YouTube

This isn’t terribly new, but politicians know about the YouTube. Why YouTube has become the political success it is, really is beyond me, but those wacky Republicans and Democrats have their own YouTube profiles now.

I’m thinking the word “Tube” is the real reason for its popularity, because the internet is not, in fact, a dump-truck, but a series of tubes.

Political tech-savvy varies. We all know for a fact that Al Gore invented the internet, while others think the internet fills up.

It’s funny because they’re supposed to be serious.

Even more than just putting up YouTube profiles, politicians need to realize that people use the internet for fun. If you want to teach children inside a Chuck E. Cheese, you should dress in something other than a suit. That probably makes no sense, but what does make sense is playing on what’s popular. It’s no secret that people get their news solely from places such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Some people may be surprised and even concerned about this, but it’s the reality, so you’ve got to roll with the punches. I personally get all my news from The Onion, but that’s a different story.

I could care less about The Sopranos, but quite a few people watch it. When they ended the series with an abrupt cut at the end of the final episode, people were talking and the Clintons knew when to strike.

While it’s not comedy, the entertainment value is there, you know, chuckling over them actually doing something like that.

Then came Mike Huckabee, playing on the popular Chuck Norris facts. Chuck Norris facts is a meme which consists of “facts” with questionable merit about the manly man, such as:

Some kids piss their name in the snow. Chuck Norris can piss his name into concrete.

Is there a potential problem doing something like this and being taken seriously? For the target demographic, probably not. Then again, why not have fun when nobody is going to vote for you? (I kid!)

Putting the You in YouTube

Aside from having an online presence, people like to get in on the action too. They want to give their opinions on the things they care about, as will be illustrated by the friendly comments on this post saying this has nothing to do with UNEASYsilence.

CNN will be having debates where you, the viewer get the upload questions to YouTube that will be “answered” or craftily worked around, if you will.

It’s a big, big world out there

Apparently politicians travel. A lot. America is a big place and they have to connect with all you people. But how ever will you know when your politician of choice is in the area when you’re always inside refreshing this site for a new update? By checking them out on eventful, of course. Hillary Clinton is like a rock star, so she has to have a site giving your her tour dates, right? Knowing when Barack is nearby is a search away.

Pics or it never happened

What’s traveling if you don’t have pictures to cherish the memories? Follow Barack and Hillary on Flickr. Now you can criticize politicians for their health policy and the the fact that they’re using the Nikon D40 and not the D40x which has more MP, thought it doesn’t matter since they’re use a better lens. Or whatever photogs go on about.

Witty Comment About Digg

Politicians are in the news, in fact they are news, so why not be their friend on the largest social networking website out there? Digg’s elections page allows you to be friends with any politicians savvy enough to have a profile. Maybe you’ll rethink voting for Chris Dodd after that hilarious comment he made on the “Don’t Taze Me Bro” video. You never know. Get your friend connection on digg here.

It’s interesting to see this approach to the new media, though it’s really no surprise politicians will do anything to get votes. Maybe now democrats and republicans alike will have closer connections with the people, fostering a better sense of caring for people and the issues that support them, thanks to the interactivity of the internet. Or maybe they’ll stop updating everything after they drop out or lose at the polls on election day. That seems more likely.

It seems that we have, yet again, more stories of uranium being stolen and people attempting to buy it on the black market for for undermined uses. In January, the US and Georgia (the country) foiled a plot by a Russian man to sell 100 grams of highly enriched uranium with the promise of more available.

Today comes word that Chinese police are scouring to track down a fifth assailant who was part of a group trying to unload around 8 kilograms(!) of uranium ore on behalf of a uranium mine owner. Four have already been captured and the mine owner is being tried seperatly, yet someone is running around with 8 kgs of crudely refined uranium:

“China’s New Express Daily said the men were farmers and miners ignorant of the health risk of exposure to uranium. One of the men reportedly used a home sieve to “refine” the uranium ore. They were attempting to sell the haul for 1.6 million yuan ($258,000) per kilogram.”

Of the group, most were caught in January…It seems that this might be a long race indeed.

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As a willful citizen of the web 2.0 *yawn* continuum, there is a lot of information about myself all over the net. Publications, photos, articles; they’re all there for anyone to see. But one thing that many people (about 2 billion) like myself hold to be true is the ability to control some of that information- namely profiles on networking sites. Who knows how your information is being used?

Myspace, Orkut, Facebook each allow you to (and encourage you strongly to) put much of your personal information up on their site. But what else is the information being used for?

We know Myspace is owned my Rupert Murdoch, Orkut is owned by Google and Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg. We also know that willingly putting up information is like leaving the front door of your house wide open.

