Archive: Year: 2010

A year and a half ago, a few weeks before the presidential election, Google CEO Eric Schmidt made a bold claim about the impact of the internet on our public life: "We are witnessing the end of Rovian politics," he...

If you haven't noticed already, I like "crazy" ideas. That is, notions that may appear like they come from outside the ballpark, but have a germ of possibility and suggest, "There might be a better way to do things than what we're doing now." (Here are some of my more recent ones.) And I like working at the intersection of technology and politics precisely because, well, while politics looks pretty broken (gridlocked, frustrating, money-dominated, etc), technology is bringing us revolutions like clockwork. Just think: YouTube is only five years old. Twitter is turning four in March. So, when someone comes up with a fresh way of thinking about how the internet could transform politics, I pay attention. And I think others...

We're pleased (or sorry) to report that the block of tickets on sale at extra discounted "early-early-bird" rates for Personal Democracy Forum 2010 has sold out -- in fact, demand was greater than expected! To register now, individual ticket rates are $395 if you work for a non-profit or government entity; $495 otherwise. Group discounts are available for eight or more. Students are welcome to register at the non-profit rate, or volunteer time in exchange for a conference pass. Contact conference-at-personaldemocracy-dot-com for details. And don't wait til the last minute; space is limited and last-minute prices will be higher. We're still fielding proposals for speakers and/or panel topics, so if you want to get your ideas into the hopper, write me...

My first post to Google Buzz, the new social-networking service unveiled two days ago, was "Resistance is futile." It may well be that by integrating social sharing into your email stream, Google has produced yet one more free and compelling tool for managing the ever-increasing flow of news, information, gossip and trivia that we all swim in these days. I'm certainly enjoying observing how a seemingly modest shift in code and platform can open up new channels for communication new ways of seeing and using our social graphs. But if you are a person who worries about your personal privacy, or work in a field like politics or journalism, where who you exchange emails with is potentially a sensitive subject, then...

On June 11, 1995, President William Jefferson Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich met at the Invitation of the Congress of Claremont Senior Citizens, Inc. to debate issues affecting senior citizens. During the debate, the political foes shook hands and pledged to create a bi-partisan commission to study federal limits on lobbying and the financing of election campaigns. This famous "handshake" on campaign finance reform was carried live on television and received widespread media coverage including front page attention in newspapers nationwide. That's the wording of a historic plaque that sits outside the Earl Bourdon seniors center in Claremont, New Hampshire on Maple Ave. (Here's the Google Street view of the plaque; ain't technology amazing?!) A few years ago,...

Today's YouTube event at the White House, starring President Obama, CitizenTube director Steve Grove, and a bunch of user-generated questions from the public, has to be judged a success, in my view. Yes, as Nancy Scola pointed out here earlier today, there was an element of familiarity to both the questions and the president's answers, which is to be expected. Obama, after all, is still a cautious politician and doesn't necessarily want to make news, or god forbid, new policy, with an offhand remark. And yes, organized groups--ranging from net neutrality advocates at Free Press, to climate change activists at Energy Action, to anti-genocide activists at the EnoughProject--clearly worked the system to get questions they favored voted up into the top...

Every year at the annual Personal Democracy Forum, we pick a theme to help give our ongoing conversation a focus. Two years ago, it was "Rebooting America." Last year, it was "We.gov." This year, we've decided to borrow a little inspiration from our friends at Edge.org and go with a big question: Can the Internet Fix Politics? Consider: A majority of Americans thinks the country is on the wrong track. Congress is deeply divided. Legislation is often stalled by gridlock, or packed with pork. Fundraising dominates the time of politicians, while the media cycle speeds up and public attention crashes. Voters are more volatile, when they aren’t sitting out elections entirely. It’s a troubling picture. But in recent years, a...

MoveOn.org, the five-million member e-organization of progressive activists, is doing something really interesting with its members tonight: thousands of them are going to be participating in a live online dial-test of President Obama's State of the Union speech. The organization sent out an email earlier this evening to its list, asking people if they want to rate the speech live. "Seeing our reactions live will give the media a much better sense of how grassroots progressives are reacting to Obama's first big speech—which is especially important after these last few weeks," wrote the organization's executive director Justin Ruben. (The full email is below.) Ilyse Hogue, MoveOn's director of political advocacy and communications, estimates that about 20,000 members will participate, based on...

Are you live-blogging the State of the Union? Join the crowd. As politics gets more hyper-networked and public attention fragments, live events--especially the attention-grabbing kind--are becoming major digital organizing opportunities. The most common kind are in the realm of messaging and quick response; everyday you can see memes bubble up and spread online. At the moment, for example, one part of the political Twittersphere is chortling over the arrest of conservative media activist James O'Keefe (see the #jamesokeefemovies while another part is reacting to the news that Senator Joe Lieberman has just joined Twitter. There's no better moment for this kind of online organizing than a national political event like a President's State of the Union speech; the only thing that...

David Plouffe is out with an email to Organizing for America's massive list, calling on Obama supporters to "regroup, refocus, and re-engage on the vital work ahead." The focal point of his missive: to attend State of the Union "watch parties" organized by OFA members around the country. So far, myBO lists 879 such events, though that number is likely to rise as more people sign up to host them. We'll check back on the total on Wednesday; it will be one barometer of the intensity of Obama's grass-roots support. UPDATE: As of noon Eastern on Tuesday, the site lists 1154 events. UPDATE2: As of 9am Eastern on Wednesday, the site lists 1192 events. Plouffe's email reads: On Wednesday evening, President Obama will deliver...