Michael Tate's blog

2012: The Race Starts Now

2009-01-05T00:09:12-05:00

We're still days into 2009, and now is the time to prepare for the epic interplay between tech and politics in the 2012 presidential cycle.

YouTube didn't exist for the 2004 presidential election, and Twitter barely made the cut for the 2008 presidential election. What kind of new viral tech tools will be used in 2012? We don't know. Unlike 2008, which had a primary for both Democrats and Republicans, 2012 may not be as fun, but will be faster and more tech savvy.

Here's what we can do to keep our skills sharp for 2012:

Learn a programming language (Java or Python make great starts).
Write an iPhone or Android app
Read the classics from Joe McGinniss to Joe Trippi. (Don't forget rebooting america and catching up on Rasiej's and Sifry's summer reading list.)
Relax with all the extra free time by playing World of Warcraft. (Even an Obama transition team member plays it.)
Build a cutting edge computer rig that's faster than the future competition (Check out Intel's new Core i7 processors).
Stay updated with the latest in technology: Ars Technica, Engadget, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, PC World, TechCrunch, Wired.
Sharpen your saw. Take a course in communication at your local university or college. Grounding yourself in basic theory will help.

And, of course, keep reading techPresident.

The next presidential cycle will be a lot of work and a ton of fun. Jose Antonio Vargas noted: "The floodgates are open. This doesn't mean just hiring Web developers, bloggers, videographers -- the works. It also means using the Internet to invite people into the process, giving them something to work for, offering them a stake in victory or defeat."

Time to prepare.

A Mobile Opportunity for McCain

2008-10-16T00:18:00-04:00

Obama's campaign released an iPhone application (thanks to an all-volunteer creative base). So how can McCain catch up and prove that his campaign has tech prowess? Release their version of the application on Google's Android platform for the T-Mobile G1.

The T-Mobile G1 is hot. With 1.5 million pre-ordered, the T-Mobile G1 is the first phone running Google's Android -- a new open platform mobile operating system. Anyone can write an application for it and a healthy Android developer community is growing. The T-Mobile G1 hits stores next Wednesday -- October 22. Time still exists before Election Day to code up an application similar to Obama's iPhone application. What features to include? A key starting point is everything in Obama's iPhone application.

Releasing an application on a new platform will demonstrate that McCain embraces new technology. Here's a perfect opportunity for the McCain campaign to win over some undecided voters, those too nervous about Obama but still think McCain isn't future thinking enough. The tech community will love it -- and this is one active community.

More communication means more action. More action means more boots on the ground. Better get on it, McCain -- Obama might beat you to it.

Game Platforms as Political Platforms?

2008-08-22T00:20:48-04:00

John McCain's campaign release of the online game "Pork Invaders," as a Facebook application, wasn't a game changer but a prelude of future message strategy. Video games will be added to the multitude of political channels that a political campaign must have a presence on. Microsoft has now announced what could become the "YouTube" of video games -- Xbox LIVE Community Games.

This fall, Microsoft will launch "Xbox LIVE Community Games." It will feature games created with Microsoft's XNA Game Studio, a game development tool that works with Visual C# 2005 Express Edition. Creating a game will still require programming skills, but XNA makes it super easy for anyone -- me, you, a political campaign -- to code and publish a video game for the Xbox 360.

For a major video game console to open up like this, it's a major breakthrough. It used to be very difficult (and sometimes impossible) for an individual game developer to produce and release their game for any major gaming platform.

Xbox LIVE Community Games is a great way to not only push a campaign message but also raise money. Producers who release games on Xbox LIVE Community Games will "reap the benefits of a closed distribution system and the muscle of Microsoft, as well as up to 70 percent of the profits."

In the 2008 presidential election campaign season, more channels of communication than ever before have been used to reach us. It is not unfathomable that a future political message strategy incorporates an addictive arcade game to their arsenal.

We've seen viral videos. Get ready for viral video games.

McCain: Untapped YouTube Talent?

2008-07-03T08:00:04-04:00

A few weeks ago Senator McCain's campaign did on YouTube what it needs to start doing -- posting video exclusives to the medium.

Senator McCain's YouTube gem was the "McCain Cribs Exclusive: The Straight Talk Express" video. It was viewed tenfold the amount of times than most the other "Behind the Scenes" clips.

One problem still exists: Senator McCain isn't featured in this YouTube video. The campaign should produce more exclusives, but put Senator McCain in the video and have him tell us something on his mind -- that we haven't heard before. This video was well researched and well edited. The McCain campaign clearly has untapped YouTube talent. So start using it.

This isn't something that should be tried in the final 48 hours.

McCain's Last Primary to Win: YouTube-land

2008-05-20T21:46:56-04:00

Here's a quick assessment of Senator McCain's "Behind the Scenes" videos on YouTube.

A few weeks back Micah Sifry noted this about the McCain campaign's forays in YouTube-land:

The McCain campaign keeps diligently posting its "Behind the Scenes" videos on YouTube, but something doesn't seem to be working. The most recent additions--from Little Rock, Arkansas; Inez, Kentucky; and Youngstown, Ohio--have the value of documenting the Senator's recent campaign stops, but with fewer than a thousand views each I'm not sure what they're accomplishing with them. Anyone have a clue?

Micah Sifry made a great point and illuminated something we ought to talk about.

The McCain campaign's "Behind the Scenes" videos aren't working because they aren't behind the scenes. Watch the one in Youngstown, Ohio. He's talking to a journalist. Who's he talking to in that video at Little Rock, Arkansas? Well, definitely not you --- the viewer at YouTube. He's talking to another journalist and to a crowd at a town hall event. He's not talking specifically to those watching him on YouTube. C'mon Senator McCain, tell us something you're not telling reporters or won't tell at a town hall meeting. Tell us what's on your mind. Give us some insight we can't get anywhere else -- except from watching this video on YouTube. Then I'll watch it, and so will everyone else.

Assessing the newest digital device on the block: Chumby

2008-04-30T10:40:51-04:00

The line between mediated and unmediated communication is blurring. A device like Chumby accelerates the blur.

Chumby is a new touchscreen gadget connected to the Internet via a Wi-Fi home network to stream the user live content. After purchasing a Chumby, users make an online account on Chumby.com and choose the content they want streamed. This content could be weather, sports, stock quotes, or dozens of other mini-applications (called "widgets").

If Chumby seems unexciting, think again – the concept is powerful. A device driven purely by online content.

Chumby updates only via a Wi-Fi network. No Ethernet cable. In the future, as more cities and towns across America implement a municipal wireless network, more people will have use for Chumby (or, a device like it). A Chumby widget search found neither the Clinton, Obama, nor McCain campaigns had a widget.

Viewing content on a portable device that is updated automatically is more persuasive than turning on a computer and visiting a few web sites. It's more persuasive because it functions as a reduction technology. It persuades through making a task simpler. No more going to YouTube, logging into email, turning on the television, or connecting to a mobile phone website to follow a campaign, just turn on Chumby and the channel is live.

Digitally Record Everything

2008-04-20T21:35:12-04:00

In a previous post, Dan Manatt makes an important point about "Bittergate":

Digital recording devices - video recorders, audio recorders, cell phone recorders -- are everywhere. All the time. They are small, discrete, often invisible – even when they are being used. And video and audio can be sent wirelessly from anywhere to anywhere, anytime – so that a comment made in San Francisco (or rural Virginia) may be instantly shown on national TV.

A campaign must digitally record everything their candidate says in public. This helps in those rare cases when clarification is needed. When I blogged for Congressman Tancredo, I recorded everything. In one situation in Iowa, we were challenged about a comment which Tancredo had never said. I proved it with video evidence.

Also, a candidate's campaign must digitally record everything a rival candidate says in public. Sooner or later an event like "Bittergate" or "Macaca" will happen. The formula: hire an intern, equip them with a digital video recorder, give them a list of an opposing candidate's public events, and let them go at it.

Here's what this looks like. These videos were both taken last summer in Iowa of the Romney and Huckabee campaign by the Tancredo campaign (notice how the girl asking the question is the same in each video):

These videos were created with the theory that the conservative blogs and media would immediately magnify them or that they would come to fruition later (after primary season). Of course, other campaigns should replace the issue of illegal immigration with another important issue or topic.

If each presidential campaign is not doing this, they ought to start now.

Keeping tabs on the mobile opportunity

2008-04-12T17:48:44-04:00

The mobile phone as political communication channel orbits around the simple use of text messages (SMS). Senator Clinton uses them. Senator Barack uses them. Let's talk about the next phase. What's the future strategy for reaching supporters on the mobile phone?

This is an important question because the mobile phone is the quickest way to reach anyone. We don't always carry our laptop, radio, or television, but we are tethered to our mobile phone.

Technology recently introduced now makes possible the mass broadcasting of streaming video in real-time to a mobile phone. This mobile opportunity is partly made possible with the introduction of Adobe's Flash Lite 3.

The Adobe Mobile Gallery offers a few examples of applications powered on Flash Lite. An application campaigns should look at is MTV Flite (although, the D&G Mobile Fashion Channel is nice too).

It provides real-time information such as news about events and video clips.

However, this powerful mobile media channel isn't without limitations: the majority of mobile phones in use do not support Flash Lite. In the United States, Verizon Wireless is the only mobile provider offering support. And if Verizon Wireless is your provider, Flash Lite is installed on only select phones (Nokia, Sony Ericsson and LG).

As a mobile development platform, Flash Lite is one to watch.