There has been a lot of discussion from folks on the Left (see: John and Joe among others) and the Right (see Hawkins) about the RNC's Obamacard Web site - a beta project that was meant to give folks the opportunity to see if they could "spend" $3.4 trillion dollars, just as President Obama already has in his first six months in office.

Some good bloggers from both sides of the aisle have said that it should not have been released because it was too buggy, while others have claimed that the RNC was promoting bigotry through this application.

While the site definitely appears to have had some kinks, most likely dreaded cross-browser issues, it is a bit ridiculous to argue that the RNC was suggesting people buy anti-Latino or anti-Semitic books. The products the Obamacard application searched came exclusively from Amazon.com's entire inventory via its public API. Expecting some grief -- the RNC had a filter in place to prevent searching for some profane words. Obviously, you can't control it all.

In my opinion, while the deployment of the site may not have been perfect, it's important to remember that the RNC was trying to be open and include the grassroots. In fact, the Obamacard Web site was released in beta, and the RNC intended to release the code of the site so that anyone could have the opportunity to improve it and add to it.

Further, the idea of letting folks visually realize and "feel" just how much money $3.4 trillion dollars is makes it a worthwhile effort. Remember just a few weeks ago when Michael Steele promoted Mathias Shapiro of 10,000 Pennies?

In all honesty, I'm a bit more concerned that the Web site was pulled simply because of some pressure from the blogosphere and a Politico piece. We can't always expect that everything will be perfect in a modern political environment and we need to have the ability to take a few punches from the other side.

This morning I had the opportunity to attend a very special presentation at the headquarters of our Republican National Committee. Chairman Steele was personally on-hand to present the first-ever "Grassroots Logic Award" to 10,000 Pennies video guru Matthias Shapiro (@politicalmath).

In presenting the award, Chairman Steele said:

10,000 pennies demonstrates an effective use of new media. Breaks complicated issues down into simple, easy-to-understand format. And it has the ability to create a new environment for communication.

He continued:

From my perspective, as Chairman of a “Party that is broken,” this is one way to say you’re “full of you-know-what.”

Upon receiving the award, Matthias said:

Most people say “thanks for breaking this down, and making it simple.” It’s less an issue of making it simple and more an example of making it “real.” People get sizes, lengths, and scales. None of the numbers I’m using are controversial – they are out there. Important thing for me is to communicate these things visually and that’s what I’m trying to do.

Before the award presentation, I had a chance to speak with RNC New Media guru Todd Herman (@ToddEHerman) and Matthias for a short interview:

It's important that Chairman Steele brought Matthias to the RNC to demonstrate his commitment to the grassroots of our party. He has a long way to go -- and he knows that -- but he continues to make smart moves and it's important that our community recognize that.

A tipster emailed me this photo of John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) checking in on his iPhone before he spoke at the College Republican National Convention.

The irony for me with McCain now embracing the iPhone, of course, is that last August I was quoted in a Politico story urging McCain to get an iPhone:

David All, a tech-centric Republican consultant, had another suggestion.

“If I were counseling John McCain, I would have him standing in line for an iPhone,” he said.

“I would make sure the next time John McCain is around a group of photographers, he’s on his iPhone and he’s checking out Meghan’s blog,” he said, referring to McCain’s daughter’s online diary of the campaign trail.

Indeed, an old dog can learn new tricks. Sadly though, too late to really matter.

Today's Politico piece on you guessed it, Twitter, "Twitter as a Weapon," sorta jumped out at me as a really odd/cultish movie that everyone who reads this blog would want to see.

And then after you watched the movie, like me, you'd Tweet about it and it'd be some sort of odd trending meme for a day or two.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) it's not a movie. But it is a good time to make sure every Republican candidate and campaign has a grasp on what Twitter is and how to use it effectively.

So today we launched a revised and expanded version of the The Twitter 101 Guide which is absolutely FREE for download and has minimal CC restrictions for sharing and re-use as you deem appropriate.

