My _Guardian_ column on Internet and political campaign counter-examples
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/14/politics.internet
Great internet campaigns don't guarantee success in politics
Internet evangelism shares a marketing technique with sellers of quack medicine, in that the promoters are eager to emphasise any successes and ignore any failures.
Internet President Howard Dean, meet Internet President John Edwards (not to mention Internet President RuPaul).
By Seth Finkelstein | posted in cyberblather , politics , press | on February 14, 2008 04:15 PM (Infothought permalink)
One theme seems to continue on the net like in other media, more citizen-power or not: the debate of candidates over issues, discussing personalities over discussing the system, often similar to a mere life-style choice, think Coke vs Pepsi (to paraphrase a thought expressed to me by someone more versed in US politicis, but I confirmed the pattern in many places).
The websites of the candiates do have an issues page, though. If you want to inform yourself, you can use the internet, it's just that this information is not typically amplified in that many places. Next time you watch something like The Campaign Trail on CNN, count how many minutes are devoted to actual issues, and then how many minutes are devoted to anything else.
Online reputation repair
http://www.naymz.com/micro/onlinereputation
Seth, I meant this for your Lessig post... (the comments box appeared to be missing there)
I think you are wrong on this one and I agree with Jon re: cult-of-personality -- gives me the creeps... (Congress is just as bad a place for something like that as academia... maybe worse...)
Delia
P.S. Lessig missed his true calling (science fiction writer) D.