Electronic Writer

More than 30 countries were polled, and if they were voting in the upcoming election, Barack Obama would win a second term.  More than 26,000 people were polled and 81% said they would support Obama, compared to 19% for Romney.

Read the full article at United Press International

Still not sure how you feel about the quirky micro-blogging service?

Well, the Library of Congress has determined that your 140 character posts on Twitter are invaluable to recorded human history.  So, they will be storing all Tweets that were not private–starting from the very beginning back in 2006.

As a result, you might be famous.  Or, your grandkids might be able to gain some valuable insight into their grandfather’s habits and behaviors in his early twenties.  For me, the LOC will now house my real-time recorded collection of transgressions of AC Transit of Alameda County, CA.  (Arguably, not the best example of historical stuff.)

Library of Congress blogger, Matt Raymond, wrote:

I’m no Ph.D., but it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data. And I’m certain we’ll learn things that none of us now can even possibly conceive.

I have to agree . . . those are some historical documents in the making.

Huffington Post has the full story >>

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has created an online tool to help the members of the Republican Party generate apologies to the almighty Rush Limbaugh.  The controversy is provided by Rush Limbaugh openly hoping on his national radio program that President Obama fails in with his stimulus package and pulling the country out of the recession (he obviously still has a job, health insurance and plenty of food in his cupboards).  The apology generator was created by Democrats only a few days after Republican-party criticism against Rush Limbaugh was rescinded by: Congressman Phil Gingery (R-GA), Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC), and RNC Chairman, Michael Steel. (Here’s a whole list of articles at USA Today about it).

I think the apology generator is an ingenious invention.  While having fun and tinkering with the options, I can see what it feels like to be a member of the modern day Republican Party–forced to swallow the ill-concieved and self-centered rhetoric of a few loud-mouth, evangelical wing-nuts as if it were medicine and somehow good for me.  Free will be gone.  It’s the party-line, or it’s nothing.

Rush Limbaugh Apology Generator:  http://www.dccc.org/content/sorry

There is a new online newspaper for San Francisco-ites:  SF Appeal. They launched on Friday, and so far, I love the focus.

It is pretty mind-boggling that there are no real newspapers geared towards San Francisco.  The San Francisco Chronical is markedly backwards in their desire for a return to newsprint and in their effort to provide national and international coverage, their SF coverage lacks (in my opinion). The Examiner has almost vanished, and that leaves us with . . . nothing until SF Appeal.

Keep up the good work, SF Appeal, and thanks for covering what matters to me.

Visit SF Appeal at www.sfappeal.com

Researchers at University of Minnesota in a recent survey have discovered that social network services actually provide some benefits.

Rather than time-wasting forms of procrastination, Social Network Services (MySpace, Friendster, etc.) actually encourage the usage of technology that will be required later in life.   Furthermore, it found that social networks are reducing the “digital divide” because they have encouraged minorities to use the internet.

Read the whole article . . . .

John McCain Capaign: Riding the Fox News Fear and Lies Wave in just the beginning of the campaign.

It has not even been a week since I noticed the Pay-per-click Advertisements of John McCain on the Internet, and somehow, the pool of John McCain Campaign advertisements has been filled with racism and lies. In the advertisement, you see the leader of Iran facing Barack Obama. Below it, it says, “Is it OK to Unconditionally Meet with Anti-American Foreign Leaders?” It then displays a simple Yes/No below it, and Paid for by John McCain 2008 at the bottom.

This is a clear example of how the John McCain Campaign is pandering fear and spreading lies in the same fashion as the Fox News Network–using the rumor that Barack Obama is connected to the Muslim world.

To visually tie Senator Obama with the leader of Iran is disingenuous, and smells of Karl Rove and some of the techniques that he has used to win elections in the past. Visually, their faces are the same size and their skin colors are more similar than different.

The question is also garbage–with the text containing words that would return on a search for the words, “Barack Obama anti-american.” Wait! Did we touch on another lie about Barack Obama? We DID! Inconceivable!

Pandering fear and lies is a terrible way to run for president.  Here is a 3-step process for running for President of the United States:

1. Fire Karl Rove (or stop listening to him), and fight a good fight. How about some debates? What about knocking on doors? All of those values that you talked about in the 2000 primaries are rapidly diminishing because you have taken to pandering fear to the American public, spreading lies in order to win.
2. Look at your policies. Does your own platform actually represent your values? Your Republican constituents have elected you because of your policies. How about listening to them? How about representing their interests–rather than the companies with the cash.
3. You have lost your “maverick” status because you no longer say or do what you believe to be true. You have become a mouthpiece to the private corporations–and, followed suit with your predecessor.

Web 2.0 has just moved in a new direction–then it signaled a turn, stepped on the brakes, and parked.

kohring is a flash developer from Japan who incorporated google maps in a REALLY fun new application. He coded a driving simulator that uses Google maps as the backdrop.

If your internet connection is fast, the video is nearly seamless (it boasts 40 frames/second). If your reflexes are fast, you can drive through the streets of Tokyo, London, Manhattan, or the Google plex without crashing.

Give it a whirl: http://geoquake.jp/en/webgame/DrivingSimulatorGM/

I have always been a mash-up of things including (but not limited to) literature and video games.  In that lovely space between sleep and awake I have envisioned a Tomb-Raider-esque tours through Dante’s “Inferno” and Homer’s “Odyssey,” and espionage games based upon Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” 

At first, I thought Second Life might provide the answer . . . although the closest that I could find was troupes of Anime fans recreating comic book wars. 

We Tell Stories may be the beginning of something incredible–or, at least something written/created for the target audience where I so happily belong.

Read the review:
Interactive game mixes classic novels with Web 2.0 mashups | Geek Gestalt – A blog by Daniel Terdiman – CNET News.com

Or, play the game:
We Tell Stories

We all thought that the Internet would break the grip of the corporate-controlled media on information.  Were we right?  This article is a review of Project for Excellence in Journalism. Our assumptions, according to their report, have not quite come to fruition as we had expected.  Read the following Coop’s Corner at CNET for the full story:

Were we wrong about tech and the democratization of media?

Were we wrong about tech and the democratization of media? | Coop’s Corner : A Blog from Charlie Cooper – CNET News.com