NDN Blog

AOL expanded its network with the purchase of Third Screen Media, a marketing company that "enables advertising for mobile phones and wireless devices." According to AdAge, Third Screen primarily sells mobile banner ads and is likely well-positioned for video, although it says it can also manage and deliver ads in downloadable applications, SMS/text messaging and MMS/multimedia messaging.

The CEO of AOL, Randy Falco, announced the acquisition which comes two weeks after Microsoft acquired Screen Talk, a European mobile advertising firm.

This isn't shocking to our New Politics Institute, and NPI Fellow Tim Chambers, both of which have long understood the benefits of mobile media.

CNN takes a glimpse at the role of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace could play in 2008. As the article suggests:

...it's not just about broadcasting to a hard-to-reach demographic. In order to recruit voters online, candidates must appear to engage with potential supporters on a far more personal level, on their terms, in their environment.

These sites tear down the traditional barriers between those in power -- be they celebrities or politicians -- and their fanbase or supporters, providing the semblance -- if not the reality -- of personal involvement and a forum for discussion.

...

And that's where the real power in the Internet lies. Far from being a one-way broadcast, the medium allows people to engage with each other, get involved and focus on the issues they care about most. Most of all, it allows people to take a campaign and evolve it themselves.

While this will terrify traditional campaign managers and PRs, who can see quality assurance flying out of the window along with their approved, on-message briefing sheets, is it really a bad thing that the Internet gives regular Joes the chance to broadcast alongside the big guns -- and the potential to beat them at their own game?

John Edwards released his College Opportunity Agenda. His "College for Everyone" initiative "would pay for one year of public-college tuition, fees, and books for any student who is willing to work hard and stay out of trouble." According to the release, the initiative is based on the College for Everyone pilot program in Greene County, North Carolina, that helps pay for the first year of college for young people who agree to work at least 10 hours a week.

Edwards also discussed a few other initiatives as part of his Agenda. Those include:

• Help simplify the application process for student aid and would help every low-income high school eligible for Title I hire a new college counselor, helping students choose college-track courses and navigate the admissions and financial aid process.
• Require all students to borrow directly from the Department of Education, which would eliminate bank subsidies on student loans and free up almost $6 billion a year to make college more affordable.

UPDATE: Barack Obama released his plan to change student loans. In short, he "wants to eliminate federal subsidies for banks that provide student loans."

For those students (or anyone interested in higher education reform) who read our blog, I'd be interested in your comments. 

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

The Washington Post has a great piece today on how a cadre of GOP candidates is handling the immigration issue. The article chronicles the past stances of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Sam Brownback and how they relate to their current views. Hats off to Frank Sharry, head of the National Immigration Forum, who most accurately and concisely pointed out the changes/silence of John McCain and Rudy Giuliani:

"The fact that he's not in the room helping to build a bipartisan consensus . . . it's going to be far more difficult to get a bipartisan bill," said Frank Sharry, a pro-immigrant lobbyist. "This guy is my hero on this issue. I am heartbroken that he's not in the room. Heartbroken."

Giuliani "was a god in the mid-1990s on this issue," Sharry said this week.

Thankfully, Senators Reid and Kennedy are keeping the pressure on...

According to the AP, Soldiers can no longer use the military's computer system to access MySpace, YouTube, and 9 other websites. From the article:

Internet use has become a troublesome issue for the military as it struggles to balance security concerns with privacy rights. As blogs and video-sharing become more common, the military has voiced increasing concern about service members revealing details about military operations or other information about equipment or procedures that will aid the enemy.

At the same time, service members have used the Web sites to chronicle their time in battle, posting videos and writing journals that provide a powerful, personal glimpse into their days at war.

Rep. John Dingell questioned the logic of Senator Barack Obama's energy plan, specifically on his stance that federal fuel economy regulations have an effect on America's dependance on foreign oil. Dingell said:

“I will observe I admire Sen. Obama and his desire to focus on solutions,” Mr. Dingell said. “But — with all due respect, as the Sopranos would say — I would not travel to Chicago for the purposes of teaching people how to butcher hogs.”

Mr. Dingell said he supported Mr. Obama’s suggestion that the federal government help domestic car makers with soaring health-care costs. But in a news conference following his speech, the congressman said Mr. Obama’s suggestion that such aid be tied to improved fuel efficiency is “erroneous” and “wrong.”

This past Sunday on Face the Nation, Senator Chuck Hagel had some eye-opening words for the Republican Party:

"I am not happy with the Republican Party today," Hagel said. "It's been hijacked by a group of single-minded almost isolationists, insulationists, power-projectors."

Hagel's diatribe on the Republican Party shifted tone later in the interview when he emphasized his support for an independent candidate, specifically NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Could we be witnessing the formation of Hagel-Bloomberg ticket? Check out the video of the interview below.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Want to stay in touch with Hillary Clinton's campaign? If you've got a cell phone, you can do so via text messaging. In a press statement, Clinton described the technology, which our New Politics Institute has discussed many times, as a way to "engage voters in the political process using the latest technology." She continued: "This is an exciting step forward that I hope will continue our conversation with voters in a new format."

She described the new initiative in a statement after receiving the endorsement of NY Governor Eliot Spitzer. Watch it courtesy of CNN here.

Unrelated, yet interesting Hillary news: J.B. Pritzker became the national chairman of Citizens for Hillary, "a new campaign initiative that will be charged with grass-roots outreach, fundraising and policy matters." His sister is Penny Pritzker, the national finance chairwoman for Barack Obama. More from the Chicago Tribune here.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

The new VoteVets ad is up. The second in a three-ad series, it features Major General Paul Eaton urging Congress to listen to Commanders on the ground in Iraq. For the first, click here.

A quick update from a very recent post: Bill Clinton just sent out an e-mail further detailing his support for his wife in the form of a 5-minute video. Both the e-mail and video are below:

Dear Travis,

Want to know why I think Hillary is the best choice for president? Then watch this:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/wjc/

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.