September 2008 Archives

I'm one of the lucky ones. I have an hour plus commute to work in the morning and a good fifty minute commute home every evening. So my XM radio is one of my best friends. It's been a rough year for my New York Yankees and there is only so much Miley Cyrus, Mandatory Metallica and Daughtry a person can take. 

 

As a result I have grown quite fond of channel 130 on my XM dial. POTUS  08 is always talking Election 08. They are able to keep me up to date on the latest news and they are quick to replay some of the important speeches of the past few days.

 

When I was younger I'd have to run home to watch my tape of CNN's Inside Politics from earlier that day. Yes I'm that guy. Or I would have to wait for the ABC Nightly News or Nightline to give me the breakdown of what my favorite candidates were up to and what they did that day. Now it's easy as turning the radio dial.

 

I read an article for the LA Times that mentioned the POTUS 08 team wasn't given a premium location at the recent Republican convention. But POTUS 08 does have a premium location in my car and in my daily routine. POTUS 08 is just another way that technology is helping me stay up to date with our democracy and with our favorite political leaders.

The USA Today had an excellent story about how sponsored links are playing a major role in the 2008 elections. I'm sure you all know that candidates buy ad words. What I found fascinating was the influence of special interest groups in the process. Some of these groups are buying keywords in an effort to influence opinion by linking to stories or data.

 

 

I was thrilled to see that 3.3% of voters indicated that they were somewhat likely to base their vote on their online research and 3.7% of voters indicated that they were very likely to base their vote on what they gleam online.

 

With so much on the line and so many elections coming down to the wire, it's clear that online advertising might be the difference between victory and defeat.