Vlog it good!

Soon we'll have seen everything--see the NYT article about vlogs. Who needs CNN's video feed once everyone gets on board with vloging? Ok, first: I'll have to brush up on things, camera, lighting, sound, editing--but I'm sure it'll come back--but: I'd like to announce that I'm available (as a consultant) to any candidate or office holder who would like to jump in with both feet (Pending acceptance to my (to be developed training) program. I'll have it done just as soon as I train myself. But first I need some start-up capital. Oh! Where are the venture capitalists anymore?).

No? Come on! Pleeeease? We can edit in clips from C-SPAN! I'm sure that at least three or four people in your district will see it!
Or we should just have our illustrious elected leaders drinking raw eggs and vomiting. That would show that they're in touch with the common people, right?

Ok, so it is like podcasting video. But why not synergise the power of blogs with the power of video? A splash of RSS, and we should have a good drink. But video podcasts? Please! It doesn't work with iTunes, so I'm not buying (not that I'd even make a micropayment for a video of Dick Durbin dishing judicial pillow talk in his boxers, or maybe...).

Lessig Lessons

Well, now that I've finished the Lessig flash lecture I'd say that was a dessert for the meal which was this class.

I've already talked about copyright and commidification, so I'll just say this: Listen to what Bill Gates said. This is why we don't want to run government more like business.



One last question: since this was one of the last one of "these" that Lessig did, what does he do now? Juggle cats?
(I kid, I've seen his site, his blog, and so on)

And as that was one of his last, so shall this be my last. But no cat juggling! Father, could there be a God that could let this happen? (Was that fair use, if there is such a thing?)

The internet is not a library!

Vaidhyanathan makes some statements about culture, but I just don't agree with the characterization of culture. Perhaps he is just a bit more optimistic and focused than I.

I can't accept culture as something that seems as if it organized upon anarchy. Why? It lacks rejection of a certain principle that I feel is of the utmost importance. One of this and that (and even the other thing). I agree with Vaidhyanathan in the desire for cultural openness, fluidity, and openness, this anti-imperialist impulse has been accepted for years (until the Bush Doctrine).

The need for a pluralist view of cultures and values is, I feel, essential to open societies. Culture acts as an organizing principle for people. The culture to which one belongs determines rights and wrongs. What is due and what is owed. Herder said that culture offers a "center of gravity" which may now be, for us, civic republicanism in governance.

Lessig Copyright

Thank god Lessig doesn't sing. But he does: about Mickey Mouse! I knew it!

Taking material that hadn't yet fallen into the public domain (at least in the case of Steamboat Willie, at the time copyright only lasting 14 years!). At least some of Walt's source material was already in the public domain. But according to him turnabout isn't fair play. At least, not for the shareholders.

(Vaidhyanathan puts it in a rather crystaline form: "the United States corrupted its copyright system by privileging corporate interests to the detriment of the public interests.")

The question of culture as something that is owned speaks to the question of commidificaiton (I'll write about this later, with micropayments) of our own idioms and signifiers.

So I'll quote the refrain:
1. Creativity and innovation always build on the past.
2. The past always tries to control the creativity that builds on it.
3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the past.
4. Ours is a less and less free society.

Micropayments

As much as I like the idea of micropayments I still find that I don't like the idea of micropayments. Much. Except I sort of do.

Overall: I'm not a fan. The increasing commidification of our culture is something that was a frequent topic of conversation in my art soaked past. We, as postmodernists, didn't steal. We appropriated. Hell, if it was from Disney, Pepsi, or the US government we liberated!

Earlier today I listened to part of Lessig's talk that came so highly recommended. In it he brought up the distinction between closed culture and allowing for free derivatives. Micropayments give opportunity to pay at each marginal step in cultural production. Of course, this is a naturally exclusive process. While fifteen cents doesn't seem like much it makes a difference when compounded.

Although if it is only 15 cents to see this or that piece of art (why limit it to viewing on the internet? Why not attach radio tracking units to museum goers? Charge per painting!) then the cost is so low that there is no public incentive to support such things. I have one word to respond to that and I can't say it here.

But about the political side: like we touched on in class.

Microgiving? Like PBS says: "If you love the Inspector Leher Nature Theatre call now to support it and ensure that we can keep it on the air!" Indicate a preference. Show what you care about.

In a representational system should there be a process of generalization of private concerns into the public realm? I'd say yes...this is why we attempt to limit some 'corrupting' influences on our representatives. After all, microgiving in a manner that indicates responsiveness to a specific issue placement or pitch offers a sample of those who care, have shown up, have the technology, and the microcash.