But the real question is who really owns Facebook? Where has their VC investment stream come from? And what can they do with personal information?

This flash video goes through the trail leading to the funding of what is known today as Facebook, with tens of millions of members. Who knew that the CIA indirectly funded the explosive growth of Facebook?

• Wolfowitz feels the burn, says goodbye: World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz resigned today, having decided he couldn’t fight the machine. It’s not as black-and-white a case as some might have us believe.
• Will Universal Search Mean Universal Domination? : With its universal search, Google is now going to offer results in web search that integrate results from all of their vertical search properties, such as image, video, maps, local, blogs, etc. The video results will include results from third party video sites like Metacafe, and not just from Google’s own YouTube and Google Video.
• Movie Review: Shrek the Third: When Shrek married Princess Fiona, becoming the next King and Queen of Far, Far Away wasn’t part of the plan. So when his father-in-law, King Harold, falls ill, it is up to Shrek to find a suitable heir or he will be forced to give up his beloved swamp for the throne. Recruiting Donkey and Puss In Boots for a new quest, Shrek sets out to bring back the rightful heir
• Even satellite radio has its limits: The 30-day suspension XM Radio gave two disc jockeys this week for their vile banter about the secretary of state sends a loud message: Apparently you can’t say anything on satellite radio.
• U.S. company recalls beef for suspected E. coli: A meat company in the United States is voluntarily recalling about 59,020 kgs of beef products in 15 states because of suspected contamination by the potentially deadly foodborne bacterium E coli O157:H7, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture quoted by media reports Friday.

• Amazon to Sell Music Without Copy Protection: The online store, to be introduced later this year, will allow people to play music on almost any personal device.
• City Decides Not To Appeal Judge’s Decision To Release RNC Documents: The NYCLU says the documents prove the police infiltrated groups that weren’t planning anything illegal.
• 16 cities to go green under Clinton plan: Sixteen cities around the world will get financing to “go green” by renovating buildings they own with technology designed to cut carbon emissions, former President Clinton announced Wednesday.
• Dell to broaden sales model: Dell, the struggling computer maker, on Wednesday outlined plans to reverse two decades of reliance on direct sales by broadening its business model to include third-party vendors and retailers.
• EMI’s Next Stop on the DRM-Free Music Tour: Amazon: With all the hype over the forthcoming availability of DRM-free tracks on iTunes, many seem to have forgotten that EMI’s April announcement stated that their music will be available without copy protection at other online outlets as well — iTunes just happens to be the first.
• Prince Harry Will Not Serve in Iraq: Britain’s army reversed course Wednesday and announced that Prince Harry will not be sent to Iraq with his regiment due to “specific threats” from insurgents that expose the third in line to the throne to an unacceptable degree of risk.
• ‘American Idol’s sixth season Top 3 take the stage and perform: Threes were wild last night when American Idol’s sixth season Top 3 took the stage, as each performed three songs and had three phone numbers for viewers to call and vote for which two would compete in next week’s finale.
• Mega Multivitamins and Prostate Cancer: Men who take too many multivitamins may be increasing their risk of dying from prostate cancer, according to new research from the National Cancer Institute.

So skip CNN and the BBC – make us your homepage :)

Daily Digest for 5/15/07:

• TV Evangelist Jerry Falwell Dies at 73: The Rev. Jerry Falwell collapsed at his campus office and died Tuesday after a career in which the evangelist used the power of television to transform the religious right into a mighty force in American politics. He was 73.
• YouTube wants meeting with U.S. military on Web ban: YouTube is chafing at being one of 13 Web sites now off limits on the computer networks used by U.S. military personnel.
• Cruise ship runs aground off Alaska: A cruise ship struck a reef off the coast of Alaska early Monday, forcing the evacuation of 248 passengers before being freed and heading to port, the US Coast Guard said.
• Senators Told of Future High Gas Prices: The U.S. is likely to face several more years of high gasoline prices as refining capacity is expected to remain tight in the years ahead, a panel of high-ranking witnesses warned the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday.
• States Demand Answers About Sex Offenders On MySpace: Top prosecutors from eight states want MySpace to tell them how many registered sex offenders have MySpace accounts.
• Opie And Anthony Suspended For 30 Days: XM Radio announced Tuesday that shock jocks Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia were suspended from their radio show for 30 days.
• ABC calls in ‘Cavemen’ for the fall: Once again, ABC leads the network pack in picking up new programming, announcing Tuesday that seven new dramas and four new comedies are coming to its prime-time lineup beginning this fall.
• Low-tar cigarettes ‘bad for heart’: Low-tar or “light” cigarettes impair blood flow through the heart just as much as normal cigarettes, experts have warned.