Posts filed under 'News Coverage of Online Politics'
Beating up on Times political reporter Adam Nagourney is a hobby gleefully enjoyed in many corners of the Interweb, but now that he’s ventured onto OUR turf, it’s time for a quick barrage of jabs, hooks and vicious undercuts, e.politics-style. Why? Writing today about Joe Trippi and the John Edwards web team, Nagourney shows exactly how well he can channel a campaign’s spin uncritically and without context.
Now, Joe Trippi is a damn smart guy and the Edwards folks may well be using the ‘net in interesting ways, but the only way you’d know it from THIS article is because they tell us they are, not because Nagourney shows any actual evidence. This key paragraph lets us know what we’re in for:
(more…)
August 1st, 2007
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
The other thing that jumped out this weekend as I’ve been reading the reviews of presidential campaign websites is just how crazy early in the electoral process it is for so many political junkies to be producing so much analysis of the 2008 campaign. This is far from an original idea — it’s been obvious to a lot of folks — but it still startles me that we’re paying so much attention to campaign minutiae almost a year out from the FIRST primary and close to two years from the general election.
Meanwhile, a world away from the couple of dozen sites over which bloggers and the media have been obsessing, real work is getting done every day in the online political world. THOUSANDS of advocacy campaigns are creating effective websites, experimenting with cutting-edge tools and building up coalitions of (sometimes) millions of people passionate about an issue. And, while many reporters and bloggers have produced excellent analyses of McCain’s site layout or Obama’s Facebook outreach, isn’t it just as interesting that as of a week ago, seven out of twelve Kansas City mayoral candidates had video clips on their websites?
I understand why it’s natural for political junkies to obsess about ‘08: we have a lame-duck president, a potentially deadlocked Congress, a divisive war in progress, some compelling characters in the race, and the chance for real political change depending on how things turn out. But it’s a loooooooong time before anyone casts a presidential ballot, and in the meantime, we shouldn’t miss the myriad OTHER places where the ‘net is changing the way politics works.
– cpd
February 19th, 2007
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
Our beloved Internets were all over the Post this weekend, from the political pages to Outlook to the Arts section. The fun started early on Saturday with a “Special to The Washington Post” article by Zachary A. Goldfarb about Barak Obama and social networking: at his first rally since he formed an exploratory committee, Obama spoke Friday to a group of thousands of students assembled through Facebook (via SmartMobs).
On Sunday the dam broke, with the ‘net figuring into at least four articles with some relationship to politics or advocacy, most obviously in Jennifer Earl’s excellent look at online organizing and activism (“Where Have All the Protests Gone? Online.”) featured on the front page of Outlook:
(more…)
February 4th, 2007
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
PoliticsOnline and the World E-Gov Forum have posted their nominations for the Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics. Cast your vote today! Two friends of e.politics are nominated — Care2 and Alan Rosenblatt’s Internet Advocacy Roundtable. Vote early! Vote often!
When they put together a Top 10 Who Are Sniping Snidely About the Internet and Politics from the Sidelines, will e.politics have your vote?
– cpd
September 11th, 2006
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
This just in: Water is wet! The sky is blue! Snakes on a Plane is the most awesomest movie title ever! And Blogs Offer Arena for Political Attacks…film at 11!
Despite its overall air of smacking you in the face with the blatantly obvious, the article does have good quotes from actual smart people and a roundup of various political blog-related hijinks. Thanks to a somewhat bemused Burt Edwards (yesterday’s illustrious guest columnist) for the tip.
– cpd
August 11th, 2006
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
Slate’s William Saletan argues that the Lieberman/Lamont race demonstrates that the ‘net is indisputably vital to modern politics. The proof? Not that Lamont used internet politics well (which he did), but that Lieberman’s people treated a last-minute site crash as A Very Big Deal and possibly the result of dirty tricks.
(more…)
August 9th, 2006
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
- Les Blogs Herald France’s Newest Inalienable Right — The French are crazy about blogs, spending more time on them than Americans, British or Germans. Money quote — “You cannot be elected president of France without a blog.”
- MySpace Blurs Line Between Friends And Flacks — Advertisers are taking advantage of MySpace to create ads that don’t look like ads. Promotional tactics include profiles for fake people who love a product and for movie characters.
- The Politics of Science — A pro-stem-cell-research group called the Campaign to Defend the Constitution is spending $250,000 for ads in the New York Times print version and $100,000 for online ads, though the article doesn’t specify where the online ads will run. (BTW, nice campaign name, guys. Next up: “Campaign for Butterflies, Puppies and Nice Warm Hugs”)
– cpd
July 31st, 2006
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
Mark Z. Barabak has a good overview article about political campaigns’ use of new technology in the LA Times (requires registration), focusing on podcasting and blogs but with some information about wireless/mobile technology and cable tv. The story’s hook: “Politicians and their promoters are facing the same problem as Hollywood and the makers of toothpaste: How do you sell your product to an increasingly fragmented audience?” Some quick highlights:
- Cable tv companies may soon be able to deliver ads targeted to a particular household — marketers have been able to slice and dice direct mail recipient lists like this for years, but it’s new to television
- Campaigns are waking up to the promise of social media and other Web 2.0 technologies to turn casual site visitors into evangelists
- Over 50,000 people are already subscribing to GOP video podcasts, even with little promoting
Well worth reading, and suggested by a loyal reader (thanks, Dad!).
– cpd
July 23rd, 2006
Trackback
Bookmark on del.icio.us
