Audacity I've been reading David Plouffe's The Audacity to Win in which he details the decision making behind the scenes during Barack Obama's remarkable campaign. So far, I've only read through the primary fight, but it's clear that this account is mandatory reading for anyone working in contemporary politics. I've learned more about the guts of a well managed presidential campaign than from any of the other books produced by journalists, because Plouffe writes from the viewpoint of a strategist.
Posted by: Bryce Cullinane in Untagged on
Jan 21, 2010
Posted by: Julie Germany in IPDI on
Dec 15, 2009
If you've ever posted a link on of social media tool like Twitter, then you've probably used a URL shortener, like bit.ly. Now, both Google and Facebook announce that they are launching their own URL shorteners:
"Google's new URL shortener, goo.gl, will be available through Google's Toolbar and its Feedburner RSS feed, but is not yet available as a stand-alone service for "broader consumer use". Facebook's shortener, fb. me, is predominantly designed for use on mobile devices."
Posted by: Julie Germany in GWU on
Dec 14, 2009
Congratulations GWU! The Daily Beast just ranked us the 14th hottest school of the decade.
Read more about life at GWU (and all the other fantastic lists we belong to) at the GW Hatchet.
Posted by: Julie Germany in IPDI, Innovation on
Dec 14, 2009
Seth Godin (and a great group of other bloggers) launches a new eBook, What Matters Now, in which each author wriates around a one-word concept, like Dignity, Fear, Excellence, and Atoms (GW alum Chris Anderson took on this topic - check out his book Free for the details). My favorite is Ripple by John Wood, founder of Room to Read:
"Education has a ripple effect. One drop can initiate a cascade of possibility, each concentric circle gaining in size and traveling further. If you get education right, you get many things right: escape from poverty, better family health, and improved status of women."
Posted by: Julie Germany in IPDI, eGov on
Dec 14, 2009
Steve Raddick looks at the benefits and challenges of the White House's Open Government Directive the benefits of the White House's Open Government Directive (read the directive here):
Benefits
Posted by: Julie Germany in IPDI, Fundraising on
Dec 14, 2009
Lucy Bernholz looks at how data-based technologies (and the behaviors they unleash) changes the world of philanthropy in Disrupting Philanthropy 2.0.
Posted by: Julie Germany in Republican, IPDI on
Dec 13, 2009
In the contest of dueling Republican websites, Tucker Carlson will launch The Daily Caller, Andrew Breitbart will roll out Big Journalism, and everybody gets to read about it in the Politico. The best part of the article comes from Conn Carroll at Heritage Foundation:
"Everyone sees an opening, and they're all trying to fill it. In a year, I doubt all these same entities will exist. I'm sure some of them will. And the ones that win out will serve the movement better."
Posted by: Julie Germany in YouTube on
Dec 13, 2009
Times Online interviews journalist, Iranian activist, and video-maker Mohsen Sazegara, who held several high-profile positions in Iranian government after the revolution and ran for president in 2001. Sazegara produces daily videos, which he posts on his YouTube channel, railing against the government in Iran.
(And if you haven't read it yet, check out this Daily Beast piece by Dana Goldstein about the Iranian government's actions against women who work/volunteer as activists for women in Iran.)
Posted by: Julie Germany in IPDI on
Dec 11, 2009
Compiled by the GSPM's Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet and cross-posted at IPDI.org/blog.
Afrigadget posts this video of bicycle repairman Mohammed Makokha using homemade tools to repair bikes.