We've added quite a few more case-studies from the corporate, political, and non-profit sectors, updated our favorite tools, includes the Politics Magazine piece I wrote with @JeromeArmstrong, and more.

So far it's been downloaded more than 10,000 times, including once by @NewtGingrich (or his staff) who is currently the #1 Top Conservative on Twitter.

As always, let me know what you think of the Guide and your experience/tips/tricks etc with Twitter. I actually really do care quite a bit.

Onward.

Every now and then, the man, the myth, the legend, our friend, former RNC eCampaign Director Cyrus Krohn (@CyrusK), emerges to pass along a few nuggets of wisdom and more intel on why he straight up bolted DC.

Of note, today he was interviewed at National Journal Online where he heaped porridge for his successor, New Media Director Todd Herman:

But I do want to say that my successor, Todd Herman, who is overseeing new media at the RNC, is somebody I've known for a number of years. He'll do an exceptional job. I couldn't be happier with the fact the RNC hired Todd. He's one of the brightest people I know, and I think you'll see wonderful things coming out of the RNC in the coming years as he acclimates himself to the system.

On advice for Todd, Cyrus says:

I don't have any advice for my successor. Frankly, he's smarter than I am. [Laughs] He'll do a wonderful job. Maybe the best thing he could do at the committee would be to help temper Chairman Steele's comments when he feels he needs to speak freely.

Cyrus, we miss you buddy. As always, our blog is open to you for a guest or regular post. However, it's great to see that you're confident -- as those of us who have met and worked with Todd agree -- in your successor.

Onward to 2010 (and 2009 in VA and NJ ;).

One thing about me, when I say something like:

"Now more than ever, I see TechRepublican continuing to serve a valuable role in the emerging market. To that end I'm hoping to hire (modestly) a site editor to really focus on keeping the content meaningful to your life."

I mean it.

To that end, I'm pleased to announce that Meghann Parlett has been hired as the Site Editor for TechRepublican.

Tomorrow she will share with you her vision for TechRepublican as editor -- a vision I share and endorse -- so in this post, let me share a bit about Meghann and why I chose her to help lead our discussion.

I first met Meghann years ago when she contacted me about teaching conservatives how to use the Internet effectively at Leadership Institute classes. Most recently Meghann volunteered as chair of a subcommittee on the RNC TechSummit Grassroots Working Group to help me write a report for Chairman Steele on how the Republican Party can better use technology to Reach | Empower | Activate | Listen to the grassroots.

Meghann now serves the movement as the director of the Leadership Institute’s Employment Placement Service - working on projects like ConservativeJobs.com where DAG finds quite a few solid interviewees and hires.

As a Director at the Institute, she works to connect talented conservatives with work in conservative public policy using online communication tools and the Leadership Institute's broad conservative network.

In short, Meghann is excellent at connecting people, knows the movement inside and outside of the beltway, has a solid work ethic, writes well, enjoys helping plan events (TechRepublican happy hours bam!), and will do an excellent job at identifying and promoting the type of content you need (and need more of).

Welcome Meghann. The floor is yours.

One of the most competitive circles on Capitol Hill is among the elite class of Members of Congress who have been elevated by their peers to House Leadership.

It is time to let the TechRepublican community call it like we see it and pick out the best modern communicators in our online poll.

Note: I could neither find a Twitter account for House Republican Secretary John Carter of Texas.

PLUG: If you were following @TechRepublican, you would understand why Wolf Blitzer awarded this blog the Golden Dot Award:

Last night at the IPDI conference, TechRepublican won the 2009 Golden Dot Award for "Best Blog -- National Politics." This morning, CNN's Wolf Blitzer stopped by the DAG Sitch Room to officially present the award to the blog:

Since TechRepublican isn't exactly one of the Top 10 most trafficked Web sites on the Internets (and we're likely getting some new visitors today), I think it's worth highlighting a few points to help add some context:

How It Started The genesis of TechRepublican was a Google Group -- an open Google Group to be precise -- that allowed anyone to join in on the conversation to help Republicans understand the importance of using the Internet to communicate effectively. The group was called the "Republican Party Tech Working Group" which splintered off in to a few different groups by folks who wanted to take the conversation private and/or exclude folks who weren't a part of the "in" crowd.

