Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth

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June 29, 2007

Democratic Presidential Candidates Discuss the Digital Divide

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Tags: Bill Richardson | Christopher Dodd | debates | Dennis Kucinich | digital divide | education technology | election 2008 | Mike Gravel | policy | politics

Posted by acarvin at 7:25 PM

Asking the Candidates about the Digital Divide

While they didn't discuss the digital divide during the presidential debate as I had hoped, I managed to put some questions to four of the candidates in the spin room. Most of them didn't give me much more than a sound bite, but it was still interesting. Bill Richardson probably had the broadest perspective on the subject, while Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich focused on ubiquitous broadband and laptops for kids. Mike Gravel offered some terse comments on keeping the Internet free and putting computers in our classrooms.

I've posted an article about what they said on my PBS blog. I'll also put together a video of their comments soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to ask the Republican candidates about the digital divide at the next PBS debate, which will take place at the end of September. -andy

Tags: Bill Richardson | Christopher Dodd | Dennis Kucinich | digital divide | education technology | election 2008 | Mike Gravel | presidential debates

Posted by acarvin at 2:39 PM

Dramatic Sharpton

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Tags: Al Sharpton | dramatic chipmunk | election 2008 | evil eye | humor | politics | presidential debates | scowling

Posted by acarvin at 12:03 PM

June 28, 2007

It's a Wrap

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Posted by acarvin at 11:57 PM

Hanging out with Mike Gravel

Even though he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting nominated, former senator Mike Gravel sure is entertaining. He spent much of the debate talking about the need to legalize drugs, and he kept at it in the spin room. Most of the reporters were talking with other candidates or their representatives, allowing for a more intimate conversation with Gravel and perhaps one or two other people at a time. Gravel lambasted the war on drugs, saying it's insane that a person can't get a prescription to buy cocaine. When asked if drugs should be taxed heavily, he disagreed, saying that he doesn't have to pay taxes for the painkillers he uses for his leg pain, so why should someone have to pay tax if they want to buy some drugs?

It sure is fascinating watching someone who has absolutely nothing to lose. :-) -andy

Tags: chutzpah | drugs | election 2008 | Mike Gravel | presidential debates

Posted by acarvin at 11:19 PM

More Spin Than a Dreidel Confab

The post-debate spin room is in full swing right now. Four of the candidates who participated tonight - Dodd, Kucinich, Richardson and Gravel - are mingling with reporters, taking questions and posing for photograph. Biden has apparently left the campus, and I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case with Clinton, Obama and Edwards - we'll see. In their stead they have proxies taking questions for them - folks like Cornell West, Vernon Jordan and Reverend Al Sharpton.

I've managed to talk with all four candidates about Internet policy, mostly the digital divide. Senator Gravel spontaneously erupted in support of net neutrality, while Richardson focused more on creating math and science academies. I shot video of all of their responses, so I'll have to put together something with it later. -andy

Posted by acarvin at 11:14 PM

Unvarnished: Scenes from the Media Center

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Posted by acarvin at 10:15 PM

Whither Maureen? Dayenu.

Still no sign of Maureen Dowd, but there's a glass of water by her chair that keeps getting lower and lower. How Elijah the Prophet. -andy

Posted by acarvin at 9:39 PM

Settling into the Debate Routine

The candidates are now talking about education; Richardon's response seems to have resonated well in the media center and the chatrooms. It's gotten a lot quieter here; fewer media folks are chatting or making snarky remarks. Might also be because Obama is talking and everyone wants to hear what he has to say. -andy

Posted by acarvin at 9:32 PM

Question 1: Race, Thank Yous, Drugs, Marriages

We're under way. The first question was about race and whether it's still a paramount issue. It took a few candidates before John Edwards decided to thank Howard University for hosting the event. Mike Gravel drew some confused looks in the media center when he talked about legalizing drugs. And Kucinich's response wasn't heard by anyone because everyone was asking who the redhead was? When they realized it was his wife, they were still confused. Next think you knew his time was up. -andy

Posted by acarvin at 9:09 PM

You'll Get No Smokes from PBS, Thank You Very Much

One thing I've noticed while hanging out with the media posse here at the presidential debate is that the media center is healthier than the last time I attended a debate. Way back in 1992 I talked my way into a press pass for the third general election debate between Clinton, Bush Sr. and Perot at Michigan State University. The media center isn't that much different in terms of desk space, lots of coffee, fax machines, etc, but there's one thing that's missing.

