Best 2006 Senate Campaign Websites

We’ve been working on a study testing how effectively this year’s Senate candidates are using the Internet for their campaign websites. The study won’t be released for a few days, but so far we have been able to identify some of the best campaign websites out there. These websites stand out because they successfully present seemingly complicated web tools in a clear and user-friendly fashion,...

The World is Changing: How Teens Use the Internet

I’m fairly obsessed with technology and the web in general. But I really don’t get the MySpace phenomenon. Sure, I get it conceptually. But I don’t get it personally. I’m probably just too old. Through blogging, I’ve established some new and rewarding professional connections and have had some old friends reconnect with me through Google searches....

Kinky for Governor Website: Hitting the Right Notes

As a follow up to my last post, the Kinky Friedman for TX Governor website is the kind of candidate website I’d like to see more of. It’s a good example of a campaign site that is both professionally done and a true reflection of the candidate’s personality.

It’s working too: 169,000 Texans have signed a petition to get Kinky on the ballot in November as an Independent and he’s outraising the main Democrat in the race....

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....

Dell Hell: Are We Learning the Right Lessons?

“Blogger Jeff Jarvis single handedly brought down Dell! He hurt their stock price! He hurt their reputation! Thus, buy our services! Blog monitoring, blogger relations, blog, blog, blog! Do it now or it will happen to you!”

The pitches are probably more refined than that. But in reading PR blogs,...