PMGT 218: Politics and The New Media:   Requirements | Reading Schedule and Deadlines | Class Blog
Reading Schedule and Deadlines
Class 1
   
May 24, 2005
   

The Nature of New Media

Class 2
  
May 31, 2005
   

Strategic Approach to Advocacy Websites

Class 3
  
June 7, 2005
   

Blogs, Mobs, Moblogs, MoSoSo, Vlogs, SMS, MSM

Class 4
  
June 14, 2005
   

Online Fundraising

Class 5
  
June 21, 2005
   

Email, Newsletters, Podcasts, and Webfeeds

Class 6
  
June 28, 2005
   

Volunteer Mobilization, GOTV, and Synergy

Class 7
  
July 5, 2005
   

New Media on Capitol Hill

Class 8
  
July 12, 2005
   

User Demographics: The Influentials, The Digital Divide

Class 9
  
July 19, 2005
   

Regulatory, Legal, and Ethical Issues

Class 10
  
July 26, 2005
   

Final Student Project Presentations

 Note: The reading list will be finalized after the first class.
 

Class 1: The Nature of New Media

May 24, 2005

Is new media a threat to democracy?

The Internet allows people to personalize their news as never before, selecting what they want to hear and filtering out unwanted messages and information. Some writers suggest this feature of the Internet may threaten the social cohesion necessary for a democratic society, and lead instead to group polarization, as citizens become increasingly fragmented into self-selected groups that reinforce their own entrenched and increasingly extreme views.

Does new media persuade, or merely preach to the converted?

The Internet is now accepted by political strategists as a fulfillment tool — useful for fundraising, recruiting volunteers, and distributing information. But can it persuade undecided voters? A recent major survey of the effect of presidential campaign websites on undecided voters says no — campaign websites reinforce pre-existing loyalties, but they have little or no power to persuade. Other reasearchers, however, claim experimental evidence from studies of human-computer interaction proves otherwise.

  • Required Readings

Sunstein, Cass R., The Daily We: Is the Internet really a blessing for democracy?
Boston Review, Summer 2001.
Jenkins, Henry, Challenging the Consensus: A Response to The Daily We.
Boston Review, Summer 2001.
Neilsen, Jakob, The Pastoral Internet: Undoing the Industrial Revolution.
useit.com, November 22, 2004.
Bimber, Bruce, and Richard Davis, Campaigning Online: The Internet in U.S, Elections:
Chapter 1: "Reinforcement or Renewal?" pp. 3-11.
Chapter 6: "Reinforcement," pp. 143-171.
Appendix: "Origins and General Design of the Project," pp. 173-189.
Fogg, B. J., Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do:
"The Reciprocity Study" (in Chapter 5) pp. 108-111.
Chapter 7: "Credibility," pp. 147-177.

  • Assignments

  • Get your press pass: Today (before or after class), sign up for posting privileges on at least two political blogs. instructions
  • Launch your publishing empire: Start this assignment immediately, as it must be online by next Tuesday. Using free software at Blogger.com, create your own blog. No technical knowledge is necessary. Each day for the remainder of the course, post your own pithy but penetrating blog entry on any subject discussed in the readings or in class. instructions
  • Share your wisdom: Each day, post at least one comment on a classmate's blog. It can be as short as one sentence, but it must be relevant to the blog thread, and you must post one comment EVERY day. At the end of each week, you will send me an email with links to each of your daily blog comments.

  • Web pages to look at for class discussion

AsbestosTruth.com. Study the text, video and audio content on the home page, including the link to the "View Tribute to Meso Victims and their loved ones" Flash animation. What is the message? Is it persuasive? Why or why not?
SwiftVets.com. Study the text, video and audio content on the home page, including the "They Served" video. What is the message? Is it persuasive? Why or why not?