Free cigarettes.

Now mind you, I don't smoke, nor did I smoke back in '92, but at that first debate, I couldn't help but notice the table of free swag from Philip Morris. You see, they were one of the main sponsors of that debate, and along the side of the media center room they set up a table with free stuff for the journalists. And the two things I remember the most were the packs of free cigarettes and the bowls full of Kraft carmel chews. The chews lasted the night; the cigarettes did not.

Thankfully, the good people at PBS are clearly looking out for our teeth and our lungs. At most, I'll go home somewhat caffeinated and full of protein (grilled chicken and salmon for dinner). And if anyone here wants to smoke, by God, they'll have to supply their own habit. -andy

Tags: candy | caramel | cigarettes | health | Kraft | media | Phillip Morris | politics | presidential debates | swag

Posted by acarvin at 8:52 PM

Greetings from the Presidential Debate Media Center

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Tags: election 2008 | Howard University | PBS | presidential debates

Posted by acarvin at 8:30 PM

One Hour Til Debate Time

We're at 8pm now, and I'm hanging out with Robert Cox of the Media Bloggers Association and Anna Shoup of PBS Newshour. I just shot some video, which is slowly exporting, and I've stocked up on some ginger ale to get me through the debate, since it'll probably be hard to leave the room once things are rolling.

Anyway, back to video stuff.... -andy

Tags: election 2008 | Howard University | PBS | presidential debates

Posted by acarvin at 8:02 PM

At the Debate's Media Center

It's 7pm and I just arrived at the media center for the presidential debate. Traffic on Georgia Ave was a mess, but you knew you were getting close when you started passing throngs of Chris Dodd supporters. Checking in was straightforward; the only glitch I had was having my car's driver side window getting jammed for a few minutes.

There are about 350-400 chairs set up along long rows of tables, each with a number of power splitters. Tables are set to the far left and right of the room, while the center is reserved as the "spin alley" - where the candidates or their proxies will all brag how great they did following the debate. The wi-fi is nice and face. Flat-panel screens that'll later show the debate are now showing Wolf Blitzer in that Situation Room of his.

I'm sitting about five rows back on the left; according to the placards in front of each chair, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times will be four seats to my right. This is gonna be sweet. -andy

Tags: election 2008 | Howard University | politics | presidential debates

Posted by acarvin at 7:00 PM

Follow Tonight's Presidential Debate on Twitter

I've set up a Twitter account that's capturing the RSS feed set up by the Media Bloggers Association, which helped PBS credential bloggers for tonight's Democratic presidential debate at Howard University. If you're able to check the Web frequently, of course, the best thing to do is go straight to the Media Bloggers Association page that's aggregating all of us who are covering the debate. But if you'd rather receive updates via instant messaging or text messaging, the Twitter account is for you. Unfortunately, it probably won't capture every single one of our posts during the peak debate hours, since the tool I'm using to post on Twitter, Twitterfeed, limits the number of posts per hour. But along with blogging, I'll also try to post tweets from my own Twitter account from time to time.

Five and a quarter hours and counting.... This is gonna be fun.... -andy

Tags: instant messaging | Media Bloggers Association | politics | presidential debates | rss | SMS | text messaging | Twitter

Posted by acarvin at 3:39 PM

Move Over Dramatic Chipmunk, Here Comes Vindictive Chicken!

My friend Susan Myrland took this picture at a county fair. Alas, there's no video, but if there were, I'm sure it would be dramatic. -andy

Posted by acarvin at 2:57 PM

How Seriously Will Tonight's Presidential Debate Tackle the Digital Divide?

It's just past 9am and I'm finding myself checking my watch a lot, hoping the hours of the day will pass quickly so I can head over to Howard University for tonight's Democratic presidential debate. The event is being organized by PBS, and my colleagues there have been kind enough to extend me a press pass so I can blog (and maybe even vlog) the event. For the first time ever, the debate will feature a panel of moderators made up entirely of people of color, and it'll focus on domestic issues that are of particular concern to minority voters.

As you can see on the debate website, they've already broken down the themes of the debate into eight categories, including healthcare, criminal justice, immigration and affordable neighborhoods. But I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that one of the eight themes will be the digital divide. By my count, it's been seven years since a national political forum set out to address the digital divide. As a nation we've become complacent regarding the issue, which is understandable since around three-quarters of US households have Internet access, while minority groups have made significant strides in catching up.

