Guardian Blogs Editor Kevin Anderson dropped by our office a few weeks before the election to interview me about the role played by the Internet in the 2008 Presidential campaign for the Guardian’s Tech Weekly podcast . You can listen to the podcast here.  Andy Carvin from NPR and Garrett Graff from Washingtonian Magazine also share their thoughts.

During my bit I compared the social networking strategies of the Obama and McCain campaigns, with a focus on the internal social networks both sides built (My.BarackObama.com and McCainSpace).  My basic point is one I’ve made before on this blog:

The secret of the success of Barack Obama’s social network is that at its heart it is really a social action center.  When you login to My.BarackObama, you are pushed to make phone calls to undecided voters, knock on doors and raise money for the campaign, not to produce content.  Sure, that functionality exists on the Barack Obama website but it isn’t the main point.  The main point of My.BarackObama is to help Obama get elected.  The same cannot be said for the much more nebulous McCainSpace.

It was great talking to Kevin and I’d encourage you to give the podcast a listen.

I recently got an Apple iPhone and have been going a little crazy downloading stuff from the iPhone applications store ever since making the purchase.   Given what we do here, one of the first applications I tried out was the one produced by the Barack Obama campaign.  It is nothing short of fantastic. 

The application contains all the stuff you’d expect: ability to get the latest news with a few clicks, check out Obama’s positions on a variety of issues, sign up for email and mobile updates, etc.  All that is fine and good, but the real power is in the “Call Friends” area, which encourages users to call friends in swing states to urge them to vote for Obama.  The tools allows you to report back on the results of your call (”Is the person considering Obama?”, “Have they already voted?”, etc.) and tracks who you have and haven’t called.  The application is really well done and really shows off the great potential of iPhone applications in the political space.

Does that mean I would recommend my political and public affairs clients go out and build iPhone applications?  For most of them the answer is probably no. 

The fact is not that many people have iPhones yet.  Estimates are that around 220 million Americans use the Internet, and roughly that number of people have cell phones.  Estimates are that Apple has sold a total of 13 million iPhones.  So by building applications specifically for the iPhone, you are severely limiting the audience of people that can potentially use your tool.  Given this fact, I’d seriously consider the following questions before your organizations builds a fancy iPhone applications like Obama:

(1) Are you 100% happy with your website?  Given their fundraising numbers ($150 million in September alone), the Obama essentially has unlimited funds. Given that, they are rightly surrounding the situation, building tools for Facebook, mobile phones, whatever.   In the world most of us live in, resource limitations are a fact of life, so it doesn’t make sense to build value-added tools on a device with limited adoption, like the iPhone, unless you are already doing everything you can on your website, which just about everyone can see. 

(2) Is there a compelling reason to build your application for the iPhone?  The iPhone has a pretty great web browser built in, so building an application just to publish blog entries or press releases doesn’t make any sense.  People can read that stuff through the web if they want.  What makes the Obama application special is that it makes something that would be difficult through a web interface (getting people to call their friends and family and report back the results) and makes it simple by using the iPhone’s native capabilities.  It cuts out three or four steps in the process for the end user.  Build something unique or just skip it.

(3) Do you actually think people will use your application?  With his massive listserv and ability to generate free press, Obama doesn’t have to worry much about creating buzz or marketing his applications.  If he builds it, they will come.  That isn’t the case for most of us.  Applications are a cut throat game - popular ones tend to be really popular and the rest of them pretty much exist in obscurity.  If you don’t have a big name, a compelling hook to sell and/or a marketing commitment, you might want to take a pass. 

If you can answer all these questions with a resounding yes, then go for it.  If not, your probably better off investing your resources elsewhere, at least for the time being.

There has been some discussion of cloud computing recently as Microsoft revealed Azure, their attempt to chip away at Google's unyielding grasp on the hosted services sector. Centralized computing changes the way people compute their data, simplifying the process and reducing the need for desktop software. Is this the new model for generating revenue in an increasingly connected global marketplace?

The concept of hosted solutions has been around for quite a while. The web itself can be seen as a massive bank of hosted "solutions" from static pages to the latest database driven AJAX utility. Our own ImpactWatch is a hosted platform, as are many subscription-based offerings from access to databases to hosted MMO gaming.

I see several advantages to hosted and semi-cloud based services:

• Data in the cloud means optimized devices. With the device itself computing less and more being crunched on the central servers, devices don't have to be as powerful and will consume less power.
• $$$. With torrents, file sharing, and peer-to-peer networks in wide use, hosted solutions ensure company revenues are secure and act to protect against piracy and security threats. Hosted also means less cost than real-world deliverable goods such as installation media and unnecessary packaging, as well as a tendency to reduce administrative costs in the long run.
• Real-time updates. When your bleeding-edge code finally matures into a release worthy snippet, it feels good to show the world as soon as possible. This also applies to the whole security issue.
• Anywhere, anytime. Cloud computing means being able to access your information and GTD wherever you are, as long as there's a compatible (and connected) device in the immediate vicinity. Road warriors take note.
• An increase in compatibility. Not too long ago, the software market found itself choosing between two sides of a compatibility war, and to this day these agreements dictate much of what is available for various platforms. No longer are these clashes going to occur, as cloud computing runs as native on any OS compared to any other.

Cloud services are changing (and will continue to change) the way the internet works. As web and desktop technologies go through this awkward phase of flirtation, I eagerly await the next generation of truly integrated cloud applications. Any other obvious advantages I've left out? Or how about any glaring disadvantages to this model?

Almost all the sites we build at The Bivings Group these days use Content Management Systems (we usually use Drupal or Wordpress).  However, we do occasionally build old fashioned static sites when we know a site isn’t going to be updated that often and/or it is design heavy and we’ll be charged with managing it.  SEOMoz has a great chart up showing the decision tree people should use in deciding whether they need a CMS or not.  The chart is embedded below and I think it pretty much nails the questions people should be asking.

The transparent fundraising techniques (aka the “money bomb”) pioneered by Ron Paul are slowly starting to be adopted by candidates for lower offices.  Murray Sabrin is currently running a “money bomb” on his site in an attempt to pay down the debt he incurred running in the Republican primary for the right to face New Jersey Senator Dick Durbin.  As you’ll see, Murray is trying to raise $175,000 by tomorrow.

Obviously, it doesn’t look like he is going to reach his goal.  Trying to raise money to retire a debt doesn’t exactly inspire the way raising money for a candidate that is still running would.  Still interesting to see that Paul’s tactics are tickling down.

The other day I came across this little number by Christopher Null of Yahoo!, discussing seven legitimate issues with Apple's latest version of the iPhone. And there's in-fact more than that.

A while back, I talked about whether waiting for the newest run of Apple's showpiece mobile device was worth it. But that focused mainly on some favorite alternatives, while Null delves into the details of the iPhone's shortcomings.

Highlighted are the cost (roughly 160 bucks more over the next two years), the wimpy 2 megapixel camera, a battery you can't replace, no MMS capability, no ability to stream live TV, and limited storage space. And as one heady commenter pointed out, there's an eighth pretty annoying problem; no memory removal or expansion. In a world of SD and micro-SD-ready options the iPhone is inexplicably lacking, again.

These issues, standalone, may not be deal-breakers for some. But combined, how can they not be? Especially for the kind of money Apple expects us to shell out.

I had a great time at the Personal Democracy Forum earlier this week since I met wonderful people and learned about interesting projects.

The whole point behind PDF is to discuss how technology can help individuals participate in the political/governing process and improve governments' ability to serve their citizens.  While attending the Design Principles for Online Democracy panel discussion, Tom Steinberg of mySociety in the UK discussed various projects that his organizations have done for the British government. 

In my opinion, the coolest project so far is fixmystreet.com.  On this site people living in Britain can report sections of road that need repairs or attention.  These problems can run the gamut from potholes to "fly tipping" (Brit-speak for "littering").  Local governments can then use this site to determine where they need to deploy their employees to make repairs or correct problems.  Further, this site allows the public to make sure that the problems reported are corrected.

I think that this is a marvelous idea.  This site enables citizens to work directly with their local governments to ensure that important tasks are accomplished, and that makes fixmystreet.com a great example of what PDF is trying to accomplish — use technology to improve government.

Elizabeth Edwards spoke to guests at the 2008 Personal Democracy Forum about how the internet is influencing the world of politics. But it was husband John that later stole the show with his surprise (even to him) appearance.

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A few weeks ago the McCain campaign launched a “Spread the Word” feature on their campaign website that encourages volunteers to comment on prominent left and right leaning blogs as a way of getting the McCain message out. The feature was written up in Wired and has attracted a mixed reaction. Some think it is nothing more than astroturfing while others think it is a clever outreach strategy.

My take is that the idea is a good one but that the execution could have been better.

The piece includes very brief instructions, a long list of blogs to participate in (94 are listed) and a few talking points to copy. Intentionally or not, the tool seems to aspire to create an army of Ron Paul-style shills, who inject promotional materials about their candidate of choice into every discussion no matter the topic, alienating the very communities they are trying to reach. Bull, meet china shop.

I think the tool would have been better received and more effective had the campaign provided volunteers with better instructions as to how to participate in these blogging communities. Off the top of my head, here are some of the tips I might have included:

1. Read the blogs and familiarize yourself with their communities before posting comments.
2. Read the actual post you are commenting on before posting anything. Read other people’s comments as well before posting.
3. Make sure your comments are on topic.
4. Participate in the community beyond simply posting pro-McCain materials.
5. Be civil and respectful of others members of the community.
6. Etc.

Basically, I’d try to give volunteers more information so that they conduct the outreach in a manner that is respectful of the blogs they are participating in.

At one point in my life, I considered myself to be an avid reader. Over the years, I have noticed that my reading habits have changed — my literature agenda includes only required assignments and the occasional pleasure novel or "must read" (Malcolm Gladwell, Levitt and Dubner, unread classics). I attributed most of this to a decline in free time, increased commitments and responsibilities, and you know, being a college student. After reading Nicholas Carr's article for the Atlantic on how the internet is not only changing the way we gather information, but probably changing the actual way our minds work, I was forced to explore the possibility that Google is at least partially to blame for my decreased appetite for literature.

In summary of his article (the very streamlining trend of the internet he describes), he compares the pre-internet methods of information gathering to the way information is sought after today. What used to take hours, maybe even days of research in the stacks of libraries is now readily available in a few clicks and keystrokes in the comfort of your office, home, or pocket. Carr goes on in his examination of this phenomena through a variety of different lenses; the psychology of mental development, an ominous comparison to Stanley Kubrick's unearthly futurist masterpiece, and philosophical points to ponder from both past and present.

As Carr touches upon, this is not the first time an exponential shift in access to information has occurred. Johann Gutenburg and his infamous press changed the history books — and for the first time, enabled the mass production of such texts. During this period in history, a shift from oral learning to a more textual style of information seeking occurred. There just weren't developmental and cognitive psychologists there to document it.

I am certainly no futurist (nor do I want to be haunted by the nightmares of my own imagination), but I do know that I embrace evolution of the collective human ability; as a result I tend to embrace technology readily. It comes as no surprise to me that in an age of pop-up advertisements, instant messaging, twitter, and wikis, my mental processes have probably been altered to accommodate for a different style of data exposure. One can call these "advantages" or "disadvantages", but I see it more as just plain differences.

What these differences will amount to in years, even generations from now is not incontestable, nor is it an easy task to judge them with a viewpoint only history can reveal. While there may be a decreasing number of Tolstoy scholars in years to come, I simultaneously ponder how many lives biotechnology will have saved, or how advances in quantum computing will have shaped the course of mankind.

To answer Carr's fundamental question: No. Google is making us different. What do you think? Is the decreased attention span and the shift away from long works of prose really a threat to human intellect? When does the streamlining of data gathering efficiency threaten individuality?

