Affiliate Programs and Affiliate Reviews
This column is dedicated to the intersection of technology and traditional news media. With less than a week to go before America elects a new president, that intersection is looking more and more like the scene of a multi-vehicle pileup. The victims: democracy, the average voter, my patience.
Google has rolled out a new, bigger viewing feature to its iGoogle custom home page builder app. iGoogle basically lets users select and move little gadgets — which are miniature, modular applications that provide news feeds, comics, Gmail access, games, weather, movie listings, etc. — anywhere they want on their iGoogle home pages.
It’s hard to dismiss the role of the Internet in this year’s elections. Both political parties are using online strategies to an extent never seen before in a political campaign. From daily candidate blogs with updates on issues to the use of online tools for fundraising, the Internet has become a dominant force in this election.
Will the interactivity of the media, the atomization of knowledge and the premium on rapid response result in a collective loss of wisdom, judgment and perspective? Opinions differ. Messages containing all sorts of false information about presidential candidates have turned up in the e-mail inboxes of millions of Americans this summer.
Current TV is handing over feedback on the upcoming presidential debates to those who make up so much of the network’s programming: its audience. During the debates, the network bent on viewer-created content will broadcast Twitter messages — or “tweets” — from viewers. In close to real time, Current will display comments on the screen while Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama face off.