But complacency, as is often the case, doesn't change the fact that there are still challenges that must be met. Because so many people are online today, Internet access is taken to be a given, whether by government, businesses, schools, etc. If you need to access to some kind of government service, you're expected to go online. Students are assumed to have access when completing homework and other assignments. Job applicants are assumed to have access and the requisite tech skills to back it up. When you meet someone who isn't online, the first assumption is that it must be by there choice, rather than the possibility that they can't afford it or lack the skills to use it effectively.

Meanwhile, as I've been arguing for a very long time now, the digital divide isn't just about measuring who has access to the Internet and who doesn't. It's about who has access and the skills necessary to use these tools to improve quality of life for their families and communities. Included in this is the ability for people to become more civically engaged and have more of a voice within local and national decisionmaking. None of you need to hear me repeat the same lecture on how social media tools like blogging and YouTube are giving individual the power to participate in civic discourse in ways that were not previously possible. (Remember, Time Magazine gave us all that Person of the Year award.) Thankfully, research from groups like the Pew Internet Project is beginning to suggest that user-generated content is becoming more democratized. But the conventional wisdom would still suggest that Web 2.0 is largely a place for more affluent, better educated and generally white people.

We need to do a better job of bringing social media tools and skills to people that'll have been disenfranchised, just as we work on strategies to bridge the divide in the more traditional sense. It's a multi-stakeholder challenge, involving the private sector, local and national government, educational instutions, religious institutions and civil society. How will the candidates tackle these issues if they were to become president? So far I've heard close to nothing from any of them. I'm hoping that'll change tonight. -andy

Tags: civic engagement | debates | digital divide | Howard University | PBS | policy | politics | social media | Web 2.0

Posted by acarvin at 9:27 AM

June 25, 2007

A Lost Suit Over a Lost Suit

In case you've been following the story of that DC judge who sued a local dry-cleaning company for more than $50 million because they lost a suit of his, now it's his turn to lose the suit. From the Washington Post:

The D.C. administrative law judge who sued his neighborhood dry cleaner for $54 million over a pair of lost pants found out this morning what he's going to get for all his troubles.

Nothing.

In a verdict that surprised no one, except perhaps the plaintiff himself, a D.C. Superior Court judge denied Roy Pearson the big payday he claimed was his due....

It was a pointed rebuke of Pearson's claim, and came with an order to pay the cleaners' court costs. But even bigger troubles may loom for Pearson.

Financially, he could soon be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees incurred by the owners of Customer Cleaners. Attorneys for the Chungs have said they will seek such payments, as well as sanctions against Pearson for bringing the lawsuit.

Ouch. -andy

Tags: arrogance | dry cleaners | judges | lawsuits | Washington DC

Posted by acarvin at 2:55 PM

Supreme Court Rules Against "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" Kid

This morning, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against an Alaska high school student who unfurled a banner with the words "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" across the street from campus as the Olympic torch relay took place. The student, Joseph Frederick, claimed the message was intended as nonsensical, but that didn't stop his school principal from suspending him. Today, the highest court in the land agreed with the principal's decision.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that even though the action took place off-campus, the school was justified in suspending Frederick because he was displaying what could only be interpreted as a pro-drug message. "The message on Frederick's banner is cryptic," Roberts wrote. "But Principal Morse thought the banner would be interpreted by those viewing it as promoting illegal drug use, and that interpretation is plainly a reasonable one." -andy

UPDATE: I've posted an in-depth analysis of the ruling on my PBS blog. The majority opinion basically says that the school could punish the student because the student's actions took place at a school-sanctioned event, even though it was off-campus, and that his speech condoned illegal drug use. Based on the ruling, I make the argument that schools that block student access to blogs and social networks would have a hard time using the ruling in their favor, since blocking access is basically the opposite of sanctioning these websites. In contrast, schools that allow access to social networks in an educational context might be able to argue that drug-related student content, even if it takes place off-campus, is punishable, because the websites were indeed sanctioned.

