Obama

The 404 160: Where we're Ogg at heart

On the show today: Erica Ogg from CNET's Crave takes time out of her NY vacation to chat with us about the Olympics, hockey, Chinese smile deficiencies, Facebook spam, Barack Obama's twitters, Antivirus XP, and Batman spoilers!>

Even though the Montauk Monster has thrown New York into a typhoon, our buddy Erica Ogg still makes it to the studio to join us for today's show. And what a great change of pace from our normal Monday show, huh? This is just what The 404 needs to brighten up our day. Erica writes for Crave, CNET's … Read more

Psst! Barack Obama will text you his veep details

In one of his recent--and subsequently parodied--attack ads on U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Republican John McCain accused his rival of being too much of a celebrity and not enough of a political leader.

That was what I first thought of upon learning that the Obama campaign has instituted text-message alerts to inform supporters of the candidate's choice for vice presidential running mate.

So this way, if you're OMG OMG TOTALLY DESPERATE to learn whom Obama has chosen for his veep, you can sign up and learn the moment it's announced--even before anybody Twitters it. … Read more

Obama's energy plan heavy on clean tech

While many headlines from Sen. Barack Obama's speech on energy policy on Monday focused on tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a look at the details shows a significant pledge to clean technologies.

The presumed Democratic nominee for president delivered a speech in Lansing, Mich.--an area hit from the declining auto industry--to unveil his New Energy for America plan.

Overall, it calls for investing $150 billion over 10 years to create new clean-energy jobs and to cut U.S. dependence on imported oil from the Middle East and Venezuela.

Short-term measures are geared at lowering gasoline prices by tapping … Read more

Would an Obama government be a Googleocracy?

There they were, two up and coming Senior Vice-Presidents discussing how they would change things if they got the top job.

The top job they were talking about was National CEO.

Barack Obama and the leader of the traditionally snooty, but now trying desperately to be hippish, UK Conservative Party, David Cameron, strolled through the British Parliament last week and didn't mention V for Vendetta once.

Instead, Mr. Cameron told Mr. Obama he should go to the beach. Really.

And Mr. Obama recounted how someone who has already gone through the White House experience told him "the most … Read more

Obama on video: a new way for new media

In a very special design mind event at NYU last week, we featured Arun Chaudhary, who is traveling with the Obama campaign as director of video field production. The conversation between him and Fast Company senior writer Ellen McGirt brought forth some surprising insights into the emergence of online video (and new media in general) as a crucial component of political campaigning.

Although Chaudhary is a NYU film school graduate, the venue didn't provide a home court advantage. The audience -- a cross-section of New York's media community -- was attentive but critical. As became clear in the … Read more

Five ways John McCain can become the Wizard of the Web

My heart, or at least some recondite part of me, went out to John McCain this weekend when I read his plaintive words: "I'm an illiterate who has to rely on his wife for any assistance he can get."

He was, I understand, referring to websurfing rather autocue-reading.

And I can honestly say that I feel his pain.

Thankfully, he is, on this page, in the hands of the experienced.

In the early part of this century, I was asked to help a company called Senior Surfers. Senior Surfers' goal was to find easy ways to take … Read more

Thousands of liberal bloggers meeting face-to-face

Between 2,000 and 3,000 liberal-leaning bloggers are getting some face time this week, in hopes of gathering strength before the fall election.

The four-day Netroots Nation 2008 conference, which started Thursday in Austin, Texas, will feature more than 150 speakers and 125 panel discussions and events.

With the presidential election less than four months away, the conference is attracting the attention of a number of Democratic heavyweights--with the major exception of presidential candidate Barack Obama himself. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Obama apparently bowed out due to a planned trip to Europe and the Middle East.

Keynote speakers … Read more

The 404 143: Where it's talking to you

Per usual, we push the envelope in the preshow today and it starts to leak into the beginning of today's episode, but we quickly (maybe not so quickly) seal it up and get into our story rundown. We criticize our sue-happy country and its propensity for stupid T-shirts, speak to the potential power of iPhone gaming, introduce a new S&M Barbie doll (therapy not included), and snap our way through this year's Emmy nominees. EPISODE 143 Download today's podcast

Obama's Web-video strategy revealed

There's an interesting blog at Silicon Alley Insider about how Barack Obama's team has exploited Web video better than Hillary Clinton's.

Obama's go-to guy for online is Arun Chaudhary, who spoke at an event at New York University. He says the senator devoted way more resources to video than Clinton.

At campaign stops, the Clintonites would send one person to tape her. Obama's side often would train five cameras on him at events.

"They posted new video constantly, and quickly--19 minutes from shoot to post, in one case," wrote Alley Insider's Michael … Read more