones = creativity on-the-go. This has been the most funnest week in online politics in quite a while.
Hmmmm, here’s an interesting development in the constant blurring of the lines between media — Hillary Clinton has launched a new site called HillaryHub.com, which is essentially a news aggregator. The site collects news stories, blog posts and videos about Hillary and puts them up on a straightforward three-column page without explicit commentary, though they’re clearly selected and headlined to put Hillary in the best light.
Ben Smith at the Politico has a good write-up and some interesting quotes: “I grew up in New York reading tabloids; my dream job is to edit the New York Post,” [site manager Howard] Wolfson said. “So we set up something that has a little of that flavor and feel to it.” Smith draws parallels between HillaryHub and other aggregators-with-an-agenda, such as the Drudge Report and Major League Baseball’s MLB.com.
I gotta say, this is a new one on me — campaign sites usually have a news-about-the-candidate section, but this takes it a step beyond, particularly in its somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude. My question — who’s the intended audience? Journalists, bloggers and political activists more than the general public, I’d assume. This seems to be meant for the opinion-leader crowd rather than for potential voters. Niche sites for different audience segments? What’s next?
New details emerged today about the CNN/YouTube-sponsored Democratic presidential debate, to be held on July 23rd in South Carolina. Some salient points:
No live panel of questioners, only Anderson Cooper as moderator.
Questions will come from videos submitted to a YouTube channel.
Questions may be directed at a particular candidate or asked generally of everyone on stage.
The debate organizers are encouraging the use of sound and graphics to create a rich media experience for each question. They’re hoping for presentations that are “creative and inventive,” and for the videos to provide real context for the questions.
Submitted questions will be visible on YouTube, though the debate organizers aren’t going to tip candidates and the public off about which ones will be chosen. As with normal YouTube videos, viewers will be able to leave comments, rate videos, etc.
Anderson Cooper will be able to ask questions directly if new issues burst into prominence between the end of the submission period and the beginning of the debate. I.e., the debate won’t be strictly limited only to the YouTube questions.
Update: the debate organizers expect to use 20-30 questions in total.
This one’s all over the place today, and for good reason — it’s sheer genius. Barak Obama has a new fan, and she’s willing to use every weapon available to get his attention. Check out these soon-to-be-classic lyrics:
You’re into border security
Let’s break this border between you and me
Universal health care reform
It maaaaaaaaaaakes me warm…
Oh, my. See for yourself:
Kate Phillips has more details at The Caucus. I gotta tell ya, politics in the age of citizen media is going to be fun as hell — what’s next? Thanks to Burt Edwards for the tip-off.
Update: Two good techPresident pieces about the video:
As Joe Trippi has been making the rounds lately, one thing he’s been talking about is the rise of a culture of authenticity in politics as we move from a broadcast television era to an Internet-dominated era. I heard him make the point at last week’s Connecting with Young Voters event (ably summarized by Kate Phillips in The Caucus), and he said something similar this week to The Guardian (thanks, Josh).
“Before TV, what mattered was how your voice sounded. Then with TV it matters what your candidate looks like … Anybody can fake it on TV: all the Joe Trippis and Alastair Campbells get really good at making sure our guy looks great for the eight seconds that are actually going on the news.
“We are now moving to a medium where authenticity is king, from what things look like to what’s real … You have to be ‘on’ 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Something interesting just dropped into my email inbox — an invitation to join a Democratic Party online rapid response team. My mission, should I choose to accept it:
This special PartyBuilder group will help serve as the eyes and ears of the Democratic Party during the campaign and will allow us to share information on the Republican candidates as it breaks. Please, only use the listserv and blog for rapid response purposes.
As a member of the PartyBuilder rapid response group, we’ll send you important information about the 2008 Republican presidential candidates — when they mislead voters, completely change positions on the issues, or pander to special interests. Then, you can help get the word out to your friends, family and neighbors.
You can also contribute to the research effort by fact-checking their statements, studying their records, and watching for campaign gaffes.
This is a group effort, and this work is essential for showing the American public the true nature of the Republican candidates.
Looks as though Kos isn’t the only person asking peeps to record everything — no doubt, a bunch of large-membership organizations or sites with big audiences will end up doing the same. Candidates under a microscope! More political crowdsourcing! Pretty soon, no one will be able to run for office but big cute happy puppies….
Surprisingly, Pre-Roll Video Ads Work. Hmmmm, longer is also apparently better. Jokes “appropriate” to this moment are left as an exercise for the reader.
Republican strategist David All, who seems to write approximately 25 hours per day, put out an online political video manifesto yesterday which has in turn generated a fair amount of discussion. David has five recommendations for political campaigns, which he hopes will benefit Republicans but from which every online activist can learn (i.e., no secrets on the Internets). David’s five-point plan for world domination: (more…)
