A Tale of Two Blogospheres

by: kelster

Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 06:45:44 AM EDT

Here's a quick preview:

Sites on the left adopt more participatory technical platforms; are comprised of significantly fewer sole-authored sites; include user blogs; maintain more fluid boundaries between secondary and primary content; include longer narrative and discussion posts; and (among the top half of the blogs in our sample) more often use blogs as platforms for mobilization as well as discursive production.

This may seem like a Profound Grasp of the Obvious, but it's pretty interesting to see it quantified.

On Improbable Realities, Part One, Or, "I Want A Jet Car With Frickin' Lasers…"

by: fake consultant

Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 02:32:07 AM EDT

Cherry and the Senate Dems get Creative (and Geeky!) in Fighting for Higher Ed Funding

by: LiberalLucy

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 09:34:15 AM EDT

In the small chance you've been off the Tubes of the Internets for the last 48 hours, chances are you've heard a whole lot of noise about how the Senate Republicans slashed the state's Higher Education budget yesterday, which included the Michigan's Promise, the $4000 scholarship for Michigan students, which 96,000 students in our state receive and depend on.

As a geek, I love the online organizing tools -- but as a citizen, this is a great way to send a message that we won't stand for breaking Michigan's promise.

From subscription-only MIRS

Minutes before the vote on many of amendments that attempted to restore the Michigan Promise Scholarship, Lt. Gov. John CHERRY, who was presiding over the Senate was sending out messages on Twitter telling his followers to use an online tool to write local newspapers to stress why cutting the scholarship was wrong.

Not too long after I saw the tweets from the Lt. Governor, I clicked on one and was taken to the website from A Whole Lot of People Supporting Cherry, his exploration committee, asking me to make sure our state is 'Keeping Our Promises' by visiting an entire section of his website to take action on this one singular issue. 

Now that might not seem to extraordinary, but if you visit the page, you're apt to be a little more impressed. The page includes a You-Tube video, a petition to sign directed at the Senate Republicans, a link to the Facebook group for the issue, a link to a tool that allows you to automatically send a letter-to-the-editor about this particular issue (with suggested text), a "tell-a-friend" tool, and lastly a link to the news page with all of Cherry's press releases. From an online organizing/get-out-the-vote (GOTV) perspective, that's pretty sweet. 

To be fair, the Senate Democrats have done an impressive job of also using some of these very same online tools to keep folks informed and engaged through their website, blog and Twitter, and Facebook accounts, and have one of the most active and updated YouTube channels, with over 75 videos to date. 

On top of all of that, Cherry started using a new online petition tool, http://act.ly, the Twitter Petition, that just launched within the last 72 hours, to also drive the subject. 

Obviously the Obama campaign set the bar pretty high last year for similar online action, but this early in the 2010 game it's pretty impressive. 

As someone who makes monthly student loan payments equivalent to what some pay for a mortgage, I appreciate the fight that the leadership of Cherry and the Senate Democrats are taking on with this issue. As a giant geek, I think it's great to see public officials really grabbing this online technology by the horns and using it for a very worthy cause. 

Twitter = Kalashnikov?

by: kelster

Sun Feb 15, 2009 at 17:33:53 PM EST

Summit participants not only heard from Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich, but also from members of the public -- unusually for the GOP, the event was open to everyone.

Helping to run the summit was Michigan's own Saul Anuzis, who is the new "RNC transition chairman." Though the title "transition chairman" sounds vaguely like "Miss Congeniality," at least it gets him out in the fresh air...

During lunch break, Saul Anuzis is holding court near the entrance. "Why do revolutionaries use Kalashnikovs?" he asks. "Because they won't jam. It's not the best gun, but you can throw it in the mud, pick it up, and it still works. This is a revolution."

What exactly is that supposed to mean? Throw your Blackberry in the mud?  Steal your neighbor's wifi? Given recent sketchy GOP attempts to use Twitter, is this really the most helpful metaphor for Saul to choose?

Not to mention that when it comes to recent electoral outcomes, Saul's Republican "revolution" looks more Russian than American.

Lt.Gov. Cherry's Speech at YDM Conference

by: TomChoske

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 16:04:20 PM EST

   His speech was very eloquent, reminding the audience that each of us who has a cell phone has more power to immediately influence public policy than a group of lobbyists in decades past. To access the internet from anywhere, send messages to legislators through e-mail and other instant formats, and then invite all of our friends to do the same makes each of us a potent political force. However, apathy can stand in our way: the belief that we can't change our government is now the only obstacle to our generation.

   In 2008, we saw a wave of 'change' and 'yes we can' attitudes sweep the country. It is in this new spirit that we can finally take the power from the entrenched special interests and force our leaders, up in their'ivory towers', to listen to us. With the major problems that our state and country face, it is this ability that can make this truly the 'greatest generation' and abandon the failed policies of the past.

   To watch the speech, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/ltgovspeech

Nolan Finley: Drinkin' the Oil-Flavored Koolaid

by: kelster

Sun Apr 20, 2008 at 14:26:21 PM EDT

Today's NYTimes had a very good feature (The Big Thirst: Oil Demand Surges as Developing Nations Arise), complete with snappy graphics that illustrate our nation's dependency on oil.

Here's one data set that is worth the read

Fleetwide standards for new vehicles (calculated in mpg):

Japan: 46.0
European Union: 43.0
China: 36.0United States (autos): 27.5
United States (light trucks): 22.2

Now, compare and contrast this with Nolan Finley's whine-filled slap at Barack Obama (Obama should talk to some engineers) in today's Detroit News.  Mr. Finley talked with some members of the Society of Automotive Engineers at Cobo Center last week, and had this to say about national efforts to improve fuel efficiency:

Dawson Bell Responds (but just raises more questions)

by: Brainwrap

Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 11:22:45 AM EDT

(cross-posted at D4MD.org and dKos)

In light of the amazing $23 iPod deal that the State Democrats supposedly finagled with Apple, I wrote Dawson Bell at the Detroit Free Press to find out how I, too, could qualify for a 70%+ discount on my next iPod purchase.  To his credit, Dawson Bell responded pretty quickly, though his response didn't exactly help his case: