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Jan
26
Congressional bloggers, including Barack Obama
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Thank you Dawno for this timely link to an article called, Congress catching on to the value of blogs. Barack does it here, although not as often as we’d like, I’m sure.
What is everyone else waiting for? Really, now. (Mother looking down at kids with hands on hip and angled eyebrows, one foot forward, tapping toe.)
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:40 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jan
26
Although some political organizations and candidates might feel too anxious to seize the opportunities that blogs offer, this Forbes.com article provides five specific, discrete and successful ways that businesses can benefit from blogs. Anyone want to argue why these ways can’t be adapted to nonprofits, civic groups or entities within the political process?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:12 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 3 Comments
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Jan
26
Congressional bloggers, including Barack Obama
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
Thank you Dawno for this timely link to an article called, Congress catching on to the value of blogs. Barack does it here, although not as often as we’d like, I’m sure.
What is everyone else waiting for? Really, now. (Mother looking down at kids with hands on hip and angled eyebrows, one foot forward, tapping toe.)
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:40 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jan
26
Forbes advises companies on how to tap into blogosphere
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Although some political organizations and candidates might feel too anxious to seize the opportunities that blogs offer, this Forbes.com article provides five specific, discrete and successful ways that businesses can benefit from blogs. Anyone want to argue why these ways can’t be adapted to nonprofits, civic groups or entities within the political process?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:12 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jan
26
Matt at Lincoln Logs believes that
On the national scene, “conservative” blogs saved the campaign by outting Dan Rather and Mary Mapes last year.
In Ohio it is a different story – democrats have kicked us around online. They have more people doing more good original work than the Republican/Conservative blogs. I don’t do much original work – although I appeared to be slightly out in front on the Betty Montgomery announcement. Mostly, I link to news stories and provide commentary. That is good, and I am happy to do it, but it seems to me that Ohio democrat/liberal blogs have melted the line a bit between mainstream journalism and new media by meeting with candidates and getting first hand reporting on issues.
That said, I think there are a couple solutions:
1. A team blog with a couple writers to help produce more posts covering more topics. This is the most basic of ideas, because it doesnt’ substantial increase production capabilities, however it has worked on the national scene with Powerline and the like.
2. A point/counter point blog. Again, this doesn’t really provide any more production value, but it is something missing out there in the blog world. There is no good “hannity and colmes” type blog where people with opposing opinions slug it out. It would require some weekly prep time (agreeing on the issues for the week) and some daily prep time (agreeing on the “breaking” news to cover), but I think it could be an interesting read.
3. A syndicate. I really like the idea of this, which is to create a blog with numerous “correspondents” from around the state. the correspondents are responsible for providing breaking news and commentary from their area media. In addition, the blog would actively seek media passes from events and candidates so that news can be covered rather than just reported upon. Finally “exclusives” with candidates would be sought to create original programming.
…
I think a reasonably organized syndicate would gain support from campaigns, just as “meet the bloggers” has gained support from (most) of the candidates. Certainly an organization would gain at least tacit recognition by county and state political organizations which would help with marketing, which is the other part of this equation.
I’ve commented a couple of times on Lincoln Logs, but otherwise, I don’t know the blogger. I imagine he’s speaking primarily about conservative blogs coming together in such efforts. But there’s no reason why there couldn’t be some cross-pollination. I like cross-pollination.
Thoughts?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:41 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 4 Comments
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Jan
26
Does anyone know if this is, in fact, the way to ensure that your cellphone doesn’t receive solicitations that the Do Not Call registry would prohibit if you enter your cell number with the registry, or by calling the number listed below?
JUST A REMINDER….31 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. …YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS…
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS
OR GO TO: www.donotcall.gov
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:27 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 3 Comments
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Jan
26
Bradley Burston, a journalist and Haaretz correspondent, concludes today’s Spin Cycle/Campaign Blog entry with that quote by Fatah Gaza leader Mohammed Dahlan. Dahlan was addressing Mahmoud Zahar, a founding member of Hamas, on the eve of the Palestinian elections.
Fascinating comment, don’t you think?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:08 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 1 Comment
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Jan
26
Tears for fears in the Middle East
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
Can anyone tell me why I shouldn’t be scared by this and this?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:32 pm January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
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Jan
26
Matt at Lincoln Logs believes that
On the national scene, “conservative” blogs saved the campaign by outting Dan Rather and Mary Mapes last year.
In Ohio it is a different story – democrats have kicked us around online. They have more people doing more good original work than the Republican/Conservative blogs. I don’t do much original work – although I appeared to be slightly out in front on the Betty Montgomery announcement. Mostly, I link to news stories and provide commentary. That is good, and I am happy to do it, but it seems to me that Ohio democrat/liberal blogs have melted the line a bit between mainstream journalism and new media by meeting with candidates and getting first hand reporting on issues.
That said, I think there are a couple solutions:
1. A team blog with a couple writers to help produce more posts covering more topics. This is the most basic of ideas, because it doesnt’ substantial increase production capabilities, however it has worked on the national scene with Powerline and the like.
2. A point/counter point blog. Again, this doesn’t really provide any more production value, but it is something missing out there in the blog world. There is no good “hannity and colmes” type blog where people with opposing opinions slug it out. It would require some weekly prep time (agreeing on the issues for the week) and some daily prep time (agreeing on the “breaking” news to cover), but I think it could be an interesting read.
3. A syndicate. I really like the idea of this, which is to create a blog with numerous “correspondents” from around the state. the correspondents are responsible for providing breaking news and commentary from their area media. In addition, the blog would actively seek media passes from events and candidates so that news can be covered rather than just reported upon. Finally “exclusives” with candidates would be sought to create original programming.
…
I think a reasonably organized syndicate would gain support from campaigns, just as “meet the bloggers” has gained support from (most) of the candidates. Certainly an organization would gain at least tacit recognition by county and state political organizations which would help with marketing, which is the other part of this equation.
I’ve commented a couple of times on Lincoln Logs, but otherwise, I don’t know the blogger. I imagine he’s speaking primarily about conservative blogs coming together in such efforts. But there’s no reason why there couldn’t be some cross-pollination. I like cross-pollination.
Thoughts?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:41 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 4 Comments
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Jan
26
Does anyone know if this is, in fact, the way to ensure that your cellphone doesn’t receive solicitations that the Do Not Call registry would prohibit if you enter your cell number with the registry, or by calling the number listed below?
JUST A REMINDER….31 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. …YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS…
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS
OR GO TO: www.donotcall.gov
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:27 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 3 Comments
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Jan
26
Bradley Burston, a journalist and Haaretz correspondent, concludes today’s Spin Cycle/Campaign Blog entry with that quote by Fatah Gaza leader Mohammed Dahlan. Dahlan was addressing Mahmoud Zahar, a founding member of Hamas, on the eve of the Palestinian elections.
Fascinating comment, don’t you think?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:08 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 1 Comment
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Jan
26
Lincoln Logs Likes Liberal Blogs (say it three times fast)
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
Matt at Lincoln Logs believes that
On the national scene, “conservative” blogs saved the campaign by outting Dan Rather and Mary Mapes last year.
In Ohio it is a different story – democrats have kicked us around online. They have more people doing more good original work than the Republican/Conservative blogs. I don’t do much original work – although I appeared to be slightly out in front on the Betty Montgomery announcement. Mostly, I link to news stories and provide commentary. That is good, and I am happy to do it, but it seems to me that Ohio democrat/liberal blogs have melted the line a bit between mainstream journalism and new media by meeting with candidates and getting first hand reporting on issues.
That said, I think there are a couple solutions:
1. A team blog with a couple writers to help produce more posts covering more topics. This is the most basic of ideas, because it doesnt’ substantial increase production capabilities, however it has worked on the national scene with Powerline and the like.
2. A point/counter point blog. Again, this doesn’t really provide any more production value, but it is something missing out there in the blog world. There is no good “hannity and colmes” type blog where people with opposing opinions slug it out. It would require some weekly prep time (agreeing on the issues for the week) and some daily prep time (agreeing on the “breaking” news to cover), but I think it could be an interesting read.
3. A syndicate. I really like the idea of this, which is to create a blog with numerous “correspondents” from around the state. the correspondents are responsible for providing breaking news and commentary from their area media. In addition, the blog would actively seek media passes from events and candidates so that news can be covered rather than just reported upon. Finally “exclusives” with candidates would be sought to create original programming.
…
I think a reasonably organized syndicate would gain support from campaigns, just as “meet the bloggers” has gained support from (most) of the candidates. Certainly an organization would gain at least tacit recognition by county and state political organizations which would help with marketing, which is the other part of this equation.
I’ve commented a couple of times on Lincoln Logs, but otherwise, I don’t know the blogger. I imagine he’s speaking primarily about conservative blogs coming together in such efforts. But there’s no reason why there couldn’t be some cross-pollination. I like cross-pollination.
Thoughts?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:41 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jan
26
Tears for fears in the Middle East
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
Can anyone tell me why I shouldn’t be scared by this and this?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:32 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
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Jan
26
Put cell phone numbers into Do Not Call registry?
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
Does anyone know if this is, in fact, the way to ensure that your cellphone doesn’t receive solicitations that the Do Not Call registry would prohibit if you enter your cell number with the registry, or by calling the number listed below?
JUST A REMINDER….31 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. …YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS…
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS
OR GO TO: www.donotcall.gov
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:27 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Jan
26
"It’s time for you to discover the suffering of being in government."
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
Bradley Burston, a journalist and Haaretz correspondent, concludes today’s Spin Cycle/Campaign Blog entry with that quote by Fatah Gaza leader Mohammed Dahlan. Dahlan was addressing Mahmoud Zahar, a founding member of Hamas, on the eve of the Palestinian elections.
Fascinating comment, don’t you think?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:08 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Jan
26
Tears for fears in the Middle East
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
Can anyone tell me why I shouldn’t be scared by this and this?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:32 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jan
26
Chris Redfern Meets A Blogger
Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments
I don’t sleep well in hotels and last night was no exception. The failure of my room’s Internet connection to obey my commands didn‘t help matters, even after the Roomlinx techies claimed that they reset the “gateway.” Then, I managed to write this entry but it wouldn’t load. So I tried responding to email, but I kept getting “Cannot Find Server” error messages after I‘d write the response and hit Send. Not to mention, earlier in the evening, the waiter for the writer’s group I met in Columbus (for the KnowledgeWorks Foundation’s small schools Storyteller project) brought my cheesecake with strawberry syrup on it.
Talk about a bad night.
However, I’m a mom and so, despite my lack of ZZZZZZZZZZs, I woke up this morning before my pre-programmed wake-up call, demanded of myself while I showered that I not forget my cellphone when I left the room, and then, as I left for the morning, proceeded to forget my cellphone, upon the discovery of which I told the cabdriver, who didn’t seem to know where he was going anyway, to head back to the hotel.
I won’t go into how it turns out that my cellphone isn’t even working, but I didn’t actually learn about that until I was driving 65 on 71North and tried to slam some sense into the phone because I needed to call my husband to tell him to leave his office, go home and open the locked door for our thirteen year old who, although aware of how to open the door to the house, might, nevertheless, get flustered.
Enabler, they name is Jill.
I’m exhausted just from starting this story, and I haven’t even gotten the main character to the Ohio Democratic Party headquarters in Columbus yet. I need a nap bad.
I arrive, and the sun isn’t up yet. Or it’s up, but you can’t really tell because it’s cloudy and windy and some form of precipitation seems to be in the air but not as snow or rain. I see few people and fewer cars. Windblown papers scatter into spaces along the sidewalk, nestle into bushes and into the crux of stairways that lead into the office buildings along this part of East State Street in downtown Columbus.
The Ohio Democratic Party headquarters reside in a simple structure on a street lined with similarly simple structures. I skipped art history in college, but I’m guessing it’s from the 60s or so. A wall designed in cinderblock frames the entryway on one side, but otherwise, there is little architectural distinction that I could see.
Only one room appeared to be occupied at 7:30am this morning, but I pressed the buzzer and a friendly older than me gentleman welcomed me in. No one else had yet arrived, but he offered me a coffee (which I declined) and I settled myself in one of the four or so chairs that lined the indoor waiting area.
The surroundings reminded me of an older school board building: a floor covering of beige, pebble-designed linoleum squares, a floating staircase a la the Brady Bunch house, and wood paneling like you might find in a homey basement rec room. Frames with different pictures and items lined the walls and a case, all lit by either large flourescent ceiling fixtures or early-style recessed lighting with grates over the bulbs like I recall having in my own 1970s bedroom.
Sometime just before 8am, the friendly gentleman who ushered me into the building led me upstairs to the Chairman’s office.
Now, I have to say, I’m really not one who finds titles and all impressive. I act very deferential – that’s my training and I think it’s appropriate. But I get all fumbly when it comes to having to call people Your Honor or Chair etc. It’s not intended to be insulting, but I haven’t had enough therapy to understand why it might bother me to use such phrases.
I suspect it has something to do with knowing that everyone puts their socks and shoes on the same way – socks first, then shoes. Everyone. So I don’t get easily thrown by people’s titles. I respect the positions and the accomplishment, but I’m not so overly humbled that I can’t ask the questions I want to in order to learn what I’m interested in learning.
And I also just have a hard time calling someone Chair. (Again, nothing personal. I do believe that I did not call the Chairman “Chair” even once, mostly because I was afraid that I would’ve been like Mary Tyler Moore at the funeral for Chuckles the Clown, you know – when they’re all trying to keep themselves from laughing because they don’t want to be disrespectful? It was early, I was tired, and I kept thinking about the word chair meaning an object to sit on. Awful, I know. But, like a terrible commercial jingle or Kelly Clarkson song, I couldn’t get this thought out of my head and I wasn’t sure that I could suppress a smirk if one began to rise up through my neck as I said, “Nice to meet you, Chair.” Or would it be, “Your Chair”? “Your Chairness?” Ugh. SEE WHAT I MEAN!?)
(Ok – I’m really digressing here but seeing as how I write like I talk, I had this exact same problem with Very Right Reverends. I’m Jewish. I didn’t grow up with Right Reverends. And I still am very uncomfortable with the phrase. NOT out of disrespect, just out of discomfort. So really, I apologize for my silliness here. I guess I’m also just thinking, if the Democratic party represents the people, I don’t know – to elevate someone to a Chair – it doesn’t seem plebeian enough or something.)
But enough of my idiosyncrisies.
The Ohio Democratic Party Chairman, Chris Redfern, and I spoke for a little less than one hour, probably closer to 45 minutes. This meeting arose because of this blog entry in which I lamented that I’d be unable to attend the Meet the Bloggers in Columbus next month with Redfern. But, I noted, I’d be in Columbus and I wondered aloud in my writing whether Redfern “could fit me in for an MTB warmup.” Todd Rensi, who works for the party, invited me to meet Redfern, I called and we set it up.
So there I was this morning.
Redfern looks younger than his numerical age (which I thought was the same as mine but, apparently, is a couple of years less). He speaks with a quiet but firm voice, enunciating with specificity and making eye contact often. I tried to be mindful and not interrupt but I’m not very good at that. Luckily, he was very capable of talking so that I would be deterred long enough from interrupting so that he could finish what he had to say.
He was dressed in a suit and tie that almost but not quite seemed to big for his slight though not short in stature physique and I never really thought about how young he was until I started to think about the enormity of Ohio in the political world. Then, his being chairman at this point in his life seemed like it might be a big deal. But, not liking to admit that anything is much of a big deal, I’ll not speculate until I feel more comfortable in my knowledge about Ohio politics.
I never did ask the precise question I formulated in that blog entry (how does the party feel about bloggers who identify themselves as Democrats, but not necessarily as working with, for or along the lines of the party machine). But we spoke about many topics, including blogs, bloggers and blogging.
If he were in a position akin to that of a media placement advisor for a corporation, but doing so for a politician, what percentage of a budget did he think blogs would get?
Zero. Unequivocally.
Did he think Paul Hackett or Howard Dean would say the same?
No direct answer, but we talked about how Hackett’s juggernaut experience in the Ohio 2nd race and Dean’s fundraising successes aren’t really parallel to the question I asked, but do represent the burgeoning use of a media that Redfern agreed was in its infancy and as such, not really a known quantity yet.
He stated at least a couple of times his belief that in 4-6-8 years, the story re: blogs may very well be entirely different.
Now, the question I’ve had that really brought the ODP into my radar screen was raised by William Beutler in a Blogometer post that suggested that state parties were going to have to grapple with the extent to which blogs steer conversation to base issues, when the party might prefer the discussion – for the voter’s sake – to be more about getting a person of the respective party into office (also referred to as electibility).
Redfern and I discussed this at length and from a few different angles. Redfern seems to be fine with blogs discussing base issues or electibility. And I couldn’t get him to tell me directly which criteria I should give more weight (which is really what I wanted but ultimately, I think it was wise of him to not tell me).
However, we talked about must-haves when it comes to positions on certain issues and how, if someone holds a position with which you don’t agree, that disagreement might still be mitigated by agreement on other beliefs, not to mention the dislike of an opponent’s beliefs and possible victory if you don’t support someone who, although not 100% of what you want, would still be preferable to the opponent.
I mentioned my preference that the ODP not endorse anyone before the primary but Redfern indicated that that wasn’t likely to prevail because, he said, candidates ask to be endorsed and then the party – through a committee – must decide whether or not to endorse that candidate. I found that interesting because it was not how I thought it happened.
All in all, we talked about a lot of philisophical voter-oriented issues, I realized that I’m not a typical voter, but Redfern said that that’s because I’m an engaged voter and that is what makes me atypical.
My inner idealist finds that sad, but probably true.
So, all in all, heady stuff, although still no definitive answer to my Tastes Great versus Less Filling dilemma, which is really kind of a variation on the same theme of whether we should be discussing base issues versus electibility.
I guess some times, no matter how good you are at asking questions and getting people to sit down with you and answer them, there are some things you just have to figure out for yourself.
PS: Don’t forget about the Meet the Bloggers fundraiser Thursday night, 1/26 at Pearl of the Orient in Rocky River! Read more here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:16 am January 26th, 2006 in Politics | 5 Comments
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