Number Of Acceptable Things Candidates Can Say Now Down To Four
Once again, The Onion is truer than true…
Bonus: dig the “War for the White House” graphic.
– cpd
Add comment May 8th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Posts filed under 'Satire'
Potentially Fatal Defection from Obama’s Campaign?
Okay, everybody’s picking up on this, and I can’t resist, either: is ObamaGirl dallying with Mike Gravel?
Who knew the former senator from Alaska could bust such phat rhymes? Damn! Nice pipe, too.
– cpd
Add comment May 7th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
“Stuff White People Like” Attains Viral Status
Kudos to satirical(?) website Stuff White People Like: judging from the number and distribution of people who’ve forwarded it or mentioned it in conversation over the past month or two, the site has built up a level of general viral spread. Searching email, it’s been forwarded by my friend Brad from college and later Austin, my friend Gina from high school, and longtime friend-of-e.politics Burt Edwards. Plus, I swear at least one or two people have brought it up in conversation lately, though I can’t document it.
I mention the site today because Gina just emailed it, giving me three examples, which as any journalistic observer will tell you is one more than you need for a trend story. Plus, the site’s funny as hell, though more in a wry-smile way than a laugh-out-loud way. Editorial strategy note — pitching the stories as survival guides allows us observations like this one, from #91 San Francisco:
2 comments May 1st, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Lawrence Lessig and an Online Singing Jesus Cause Scandal on RedState and Limbaugh
Wired’s Sarah Lai Stirland picked up on a revealing micro-scandal a couple of days ago: Obama supporter Lawrence Lessig has been getting beaten up on Redstate.com and Rush Limbaugh’s radio show over a video he’s used as a mashup example in presentations. The crime? The clip depicts a somewhat swishy Jesus singing “I Will Survive” before a dramatic run-in with a bus proves otherwise (note that the RedState author immediately jumps to the conclusion that this Jesus is gay — musical numbers are always a dead giveaway).
Add comment April 28th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Quick Hits — April 24, 2008
- Espionage Against Pro-Tibet Groups, Others, Spurred Microsoft Patches.
- New Freedom, and Peril, in Online Criticism of China.
- In every measure, Obama clobbers Clinton online. Also, Barack Obama Takes Lion’s Share of Online Video Viewerships.
- Obama Uses YouTube To Lobby The Public After Losing Pennsylvania.
- Notes from the eCampaigning Forum 2008.
- Cuddle Parties: When Touchy Feely Goes Goofy.
- Why Democrats Rule the Web.
- Smug Alert in SF. Thanks, Slate
- Lost in the Smoke-Filled Room: Unexpected Talent. On the benefits of a primary process. C.f. The Primary ‘Bounce’.
- Government to Seek Terrorists in World of Warcraft: The Full Proposal.
- Welcome to the high-tech age of consumer jihadists. Suggested by Burt Edwards.
- Look Ma, I’m on CIA.gov.
- Anti-war site lets you spend $3 trillion your way.
- Obama’s GOP Shadow.
- Laughing Baby vs. the YouTube Commenters. C.f. The vile state of Internet discourse knows no borders.
- Colbert Snags Clinton, EdWORDS and Obama in One Cast.
- Fight, prefrosh, for social justice — via e-mail.
- Newspaper Ads Drive Online Research, In-Store Purchases.
- Online Advocacy — Using Petitions for List Building.
- Obama Talks About (Internet) Rumors.
- MTV News Still on the Edge of Political News. Kurt Loder rides to the rescue one last time.
- Twitter Away Your Life With Social Networking. And, Is Twittering Sustainable?
- The Twittering Class and the Primaries.
- Tips for success in a Web 2.0 world.
- Do Progressive Techies Have a Google Blind Spot?
- Drive additional web traffic with email.
- Facebook Chat — distraction or benefit?.
- Sick Profits Video Contest. User-generated content goes to the doctor.
- Despite Negative Press, Facebook Is a Powerful Agent for Social Change. But wait: 51% of Donors ‘Not At All Interested’ in Social Networks.
- The New Guards: The Players. A look at potential Republican MoveOn equivalents. C.f. MoveOn.org Asks McCain To Drop Pastor Who Blamed Victims For Katrina.
- EEN’s Avatars Campaign Brings Online Marketing to Life. Online/offline connection.
- Huckabee to follow in Robertson’s footsteps? Yet another independent audience?
- Radiohead Launches Social Network.
- Nerd alert or sublime beauty? Full Earthrise and Earthset in Hi-Def, from the Japanese Kaguya lunar orbiter. I can see my house from here! Via Space.com.
