Joe The Plumber, The Presidential Debates & Search, Search Engine Land.

Anyone watching tonight’s US Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama heard both candidates speak directly to “Joe The Plumber” several times. No, it’s not a fictional Joe. No, it’s not Sarah Palin’s Joe Six Pack. He’s a real person that Obama spoke to earlier this past weekend about economic concerns and taxation. But if you’re turning to search engines to find more about him, as many are, there are a lot of surprises along the way.

CNN bid to tie Palin to secessionists is a stretch, LA Times.

The anchorman's serious tone and dancing eyebrows -- not to mention a "The Palins and the Fringe" banner across the bottom of the screen -- suggested big surprises. Must-see TV! And all of it coming "right after the break."

So I holstered the remote for a couple of minutes and waited to see what CNN was up to.

The answer: no good.

FCC Chair Wants to Go Forward With Use of White Spaces, The Washington Post Blog.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he wants to allow portable devices to use the airwaves between TV channels for wireless broadband service.

After months of testing and over a year of lobbying by tech firms Google, Microsoft, HP, Dell and others, the FCC's engineering office is releasing a report today that spells out the standards devices must meet in order to use the empty airwaves.

 

Confirmed: Obama Is Campaigning on Xbox 360, GigaOM.

“I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout,” Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts, the game’s publisher, told me via email, noting that EA regularly allows ad placements in their online games.

FCC Paves Way For Free Wi-Fi, InformationWeek.

The commission had considered auctioning off the frequencies in the 2,155-2,175 MHz band and requiring the winner to offer free Wi-Fi across the United States. Wireless carriers had been opposed to this initiative because of potential interference.

Obama vs. McCain: The Wired Scorecard, Wired.

What do Barack Obama and John McCain say, and what have they done, about policies that matter to Wired? Here are descriptions and analysis on five issues:

1. Broadband
2. H1B issues
3. Investment in green tech
4. Net neutrality
5. Spectrum

Complete guide to Google Analytics, TechRadar.

Analytics has also expanded to encompass a larger tool set and conversion process. It includes offline data sources and multivariate testing solutions. Perhaps the largest shift is that virtually everyone is now aware of and able to afford a quality web analytics and multivariate testing platform.

It's Bam TV: Barack Obama buys a half hour of prime time on CBS, NBC, NY Daily News.

The Democratic presidential nominee has purchased 30 minutes of primetime TV on CBS and NBC for a massive infomercial that will be broadcast six days before Election Day, sources familiar with the deal told the Daily News. A spokesman for the two networks declined comment.

NRCC cuting back ad buys, Politico.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, after reserving advertising time in 26 Congressional districts, has begun to cancel or dramatically scale back some of its ad reservations across the country. Many of the hardest-hit candidates are among the GOP’s leading challengers.

Hundreds of Conservative Online Activists from Coast-to-Coast, Oct. 10-11

Bloggers and online activists from around the country will be gathering at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA tomorrow for RightOnline, a training conference where they will learn how to use online resources more effectively to change the political landscape on free-market issues such as taxes, spending, and pro-growth economic policies. RightOnline kicks off Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s 2nd national Defending the American Dream Summit – the 1,800-plus crowd of citizens from 38 states around the country make the event the largest gathering in the nation of free-market activists and leaders.

Any bloggers or new media activists interested in attending should e-mail newmedia@afphq.org for free blogger credentials.

Friday Schedule
RightOnline – Internet Training Seminars - 9:00am – 1:45pm

Samsphere (Presented by the Sam Adams Alliance)
9:00-11:30am – Salon K
EM Zanotti & Eric Odom
Samsphere is a new media forum for existing bloggers and e-activists. This provides the opportunity for online advocates from across the country to gather, network, and share ideas.

Online Identity Management Bootcamp (Presented by the Lucy Burns Institute)
9:00-11:30am - Lee
Leslie Graves
A seminar for bloggers, e-activists, and representatives from conservative organizations, with a focus on improving your online presence.

Online Activism Workshops (Presented by the Leadership Institute)
9:00-10:00am - Blogging 101: If You Blog It, They Will Come – Robert Bluey, The Heritage Foundation

10:00-11:00pm - Online Video – “YouTubing” Compelling Videos – Mary Katharine Ham, The Weekly Standard / HamNation

11:00-12:00am - New Media – Social Networking: Getting Tapped In – Christopher Malagisi, Leadership Institute

12:00-12:45pm - Lunch

12:45-1:45pm - Wikipedia – Total Reputation Management – William Beutler, New Media Strategies

Tell America To Google The Facts!

Another Way To Follow The Campaign: Dipity’s Election Center Timelines, TechCrunch. 

Want to follow every Tweet, blog post, YouTube video and Flickr photo put out by the Obama or McCain camps? Now you can follow the campaigns in a handy Dipity Election Center timeline.

On October 7, former Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul sent an email to his list urging financial support for Republican candidate B.J. Lawson (N.C.-4). The result has been an influx of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the campaign.

Excerpt of the email:

During my presidential campaign, we set records and shocked the political establishment with "Money Bombs." Individuals came together and pooled their contributions, large and small, to make a huge splash on one day. And, boy, did the Washington fat cats take notice!

Today, I am asking you to do the same for my friend B.J. Lawson. Will you make a contribution at www.lawsonforcongress.com?

I need B.J. in Congress with me to stand up for liberty and limited government, and against the Patriot Act and Wall Street bailouts.

Lawson is running against Democratic incumbent David Price who has one of the worst campaign websites I've ever seen.

The goal of Ron Paul's email was to bring in an additional $200K to the campaign; but it ended up bringing in over $250K for Lawson's campaign. (Lawson's campaign pushed the rest through their means.)

I asked Ron Paul's political director, Jesse Benton, about the money bomb and why Ron Paul decided to back Lawson. He said:

"The money bomb for B.J. Lawson was a confluence of three factors. First, Dr. Paul has tremendous fundraising appeal and his fans and supporters respond to his requests. His nationwide network is second to none. Secondly, B.J. Lawson is a great candidate, and people recognize that. Finally, Dr. Lawson spent time working with Dr. Paul's national following and developed name ID with them. Put all three together, and thousands of supporters came together to give a tidal wave of small contributions."

Will Ron Paul's extra $250K make the difference in the race? Perhaps. But one thing is clear, a national network of citizens like those connected by Paul can impact a Congressional race outside of the establishment.

Is Ron Paul a modern New Guard for the Right?

DEBATE FACT #5: RATING THE TWO CANDIDATES, JohnMcCain.com.

CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: Barack Obama Has A Low Lifetime Rating Compared To John McCain's High Lifetime Rating

* Citizens Against Government Waste Gave Obama A Lifetime Rating Of 18 Percent. (Citizens Against Government Waste, "2007 Senate Ratings," councilfor.cagw.org, Accessed 10/4/08)

*Citizens Against Government Waste Gave McCain A Lifetime Rating Of 88 Percent. (Citizens Against Government Waste, "2007 Senate Ratings," councilfor.cagw.org, Accessed 10/4/08

Update: Tennessee man indicted for hacking Palin's e-mail account, InfoWorld.

David C. Kernell was indicted Tuesday on a single charge of accessing a protected computer by a grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville. The indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, was unsealed Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

I just made a Palin VP YouTube clip to promote the phone banks across the country.  Support your local phone bank.

Palin Power