Tags: Bong Hits 4 Jesus | education | free speech | law | Morse v. Frederick | Supreme Court

Posted by acarvin at 10:53 AM

June 22, 2007

The Funniest Five-Second Video Ever

I don't know why this is so funny, but I nearly wet my pants after seeing this:

Tags: chipmunks | drama | funny | humor | video

Posted by acarvin at 12:55 PM

Ask a Presidential Candidate

If you had a chance to put a question to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or any of the other Democratic presidential candidates, what would you ask them? If something comes to mind, please tell my NPR colleague Michel Martin. She's one of the moderators at next week's Democratic presidential debate at Howard University on June 28th. I suggested to her that she ask the public for potential questions on her blog and she took up the challenge:

Yours truly will be one of the questioners at the PBS-sponsored presidential debate next week at Howard University.

We want your questions. Do you have one...or three?

We are particularly interested in key domestic and international concerns that have NOT been showcased in the other debates.

What's on your mind? We'll be asking every day from now until next THURSDAY, June 28.

So if you've got a potential question for the candidates, please post it on Michel's blog. (You're welcome to post it on my blog as well, but be sure to post it on hers as well, since I can't guarantee she'll read it here.)

Speaking of next week's debate, I'll be blogging from the event, thanks to my colleagues at PBS, who are sponsoring the debate. PBS is now working with the Media Bloggers Association to credential bloggers who want to cover the event. I'll probably be in the media center with everyone else, but hopefully I can snag some time with some of the candidates or their proxies in the post-debate chaos of the spin room. This will be my second presidential debate - I covered the last of the three general election debates that took place between Bill Clinton, Bush Sr. and Ross Perot in 1992. I'm really looking forward to the debate, so please check out the blog on the evening of Thursday, June 28th to get the skinny on what's taking place there. -andy

Tags: Barack Obama | blogging | credentials | election 2008 | Hillary Clinton | Howard University | Media Bloggers Association | PBS | presidential debate

Posted by acarvin at 11:39 AM

June 21, 2007

Coming Soon to DC: Google Maps Street View

I was walking to lunch today and nearly crashed into an Immersive Media car. These are the guys who are capturing the 360-degree imagery for Google Map's Street View. Now I'm wondering if the 360 view of 7th and K Street NW Washington DC will feature me aiming my cameraphone at the viewer. -andy

Posted by acarvin at 11:56 AM

June 19, 2007

Ask a Technocrat

Later this week in Geneva, the International Telecommunications Union will be hosting a high-level UN conference on digital content delivery and the future of the Internet. Thomas Crampton of the International Herald Tribune will moderate a panel this Friday on the role international organizations should play in a world of converging media. His panel will feature leadership from entities such as WIPO, UNESCO, the ITU, the EU parliament and the European Broadcasting Union.

Thomas has put out a request for bloggers to submit questions for the panelists. If you'd like to offer your two cents, you can post your questions in the discussion thread on his blog.

Don't think you have any questions? Think a little harder. These folks are playing a major role in issues ranging from bridging the digital divide to who controls intellectual property on the Internet. I'm sure we can come up with some good questions, right? -andy

Tags: digital divide | Geneva | intellectual property | ITU | telecommunications policy | UN | UNESCO | WIPO

Posted by acarvin at 11:03 AM

June 18, 2007

Google Launches Policy Blog

Attention media policy wonks: Google has launched a new public policy blog. Andrew McLaughlin, their long-time policy tsar, sets the stage for the blog:

At the beginning of 2005, I was Google's lone public policy guy. Today, there's a bigger - and growing - team of us scattered around the world, working on issues like privacy, child online safety, copyright and trademark protection, content regulation, reform of the patent system, and broadband policy. These issues are fundamental to the future of the Internet (and of the individuals it empowers), and are increasingly prominent on the agendas of policymakers worldwide.

We're seeking to do public policy advocacy in a Googley way. Yes, we're a multinational corporation that argues for our positions before officials, legislators, and opinion leaders. At the same time, we want our users to be part of the effort, to know what we're saying and why, and to help us refine and improve our policy positions and advocacy strategies. With input and ideas from our users, we'll surely do a better job of fighting for our common interests.

Should make for an interesting read. -andy

Tags: Andrew McLaughlin | blogs | Google | policy

Posted by acarvin at 1:18 PM

June 16, 2007

Meeting a Living Goddess: The Bhaktapur Kumari of Nepal

Who would have guessed I'd meet a living goddess this weekend.

Yesterday evening, we were walking past the Discovery Channel building in Silver Spring, heading to a restaurant for dinner, when an adorable little South Asian girl walked by in an ornate golden outfit and an extravagant tika painted on her head. I guessed she and her family were headed to some form of Hindu festival in the area.