– cpd
Add comment April 24th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Bill Maher Machinima Mocks Clinton’s Bosnia Sniper Snafu
Wired’s picked up on a clever use of machinima (the “filming” of video in computer games or virtual worlds) by the folks at Bill Maher’s HBO show to nail Hillary Clinton over her exaggeration of the danger involved in her trip to Bosnia in the 90s. Meet “Hillary Clinton’s 3 AM Call of Duty: Mission Bosnia” (warning for the faint at heart: Sinbad doesn’t make it)…
Best line: “Because it takes a village…to take a village.” Bonus inclusion: John McCain’s virtual fireplace. Nice work, and Wired reports that some Obama supporters are trying hard to make it go viral on the web.
– cpd
Add comment April 3rd, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Quick Hits — April 3, 2008
- Trust in Peers Trumps the “A-List,” Study Finds. Definite implications for political marketing.
- Act Blue’s Record Take. They’re raking it in for candidates.
- Online Call Tools and the 2008 Campaign.
- Detroit Mayor Is Charged With Eight Felonies. Much to his surprise, text messages are stored somewhere. C.f., TXTmob Subpoena Shows the Hazards of Using Technology to Protest.
- French President Caught Monitoring Blogs: Mon Dieu!
- Voter Relationship Management: The Constituent Is the Customer. A look at the available tools, from the point of view of business CRM.
- With the Internet Comes a New Political ‘Clickocracy’. Jose Antonio Vargas’s new gig, writing think pieces (nice work if you can get it).
- In 2008 campaign, the Internet packs a powerful political punch. Frank Davies overview piece.
- Kenya: What a laptop and a video camera can do.
- Calling all women who tech and talk. Regular e.pol reader Jeanette Russell says, “Hey Ladies!”
- Local bandit eludes Indian police AND Google Earth. But he still can’t get his mom elected.
- Broad Concerns About Internet Voting. Guys are worried, too.
- “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has finally figured out how to raise funds on the Internet”. But still, a lot less than Obama.
- Chinese Authorities Place ‘Wanted’ Posters For Tibetan Rioters On Web Portals. Also, China Destroys Tibet’s Sacred Environment. When wrecking your own just isn’t enough.
- Over 1.3 Million Petition Signatures in 10 Days against Chinese actions in Tibet. China to petition-signers — um, yeah, we’ll get right on that.
- Magic Spy Smart Phone.
- Stanford Law Professor Larry Lessig Bets ‘Wikipedia’ Approach Will Transform Congress.
- McCain Girls Are Your New Jalopy. And more than a little hard on the ears.
- Raffle craze strikes innocent presidential candidates.
- Republican videos attack congressional democrats.
- The Press and Political New Media.
- Obama Utilizes Internet for Success.
- Cuba Lifts Restrictions On Personal Cellphones.
- Citizen Huff: How Arianna became the Matt Drudge of the Left.
- Gore Launches Ambitious Advocacy Campaign on Climate.
- Blogger’s Rights, via Burt Edwards.
- Website changes political climate. Reaching the young online.
- The Message Box: the Zone to Stay on Message. Fun with diagrams.
- Color-Coded Threat Level System In New Colors for Spring!
- Clinton’s Wiki-Warrior.
- Air America Host Suspended for Clinton Remarks. YouTube strikes again.
- Clinton Floats Delegate (Online) Petition.
- Obama inspires an online art explosion. “The Web has become a rich canvas for artists and candidates who know how to connect digitally.”
- Micha Sifry gets the Download from Joe Trippi.
- Democratic Lawmaker Vouches for Bush Administration’s Secret Plan to End Cyber War. See also DDoS Packets are Two Percent of Net Traffic, Report Says.
- Ed Markey’s Subcommittee has hearing on Virtual Worlds. He really looks stunning in that WoW Orc outfit.
- Latest sign of the impending Apocalypse: New Kids on the Block are reuniting.
- Science Link of the Day: “There you have it: the world’s most sensitive eyes allow them to be simple! And smash things! And it’s worked for 400 million years.”
– cpd
Add comment April 3rd, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Swift Kids for Truth Attack Hillary
We’re already drowning in a sea of citizen-generated media, so pouring one more cup of it on our heads couldn’t possibly hurt:
Actually, this one’s not quite amateur, since as The Sleuth reports, it’s one of a series of Huffington-funded online ads against Clinton. I doubt they’re likely to do her much harm, but they do show a good tool for taking the wind out of future Swift Boaters’ sails: humor, something of which the 2004 public version of John Kerry was essentially incapable.
– cpd
Add comment February 20th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
McCain Video Mashup Parodies Obama "Yes We Can" Video
Citizen media, yet another example of why I love thee: a genius parody of the Obama Yes We Can video, this one featuring John McCain.
