A New Home for Data on Politics and State Governments
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Tuesday, May 7 2013
Over the weekend, as journalists, activist and government workers descended on George Washington University for the Sunlight Foundation's Transparency Camp event in Washington D.C., the group unveiled its new data services portal, which is meant to better showcase and encourage projects built around its APIs. "We want to demonstrate the power and importance of these APIs in open government work," said Liz Bartolomeo, Sunlight's media director. Read More
FWD.us Unwelcome at Netroots Nation, Says Conference Head
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Friday, May 3 2013
FWD.us, the Silicon Valley advocacy organization now focused on immigration form, is at least nominally pursuing a grassroots strategy. But it won't be welcome at one of this year's biggest and most influential grassroots political gatherings, Netroots Nation — even though the event will be in the heart of Silicon Valley. Read More
Republican National Committee Outlines New Voter Data Sharing Strategy
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Wednesday, May 1 2013
The Republican National Committee on Wednesday said that Liberty Works, the new Silicon Valley group formed by private equity investor Dick Boyce and supported by Karl Rove, is going to build the new data-sharing ... Read More
FWD.us, a Silicon Valley Foray Into Politics, Is Baffling Observers
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Wednesday, May 1 2013
FWD.us subsidiary Americans for a Conservative Direction has launched new TV ads supporting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
Mark Zuckerberg's new advocacy group FWD.us sparked an uproar among progressives recently when its subsidiaries, Americans for a Conservative Direction and Council for American Job Growth, bolstered two senators' reputations in their home states with a T.V. ad buy. Speaking privately, some progressives in Silicon Valley said they are fascinated by FWD.us' launch, and unable to decide whether FWD.us' overarching strategy of using traditional political tactics of television advertising and inside-the-Beltway lobbyists, combined with a grassroots organizing campaign, is smart or incredibly dumb. Read More
Larry Flynt Takes To YouTube To Endorse Mark Sanford
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Wednesday, May 1 2013
Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt took to YouTube Tuesday to endorse former Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford in his race to represent South Carolinians living in its First District.
Read MoreReport: Obama To Pick Cable and Wireless Industry Lobbyist To Chair FCC
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Tuesday, April 30 2013
President Obama is ready to nominate a former cable and wireless industry lobbyist to chair the Federal Communications Commission, according to a report Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal. Read More
Mark Zuckerberg's Advocacy Group FWD's TV Ads Spark Online Backlash
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Monday, April 29 2013
A new television ad campaign recently launched by Mark Zuckerberg's advocacy group FWD.us has sparked off a backlash online from a progressive group and other Democrats who are upset that the group is running ads ... Read More
The CFPB's Search For Better Data On Consumer Complaints
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Friday, April 26 2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on a pilot project to better contextualize the data it publishes on consumer complaints about credit cards, said Scott Pluta, the CFPB's assistant director for the office of consumer response, in an interview Thursday. Read More
San Francisco Hires New Chief Information Officer
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Friday, April 26 2013
The city and county of San Francisco has just hired Marc Yves Touitou as its new chief information officer, Mayor Ed Lee's office announced Thursday. Touitou comes from the corporate world. He was previously the senior ... Read More
Harper Reed at Dent
BY Sarah Lai Stirland | Thursday, April 25 2013
The folks who put together the DENT conference in March have posted the fireside chat that I conducted with Harper Reed online. Reed was Obama 2012's chief technology officer. In this talk, Reed explains why the campaign ... Read More