"You won't lose her in a crowd," a man remarked as we crossed the street.

"She looks like a Kumari," Susanne said, in reference to the young girls of Nepal who are worshiped as living goddesses.

She did look like a Kumari, but Kumaris never travel. They barely leave their compounds, or so I thought. Susanne and I saw the royal Kumari of Kathmandu when we visited Nepal in 1996. She was cloistered in a special building that serves as her residence during her tenure, and we had to pay a small fee for the privilege of having her stick her head out the window and glare at us for a moment, clearly preferring to be elsewhere.

Selected as toddlers, always from a Buddhist family of the Shakya caste, Kumaris are picked based on 32 personal traits in a process that's sometimes compared to the rigorous process taken to select the Dalai Lama. Once selected, she's revered by the local Hindu population until she reaches puberty, when a new Kumari must be selected. And it's almost unheard of for them to travel.

As it turns out, she was a Kumari - the Kumari of Bhaktapur, the former royal capital of Nepal, and one of the three most important of the dozen or so Kumaris in Nepal. She was in the US for a world premiere of a documentary about Kumaris at the Silverdocs festival here in Silver Spring, and it was the first time a Kumari had ever visited the US. We were both pretty amazed that we'd gotten the chance to see her. Too bad it was just a fleeting glance crossing Georgia Avenue, though.

Today, we returned to downtown Silver Spring for lunch. A large stage had been set up for some kind of performance, and there were signs posted from the local Nepali American association. We stuck around for a while, and sure enough, the Kumari reappeared.

Once again dressed in an ornate costume, she was surrounded by a crowd of photographers and well-wishers. Given my previous experience with a Kumari, I assumed she'd be somewhat aloof, but she was quite the opposite. She smiled and shook hands with visitors, even giving a man a big hug at one point. She was also carrying around an enormous digital SLR camera, snapping pictures of her entourage when she wasn't posing for pictures with others.

Eventually, she settled onto a small chair that had been placed in front of the stage. Local Nepalis waited their turn to kiss her feet, then pose for a picture with her. An elderly woman cried tears of joy when she got to meet her. On stage, a troupe of dancers performed, while the Kumari snacked on a plate of crunchy chaat and spicy chana, posing for more pictures and playing with yet another camera - this time a digital camcorder.

I was amazed at how social she was. It turns out, though, as Kumari of Bhaktapur, she's not subjected to the same restrictions that her counterpart in Kathamandu faces. She goes to school and lives with her parents, though she still participates in daily religious rituals. When you ask her what her name is, she says "Sajani" with a smile. And when Susanne and I each put our palms together and bowed to offer her a traditional greeting of "Namaste," she stopped what she was doing for just a moment so she could do the same back to each of us.

I've posted a photo gallery on Flickr. And here's a brief video clip I shot of the Kumari on my mobile phone, in which several Nepalis pay their respects to her:

Watch the Video

I'm still smiling from the experience. Nepal is a very special place for us, and I am so happy to have met the Bhaktapur Kumari today. Welcome to America, Sajani. -andy

Tags: Bhaktapur | digital cameras | gadgets | goddess | Hinduism | Kathmandu | Kumari | religion | Sajani Shakya | Silver Spring | Silverdocs

Posted by acarvin at 8:16 PM

June 13, 2007

The Best License Plate Ever

Spotted today near the corner of 7th and K Streets NW in DC. Shiver me fenders! -andy

Posted by acarvin at 1:01 PM

Josh Wolf on The Colbert Report

Video blogger Josh Wolf was on The Colbert Report yesterday talking about the reasons he spent 228 days in jail on contempt charges for refusing to turn over footage he shot at a public protest. Colbert argues with Josh about whether he should be considered a member of the press, among other topics. -ac

Tags: comedy | free press | Josh Wolf | journalism | law | The Colbert Report | tv | video blogging

Posted by acarvin at 12:52 PM

June 12, 2007

Nobody Expects the American Inquisition!