So I say:

Microgiving: worse than governing by polling.

Not as influential as you.

The Washington Post had an article about AimFight. This is a new website through which you can compare your popularity to others through your prevalence on buddylists of the aim software. This seems to fill the need for a petty side of social software.

So my score was only in the 600s. I'm a nobody. I've heard tell of people with scores over ten times that.

Is this a predictor of status as an Influential?

Online political influentials would seem to be the same as offline political or someone who is otherwise an influential?

Now I know I need to read the book, but I remember another book that I'm sure many of us have read, The Tipping Point. In this book Malcolm Gladwell outlines three types of people: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. These sound like various subject positions of infulentials.

No reason that someone can't occupy more than one of these positions, but it is more than believable that one position may dominate over the others. In any case utilizing the multiple roles in campaign volunteers and associations couldn't hurt.

Walt Disney stole my Pooh!

With the class discussion in class tonight about copyright I, once again, have my dander up about the Walt Disney corporation. The continual moving of the goalpost on account of intervention by Disney and other private interests is telling.

I find things like the Family Entertainnment and Copyright Act to be a bit much--the name even moreso than the content (I will not go into how the Personal Responsibility and Work OpportunityReconciliation Act of 1996 is not that at all)--that I have trouble taking them seriously. Goes to show that you can pass a bad law as long as it has a good sounding name. Who else is up for some climate change?

On second thought, this isn't a good place to talk about property rights, now that they have become the meaningful element of citizenship in the United States. This blog is not for grade.

Revolutionary DMV!

I've just bought a new car. I just thought you'd all want to know this.

As a result I've spent some time on the DC DMV website. Well, I've been there a few times now, I've used it to pay parking tickets since I brought my old car out east in January (and never in my life have I had as many parking tickets as I've had since I've been in DC!).

So here we have a government agency which "is committed to an almost revolutionary amount of change" (as I found out when I called to try to locate my car after I thought it had been towed, turns out they towed every car on the street except mine and the huge pick-up truck it was hidden behind. I'm serious, it on the 'please hold, your call is important to us' message if you call 202-727-5000).

The agency website seems to includes a high degree of functionality. I can't say that I had to worry much about he navigation, although it seems quite serviceable--I found the pages I needed by searching from the dc.gov homepage. That is, when I'm lucky enough to spell correctly.

Since I've been trying to register a car I've found that there are simply some gaps in the procedure to title, register, tag, inspect, and so on procedure as explained on the website. Although that seemed to explain it more comprehensively than when I visited the DMV in person.

It is revolutionary when thinking about he who I will not speak of and his prognostications about usability of various websites.

Ceci n'est pas une Blog

Here is an article on blogs from the Washington Post. About blogs...I know, we are all so tired of blogs. But take a look.

Talk about a clash of cultures. Vico would crap himself over the disparate nature of the discourse going down between two relatively similar (seemingly) individuals. So here we're seeing two distinct political cultural positions. The usual. But we also get to see an expression of a cultural position of the journalism industry.

So I quote this:

If you are reading these words in a publication called The Washington Post Magazine, then the bloggers have not entirely overtaken the so-called mainstream media -- yet.

I didn't ever read this article on paper, but in reading it the I did see ads for Vonage and HP printers. At least the MSM isn't as dead as painting--and that's been dead for more than 80 years!

One other thing: I liked seeing the information about pay levels for bloggers. I'd like to see a more complete accounting for the political blogging industry. (And if I ask for this information should I ask for similar information for real (MSM) journalists? What would that be?)

Goodness, a blog post about a MSM article about blogs. Cosmic.

Readability, or: One problem at a time.

I was reading Neilsen's Lower-Literacy Users article last night. I read the IPDI "Putting Online Influentials to Work for Your Campaign" earlier this week. I didn't enjoy it. Then I tried to read something else, an essay on phenomenalism, pluralism, and the inevitability of determinism. I couldn't stand doing it. I couldn't follow it, I didn't know what it was saying or why it was saying it at all.

I've tried using reader programs, I can't stand that either--even though there are days that I can't read well because of headaches or such things. Really, I have a problem at the other end. I need to get some of that voice recognition software--what with my arthritis I have days where I can hardly pick up a pen, let alone type (try opening a bottle of cola with no grip and a profound caffeine addiction).

But for now I went out and bought a printer. I was struck at how much more I absorbed when I read things on paper that I had only read online before (or, in this case, how little content there was to begin with after all). So I've found my readability solution. I reread the IPDI paper today--I found it much closer to being interesting--now I've found that I'd even like to read the book that they referred to. Now I can read things that are really interesting.

