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The Narwhal and the Orca

Leaving politics aside, there’s a lot that can be learned from the technical efforts of the Obama and Romney campaigns. Just about everyone agrees that the Obama campaign’s Narwhal project was a great success, and that Romney’s Orca was a …

Four short links: 16 November 2012

Under the Hood of Team Obama’s Tech Operation (Mother Jones) — The new platform allowed OFA to collect feedback from the ground on an enormous scale, and respond accordingly. In short, it made the flow of information bidirectional. “What it …

A case for voting Republican

I’m writing this from an hour-long polling line on the Upper West Side, where no political races will be remotely competitive this year. The presence of so many people willing to put up with the inconvenience of a long wait …

President Obama participates in first Presidential AMA on Reddit

Starting around 4:30 PM ET today, President Barack Obama made history by going onto Reddit to answer questions about anything for an hour. Reddit, one of the most popular social news sites on the Internet, has been hosting “Ask Me …

Visualization of the Week: Four ways to look at Obama's 2013 Budget

A New York Times visualization offers a compelling alternative to wading through pages of President Obama's 2013 budget.

Visualization of the Week: Four ways to look at Obama's 2013 Budget

A New York Times visualization offers a compelling alternative to wading through pages of President Obama's 2013 budget.

W. David Stephenson on the Federal CIO: Vivek Kundra

W David Stephenson discusses his upcoming book "Democratizing Data", and his experiences with the new Federal CIO: Vivek Kundra. Stephenson talks about his experiences working as a consultant for Kundra in the DC government and he outlines what we can expect from Kundra during his tenure as Federal CIO in the OMB.

The Paradox of Transparency

In his memo on transparency and open government, President Barack Obama said: "My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government." Obama made a down...

O'Reilly Week in Review for February 9th, 2009

This week's podcast features a round table discussion by some of the O'Reilly editors of how the Obama administration is making use of the Internet, an excerpt of an interview with LCD display maven Mary Lou Jepsen, and the weekly...

O'Reilly Books for Barack--What Should We Send the White House?

We can't help but feel concerned that Barack Obama, the most technologically-connected President ever, faces an out-of-date, inefficient technological platform. According to news accounts the executive branch's computer and technology equipment is a "jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts." We know our books could help Barack and his staff sort out the wiring, upgrade the software, and create secure networks. That's why we want to send the new White House staff a box of O'Reilly books. And we want your input.

Hope Art

The Capitol Hill Seattle blog has produced a short video about the surge of Obama art around Seattle. On the street you can find Shepard Fairey's Hope image has been put on garage doors and merged with donuts. It's also being used to advertise for local businesses (as seen in these coffee posters). The other day I heard an...

A National Computing Cloud For Higher Education? whurley Says "Yes We Should!" (And I Can't Help But Agree)

whurley has a /brilliant/ idea: Bring the power and capabilities of cloud computing to the higher education masses by creating a national computing cloud. But will leveling the high tech education playing field with a national computing cloud bring about a high tech revolution? Or is it just one more bill we tax payers would get stuck with without any real chance of it adding more to both our economy and our society than what it will cost to create and maintain?

O'Reilly Week in Review for January 19, 2009

This week's podcast has interviews with SF writers William Hunt and Lawrence Watt Evans, commentary on the technological thrust of the new Obama administration, and the weekly quiz....

Inauguration Moments and Links

Like many people around the world, I was stirred by the inauguration of President Obama. Listening to his speech, I wanted to share a couple of the bits that stood out for me, as well as a few related links that caught my eye during the day. I already shared most of these links via twitter but thought they deserved...

Will Obama's Technology Push Extend to Financial Regulators?

Obama's technology-savvy election team worked very effectively to leverage a new world order of YouTube, social networking, and blogging tools to promote his agenda, connect with a nation of voters, and raise campaign funds. But does he really know what...

CitizenSchools.org: A Worthwhile Cause Worthy of Your Vote

When I was in Boston this last September I was fortunate enough to be introduced to John Werner, one of the founders of http://citizenschools.org/, by John Palfrey who thought I could be helpful in helping John achieve success with Citizen Schools on the Web 2.0 front. John has a chance to make it in front of President-elect Barack Obama and Congress, but he needs your help. Please take a moment to learn more.

Google, WalMart, and MyBarackObama.com: The Power of the Real Time Enterprise

What do Google, WalMart, and MyBarackObama.com have in common, besides their extraordinary success? They are organizations that are infused with IT in such a way that it leads to a qualitative change in their entire business. I get frustrated when I see people highlighting use of social media--blogging, wikis, twitter, customer feedback systems like Dell IdeaStorm or MyStarbucksIdea--as if they...

It's Not Over: We are "the change we need."

Like a lot of people, I was feeling a bit of post-partum letdown after the election. Those of us who were really engaged, following the polls, making calls to undecided voters, arguing out the merits of the candidates, experienced a bit of a vacuum after the election. Doonesbury summed it up pretty well: "I've been on a constant news drip...

Obama Rides the Internet to the White House

Al Gore may have "invented" the Internet (as his critics occasionally charged) but there is no question that Barack Obama is the first successful presidential nominee to fully exploit the medium's potential. While it is always difficult to know any president-elect's exact plans for a topic as focused as the Internet, a look at how he used the power of social networking and the Internet in general provides an intriguing look into the technical side of an Obama administration.

Why I Support Barack Obama

In my talks this year, I have been outlining some of the world's great problems, highlighting some of the things that are being done by technology innovators to solve them, and urging my listeners to "work on stuff that matters." We are in unprecedented times. And folks, I'm sorry to say that the current financial meltdown is not the worst...