Wish I'd come up with this... -andy

Hat tip: Tom Regan

Tags: Inquisition | interrogation | John McCain | Monty Python | satire | torture | video | YouTube

Posted by acarvin at 12:30 PM

June 10, 2007

David Chase: Gimme Closure

I've had a bad feeling about the final episode of the Sopranos ever since I read this in Entertainment Weekly about David Chase and the making of the episode "Pine Barrens," in which Paulie and Christopher get lost in the woods after losing track of a Russian mobster they shot. Several quotes by Chase had stuck in my head:

They shot a guy.Who knows where he went? Who cares about some Russian? This is what Hollywood has done to America. Do you have to have closure on every little thing? Isn't there any mystery in the world? It's a murky world out there. It's a murky life these guys lead. And by the way, I do know where the Russian is. But I'll never say because so many people got so pissy about it.

and this:

'

In life, you don't get an ending to every story. You can't tie a little ribbon on everything and say it's over. And yeah, I know...'The Sopranos isn't life.' But it's based on it!'

and this:

If you're raised on a steady diet of Hollywood movies and network television, you start to think, Obviously there's going to be some moral accounting here. That's not the way the world works.

So for anyone who expected Tony to get whacked or arrested or have his family killed or whatever, the answer was sitting on the EW.com website all along. At the time, I told Susanne not to read the article because I had a feeling Chase's sentiment gave away the ending. I'm really, really annoyed I was right. -andy

Tags: bad endings | closure | David Chase | series finale | The Sopranos

Posted by acarvin at 10:30 PM

June 8, 2007

Change.org: Using Social Networking to Raise Money For and Against Politicians

This week I had the chance to chat with Ben Rattray, co-founder and CEO of Change.org, one of the most interesting up-and-coming social networks on the Internet. They're using social media tools to bring together like-minded people to raise money on issues they care about. And thanks to a recent relaunch of the site, users can now work together like an informal political action committee (PAC), targeting their collective donations to support - or unseat - politicians.

Originally, change.org was set up to allow you to band together with like-minded people and raise money for causes, like pooling together money for a targeted donation to an organization specializing in malaria eradication or supporting public broadcasting. With the relaunch of the website, change.org lets you connect with people to give money to politicians to influence specific policymaking.

For example, let's say you want to work with other citizens to tell politicians you favor network neutrality on the Internet. (There's already a change.org group working on that goal.) Prior to the relaunch of the site, that group could raise money for nonprofits representing this particular interest, like Free Press. Now, though, users can actually target their giving to specific politicians, or against politicians that oppose their viewpoint. Supporting specific politicians is straightforward. First, you identify who the politician is and manage an online campaign to raise the money. Then change.org sends that politician a check with a letter saying that the money is on behalf of a group of citizens, showing who gave what and why.

More interesting, though, is that the site lets you give money against politicians. Continuing with the example of network neutrality, supporters of are often critical of Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska because of his stance on the issue. Change.org lets users target their money to Stevens' eventual Democratic opponent in the next election, even if that person hasn't been selected yet. Until his opponent is nominated, change.org will hold the money in escrow. At that point in time, a check gets cut for the candidate opposing him. And if your group identifies any politicians opposing your policy - in this particular example, Sen. Stevens - they too will receive a letter saying that X number of dollars have been raised for their opponent because of their position on that policy.

Ben explained that influencing politicians doesn't necessarily take hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Spend just 10 or 20 thousand - or just threatening to spend it - is usually sufficient to shut them up," he said. "It may seem counterintuitive, but it works as out countervailing force."

Because Change.org allows users to behave like a PAC, it raises questions as to whether they would be held to the same financing rules. Ben noted that his website is simply working as a vehicle for people to organize and transmit money that they would otherwise give as individuals, so users aren't forming actual PACs in the literal - and legal - sense of the term. This made me wonder whether he was concerned there would be a political backlash of some sort, with people arguing the website lets people get around current campaign financing rules. "I think that could be the most interesting outcome we could get," he said, laughing. Howeer, they've designed the features on the site with current campaign financing laws taken into account. "We're playing in the game that's available," he continued. "these are the rules."

When you look at the site, Change.org appears to be dominated by causes that one might describe as left-of-center. So I asked Ben if the site had any partisan aspirations. "We are agnostic and people could provide whatever content they please," he said. "Right now, the name [Change.org] may turn off some conservatives.... But lots of Republicans want change as well. But the left is often an early adopter of social media, if you look at MoveOn and that kind of stuff. Though conservatives are catching up."

"What we're trying to do," he said, "is doing [political giving] in transformative ways, changing the world of philanthropy and politics - literally. The system is very broken.... The experience of giving is not the rich experience it can be. It's not that it's hard to give - it's actually really damn easy. The problem is that it's not engaging. You want to get people more engaged in social issues, participating in the process."