Optional Background Materials

Hopson, John, Behavioral Game Design. Gamasutra (April 27, 2001).
Source for citation: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010427/hopson_01.htm.
Doc Searls and David Weinberger, World of Ends: What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else. 2003.
Rogers, Zachary, On the Online Campaign Trail. ClickZ Network (September 20, 2004)
Source for citation: http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/email/article.php/3410371.
(ClickZ Network is a commerical site that tracks online marketing trends.)
Neilsen, Jakob, Review of Persuasive Design, by B.J. Fogg. useit.com, March 3, 2003.
 

Class 2: Strategic Approach to Advocacy Websites

May 31, 2005

What goes into an effective advocacy website

What do you need to know to oversee the production and day-to-day maintenance of an outstanding political website? This class outlines the entire process, from a project management (not technical) perpective: developing a detailed strategic plan, assigning roles, protoyping, production, usability testing, launch, and maintenance. Also discussed are strategic messaging issues that must be addressed from the beginning of the project.

  • Required Readings

Ireland, Emilienne, and Philip T. Nash, Winning Campaigns Online: Strategies for Candidates and Causes, Second Edition, 2001.
You can read the paperback or download the PDF (unzipped: 2.3 Mb, zipped: 1.5 Mb).
Chapter 6: "Essential Features of an Effective Website," pp. 85-106.
Chapter 7: "Maintenance is not Optional," pp. 107-120.
Chapter 8: "End-to-End Database Solutions," pp. 121-128.
Chapter 9: "Online and Offline Database Solutions," pp. 129-142.
Chapter 12: "Recruiting Volunteers," pp. 181-195.
Burdman, Jessica. Collaborative Web Development: Strategies and Best Practices for Web Teams, Chapter 1: "Key Differences Among Web, Advertising, and Software Project Management," pp. 1-24, (PDF format, 4.8 Mb).
Neilsen, Jakob, Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. useit.com, August 25, 2003.
Flanders, Vincent, The Biggest Web Design Mistakes of 2004 (Parts 1 and 2). WebPagesThatSuck.com, 2005.
Neilsen, Jakob, Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design. useit.com, Updated 2004.

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to: (1) your own amazing blog, (2) comments you have posted on your classmates' blogs, and (3) at least one comment you have posted on a public discussion blog.
 
During the next class (June 7), we will look at your blog, as well as some of the comments classmates have posted on each others' blogs.
  • Maintain your blog:  Each day, add at least one new thread to your blog and post at least one comment on a classmate's blog.
  • Begin working on a strategic plan for an Internet campaign:  At the sixth class meeting (June 28), you will present your strategic plan to the class for comments. instructions

Optional Background Materials

Gatto, Samantha, Jill Dalinkus, and Kimberly Spangler, The War of the webmasters. CampaignAudit.com (12/8/2004)
Flanders, Vincent, Mystery Meat Navigation. WebPagesThatSuck.com, 2005.
Neilsen, Jakob, Paper Prototyping: Getting User Data Before You Code. useit.com, April, 2003.
Neilsen, Jakob, Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines. useit.com, Sept 16, 1998.
 

Class 3: New Media: Blogs, Mobs, Moblogs, MoSoSo, Vlogs, SMS, MSM

June 7, 2005

Exploring the many opportunities of various new digital media

The traditional distinction between media producer and media consumer is rapidly collapsing. In an era of information overload, how can you reach your audience effectively? Are mobile devices poised to overtake websites as the most important interactive technology in politics? How is communicating on blogs strategically different from communicating on a campaign website? Discussion of offline/online synergy.
Guest speaker: Jonah Seiger, GSPM faculty member and communications consultant, specializing in Interactive Media strategies. A founding partner of Connections Media LLC, he has managed political and public affairs campaigns for leading political candidates, industry associations, advocacy groups, and Fortune 500 companies for over a decade.