Call me emotionally stunted, but while the original sends a shiver down the spine in a couple of places, the fundamental insincerity of the McCain version suits my style so much better.
– cpd
Add comment February 12th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Quick Hits — February 6, 2008
Mmm, mmm, do I love me a Super Tuesday party. Or two. Or three.
- How the web followed the Super Tuesday results. C.f. Twitter/Twittervision/Google Maps Super Tuesday Mashup and Internet political buzz super for democracy (note quote from e.politics — and Google didn’t pay a dime for it).
- Obama’s Wired Tuesday Push. Missed this one yesterday.
- Super Tuesday: How We Got Here. An excellent history lesson from CQ. Via Political Wire.
- Silicon Valley Donations: Microsoft Loves Hillary; Google, Obama.
- Edward Cone: A reality check on Web politics. This guy’s been paying attention.
- Results on the Web and on Your Phone. Politics is a relentless pursuer.
- Matt Drudge Starts Posting on YouTube. Reputed Clinton love-fest clearly over.
- Obama, the Internet and the Decline of Big Money and Big Media. Did the ‘net make a successful Obama campaign possible?
- With No Clear Winner, Spin Wars Fierce
- Most apt image from Super Tuesday.
- Clinton May Self-Finance Campaign.
- Super Tuesday, Internet Style: How We’re Using the Web In the 2008 Elections.
- Are Democrats raising more money online than Republicans because they are more Web-savvy or popular?
- Local (Chicago) Democratic Candidate Launches Online Video Satire.
- Media Celebrity Launches World’s First Online Political Talent Community and Magazine. Warning: press release. But will it find you a job? (We’ll see.)
- Barack Obama online exploits. Evidently, he’s putting Canada to shame.
- Amateur Online Music Videos Do Huge Traffic, Give Candidates Free, Positive Exposure. C.f. Obama song resonates on the Internet.
- DARPA Nabs Big Bucks for Mach 6 Planes, Giant Robotic Blimps, Next-Gen Networks. Shape-shifting planes battleship-sized blimps hovering at 65,000 feet = airplane-geek heaven.
– cpd
Add comment February 6th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Quick Hits — February 5, 2008
Yay, Super Tuesday, the most wonderful time of the year. The following Hits will be updated throughout the day. See also yesterday’s list.
- Update: Just got a Drudge Siren email alert, and apparently Obama is “large” in the exit polls. It’s gonna be an interesting night; I’m off to the parties.
- Update: The Inside Story of Obama’s Online Music Video.
- Update: In an Internet First, Americans Abroad Cast E-Votes in Democratic Primary.
- Update: Barack Obama’s Web Site Overwhelmed During (Last Night’s) Clinton Appearance.
- Update: US Voters Using Google to Find Polling Places.
- Update: The Rationality Gap: Campaigns Way Behind the Online Advertising Curve. Alan Rosenblatt: “For 10% of their ad budgets they could dominate the web.”
- A brief distraction: Venn diagram of the British Islands. Thanks to Chris Cosart for a helpful find.
- Update: A Clinton campaign conference call is a study in spin. Check out the ending — a Fox debate?
- Update: I Hope It’s a Hoax. The (politically) provocative e-mail that “Chelsea Clinton” is sending around.
- Update: Obama Leads in Online Buzz, Favorite Sites by Visitors’ Party Affiliation Issued. Which candidates are dominating the online discussion?
- Update: Does web traffic tell us that Obama and Huckabee will win big today? Josh is skeptical, and for good reason. More from the tPrez Daily Digest, including lots of nonrepresentative online polls and a look at Barack Obama’s hockey stick.
- Update: AZ Robocall Hits Obama On Social Security.
- Update: Primary Jam. Excellent WSJ interactive guide to this year’s primary election pile-up, and a good demonstration of how to present information with technology.
- Update: The E-War: Dems: All Hillary Wire, All the Time. Hillary’s election-day email blitz. More on the expectations battle from Slate.
- Update: McCain Tops the Democrats in Media Coverage.
- The Early Word: Super Fat Tuesday. Good overview of what’s ahead.
- The Opposite of Interactivity. Zephyr Teachout’s not so impressed with Hillary’s online/offline national town hall, but PoliticsTV’s Dan Manatt likes it better. C.f. Checking in With the Politically-Active Social Networking Generation and Clinton On Message, and On Television. Update: Also, Creating Those Hallmark Moments.
- Romney Internet-Only Ad Ties McCain to Clinton. See also McCain, Romney Unveil New Attack Ads.
- New HRC Mailer Hits Obama On Economy. Direct mail = probably the oldest form of database-driven politics.
