Politicians all over the "internets"
A new web site has been launched to report on and serve as a sort of clearing house on uses of the internet and technology in the upcoming presidential contest.
It's called techPresident and keeps tabs on all the internet activitity of candidates. It's sure to be an interesting site to check in on as the elections approach.
The age of the wired politician has most definitely arrived.
Speaker Pelosi has started a blog.
Obama has one too, of course.
As does Hillary Clinton.
And of course, Edwards has hired two of the best to administer his.
Even Bill Richardson has one.
Tom Vilsack contributed to the Talking Points Memo blog the TPM Cafe as a regular.
Even John Kerry has a blog.
So every major candidate immediately launches their own blog, as have many other incumbant politicians
Setting up their own spots on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace which attract a huge audience among high school and college age viewers is common as well.
The Hare campaign effectively utilized their web presence to bring in a substantial amount in donations as well as a communications tool, proving at least in that instance my argument that websites are a very good tool for donors to quickly and easily donate, as well as offering a range of communication alternatives.
What does it all mean? What's the future in the nexus between political campaigns and the internet?
Is it still a bunch of hogwash and worthless as many commenters contended in previous discussions of the topic?
And are people finally getting some clue that blogs are not some sort of monolithic, cookie-cutter, one-size-fits all phenomena? Is it sinking in that blogs are as varied and different as the groups and people who run them?
Are the sore heads and neanderthals who've routinely bashed blogs and the web "getting it" yet?
And since I believe that a large part of the hatred and angry attacks against this blog and myself come from people who have no concept of what blogging is and/or tend to freak out when a blog doesn't fit whatever peculiar idea they'd dreamt a blog was "supposed" to be, just what is your understanding of blogs and blogging. Has it changed over the last year?
posted by The Inside Dope @ 2/14/2007
5 comments
5 Comments:
Dope,
Don't you know blogs are just a waste of time and don't equal votes!!!!
LOL sorry I had too.
Thanks for the post.
Blogs are as varied as people. Some fine folks seem to think this blog exists to promote and support them and put out their PR. Wrong.
If they want a blog to do that, then go do it.
Why they seem to demand or expect that I do it for them is beyond stupid, especially when you consider that they insist that what's mine is actually "their" blog, and constantly insist that I give it over to them.
Yet they're too wussy to even stand up and say who they are, even by e-mail. Makes it kind of hard to hand over something you've worked your ass off on for a couple years when you don't know who you're supposed to hand it over to and too gutless to stand up behind their school-yard bully demands.
I really wish they would grow a pair and discuss this in private by e-mail like someone with some character.
I really wonder just where they came up with these crazy notions of what this blog is.
I think the only thing they care about is the fact that it's not theirs nor do they have the slightest control over it. That's all that drives them out of their minds and makes them resort to the ugliest, childish, and most embarassing behavior you can imagine.
(luckily, I don't post the vast majority of their drivel.)
Of course, they could have a very large input here. They could simply respect the place and participate. Contribute what they know, their insight, and their views or opinion.
But they're quite committed to not doing that apparently, since they don't contribute anything as far as enlightening readers about politics or what's going on or why.
Just non-stop attacks, insults, threats, jibberish, and really dumb attempts to pump up a certain candidate. But precious little if any information or insight whatsoever.
They berate me for my lack of political knowledge, even though I've never put myself out as some sort of political expert. I'm just an observer like most people.
But if they're so "in-the-know", why don't they share it? I find that curious.
So I guess it will go on as usual. Them wasting their time and mine by sending in a constant stream of insults and slander, and me contining to treat it as the dumb joke that it is, and continuing on as always.
Perhaps from time to time I should put up a page of sort of the "best of" these goons and morons attempts to haraass me. I think readers might actually find them as amusing and disturbing as I do.
The biggest obstacle there is the sheer volume to sift through. It's not like there's any shortage. These cretins have been cranking them out at a rate of several a day for over a year, which is creepy in an obsessive way itself.
And considering their source, it's even more disapointing.
After several posts here highlighting the lack of web sites among local politicians, Jacobs in particular, it was nice someone finally took my advice. (though they soundly said it was stupid and worthless to have a website at the time of course. It was my idea, what else could they do?)
The challenge for a politicians website is keeping it even remotely interesting. This is a big chore.
Most simply slap up the basic info, a short bio, etc. and it sits there gathering dust for months if not years. There's simply no reason for anyone to ever visit.
Keeping a site fresh and interesting is the trick, and it's not easy, especially if you're hobbled by having to stick to dry, boilerplate PR releases and other predictable hype.
Is Jacobs site "creative"? I didn't notice anything much different from thousands of other politician websites. It certainly could have been worse, and at least there's some content there. Such sites are usually really up there in the cheesy or dull department, and at least it's not too cheesy or too dull.
But if it sits there for years without changing... no one will have any reason to ever check it out.
Jacobs TV spots were very well done. Very low-key and struck the right tone without being too hyper or over the top. The production was very professional looking as well.
I read anew report that proves that the internet is a stupid!
Sorry, but I have to point out that a method of communications that links the globe instantaneously can't possibly be any more of "a stupid" than some people who use it to post comments like yours.
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