  • Required Readings

Ireland, Emilienne, and Philip T. Nash, Winning Campaigns Online: Strategies for Candidates and Causes, 2001, Chapter 13: "Online Media Relations," pp. 197-208.
Brown, Sylvester, Conyers Looks for News in the Wrong Place. St-Louis Post-Dispatch, Sunday, May. 15 2005.
Congressman John Conyers' (D-MI) Blog, Rep. Conyers posts a diary on DailyKOS.com
Fogg, B. J., Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do:
Chapter 8: "Increasing Persuasion Through Mobility and Connectivity," pp. 183-207.
Anti-war protesters go digital: Demonstrators use technology to organize, publicize, evade. CNN.com, March 27, 2003. [Thanks to student Kathie Legg, who suggested this article and several others on mobile technology.]
Lindow, Megan, How SMS Could Save Your Life. Wired News, November 4, 2004.
Survey: The Mobile Internet: Looking for the pot of gold. The Economist, October 11, 2001.
Vaidhyanathan, Siva, The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System:
Chapter 1: "Public Noises" pp. 1-14.
Chapter 2: "The Ideology of Peer-to-Peer," pp. 15-23.
How do you pronounce Siva Vaidhyanathan?
Listen to Siva say it (SEE-vah vai-dya-NAH-than)
Buckley, Russell, The Death Knell of Privacy. The Mobile Technology Weblog, May 25, 2005
Skim these Wikipedia articles to become familiar with basic terms and concepts:
Blog (weblog)
Blogosphere

  • Web pages to look at for class discussion

Case Study: Using blogs to get an issue covered by the mainstream media (MSM)

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted in the past week on classmates' blogs and public discussion blogs.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

WayBack Machine: Stardate 1999

Knauss, Greg, My Ass is a Weblog. Stating the Obvious, November 22, 1999.
Excerpt: ". . . inside of a year, the inevitable winnowing will be complete, and the weblog community will have matured into something efficient, useful and blessedly quiet. The remaining webloggers will go about their business, providing links and commentary, without all the noisy hoo-ha of revolution."
 

Class 4: Online fundraising

June 14, 2005

Online Fundraising

In the 2000 presidential campaign, everyone wanted to raise money like Republican John McCain. In 2004, no early contender raised money online like Howard Dean. After the 2004 election, the Greens and Libertarians raised $338,000 in a few weeks — nearly all of it online — to support the vote recount effort. McCain and Dean eventually lost their party's presidential nomination, and the recount effort did not stop prevent a second term for George Bush, but each of these online fundraising events set the stage for bigger discussions about the role of online fundraising in an effective political campaign. What are the best practices for federal, state-wide, and local campaigns? How can a campaign generalist stay on top of the many laws and technological advances taking place in this field? What are the latest trends in online fundraising? Discussion of offline/online synergy.

  • Required Readings

Barko, Julie, Wells, Kevin, Darr, Carol, et al., eds, The Political Consultants' Online Fundraising Primer, Institute for Democracy, Politics, and the Internet (www.ipdi.org), July 14, 2004.
Ireland, Emilienne, and Philip T. Nash, Winning Campaigns Online: Strategies for Candidates and Causes, 2001.
Chapter 10: "Choosing an Online Fundraising System," pp. 143-156.
Chapter 11: "Secrets of Successful Online Fundraising," pp. 157-180.
Potter, Trevor, and Kirk L. Jowers, "Election Law and the Internet," In The Civic Web: Online Politics and Democratic Values, edited by David M. Anderson and Michael Cornfield, 2003, pp. 63-75.
 

  • Web pages to look at for class discussion

Case Study: Zero to over $338,000 in a few weeks using a volunteer website and blogs

  • November 11, 2004:  Bloggers on DailyKos.com call for donations to support joint effort by minor party candidates (Greens and Libertarians) to recount the presidential vote in Ohio.
  • November 12, 2004:  Bloggers continue to donate while complaining about poor feedback and confusing interface. Some potential donors describe canceling donation after filling out form that appeared to be non-secure.
  • November 15, 2004:  Bloggers announce success, after helping to raise $150,000 in only 4 days. The Recount effort went on to raise another $100K — nearly all of it online — over the next nine days, bringing in a quarter-million dollars in 13 days. Starting 11/26/04 and continuing for the next 31 days, another $88,000 was raised. This was true grassroots fundraising — the average donation amount was roughly $50. Total raised: $338,000 in 46 days (with the first $250,000 in 3 days), despite no TV, no direct mail, no phone banking, no ads — and virtually no fundraising budget. Blogs made all the difference.

