John McCain & Barack Obama on Technology

Written on 3rd November 2008                                                                                                              2 COMMENTS
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur

This blog has a focus on Europe and the rest of the world and generally not on the US. But the outcome of the US Elections affect us all so here is just ONE post to give you a little insight into tomorrows event. We have two videos showing the presidential candidates giving their vision on the state of Technology in the US and a simple map so you know what is happening tomorrow as the results come in.

John McCain on Technology:

Barack Obama on Technology:

How to bluff your way into the elections:

Also make sure you visit http://thisfuckingelection.com/ at least once. It shows just one keyword list with all the terms, sentences and accusations used in these elections. Read them for 2 minutes and you will be able to bluff your way into any conversation about the elections.

Want to keep up-to-date via SMS and Twitter? Check out Slandr which collects all Tweets about the Elections on their special Election Section.

You might not be a US citizen, or maybe you are, but I’m interested either way. What will you or would you vote? Let us know and tell us why in the comments…

[poll id="6"]

Oh, and with this movie they almost got ME to vote, and I’m Dutch!

barack obama, elections, john mccain, USA

2 Comments »

Scoble might hook up with Angelina Jolie

Written on 20th May 2008                                                                                                              5 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

The idea of Robert Scoble wandering around in an African village, looking for another child to adopt with his lovely girlfriend Angelina Jolie might sound odd to you. But according to Picitup’s Celebrity Match it wouldn’t be all that surprising. This service finds your celebrity look-alike, and matched Scoble’s face with Brad Pitt. Oh and not just him, as our web celeb also looks like Danny deVito, Jim Carrey and John McCain. Scoble sure has universal looks.

Celebrity MatchUp is an initiative by the Israeli-based visual image search engine Picitup. Smart move, as celebrities always attract a huge crowd. Why do you think I’ve mentioned Jolie in the first place? They’ve got some bad coverage on TechCrunch, so a little media hype won’t hurt them. But why isn’t there a Facebook app? With services like these, adding a Facebook app is almost like 1 + 1 = 2.

Picitup allows you to specify image search by requesting similar images. You can also filter by color, landscapes, products and faces. Although the service linked Arrington’s face to Obama and McCain’s at the same time, the matches aren’t always that bad. For example, when I uploaded quite a manic picture of myself in which I jump around, Picitup matched me with the always-shouting and acting all ecstatic Asthon Kucther. I wonder when Demi More will drop by my house.

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, celebrities, Danny deVito, israel, Jim Carrey, john mccain, picitup, robert scoble, United States

5 Comments »

Meghan McCain’s blog is actually interesting

Written on 6th March 2008                                                                                                              3 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

As you might know, Meghan McCain – the daughter of the Republican presidential candidate – has a blog. So what, you probably think, it’s just a random PR thing. And you’re totally right. She even hired a photographer and an independent producer to give the blog a hip and professional look and feel. Together they form the blogettes.

Meghan loves the campaign of her father as well as music. Therefore she picks a ’song of the day’ and regularly posts playlists. You know you won’t find anything more shocking than that the daughter of a politician listens to a song called ‘the Angry Mob’. Though despite the boring an marketing minded content, the blog does reveal something shocking, at least for me.

Yesterday my parents hosted a BBQ at our cabin in Sedona, Arizona for the press who have been traveling with us on the campaign.

Excuse me? Journalists are having dinner with a presidential candidate? Am I that naive that I always thought journalists should be independent and not too cousy with politicians? Sure, when I was working at the United Nations I made sure that the vibe between me and a politician was ok, but we didn’t barbecue on the shore of the East River! The pictures of the laughing ‘press guys’, chilling with the pretty blond daughter of McCain make my old-fashioned romantic idea (I guess?) of journalism fall apart.

And so, without even the intention to actually reveal anything of the truth behind a presidential campaign, Meghan’s blog does surprise me. I wish every slick PR publication did that.

blogs, john mccain, journalism, meghan mccain, Opinion, politics

3 Comments »