Obama is “a good vague”

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Picked up a copy of Rolling Stone while roaming around Barnes & Noble this morning to see what Matt Taibbi was up to. In a piece written a few weeks before the Iowa Caucuses, he explains Barack Obama’s appeal (“Obama on the Rise”).  An excerpt:

“While Obama glows like the chosen one, taking Kennedy-esque flight on the wings of destiny, next to him Hillary sometimes comes off like an angry drag queen, enraged that some other tramp has been allowed to “Danke Schoen” in her Las Vegas. Obama sees this and isn’t above pointing at her Adam’s apple. “I’m not running for president because I think this is somehow owed to me,” Obama says. And people believe it. … “There’s just something about him,” says one middle-aged gentleman. When I suggest that his comment was vague, he shrugs. “Yeah, but it’s good vague.”

You’ll find the full article at The Smirking Chimp.

Bruce Sterling: State of the World 2008

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“Some people still think that there’s an “Islamo-fascist tyranny” somewhere that hates our freedoms and can organize Islam-dom into a coherent fascist state… There’s just no way. Al Qaeda and the Taliban aren’t true “fascists.” Fascists can at least make trains run on time. Even Communists were better-organized. The mujihadeen have no organized army and no industrial policy and they don’t know where to find any. Because God was supposed to handle all that for them. You’re supposed to die nobly in a crowd of unwitting strangers, and then God’s supposed to make that all better. That’s the big plan.”

“But when you blow up the china shop, God doesn’t reassemble the plates for you. Being faith-based doesn’t trump reality.”

“Now the Americans have clearly lost the thread… the Americans are really just horribly out of it, they’re like some giant fundie Brazil, nobody takes their pronunciamentos seriously or believes a word they say… Whereas the world is much more seriously global now. China and India are real players, they’re part of the show and they matter.

“Serious-minded people everywhere do know they have to deal with the resource crisis and the climate crisis. Because the world-machine’s backfiring and puffing smoke. Joe and Jane Sixpack are looking at four-dollar milk and five-dollar gas. It’s hurting and it’s scary and there’s no way out of it but through it.”

From Bruce Sterling’s State of the World, 2008

YouTube Voter Video

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I should have guessed the Google/YouTube guys would be all over the Iowa Caucuses. They’ve hooked up with The Des Moines Register, arguably the most powerful media outlet in Iowa, to create a YouTube channel:

“Document your caucus experience from start to finish. We want to show the nation what the caucuses are like, so bring your video camera along with you and give an on-the-ground view of your local caucuses. You can also add your own commentary or interviews with people just after the caucuses, offering their reflections on what took place.”

I had to believe bloggers and podcasters and YouTube’ers would be all over this event but wasn’t sure if cameras would be allowed. They are.

“Of course – these are our caucuses, and this a great opportunity to show the nation what they’re like. Just be sure to be respectful of other caucus-goers and to make sure that your video footage is not a distraction to what’s taking place.”

And Google Maps is doing something special. but I’m not sure exactly what or where to find it. I’ll update this post. If I had to guess it would be a map with all the caucus precincts, updated throughout the evening.

As I watched a couple of the videos, I was reminded of something I used to hear/say back during the early days of the net. Nobody will watch all of these. Somebody will watch each of these.

Seth Godin: Google yourself

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Why? This from Seth Godin…

If you’re a salesperson, your prospects already do.
If you’re looking for a job, your prospective employers already do.
If you’ve got a job, your co-workers already do.

What do they see? Do you know?

…and this from Mindy McAdams (Teaching Online Journalism)…

“If you’re a journalist — or a journalism student who hopes to enter the field — this should concern you. First, what results do you get when you Google yourself (first name, last name, no quotation marks)? Most important, what are the top two or three links? I hope they do not go to pages about you that make you look like an idiot, a sex fiend, or a drunk.”

They both offer suggestions on how to improve your Google juice.