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted in the past week on classmates' blogs and public discussion blogs.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

Hof, Robert D., The Power of Us: Mass collaboration on the Internet is shaking up business, Business Week Online, June 20, 2005.
Godin, Seth, Unleash Your Ideavirus: Part 1 and Part 2, Fast Company, issue 37, August, 2000, p. 115.
(Later expanded and published as Unleashing the Ideavirus, New York: Hyperion, 2001.)
Shapiro, Andrew L., The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge
and Changing the World We Know. 1999.
Chapter 11: "Freedom from Speech," pp. 124-132.
Chapter 12: "The Drudge Factor," pp. 133-141.
 

Class 5: Email, Newsletters, Podcasts, and Webfeeds (RSS)

June 21, 2005

Email, newsletters, and newer voter contact strategies

More of us are receiving more email every day, yet how much of it is getting read? What are the best practices for sending persuasive, meaningful emails that will get forwarded to friends and family, and not get stuck in spam blockers or deleted by irate recipients? How are political campaigns and organizations using email newsletters to build online/offline synergy through meetings and Meetups? Looking ahead to Campaign 2005 and beyond, campaigns will be using podcasts, videoblogs (Vblogs), webfeeds, and other new media to allow individualization of content. How will these new tools change campaigning? And, when combined with emerging acephalous and peer-to-peer networks, how will they change traditional notions of community and organization? Discussion of online media relations, offline/online synergy, blast email, and the latest grassroots organizing tools.

  • Required Readings

Gahran, Amy, For Publishers: Why Webfeeds (RSS) Beat E-Mail Newsletters Contentious.com (5/4/2004)
Neilsen, Jakob, Newsletter Usability: Can a Professional Publisher Do Better?
(Compares email newsletter of Washington Post to those of Kerry and Bush campaigns). useit.com, October 11, 2004.
Neilsen, Jakob, Bush vs. Kerry: Email Newsletters Rated. useit.com, September 20, 2004.
Neilsen, Jakob, Email Newsletters During Last Week of Presidential Campaign. useit.com, November 7, 2004.
Ireland, Emilienne, and Philip T. Nash, Winning Campaigns Online: Strategies for Candidates and Causes, 2001, Chapter 14: "Email and Newsletters," pp. 209-230.

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted on public discussion blogs.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

Franke-Ruta, Garance, A Listless Party The American Prospect (3/5/2005)
"The RNC inherited the Bush campaign's list of donors and volunteers, but on the Democratic side, the Kerry list belongs to . . . John Kerry." This fascinating article provides a stunning example of the importance of synergy in growing your email lists — synergy between online and offline efforts in your campaign, as well as synergy (i.e., cooperation) between candidates and their own party organizations. If your efforts are fragmented, disconnected, and short-sighted, expect to lose. [Thanks to your classmate, DelaBlogger, who suggested this article.]
Purpura, Stephen, Evidence suggests Democrats narrowcast in e-mails when Republicans don't. CampaignAudit.com (12/8/2004)
Chisholm, Kari, How do you build your email list? PoliticsandTechnology.com (6/3/2005)
MacPherson, Kim, Permission-Based Email Marketing That Works. 2001.
Gahran, Amy, What Are Webfeeds (RSS), and Why Should You Care? Contentious.com (5/4/2004)
Gahran, Amy, What Is Podcasting and Why Should You Care? Contentious.com (10/29/2004)
Gahran, Amy, How to Receive and Listen to Podcasts. Contentious.com (2/19/2005)
Shapiro, Andrew L., The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge
and Changing the World We Know. 1999. Chapter 15: "Privacy for Sale," pp. 158-165.
MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change, 2004. Case studies to help you think outside the box, including descriptions of how online and offline strategies can be used together effectively at minimal cost.
 

