• Explanation here.
• For you west coast progressives, the New Organizing Institute is hosting a new media training program October 5th and 6th in San Francisco. You'll get thoroughly schooled in the fundamentals of political new media -- writing emails, working on social networks, raising cash online. (As a special treat for our very special readers, register here and you get fifty bucks off, no strings attached.)
• The White House blog puts on its aggressive pants and goes after Glenn Beck for prognosticating future Olympic failure.
• Barack Obama was the 7th most visited article on Wikipedia so far this year -- four places below Michael Jackson, but totally trumping "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and the full list of episodes of the TV program "House." According to this chart, neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin were in the top 100.
• There is no crowd.
• The Washington Post is holding a America's Next Great Pundit contest. They're looking for raw talent: "Entrants may not have previously written or contributed to a regular column in a major national publication in print or online." To win, you'll have to write a 400 word essay, go on camera, and host a chat with readers. Otherwise known as the So You Think It's So Easy sweepstakes.
• Military members should be able to tweet, Facebook, and participate in other social media goodness, according to a new directive from a deputy Defense Department secretary.
• The New York Times builds in a Many Eyes feature. The future of news: make your own charts!
• Steve Ressler, who just turned GovLoop from a pet project to a full-time concern, will expound upon social media, collaborative culture, and the challenges facing government agencies in an October 15th Federal Computer Week online seminar.
• Texas gubernatorial candidate Rick Perry says that his webcast live from a Caterpillar dealer fell victim to "political sabotage." Elsewhere, Perry explains how he approaches Twitter: "It's easy, and it's unfiltered...I come home, and the wiener dog and the lab puppy are waiting for me. That's probably not something (reporters) are going to spend a lot of ink and paper on."

(With Micah Sifry)