I hate blogs.

This post is definitely not to be graded.

So: Blogs killed my new computer. I now hate blogs. hate. Hate. HATE!

I think it was some sort of java problem. It all started when the version of my RSS reader ran out of time. I thought I'd downloaded the 'Lite' version, I guess not. When I downloaded the light version it wouldn't unzip--so I decided that I'd try another tool. I found something which would fold into my browser. Then things really went bad. Nothing would work, not Firefox, not Safari, not Netscape, not Explorer. My mail and IM programs worked. Skype didn't, nor did my peer-to-peer software (which I only use to share files with no copyright! This isn't a deposition! You can't ask me those sorts of questions! Get your hands off my purse!).

Now, a week and a half later--I've reinstalled my system software, all my programs from back-ups (which I'd only just made, since I just sold my old laptop). This is my first computer death since the 90s! Since I used Windows 3.1! I had to reinstall everything and I blame blogs. And I still don't have a working RSS feed reader.

Influentials

Wow, Influential are important. Influentials are well connected. Infulentials are important to winning! Make them your eCaptains! So: "the way people get through is by turning to people they trust.' Your Online Political Citizens. Your Influentials."

Ok, first off: I don't buy it that you can only use the Online Influentials. Wouldn't we want to use all Influentials available to us? Duh.

So this would be about making and maintaining contact and getting them to work for you. The internet serves as a communication and delivery device. The shape of the stuff might change given your audience, but that is something to be sensitive online or offline, young or old, creamy or crunchy. Back to message targeting, right?

I define myself by my cell phone ring.

A couple of weeks ago I was up in Baltimore, minding my own business, drinking coffee and reading outside a coffee shop. Someone called me...So my phone starts to ring. Except nobody has a phone that rings anymore! That is so 1997! (Unless you are trying to be retro. Please, I'm hearing Hanson and The Verve all the sudden--bring me back to 2005. In any case, back to my story: my phone, well, it doesn't ring, but it does what it does. My friend who was meeting me was trying to locate me, sort call, you know the sort. When I got off the phone I noticed two teenage girls laughing at me. Mean schoolgirls. Alpha girls, you know what I'm saying? They were commenting on my ringtone! Apparently they believed that my ringtone had been some sort of Mariah Carey song! Poor, culturally backward kids. Fortunately, their mother was with them (at least I guess it was their mother)--she corrected them, telling them that she knew the song. It was a great song and a big hit--Genius of Love, by the Tom Tom Club (turns out that it has been sampled since). I'm still not sure if I'm more comfortable with being laughed at by kids or having their mother come to my defense.

In any case, even I think things are getting little out of control. The New York Times had an article today about ringtones. DJing with a cell phone? Oh lord. I'm all for good ringtones...But very few are worth $2. I'm also not sure that I'd be interested in an entire 'album' of this stuff. My last phone had a composer program, but being unable to cope with musical notes that aren't already associated and sequenced in some meaningful manner.

The most disturbing part was the 'senior analyst' at billboard magazine saying "That's part of how they brand themselves." Yikes. I thought that was what shoes are for.

Section 508

Wow, did anyone else look into Section 508 accessibility? I tried to look into it and came across www.section508.gov. Honestly, it would have made more sense if I were a procurement officer. But at least it is good to see that there are some standards.

My problem with the arguments made in Chapter 6 of Johnson's 'Congress Online' is that I just don't buy it. Maybe I'm not the typical user, when I want to know about a vote I don't look to the member to tell me how they voted. There are media sources that offer that information--and will put it in context, if I need it. Any contextualization on a member's site should and will only work to put the member in the best light.

But I'm one of these people who has little respect for how most of our laws are written.

Moose?

For anyone who missed this:
A moose wandered into an ER in Anchorage.

But the moose had no insurance.

Poor moose.

We need to do more for our brother and sister mooses.

Emails and feeling connected

The one time I contacted my Representative by email they failed the e-test. It isn't like I would have ever voted for them in the first place, but still, they are my elected whatever. Email didn't work, so after a couple days of not hearing back I called the office and they responded by tracking down the forms which had been lost by some godforsaken office some place in some office. They got back to me the same Friday I called and my problem was solved by Monday afternoon.