Class 6: Volunteer Mobilization, GOTV, and Synergy

June 28, 2005

Volunteer mobilization, GOTV, and synergy between the Internet and ground operations

In a political campaign, it all comes down to getting voters to the polls and making sure they vote for your candidate. Using Campaign 2004 as a guide, what are the best practices for mobilizing volunteers during the campaign and then getting out the vote on Election Day? How can the latest tech tools help? Are they enhancing, eclipsing, or replacing offline GOTV strategies? And what are the lessons for political managers in the bankruptcy of the much-heralded "Meetup" company?

  • Required Readings

Watkins, Frank E., Technology, the Internet and Progressive Politics. Center on Democratic Communications of the National Lawyers Guild, 2/18/2004
Purpura, Steve, Jacob Karczewski, and Annie Hanson, Narrowcasting in Ohio.
CampaignAudit.com (12/8/2004)
Verini, James, It's the incompetence, stupid. Salon.com (12/16/2004)
Bai, Matt, The Multilevel Marketing of the President. The New York Times Magazine (4/25/2004)
The Marketing of the President. 30-minute Radio broadcast on wbur.org (Boston NPR), 4/26/2004 (Click the blue "Listen" link). Fascinating interviews of:
  • Matt Bai, contributing writer The New York Times magazine, covering the election for the magazine, his piece "The Multilevel Marketing of the President" was the cover story in Sunday's magazine
  • Herb Asher, professor of political science at The Ohio State University
  • Todd Hanks, campaign chairman for Delaware County Bush-Cheney 2004
  • Greg Haas, Democratic strategist in Ohio, ran Clinton's 1992 campaign in Ohio
Tumulty, Karen, et al., Fighting for every last vote: In such a tight race, the game is about turning out your supporters. CNN.com, 10/11/2004

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted on public discussion blogs.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

The Persuaders: Extended interviews with Frank Luntz and some of his critics (Background reading for the video excerpts we will view in class from the 2003 WGBH documentary The Persuaders.
The Persuaders: Selling the Environment (PDF format) Frank Luntz's advice to Republicans on what language to use and to avoid when discussing environmental issues.
Cone, Edward, The Marketing of a President. Ziff-Davis Media (11/17/2003). A look at the Dean campaign when it was on the way up.
Kirkpatrick, David, and J. Schwartz, List of Schiavo Donors Will Be Sold by Direct-Marketing Firm. The New York Times, 3/29/2005
Dignan, Larry, Peer-to-Peer Politics 2008. Ziff-Davis Media (11/03/2004).
The Dean Activists: Their Profile and Prospects. The Pew Research Center, 4/6/2005
Cone, Edward, Requiem for a Dream. Ziff-Davis Media (2/19/2004). Dean's campaign failed to win a single state. What went wrong?
Randall, Lindsey, Campaign communication technology: Yesterday and today straight from the elephant's mouth. CampaignAudit.com (12/8/2004)
Haugsvar, Diane, Campaign communication: Yesterday and today straight from the donkey's mouth. CampaignAudit.com (12/8/2004)
Meetup.com self destructs: let's build our own. Now. Blog diary by Troutfishing on DailyKos.com, 5/29/2005
Now that's what I call democracy. The Guardian, 5/5/2005
Vaidhyanathan, Siva, The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System:
Chapter 7: "Culture as Anarchy," pp. 98-114.
Chapter 8: "The Perfect Library," pp. 115-129.
Chapter 10: "The Nation-State versus the Networks," pp. 151-165.
Chapter 11: "The Empire Strikes Back," pp. 168-184.
 