Taking the conversation in a different direction, I asked how Change.org might interface with other social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace. "We're about to launch our facebook app soon," he said, without committing to a specific date. "It'll basically be a build of our entire app. Facebook apps have become truly transformational - forward-looking. If you take Facebook at their word, it's not a platform for little features, but full-fledged applications. We want to be the nonprofit, political social activism feature in Facebook. Not an add-on, but a seamless experience."

"Myspace has a limitation in that it has a more distinct culture," he continued, "while Facebook gets used more openly, for a broader variety of activities." Having said that, he wouldn't rule out integrating with them if the opportunity became available.

Ben also described a new widget-based tool they plan to launch in a few weeks. The widget could be embedded in any website, from a personal blog to a politically-focused online community. Users would type in their phone number into the widget. The widget would then activate a call to your phone, then connect you to your member of Congress. That way, the widget could be used to facilitate contacts with members on Capitol Hill in connection to whatever political cause you assign to the widget. Meanwhile, the widget tracks the number of calls generated to each member of Congress, so the people running the campaign can get a sense of how much the public is using it to make their voices heard.

Despite the fact that Change.org is designed as a social network, Ben doesn't see it replacing online political sites. "It's not about replicating the political communities on the Web. It's about translating the passion of the people on those sites into real political power."

"I don't want to diminish what [Daily] Kos has done," he continued, "but the translation [of online discussion into political influence] is clearly limited. If you get 500,000 uniques a day, and then raise around $1 million. That's not a lot of money, in terms of conversion of readers to donors. If I want to donate, I have to go there, then go to a third-party site.... And I don't have a profile of my political influence. So we're building a suite of widgets to empower bloggers and blogging communities to more efficiently translate their passion into real political power."

"We're not about fundraising," Ben reiterated. "Giving to politicians is not exciting. People want to change the world, stop global warming, undercut the influence of the NRA, whatever you issue might be."

"People want to be a part of a community who come together, engage, and have collective decision-making" to impact the political process through donations, he said. "It's really unexciting to give 25 bucks to your local politician. It's hard to give to a single politician. We've transformed that into, 'I'm giving to save network neutrality.' It's an important psychological shift - not about getting someone elected, but getting my personal issue taking seriously." -andy

Tags: Ben Rattray | Change.org | DailyKos | election 2008 | Facebook | fundraising | MySpace | PACs | political action committees | politics | social networking

Posted by acarvin at 1:58 PM

June 6, 2007

Julie Amero Granted New Trial

Breaking news from Connecticut, reported by the Norwich Bulletin:

Judge Hillary Strackbein this morning granted a motion for a new trial for Julie Amero. The judge's decision is based on evidence that shows some of the computer evidence shown at court was inaccurate. A new trail date has not been set. Amero has entered a not guilty plea.

Amero was convicted last January of exposing minors to pornography when she was a substitute teacher for a classroom in October 2004. Prosecutors convinced a jury she did it on purpose, but subsequent analysis by Internet security experts suggested she was a victim of malware. Yesterday, Amero's attorney, William Dow, put forth a motion for a new trial:

The state and the defense now possess additional forensic evidence concerning the history of the computer's use both before and after the alleged incident. Had that information been available to the state at the time of the trial, the state ... would not have urged the jury to reach certain inaccurate conclusions regarding ... the alleged purposeful access to offensive Web sites. In the interests of justice, the jury's verdict must be set aside.

With the new trial, Amero will have a chance to present the new evidence. The saga continues.... -andy

UPDATE 1: Prosecutor admitted "some erroneous information" may have been presented at trial. The judge added that the possibility of inaccurate evidence, "entitles to a new trial in the interest of justice." Smiling with her attorney, Amero told reporters, "I feel very comfortable with the decision."

UPDATE 2: I've written more about today's decision on my PBS blog. The local Fox affiliate has it's been a year since Kayleigh was born! Today we celebrated her first birthday by getting her a vegan cupcake. Why, you may ask? It's because babies can't eat anything with eggs in it, so their first birthday cake has to be vegan. The recipes we found online all sounded pretty crummy, so we got her a little vegan cupcake at the Silver Spring bakery Cakelove. It wasn't exactly birthday cake but she seemed pretty happy with it.

Happy birthday Kayleigh!