- Push Polling, Robo Calls and Other Telephonic Shenanigans.
- Obama’s $28M Online. Patrick Ruffini on the death of offline fundraising. Update: That $32 million total for January turns out to be more than twice that of the Clinton campaign.
- Students On How Social Networking Is Transforming Politics.
- Web Graphics and Social Media Bring A Bird’s Eye View of Celebrity Presidential Endorsements.
- The Web and the Race For the White House. Overview of online support.
- Ron Paul’s candidacy shows the potential (and limits) of online politics. A short email interview with the candidate.
- In Election of Change, TV Gives Voice to Insiders. No insurgency on the airwaves.
- On The Road Again, And Again, And Again. Life of an embedded political journalist.
- Shifting Loyalties: Obama Winning Big Edwards Backers.
- Bill Clinton on Hillary Clinton’s Web 2.0 presidency.
- Facebook Used to Mobilize Against FARC. “In Colombia, a Facebook page dedicated to protesting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, that country’s largest rebel group, is helping organize thousands of people in cities around the world for demonstrations.”
- Lots of Super Tuesday cell phone sounds at RingTones08.
- Super Tuesday Gladiators. “Billy, do you like movies about gladiators and Hillary Clinton?”
– cpd
1 comment February 5th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Super Obama Girl Vanquishes All Rivals
Hey kids! E.politics is running a bit behind these days, but there’s nothing like 70s-funk theme song to restart a publishing groove. Obama Girl is back, this time with superpowers and backup singers (”she’s wonky/so funky”), and kudos to the Barely Political folks for bringing her to us in fine style. Nice commercial, too.
Update: Another powerful Obama video remix, this one consciously anthemic in scope. Warming: sincerity ahead. (Thanks to Katrin Verclas for the tip). This is the genius of an age of citizen creativity! People can make their own case for a candidate in their own way, and if it finds an audience, they’ve done their job. How can campaigns help them do it?
Update, Pt II: Garance Franke-Ruta has details on the song, plus Deadheads for Obama (save us) and more.
– cpd
Add comment February 2nd, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Friday Fun: The Hillary Clinton/Tracy Flick Connection
The good folks at Slate have found a revealing pop culture/political culture connection: by mashing up a clip from the movie Election with footage from the current Democratic race, they find Hillary Clinton’s inner Tracy Flick and capture what it must feel like to have some young upstart come along and steal your moment. Even if you haven’t seen the film, I bet you’ll get the point.
Nice! Thanks to Alicia LaPorte for the suggestion.
– cpd
Add comment January 25th, 2008 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
Barack Obama + Bollywood + Video Editing Software = Genius
Friday Fun comes a day early this week, with a terrific video mashup courtesy of the CamPain2008 YouTube channel. Excellent work! It doesn’t tell us much about the political world, but that does nothing to detract from a standalone piece of genius.
Well, let me take back what I just wrote, because this video DOES tell us something significant about the political world: that it’s no longer an isolated part of our discourse, standing apart from the other endeavors with which we distract or enlighten ourselves. Politics is a part of pop culture, so a guy like Barack Obama can become a pop culture icon. Of course, you’ve got to have the right je nais se quois je ne sais quoi — can you imagine a similar piece featuring Chris Dodd or Tom Tancredo? Sure, but only with a healthy dose of irony. Via How The World Works.
Update: Jo Lee with Green Machine PR writes in to say:
A friend told me that the song is called “Chori Chori Gori Se” and it’s a love song. So, I guess it’s a take off on the Obama Girl video.
And…
A friend found a Chori Chori video with English subtitles. This song has a
lot of versions, remixes etc. It’s also in an english movie called the
Guru.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co1J2FiP1dQ
I guess Obama’s hotness transcends national boundaries
Indeed.
– cpd
7 comments December 6th, 2007 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
PlantsForHillary.com — Crashed or Pulled Down?
Cross-posted on techPresident
I’ve been trying to get through to the new John Edwards-created PlantsForHillary.com, which is supposed to be a little microsite that knocks Clinton for the apparently planted question at a citizen forum. Problem is, the site seems to be down — I get a blank screen when I try to view it with both Firefox and IE, and “view source” shows that the page contains only header information, no actual content. The site sounds like a fun idea, and its launch yesterday picked up some media and blog coverage, but it seems to have encountered problems since then. Did it go down for technical or tactical reasons? Enquiring minds want to know.
Update: According to an email from campaign staff, it was only a “a fun little debate day website” and not intended for posterity. I’m jealous; Wired’s Sarah Lai Stirland received a very bad pun in reply when she asked the same question.
– cpd
1 comment November 16th, 2007 Trackback Bookmark on del.icio.us
