The Second Cup: Do you...Hulu?

Posted by Meghann Olshefski
Mon, 2009-11-23 10:40

Political and Issue Advertising on Hulu

Interesting email in from Campus Progress the other day — as part of a student loan reform campaign, they’re running ads both on cable and on the TV/video-viewing website Hulu. The email itself focuses on encouraging recipients to watch the ad and spread the YouTube version virally via Facebook and Twitter, though it also includes a carefully couched fundraising ask as well (obviously not as much of a priority when you’re sending to college students). The landing page fits the email perfectly, with prominent post-to-Facebook-and-Twitter links plus an email-Congress (and presumably list-building) angle as well.

1080p HD is Coming to YouTube

We're excited to say that support for watching 1080p HD videos in full resolution is on its way. Starting next week, YouTube's HD mode will add support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p today.

As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience. 

Is One-Way Communication Enough in the 21st Century?

Once I heard about a man who was considered an excellent communicator. He always returned letters and phone calls, and remembered to get in touch with people he had not talked to in a while. Quite impressive to accomplish that reputation without the techniques we have today. Most people did not know the keys behind his skills; discipline and continuity. Every Tuesday leaving work and spending a few hours with his family, he went to his study and did all his correspondence in one night. Sure, this might seem a bit strict and impersonal, but no one knew, they just admired him for always getting in touch.

How good are we really at communicating today? What do you do and how well do you do it? Could you become better at emailing old associates, contacting them more often? What opportunities did you lose because you did not follow-up?

How to Lose and Argument Online (8 Easy Steps)

# Have an argument. Once you start an argument, not a discussion, you've already lost. Think about it: have you ever changed your mind because someone online started yelling at you? They might get you to shut up, but it's unlikely they've actually changed your opinion.
# Forget the pitfalls of Godwin's law. Any time you mention Hitler or even Communist China or Bill O'Reilly, you've lost.
# Use faulty analogies. If someone is trying to make a point about, say, health care, try to make an analogy to something conceptually unrelated, like the space shuttle program, and you've lost....

An Internet Politicos Guide to David Plouffe's "The Audacity to Win"

Here at e.politics, we're happy to read things so you don't have to -- though it this case you should, because  David Plouffe's The Audacity to Win is a great read and one hell of a glimpse into the strategy, tactics and execution of a remarkably successful political operation.

Suspecting the book's value as a resource in the future, I took extensive notes as I read through it -- essentially creating an index of every substantive mention of online politics in the book, which I've reprinted below as a resource for y'all, along with a few links to relevant e.politics articles (the current edition of the book doesn't include its own actual index, unfortunately).

 

The Second Cup: Digital Flashback

Posted by Meghann Olshefski
Thu, 2009-11-19 10:36

David Plouffe: Negative Viral Emails as Bad as Negative TV Ads

Just off a conference call to promote Obama campaign manager David Plouffe’s new (and so-far excellent) book about the 2008 race, which I’m currently about 3/4 of the way through — more about that soon. On the call, though, I got to ask a question about the behind-the-scenes smear emails that circulated regularly throughout the campaign — what did the campaign do to respond that was most effective, and how should future political operations reply to similar tactics?

Young Political Candidates Confronted by Digital Past on Facebook

Last spring Emanuel Pleitez, 26, ran for California's 32nd Congressional seat in a special election to replace Hilda Solis, the new secretary of labor.

During the campaign, one of Pleitez's opponents, California State Sen. Gil Cedillo, discovered photos from Pleitez's Facebook profile that showed Pleitez hanging around with various women at parties. The Cedillo campaign used the photos as the basis for a mailer that was sent to homes in the district. The mailer presented Pleitez as a partier, drinker and womanizer, among other smears.

Do Republicans Trail in Using Technology?

At the Republican Governor's Association meeting, former Rep. John Kasich (R-OH) blasted his party for not embracing the newest communication tools, the Washington Post reports.

Said Kasich: "I think Republicans need to learn to communicate with the tools of the 21 st century. The women in Iran have been more effective using Twitter than House Republicans have been getting their message out to the country. We need to embrace the modern tools of the 21 st century.... Let's get with it with this stuff."

New Flip Video Cameras to Have Wi-Fi

Cisco’s popular Flip camcorder has helped sparked a revolution in digital and online video. By making video recording quick and easy to record and upload, millions of random moments have been captured (and then summarily uploaded to YouTube).

And last but not least...a major win for Republicans -

Republicans Get the Bill Online Before Democrats

How's that for transparency?