P.S. - Less pretentious posts to come. I promise .

Photos on news site are often made deliberately small and/or buried in annoying Flash slide show software. Good photography ends up getting marginalized. Boston.com recently launched a dead simple photo blog called Big Picture that shows how powerful online news photography can be if you out of the way and let the pictures tell a story. Big Picture’s formula is simple: present high resolution versions of outstanding photography in a blog style, with a minimal amount of accompanying text. The results are compelling, as this post on an uncontacted Amazon Basin tribe shows.

Alan Taylor, who came up with the idea for the Big Picture, explains the thinking behind the piece in a blog post:

When I see quality photography consigned to the archives, or when I see bandwidth readily given up to video streams of dubious quality, or when I see photo galleries that act as ad farms, punishing viewers into a click-click-click experience just to drive page views - those times are the times I’m glad I was able to get this project off the ground (many thanks to my friends within boston.com).

Check out the Big Picture.

<via Jason Kottke>

3G smart phone options abound, as Apple gets set to unveil its 3G solution at its Worldwide Developers Conference June 9, according to analysts. But with all the pub the iPhone gets, you’d think it was the only game in town. Not so.

There are some excellent alternatives to the iPhone, led by mobile phone giant Nokia. After considerable deliberation, I went with the Nokia N95 8GB, which has been available for some time. It doesn’t match the 16 GB of space the next iPhone will have, but if you want 3G and you want it now, this is a viable option. The N95 was first with built-in GPS navigation, and the 5 megapixel digital camera is a major advantage over the iPhone’s 2 megapixels . My digital camera hasn’t left the house since I bought this phone. I also love the option of listening to the built-in FM radio, a feature Apple – widely known for its musical prowess – inexplicably left out. And when my battery eventually goes bad, I can simply get a new one. Not so with the sleeker iPhone… as you may already know, the fact that its lithium ion battery is built in and not removable has caused quite a stir with consumers. (more…)

The Bivings Report is built in Wordpress, which comes with a robust commenting system out of the box. Due to this, I’ve very rarely looked at third party commenting systems like Haloscan. I haven’t really had a comment problem so there was no need to experiment with these third party tools.

But I recently set up a personal blog on Tumblr, which does not have commenting built in due to its reliance on reblogging instead (which is cool). I wanted people to be able to comment on my blog so I spent the ten minutes it takes to integrate Tumblr with the third-party tool Disqus. (Check out Fred Wilson (A VC) or Dave Winer’s blog for good examples of the tool in action).

Here is a quick breakdown of what I see as the pros and cons of Disqus after playing with it for a few months: (more…)

Before I write the rest of this slightly snarky blog post, let me preface it by saying that I am 100% pro-environment.  After all, the environment is where I keep the majority of my stuff, such as my house, car, and cat.  I would like to keep the environment as is, and I applaud ‘green' programs that aim to protect/restore/embiggen the earth.  However, I also believe that the majority of these programs are doing so simply for PR.  Call me a cynic, but it's true.  "Going Green" makes your company seem more family friendly and nicer in an otherwise cold, dark world of business.  In an attempt to rid myself of this pessimistic view, I scoured the Internet for five examples of companies or organizations that truly seemed to harbor an honest spirit of environmentalism.  In no particular order, here is a list of them:

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I must admit that texting is not my favorite activity.  It's something that I rarely do.  In fact, when friends send me text messages that require a response, I typically call them back hoping that the they get the tacit hint.  However, Amazon may change my druthers.

The Associated Press reports today about Amazon's text message shopping feature, which launched late yesterday.  Now people can send a text to 262966 (which spells "Amazon" on the telephone keypad) with the description, UPC, or ISBN of an item.  Amazon will see if it has the item and send back two items at a time.  The texter can request more items or buy the item by texting back.

That's pretty spiffy and useful.  Who would've thought that text messaging would serve as a viable comparison shopping tool?  Since I like to use Amazon, this might coax me to text more. 

However, one thing that I do have to consider is the occasional impulse buy.  Do I really need that toothbrush shaped Pez dispenser?