The problems for a Congressional office must be pretty bad if my experience is any measuring stick. And by what "Congress Online" says it is like that for a lot of constituents. If these problems are bad for elected officials, who have a known budget and a relatively stable and predictable timeline it is a wonder that campaigns can do anything right. Being competent in a response is great, but as in my experience, it is worthless unless the problem reaches the right person (I recall being handed off several times, from the person who answered the phone at the local office, to a correspondence person in the local office, to someone in the DC office, to a correspondence person in the DC office, to yet another person (who's title was not known to me) in the DC office. Like an email wouldn't have gotten totally lost even if the first person would have read it. Hey, it took four people to get me to someone who could help me with my problem, since they work in congress I'm sure they have a collective IQ of about 237, but I doubt that EchoMail would have done that much better).

When an established system has so much trouble one can't help but to wonder how difficult it is for a campaign, with a timeline that can be very much up in the air and a hand-to-mouth budget. Of course from what I've seen in other areas in which I've worked tech issues can be very easy or very hard--depending on two things: First, the devotion of the decision makers to having good (and appropriate) tech solutions--this doesn't mean the best or newest, but the most functional. Second, having an IT person who is good at it. Of course there are lots of good IT people and providers out there, but it can be hard to tell, for those of us who aren't 'tech savvy' to tell them from the one's who were educated with a banana and an inner tube.

Ohio Voting 2004

After our discussion in class last night I dug through my records and found this:

The Ohio Voter's Bill of Rights (link is a PDF file):

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE:

1. If you got in line or arrived at the polling place any time between 6:30 a.m. OR 7:30 p.m. Ohio Code § 3501.32

2. WITHOUT PRESENTING ANY IDENTIFICATION after the election officials verify your signature. If you cannot

sign the register, you may still vote after you present proper identification to verify your identity. § 3505.18

3. BY PROVISIONAL BALLOT if your name is not on the list of registered voters, or you are a first time voter

who registered by mail and you do not have identification and you did not include a copy of your identification

with your application. Help America Vote Act of 2002, 42 USC 15482

4. At that same assigned polling place, IF YOU HAVE MOVED WITHIN THE SAME PRECINCT OR CHANGED YOUR NAME. § 3503.16 (B)(1)

5. BY PROVISIONAL BALLOT at the polling place in the precinct in which you currently live or at a site designated by the board of election if you have moved within the same county, moved from one precinct to another, or changed your name within 30 days of an election. §§ 3503.16 (B)(2), (G)

6. At a site designated by the board of elections or by an absentee ballot if you are unable to appear in person,

6A. IF YOU HAVE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT COUNTY within 28 days of Election Day. §§ 3503.16 (C), (G)

7. WITHOUT THE FIVE-MINUTE TIME LIMIT as long as one other machine is not in use or no one is waiting in line. § 3505.23

8. With a new ballot IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE AND “SPOIL” YOUR PAPER BALLOT. You cannot receive more than three ballots. § 3505.23

9. With help from anyone except your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union IF YOU CANNOT READ OR WRITE, ARE BLIND OR OTHERWISE DISABLED. § 3505.24

10. WITH ASSISTANCE FROM WITHIN THE VEHICLE THAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE POLLING SITE OR AT THE DOOR OF THE POLLING PLACE IF YOUR POLLING PLACE is inaccessible to you due to a disability.§ 3501.29(C) § 3501.29(C)

11. IF YOU ARE IN JAIL as long as you have not been convicted of a felony OR if you have been released from prison for conviction of a felony, even if you are still on probation or parole. §§ 2961.01, 3503.21

12. WITHOUT BEING INTIMIDATED or forced to vote for someone you do not wish to vote for. §§ 3599.06 3599.01(A), 3599.05, 3599.06

It was distributed by email and in paper versions. It is a good summary of the Ohio voting laws and it jibes with my Elections Judge handbook from Franklin County, Ohio (where Columbus is Located).

When I went to my Elections Judge training a couple of years ago all the talk was about keeping Ohio from being the next Florida. Of course that was in 2002, I guess we didn't keep our eyes on the prize.

“Just imagine if someone came to your door [and showed you] the latest state-of-the-art-technology,” said Swire. “Then imagine if they showed you a video clip on an issue you truly cared about.”

From the Narrowcasting in Ohio article.

What I remember people talking about in Ohio last year was the technology. Now, still, whenever I talk to someone from ACT all they talk about the technology. I know it must be exciting to be able to show someone a customized video at their doorstep, but is it effective?

For the big one, the presidential election, that is, the ACT sort of targeting and customization might be justifiable given the cost involved. But for smaller elections I would be more comfortable being a candidate of a party that had a Bush-like organization reaching all levels of the various constituencies.

I don't think that this stuff is going anywhere, but I don't think it is ready for primetime yet. Of course, once doorstep videos and podcasts and such become commonplace they will be more effective as communication tools, until then they are just novelties.

More Computer Problems

Computer Problems