Archive: Year: 2008

We're pleased to be bringing back the "Idea Market" session to PdF this year, as last year it was one of the conference highlights. It's basically a "flea market" for ideas. Picture a large room with all kinds of interesting people hosting discussions based at tables scattered around the room, and attendees "voting with their feet" and sampling the topics, or hanging around one table for the full session to go deep on one subject. This year it'll be happening on Day Two of PdF, from 3:45-5:00pm, in The Allen Room, a spectacular hall overlooking Central Park. And here's the list of topics and hosts: Place ...

Have we spotted (or started) a trend? Now, after my story on Rep. John Culberson's Twittering from the House floor, "CrackBerry Addicts vs Twittering Sunlighters," Rep. Tim Ryan has just tweeted that he is "getting ready to twitter from the House floor." This is so cute. "It's like watching a child learning to go to the toilet on their own. 'Look, ma, I'm twittering!'" Seriously, my understanding is that CongressTwitters are in violation of a House rule prohibiting the usage of electronic wireless devices from inside the chamber. Tell that to the Crackberry users...

Here's a tale of two radically different uses of technology on Capitol Hill: the first to keep all but the most-connected people out, and the second to let the rest of us in. In the first case, we have Members of Congress who are crack-berry addicts staying in permanent contact with their cronies and donors, even on the floor where lobbyists are supposedly banned. And in the second case, we have a Republican Congressman who is Twittering from what he calls the "deepest and darkest hole" in Congress. Case one: Today's Politico has a fascinating story called "Are Members Blackberry addicts?" that describes how seven out of ten Members of Congress and staffers use the ubiquitous handheld devices to keep...

OMG, it looks like my partner and techPresident/PdF co-founder Andrew Rasiej has broken his promise to me to never run for office again! He keeps saying, what if a candidate got into the race and promised to only run powered by the net. I keep telling him he's crazy. But look at this: Go here to play the news report. Not sure why I can't embed the clip....

Award-winning admaker Bill Hillsman tipped us off yesterday to one of those odd programming bugs that seem to afflict some software programs. When you type "Obama" into a Hotmail message and use spell-check, the program automatically suggests "Osama" as the correct spelling. See Bill's demonstration below. He notes, "It's gotta be an easy fix-- just install Obama in the dictionary as MS obviously did with Osama after 9/11. Hell, Obama's only been a U.S. Senator for the last four years and a presidential candidate for nearly two...

Here's the schedule for Day Two of Personal Democracy Forum, which is focused on how technology and the internet are changing governance and civic engagement. To register or find out more, go here. As with Day One, we've planned a packed day that will start with a networking breakfast, and a fun door prize that you can only qualify for by being the main hall when the morning plenaries begin. Bring a laptop or other wifi-enabled device, as we'll have copious bandwith to enable you to blog, twitter, back-chat and otherwise connect with each other (though no downloading of big movie files will be tolerated). We'll provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and most of all, a lot of nourishment for your mind. (Day...

Here's the schedule for Day One of Personal Democracy Forum 2008, which is focused on how technology and the internet are changing campaigns, elections and political media. To register or find out more, go here. It's a packed day, and you'll want to plan to get there early for a networking breakfast, and to qualify for a special gift that will only be offered to people in the plenary hall when the morning's program starts at 8:30am. Bring a laptop or other wifi-enabled device, as we'll have copious bandwith to enable you to blog, twitter, back-chat and otherwise connect with each other (though no downloading of big movie files will be tolerated). We'll provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a big cocktail...

Barack Obama's victory over Hillary Clinton is the first time an insurgent has beaten the establishment candidate in the Democratic primaries since Jimmy Carter in 1976. This is interesting and important for all kinds of reasons. One, as I've written before, is that it suggests that the era of Big Money and Big Media pre-selecting the nominee of the Democratic party may well be over, in no small part because of the affordances brought by the internet: lower costs of communication and collaboration, and less allowances for hypocrisy and dishonesty in campaigns. But there's another big reason why Obama's victory is so important. He is riding herd on the largest and most potent new political organization anyone has seen on the...

I've been on the road since Thursday, first at a working meeting of the Brave New Films, along with his colleague Leighton Woodhouse and Craig Aaron of Free Press, the organization behind NCMR. In this video, Robert spills the beans about his plans to bird-dog the Fox TV team that had come to NCMR to make trouble. More details here. Here's Lawrence Lessig at NCMR, just after he gave a rousing keynote address on the need to fix America's operation system. As I say on the video to Larry, I've now heard three versions of his "Change Congress" speech, and each time it gets better and better. If you're coming to PdF2008, you'll see for yourself soon, as he'll be keynoting...

It's Friday, which means it's time for our favorite new political videos the week. From Kosovo minefields to lobbyist lollypops to "fist bumps of hope," we've got it all. The McCain continues with its mysterious approach to YouTube, uploading yesterday a two-minute video called "Operation Smile - Kosovo Minefields." The video stars McCain's wife Cindy, and shows her in Kosovo with some British relief workers with the HALO Trust, who are explaining the situation with an uncleared minefield. The video doesn't explain much, leading one commenter asks, "What's the point of this video? To show how Cindy will do press ops for things she knows nothing about and has ZERO to add to global politics?" In fact McCain is on the...