What It Is: The blog is a group of industry stakeholders talking about the use of technology by Republicans. It often links to outside sources or bloggers, participating in the wider GOP blogosphere. Collectively, the contributors of TechRepublican focus, like a laser, to report best practices on the application of technology to the political spectrum, identifying Republicans and conservatives throughout the world who are using the Internet to bridge that great partisan digital divide and reach modern voters. We provide tips, tricks, and tools for campaigns to use -- for FREE. As the founder, I try very hard to reach out and find contributors outside and inside the Beltway who are motivated and have something important to say.

Filling a Necessary Void: The first post written on May 6, 2007, "Today our Revolution begins. Tomorrow we fight." helped kick off a public conversation on both sides of the aisle about technology + Republican politics. That blog post was quoted in the lede of an A1 above-the-fold Washington Post story titled, "Online, GOP is Playing Catch Up." To this day, it's still one of the few blogs (any others?) I've seen quoted in such a significant way.

Twitter Integration: It is one of the few blogs with a seamless Twitter feed integration which is easily identifiable in the Twitterverse (#TechGOP), allowing anyone to be a part of the conversation. The blog's Twitter feed, @TechRepublican, has 2,788 followers -- #250 on the TCOT list.

So What's Next? Now more than ever, I see TechRepublican continuing to serve a valuable role in the emerging market. To that end I'm hoping to hire (modestly) a site editor to really focus on keeping the content meaningful to your life. If interested, shoot me a note.

So friends... nearly two years later, the conversation we started continues and is louder than ever. I'm glad you're a part of it.

Revolution.

Recently, "Mike Henry, Terry McAuliffe for Governor" sent a note to me asking if I'd read the campaigns first quarter "Investor Report." I did.

In it, I found this accomplishment/little white lie for Text Messaging under "New" Media (how much longer is any of this new?):

"This is the first statewide campaign to ever use text messaging technology."

Really? The first statewide campaign to ever use text messaging? Sounds fishy.

The truth is, Terry McAuliffe was not the first statewide campaign to use text message technology.

The first were in fact run by Cherry Tree Mobile Media, a text message communications service. They provide marketing, fundraising, and interactive messaging solutions to Democratic campaigns and nonprofits. They claim to be the first mobile communications company to work with gubernatorial campaigns in California and Pennsylvania in 2006.

Here's more about those races and their use of text messaging...

California Gubernatorial Campaign:
On November 7, 2006 The San Francisco Chronicle Blog reported Democratic candidate Phil Angelides sent a text to voters saying “HAVE YOU VOTED? HAS EVERYONE U KNOW VOTED? FORWARD THIS MESSAGE! Polls open til 8 p.m.” (They also asked him to chill out on the CAPS.)

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Campaign:
The Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania was Ed Rendell. I could not find mention of Ed Rendell running a text message campaign on Google News however according to a campaign finance report he paid Cherry Tree Mobile $9,000.

Look, Terry McAuliffe may have been the first statewide campaign IN Virginia to use text messaging (wow!!), but hardly the first statewide campaign.

Details matter.

Some readers may remember a show on YouTube that MyDD's Jerome Armstrong and I used to do called DomeNation.

On the show, we'd interview politicians (Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Jack Kingston), candidates (Ron Paul), bloggers (AMERICAblog), and reporters (Paul Kane and Jonathan Martin) about their use of technology. You can see the archive of shows here.

After 16 months of being off-line...

We.
Are.
Back.

Here's the teaser of what's to come where you find out who we'll interview first along with a hat-tip to our sponsor: