Daily Digest: Views Diverge Over the Future of the Network

BY Nancy Scola | Friday, November 14 2008

Democratic Network vs. Democracy, Networked: The Los Angeles Times' Peter Wallsten and Tom Hamburger have a look inside the debate happening over what should happen to the robust online network built by the Obama campaign. Some Democratic insiders are pushing for the valuable asset to become part of the party apparatus. But there's an opposing view, one championed by deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand, that sees pulling it into the DNC as potentially alienating to supporters and activists who don't see themselves as part of the party. There might be a sign that will stay an independent activism hub in a post on MyBarackObama.com by campaign blogger Christopher Hass. Highlighting the organizing still happening on MyBO, Hass writes, "The tools here are your tools now -- they always have been."
Should the Next CTO Be a Former CTO?: NextGov's Allan Holmes looks at some of the contenders to be the nation's first Chief Technology Officer who have previously served as government CTOs, like former Defense Intelligence Agency CTO Bob Gourley and former Defense Information Systems Agency CTOs Dawn Meyerriecks and Harry Raduege Jr. and concludes that "honchos from Silicon Valley are not that suitable for this position." Holmes cites the value of experience navigating the byzantine ways of Washington -- which might be especially important considering that a national CTO is a brand-new position without a place in DC already carved for it.
Now on YouTube: the Next Presidency: The Washington Post's Jose Antonio Vargas reports that President-elect Barack Obama will be giving the weekly Democratic radio address this weekend -- only it won't be just a radio event. Obama's address will be videotaped this afternoon at his transition office in Chicago, and posted on YouTube this Saturday. Vargas also notes that transitional office say that the Obama White House will regularly hold online Q&A sessions and video interviews. While acknowledging that YouTubed addresses isn't exactly the cutting edge in interactivity, Sunlight Foundation's Ellen Miller sees in it a hopeful sign: "I don't know if it necessarily creates transparency -- it's still a controlled, one-way message. But it creates the aura of a much more accessible presidency." (This just in: Miller fleshes out her thoughts on the topic over on her blog.)
On the Other Hand...: Slate's Christopher Beam asks if the sort of transparency promised by the Obama campaign is unequivocally good, with an eye on possible downsides -- from limits on speech, grandstanding, and plain old embarrassment.
A Government of the Video, By the Video: Obama's not alone in getting in front of the video camera. The State Department is also using YouTube to conduct "Briefing 2.0" sessions, reports YouTube's Steve Grove. Citizens submit questions for department spokesperson Sean McCormick, who responds to a selection during a bi-weekly press conference. Also on the federal video front, CNET's Dong Ngo reports that the Pentagon, which has limited military members' use of public social-networking sites in the past, has launched a video-sharing site called "TroopTube." Like with YouTube, there are restrictions, but here they involve a Pentagon employee monitoring the videos for "taste, copyright violations, and national security issues."
Strange Bedfellows, Insurance Giants and Liberal Bloggers Edition: Everyone seems to be catching transparency fever these days. Insurance giant AIG, which was recently rescued by a federal bailout, is answering questions on the situation submitted on Daily Kos. A company media rep tells Kos blogger SusanG that "AIG is interested in starting a long-term conversation/relationship the Daily Kos readers, and that this will by no means be our last outreach."
The MSM and Maddow's PJs: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow pushed back against Sarah Palin's use of the ol' familiar bloggers=parent's basement+pajamas construction by appearing on her expensive cable-news set in what appeared to be red flannel jammie pants and blue fuzzy slippers. That prompted Think Progress blogger Matt Yglesias to declare Maddow "a national treasure."

In Case You Missed It...

The incoming Obama Administration's nine-page job questionnaire is hungry for details on applicants' online lives, from potentially embarrassing blog postings to details on any Internet "handles" they may have made use of. Micah Sifry hopes that we're not "creat[ing] a situation where people are afraid to express themselves online because someday someone might use their words or image to 'embarrass' them or their boss."

New Personal Democracy Forum/techPresident contributing writer Sarah Granger celebrates the online enthusiasm we saw around the electoral process this election, from Twitter Vote Report to Video Your Vote to countless photos and videos posted on BlogHer.

And in their Politico column, Micah and Andrew Rasiej give a rundown on the web's impact on the election, saying that when the history of the '08 campaign is written, "McCain’s failure to invest...in developing the widest possible online network will go down as a strategic error of the highest order."

View the discussion thread.

News Briefs

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This Isn't What Political Air Time Usually Means

MoveOn.org is asking supporters for $150,000 in donations to fly a plane above high-dollar fundraisers for Mitt Romney with "a message that reminds voters how he represents his corporate and 1% donors." MoveOn previously hired a plane to fly over Romney's Liberty University graduation speech with the message "GOP = HIGHER SCHOOL DEBT." GO

There's a New $200 Million Fund for Super-High-Speed Broadband Projects

An initiative to build and test gigabit-speed broadband networks is set to fund up to six next-generation Internet access projects across the country, fueled by a new $200 million broadband development funding program, Gigabit Squared and Gig.U announced this morning. GO

New Rice University Paper Chronicles Impact of the Internet On U.S. Foreign Policy

We all know that the Internet has transformed the way that the United States conducts diplomacy, and the way that it views national security, but where should we look to find evidence of this? This is the wide-ranging subject matter of a new paper published on Tuesday by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. The paper provides a round-up of some of the major turns of events between 2005 and 2011 in the realms of Internet governance, the development of online public diplomacy at the State Department, the evolution of the Internet-fueled Arab Spring, and the establishment of the shadowy U.S. Cyber Command in Fort Meade, Maryland, among other things. GO

Messin' with Lamar Smith, Revisited

Remember that grassroots fundraising campaign to put a "Don't Mess with the Internet" billboard in the home district of Rep. Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas and sponsor of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act? All of the money required came in, and Fight for the Future, the advocacy group opposing more stringent copyright protections online, writes that the billboard went up. GO

Republican National Convention Organizers Sever Ties With Becki Donatelli's Campaign Solutions

After eight years producing online content for the Republican National Convention, GOP web consultant Becki Donatelli's Campaign Solutions is off of the project. "Campaign Solutions was retained to help develop our convention website and digital strategy, but they are no longer involved in convention planning," James Davis, the convention's communications director, told techPresident Tuesday. It's unclear what precipitated the of the relationship between the convention organizers and Campaign Solutions, which has been producing the online component of the event since 2004. But Donatelli's name surfaced in a controversial anti-Obama ad pitch sent to a Super PAC backed by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, which appeared in its entirety in the Times last week. Ricketts has since disavowed the proposal and Donatelli has denied any involvement. GO

PD+ This Thurs 1pm: Thriving Online With Howard Rheingold

I'm really looking forward to talking with author Howard Rheingold this Thursday on the next PD+ teleconference. His new book, Net Smart, is a concise and thoughtful guide to understanding and making the most of the hyper-networked, always-on, firehose of information and distraction that is the contemporary experience of anyone who uses ... GO

City of Joplin, Mo. Launches New Online Center Ahead of Tornado's Anniversary

The city of Joplin, Missouri launched its new web site over the week-end ahead of the May 22 anniversary of the massive tornado that devastated the city and killed 161 people. The new site enables Joplin citizens to sign up for emergency alerts via text message, e-mail and RSS. In addition to those alerts, individuals can also sign up for ... GO

In Virginia, City Council Debates to Include Questions Posed Online

The Alexandria Democratic Party in Alexandria, Virginia has partnered with online civic engagement platform ACTion Alexandria to include questions solicited in an online forum in the final Democratic primary debate for a City Council election there on June 4, ahead of the June 12 election, according to a statement released by the group. ACTion Alexandria hopes to work with both parties during the general election.

Participants in the project can add questions to the forum, or vote on questions that have already been posed, although each user is only given three votes to distribute. Users are also encouraged to use their real names. Questions submitted so far hit on topics ranging from broadband access to a ban on food trucks in the city.

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