Can Ugly Design Work?

I came across the trippiest political campaign site I’ve ever seen today. Check out Eric Jon Gunderson for Congress (D-MT). We’ve got a litany of design offenses here: background music, spinning logos and clip art. We’ve also got some features that are just bizarre: an animated illustration of someone playing guitar in front of a tree and a section labeled fun that includes a typing test for reasons beyond me....

Participatory Podcasts: A New Tool for Political Campaigns?

Gary wrote an entry a few months ago about politicians holding town hall meetings with voters over the telephone. A promising new podcast service called Waxxi takes this concept even further, combining podcasting with the kind of group conference call services Gary wrote about.

The problem with podcasts is that they typically don’t offer opportunities for group participation or interaction....

Politicians Abuse Wikipedia, Again

So, it looks like we have example #1,211 of a politician (or more aptly, their staff) abusing Wikipedia for political gain. This time Morton Brilliant, the campaign manager for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Cathy Cox, edited the entry of opponent Mark Taylor to include a reference to Taylor’s son’s DUI arrest....

Using YouTube for Issue Advocacy

In a post a couple of weeks ago, I suggested that organizations post their videos to viral sites like YouTube as a way of reaching a larger audience. Well, the advocacy group Public Knowledge has done just that, posting a video on the net neutrality issue currently before Congress.

It seems to have worked,...

IRS Beckoned into the Digital Age

Despite the rain here in Washington, the dreaded April 17th Tax Day has been pretty uneventful. The line at the post office near us isn’t remarkably long and no one looks particularly panicked. Most people I’ve spoken to have used some form of tax software to prepare their returns. I was going to use one myself,...