Class 7: New Media on Capitol Hill

July 5, 2005

The digital divide in Congress

Our nation's legislators exhibit the full range of responses to new technology. Some don't read email and can't find their own websites without help from staffers, while other legislators have effective, savvy Internet operations that are well-coordinated with offline efforts. In a recent development, some legislators are using non-governmental, non-campaign websites to shape public opinion, encourage activism on key issues, and address national audiences — without spending a nickel.
Guest speakers: Dennis W. Johnson, associate dean here at GSPM, and author of Congress Online, No Place for Amateurs, and other widely-regarded works. Himself a veteran of Capitol Hill, Prof. Johnson is the Principal Investigator of the Congress Online Project, which gathered the large body of data analyzed in his book, Congress Online. Amazon.com adds: "A leading expert on political life inside the beltway, he . . . has been interviewed about his current work in the New York Times, in the Washington Post and on NPR." Our second guest today is Joel Segal, senior legislative assistant, covering Social Security, veterans affairs, housing, HIV/AIDS in Africa, and poverty issues, for Representative John Conyers, (D-MI), the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee and the Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus. In addition, Joel he has served the public by working in government and the non-profit sectors, focusing primarily on poverty issues, the rights of the disabled, and health care; he has spent over 20 years building local, national and international grassroots coalitions advocating social justice and human rights.

  • Required Readings

Johnson, Dennis, Congress Online: Bridging the Gap Between Citizens and Their Representatives. 2004.
Chapter 5: The Email Overload," pp. 107-124.
Chapter 6: "Congressional Websites," pp. 125-150.

  • Assignments

Due Today:  (1) before class, email me links to your comments on public discussion blogs, and (2) in class, turn in draft of the strategic plan.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

Neilsen, Jakob, Ten Best Government Intranets. useit.com, June 21, 2004.
 

Class 8: User Demographics: The Influentials, The Digital Divide

July 12, 2005

Another look at the Digital Divide

The Federal Communications Commission warned us that a "digital divide" was emerging between the haves and have-hots based on race, class, ethnicity and nationality. There is also, however, a generational divide and a literacy divide that raise significant issues for those at the intersection of politics and technology. Who benefits from the new media, and should that benefit be shared? If so, who should pay?
Guest speakers: Carol C. Darr, Director of GWU's Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet, and an associate research professor at the GSPM. Prof. Darr has worked as an attorney or administrator at the FEC, DNC, NTIA, Commerce Department, United States Senate, and two high-tech trade associations.
The class will be led by Phil Tajitsu Nash, co-founder and CEO of NashInteractive, and Visiting Professor at the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland.

  • Required Readings

Online Influentials
Darr, Carol, Barko, Julie, and Brandon Robinson. Putting Online Influentials to Work for Your Campaign. Institute for Democracy, Politics, and the Internet (www.ipdi.org), July 21, 2004.
The Digital Divide: income, development and literacy
The Real Digital Divide. The Economist, March 10, 2005.
Neilsen, Jakob, Lower-Literacy Users. useit.com, March 14, 2005. The literacy divide cuts across race, ethnicity, and class, and occurs in rich nations as well as poor ones. According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Adult Literacy Survey, 48% of the U.S. population has low literacy.
The Digital Divide: race and ethnicity
The African American Blogging Thing. XXblog.com, August 31, 2004.
Jenkins, Henry, Cyberspace and Race. TechnologyReview.com, April 2002.
The Generational Divide
Neilsen, Jakob, Usability of Websites for Teenagers. useit.com, January 31, 2005.
The Digital Divide: treating the disabled as people
Neilsen, Jakob, Beyond Accessibility: Treating Users with Disabilities as People. useit.com, November 11, 2001.
Mindich, David, T. Z., Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News, 2005.

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted in the past week on public discussion blogs.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

Norris, Pippa, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. 2001.
Neilsen, Jakob, Accessible Design for Users With Disabilities. useit.com, October, 1996.
Excellent tips on making websites accessible to users who have:
blindness, low vision, color-blindness, hearing loss, motor disabilities, and cognitive disabilities
Fascinating video: Students describe what it's like to use websites that are not accessible.
Don't be fooled by the boring first minute or two of the video's introduction. If you see the video interviews of the three students that follows, you will not soon forget them.
 

Class 9: Regulatory, Legal, and Ethical Issues

July 19, 2005

Regulatory, legal, and ethical issues

Just as television and older technology can be used unethically, new media can be used to suppress voter turnout, propagandize, deceive, and even coerce. And who owns the ideas and other content that are shared online? What are the ethical implications of sharing digital information — or preventing others from sharing it? Should there be limits placed on the new media? How, and by whom?
Guest speaker: R. Rebecca ("Becki") Donatelli is the Chairman of Campaign Solutions, a provider of award-winning campaign solutions for GOP candidates and organizations. Her firm was the lead Internet fundraising consultant to the McCain for President campaign in 2000, which brought Internet fundraising and organizing into the forefront of political consulting. Her clients include Bush Cheney '04, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and a host of Senate, House and gubernatorial campaigns. Ms. Donatelli will be joined by two members of her staff, GWU grad Mark Soohoo and GSPM grad Justin Germany.

  • Required Readings and Multimedia Sources

Lessig, Lawrence, short excerpt from The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World, 2001. Stanford Law Professor Lessig states:
"Powerful conglomerates are swiftly using both law and technology to "tame" the Internet, transforming it from an open forum for ideas into nothing more than cable television on speed. Innovation, once again, will be directed from the top down, increasingly controlled by owners of the networks, holders of the largest patent portfolios, and, most invidiously, hoarders of copyrights."
Zittrain, Jonathan L., John G. Palfrey, Jr., et al., Internet Filtering in China in 2004-2005: A Country Study, pp. 3-7 and OpenNet Initiative, April 14, 2005. The OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership among the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, and the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme (Centre for International Studies) at the University of Cambridge.
If you have time, read the whole study, but otherwise, read at least these sections:
Sec. 1: "Executive Summary," pp. 3-4.
Sec. 2: "Political, Technical, and Legal Context in China," pp. 4-19.
Sec. 4a: "Results Summary," pp. 23.
Sec. 5: "Conclusion," pp. 51.
Fogg, B. J., Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do:
Chapter 9: "The Ethics of Persuasive Technology," pp. 211-235.
Darr, Carol, and Julie Barko, Under the Radar and Over the Top: Online Political Videos in the 2004 Election Institute for Democracy, Politics, and the Internet (www.ipdi.org), October 20, 2004.
Darr, Carol, and Julie Barko, Online Political Videos in the 2004 Election (View any videos that interest you, and we will discuss in class)

  • Assignments

Due Today:  Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted in the past week on public discussion blogs.
  • Maintain your blog and post to other blogs
  • Continue working on your strategic plan for an Internet campaign

Optional Background Materials

 
 

Class 10: Final Student Project Presentations

July 26, 2005

Strategic Plans and Semester Summaries

Using Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) you will be voting in class for your favorite student blogs produced for this class. Please take the time this week to review the other 34 student blogs and have your choices in mind when you arrive in class. We also will review your Online Campaign Strategic Plans, in addition to key topics from the semester.

  • Required Readings

Lessig, Lawrence, Free Culture. 31-minute flash presentation of Lessig's keynote speech at the 2002 Open Source Convention (8/15/2002).
Shapiro, Andrew L., The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing the World We Know. 1999. Chapter 21: "The Tools of Democracy," pp. 217-230.
Vaidhyanathan, Siva, The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System, Chapter 12: "Conclusion," pp. 185-192.

  • Assignments

Due Today:  (1) Final project presentations; (2) Before today's class, send me an email with links to comments you've posted on public discussion blogs.

Optional Background Materials

Flash demo of Instant Runoff Voting. FairVote.org. See also The Muppets use IRV
Lessig, Lawrence, Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. The Penguin Press (3/25/2004).
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