Blogs, Politics, and a Very Small World
Published October 11, 2004
"It's given us exposure on the Net and contributed not only to fund-raising, but it's contributed to staff and volunteers," said Tim Tagaris, Seemann's spokesman who joined the campaign from Chicago after reading about him on Dailykos.com. I was astonished to see this story - not only does this demonstrate a real, specific and immediate impact blogs are having in the political process, but I KNOW Jeff Seemann. He helped me on several levels with my Cool Tunes alt-rock radio show on Canton's Rock 107 in the early-'90s and was an integral part of the wild success we had establishing a Cool Tunes night at the old B.B. McClain's nightclub, which in the summer of '92 was bringing in 1,500 crazed fans on Tuesday nights from all over Northeast Ohio.
Man, it's a small world - best of luck Jeff! More on Jeff's cyber-campaign from AP here:
- More than 3,000 people visited Seemann's Web page on Wednesday, compared with the campaign's usual daily traffic of about 150 hits, spokesman Tim Tagaris said.
"We know that the Internet and the blogosphere is not just an ATM machine, they deserve to be involved as well," Seemann said, adding that traffic should continue as people return to the site to view pictures and updates from his day.
Carol Darr, director of the Institute for Politics Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University, said Seemann's move is a good way for long-shot candidates to raise money, but that it is unclear how attracting more Internet visitors will help Seemann win.
"If they're in your district, that might help you a lot. If they're not and they're just going to tell their friends in Hawaii and they're not going to vote, then it probably won't do much good," Darr said. "But they still can contribute, and that helps."
Phil Noble, a political consultant who runs PoliticsOnline, said Seemann's tactic is a good way to get ordinary people involved in politics.
"It attracts people to come and engage with your campaign in a way that is fun and interesting," Noble said.
- Blogs, Politics, and a Very Small World
- Published: October 11, 2004
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- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Internet, Culture: Media
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments on this articleComments
Thanks for this one Eric - good link and kudos for you on being cited
Cheers
Way to go for being cited, Eric. By so being, you are adding a professional sheen to blogland.
Has anyone determined who has been the most successful at monetizing his or her blog? Google is offering an advertising program. What is the buzz on that? Who is making money from blogs and how? I have seen some helpful advice-filled articles but little hard data on income generation. I am totally mercenary.
In my first weeks here in blogland I have been surprised by the number of personal diaries versus quasijournalistic sites.
Hope
http://humorhangout.blogspot.com/
Politicians ARE, in fact, paying much more attention to political bloggerss to take the temperature of the voting public. This was an excellent read, Eric, and spot on! Good luck to Jeff in his endeavors, and thank you for the good links!
Claire
blogging for money? a ha ha ha ha ha ha. It's more what I do because
1) I can't sleep
2) I don't own a newspaper, with which I could express my outrage more freely (and lucratively)
Oh well, I am decently content with my 12 hits a day... for now.
Take Care,
Lono - managing editor and CEO 'I am Correct'
www.iamcorrect.blogspot.com
Thanks for the input all, much appreciated! Jeff is actually going to be in our next debate, which will be very exciting.
And yes, I am always happy to quote myself being quoted - one of my favorite self-referential activities.
Blogs and money: Google AdSense seems to be working very well for those who can use it, but their acceptance policy is very restrictive: no "abusive" language, we're WAY out of the running.
Revenue comes from advertising, affiliate programs, the success of both being directly related to traffic. We are moving in the right direction.
Lono--five ha's would have sufficed.
I'd kill for 12 hits a day.
I like the unabashed arrogance of your site. No pussyfooting with modesty for you. Go with that.
Thanks for the info, Eric. You always prove yourself a fount of helpful info for those of new to Blogland. You are a gentleman.
Hope
http://humorhangout.blogspot.com/
Hope, To build traffic, use this site more.
Post reasonably frequently, and always include an HTML link to your site in posts (not comments, although I see I'm doing that :-)
It can help quite a bit.
One thing I do, for instance, is add a [Print] link which takes a clicker to a printable version of the item on my site (useful with some of the longer posts).
I also use target="_blank" so the links open in a new window (as above).
thanks Hope, you are kind, and good advice Hal - we want everyone to get good traffic and be happy.
Congrats to you, Eric, and also to Chris.
You both do an outstanding job, with blogs and with mainstream press articles. We're lucky to have you in Cleveland.
thanks Anita, very much appreciated - your input is invaluable!
thanks
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just gave Jeff a call to wish him good luck - he started from nowhere and has made great strides against a 30-year incumbent, an amazing story