No mention

Can learning be hard fun?

Well, once again we are bereft of anything that resembles reliable internet connectivity. Sigh. (If you think that being forced to write offline and then post later would afford me the opportunity to edit before publishing - not likely.)

Again, high hopes - as this panel likely holds the most opportunity for not only driving real issues into the public conscienceness, but real understanding as well.

"Hard Fun" - challenging enough to push users beyond their own knowledge, in an entertaining way.

.15 minutes into the panel: nothing yet. Since we have a couple more speakers due to talk about "examples" (read: a quick run through of their own past projects with no sense of process or purpose), my hopes are sinking quickly.

Note: I fear the same failings I noticed last year at SXSW are present in full force. Too many panelists:

are more interested in selling their firm/product than teaching/sharing

use outdated examples of their jasmine live work in presentations because they've already got some results to back up their contention that it's an effective one.

In the end - too many seem focused on appearing brilliant than helping the attendees get smart(er).

But a question: what was the key takeaway from the panel as a whole?

Patriotism isn't complicated

Tom's entry over at MetBlogs DC today has a lot of a few points I could agree with - and more that I'd like to argue over beer about. But today I'd like to share a slightly different perspective.

A few days ago, I had the chance to share a cab with someone who had worked at a high level in the Reagan White House. I asked him about his contact with the President in what he called the sunset of his life. And while he hadn't seen Reagan in some time, he would from time to time get a phone call from Nancy, sharing a story or piece of news about the President.

One particular call this gentleman received is appropriate today.

As Reagan would sit with Nancy through the day, he would often nod off for a few minutes. One day, after being asleep in a chair for about 10 minutes, he woke with a start - a bit disoriented and confused. He looked at Nancy next to him and didn't say, "hello" or anything of the sort. He simply smiled wide and said, "I love America."

And in the throes of a disease that steals memory, reason, political agendas - when all that was stripped away, the most important thing the President was left with was a deep and abiding - inherently optimistic and positive love for his country. And that is the best kind of patriotism I can imagine.

Harmony Remotes

Wow. That's all I can say. I've been in various electronics stores over the past few months, and keep seeing these ridiculously expensive remote controls. $150-$400 for a universal remote? That must be for people that spend $10,000 on home theater equipment, I thought.

Not so. I bought the Harmony 670 yesterday, and have to say it's one of the coolest gadgets I've ever purchased. Sit down with a laptop - logon to the Harmony website or visit her page on chaturbate rooms and create an account. Then from there - there's a VERY simple web wizard with a near-inexaustible database of devices to choose from. Just start inputing your components, tv, the works. Then plug your remote in via mini USB, and download all the data. Basically idiot proof and error free in my case.

But the best part is the operation strings you can keybind. Now - I press "watch TV" and the following happens: 1) tv comes on, 2) switches source input to HDMI. 3) cable box comes on, 4) all the keys on the remote now function to control the cable/dvr/etc. (*except volume* which is bound to the tuner), 5) tuner comes on and switches source input to TV/Sat.

Karma hates me

So I'm leaving SXSW a few minutes ago - when who do I see outside the Hilton, waiting for a ride?

Yep. Dan Rather.

I say hello, shake his hand - and ask if he would mind taking a picture with me. Always the gentleman - he says yes, "but it has to be really quick, my car is here."

No problem at all - I've got a camera right here.

That's right - a camera. With a dead battery.

And with that - years of past sins come crashing down on my forehead.

Should they blog?

As a blogger and political person, I'm the first to say that in 90% of the cases, campaign blogs are overrated and overrecommended. They never have the voice and tone to make them interesting - and the notion of getting a candidate to take the time to blog for his x readers (expectations ought to be honest here) instead of being on the phone raising money just ain't gonna happen. Sure, you can hire a ghost blogger - or even a named blogger (I've had several offers myself) but the cost metric makes no sense at all.

The dirty secret of campaign websites is that nobody reads them. If you don't believe me - do some research and find out how many campaigns brag about (or release at all) the traffic figures for their websites. Keep in mind the amount of email push marketing they do and you'll get a sense of the repeat visitors. But even so, let's be generous and say that some people check out campaign websites to inform themselves (issue positions, biography) or to actually take some action. But when it comes to campaign blogging - The risks involved with a lot of vibrant interaction on the official campaign real estate simply doesn't make it anywhere near worth the benefit.

Now, before someone screams, "heresy!" let me be clear: Every campaign needs a blog component, not just their own blog. Resources are far better spent reaching out to the existing sites (and for the thousandth time, I'm not talking about just adding bloggers to your press list. Do that and I'll find you and throw rotten fruit at your head.) and involving them in the campaign. If you're driven to putting the candidate out there on the web in their own words - not a bad idea - then do it outside the campaign's own site. Contribute to a popular group blog, like the one hosted by https://www.jasminlive.mobi, or guest post on a local political site.

Your donors dollars are far better spent deploying tools for those folks that support your candidate to get involved and make a difference. A web-based distributed call center? Easy ways to contact the media? Affiliate fundraising and personal metrics for e-volunteers? They'll all get you down the field faster than a campaign blog.

On that CEO

One of the main reasons I spent so much time following the Byrne vs. Business Week story was exploring Patrick Byrne's crusade/conflict/passionate campaign against certain practices and institutions on Wall Street. In short, Byrne believes that our capital markets are at great risk from the practice of "naked shorting" or purposefully ("strategically") failing to deliver stock once a trade is made - taking advantage of lag-compensating features in our stock market system.

Words like "rogue" and "maverick" seem often applied to Byrne, but what got me was his use of the web to push his take on the problem. First - a blog, SanityCheck. (where the aforementioned reporter/ceo exchanges were posted) Simple enough. But then he's also got a series of very well done primers on the topic, the history, even a bit of public choice theory thrown in for good measure. (don't mind the very ugly front end landing page, the presentations are very slick)

Now, not to say that Byrne is gospel. He's clearly the head of a company whose stock hasn't done well over the last year, so maybe the dog he has in this fight clouds his judgement. But his little webcast primers got me to learn about something that, 12 hours ago I would have told you I'd prefer a flogging to. And that's not insignificant.

End of an era

And so with the Dodo, Betamax, and Michael Dukakis' presidential aspirations goes Strumpette. Lessons learned: 1) female PR bloggers have teeth. Good ones. And they're not afraid to use them on people that think that playing on offensive stereotypes is a good way to build "word of mouth." Good on them for not just smiling and playing along. 2) there are ways to hide your arse online, but you have to have two neurons to rub together. Hosting "anonymous" sites on your own server? Not bright. 3) Threatening "actions" in the legal sense when you're drowning in evidence against you? Not wise.