The act of observing something can sometimes change the thing being observed. Case in point: my observation on Monday that we might be able to get useful clues as to the identity of Mitt Romney's vice president pick by watching for a surge of edits on their Wikipedia page. Not any more. Those pages have been protected from excessive editing by site administrators, apparently acting after comedian Stephen Colbert called on his viewers last night to help pick the VP by editing their favorite's page. Read More

A recent study finds an overwhelming majority of Americans do not want targeted political advertising, but industry insiders dismiss the results. They say that unlike broadcast or direct mail, their ads are delivered anonymously. They're missing another difference: With Internet advertising, the viewer can talk back. And they may be ignoring this at their peril. Read More

If past history is any guide, the tip-off to Mitt Romney's choice for his running mate may come from watching the Wikipedia pages of the likely contenders — and spotting a last-minute surge in edits. Read More

Today, Twitter announced the launch of the "Twitter Political Index" in partnership with the social data analysis firm Topsy and pollsters The Mellman Group and North Star Opinion Research, and the twittering class swooned. "Twitter Will Gauge Voter Sentiment in New Venture" was the headline at National Journal--never mind the fact that this is neither a measure of voters or of sentiment. Read More

Most days, we here at techPresident take little more than a glance at the steady stream of PR pitches that flow into our in-boxes as most of them aren't all that interesting. But you never know; there's a lot of innovative people working at the intersection of tech and politics, so we read them all and follow up when appropriate. But today we got word of a new pitch that, perhaps deliberately, wasn't sent our way. Alas, a friend brought it to our attention, and now you too get to see just how silly some political consulting firms can get when they're trying to position themselves as go-to shops for digital savvy. Read More