politics

In a recent post titled “Politics to Go: How Mobile Technology Empowers Just-in-Time Politics” I mentioned my contribution to GWU’s “Politics to Go” handbook. I was asked at the time to prepare a few examples of how Winksite is being used by established and indie/grassroot organizations to reach a mobile audience. These brief case studies are provided below for those who may find them to be of interest.

Progressive U Mobile
According to some, the United States is in the midst of a culture war. The war is being waged on many fronts, but one thing is increasingly clear: this cannot be defined as a battle between the old and the young. The polarization created by the culture wars is evident on college campuses, and even among high school teenagers. Progressive U was founded to build a new generation of leaders and influencers. Progressive U provides a voice for progressive students and other problem solvers using mobile media channels, allowing people to study and discuss creative solutions to social problems, economic issues, and cultural conflict. In short, Progressive U Mobile is a new type of community for young people, providing them the tools to reach out to their communities to build further understanding and support.

Chechnya Mobilized
War rages on in Chechnya. Human rights violations and violence against civilians continue unabated. People affected have a story to tell, and they want the world to hear it. What they do not have is a computer, or meaningful access to one. Utilizing mobile phones as their printing press participants of Chechnya Mobilized bring the world the latest news, opinion and commentary direct from the Chechen war.

Creative Commons Mobile Library
A nonprofit corporation, Creative Commons offers a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors and artists. The Creative Commons Mobile Library brings a series of those works to mobile phones. Recognizing that mobile technology will continue to impact the way the world accesses and uses content on phones, the goal of the CCM Library is to:

Provide a new generation of authors and artists with the tools they need to self-publish and distribute their works.
Revolutionize the way individuals and organizations publish and consume content over mobile networks.
Provide a new channel for distribution of texts that have been made available to the public for free.
Support the educational and recreational needs of a variety of mobile readers.
Contribute to the public library mission(s) of informational needs, literacy, lifelong learning, and recreational reading of the general public.
Create a richer, more productive learning environment for those without consistent access to a PC and wired Internet access.

Mobile Reporter
Mobile Reporter brings first hand information concerning the Crisis in Andizhan to your cell phone screen. The project was designed to fill the informational vacuum and make citizens in Uzbekistan as well as citizens of other countries throughout the world aware of what is happening in Andizhan. Mobile Reporter operates round the clock by its own staff correspondent from the streets of Andizhan.

Fuse Mobile
The overwhelming feeling of a fan’s enthusiasm was once commonly experienced only at concerts. The emergence of music videos and online interaction expanded the scope to include the home and PC. Fuse TV wanted to deliver this connection to fans anywhere & anytime. As such, Fuse Mobile was launched to fuel a deeper connection with their audience. The mobile space provided mechanisms for feedback, voting and Mobile Screen-To-TV Screen dedications. Fuse Mobile became a place where teenagers’ opinions and votes count. In addition, teenagers were able to stay in touch with not only their friends, but trends that make or break you at that age.

Slugger O’Toole Mobile
Slugger O’Toole is a news and research portal, looking at various strands of political aspects of life in Northern Ireland. It brings together and records news, commentary and diverse opinion. From time to time, Slugger O’Toole seeks to create substantial debate in given areas, like Unionism or Nationalism, or in more particular subject areas like the economy, cultural issues or the environment. Slugger O’Toole Mobile reaches an audience whose primary access to the Internet is though their mobile phone.

Dean for America Mobile Blog
Seizing the opportunity provided by the proliferation of mobile devices across campus’s nationwide a student built the Dean for America Mobile Blog as a vehicle to help spread support. The content for this unofficial Dean for America mobile site, which included Spanish language alternatives, was made available via RSS-To-Mobile Syndication. In addition, student volunteers had the ability to post comments in a forum and chat with each other from their mobile devices providing its users with a sense of community. These simple activities went a long way toward evoking the sense of active participation students would otherwise be missing while juggling work, studies and friends. In turn, using survey functionality the mobile site organizer was able to get a far better sense of what it was fellow students wanted and needed, and make better resource-allocation decisions in response.

BlogHer Mobile
BlogHer is a network for women bloggers to draw on for exposure, education, and community. The recent BlogHer 2005 Conference initiated the opportunity for greater visibility, learning and success for individual women bloggers and for the community of bloggers as a whole. For some information is both a tool and an end in itself. People crave the feeling of being plugged in. The BlogHer Mobile Site was launched so people could connect with the BlogHer community from their mobile devices, extending the BlogHer network and its pulse into the daily lives of women.

InstaPundit Mobile
Law Professor. Author. Correspondent. Musician. Techno-Libertarian. InstaJournalist. Glenn Reynolds the InstaPundit. Glenn’s blog is one of the most widely-read blogs in the world making him one of the most successful brokers of political commentary on the blogging scene. With an eye towards the intersection between advanced technologies and individual liberty, InstaPundit has gone mobile so to widen its audience. Not everyone uses computers to access information. Teens heavily rely on mobile devices to retrieve and share information. Internationally, phones are used just as much for information as communication. By publishing to a mobile site, InstaPundit Mobile broadens the scope of its audience, providing news and views the way a new generation prefers to see it.

Today the first book that I ever contributed to came out. Its full title is “The Politics to Go Handbook: A Guide to Using Mobile Technology in Politics”. It officially launched at the Politics to Go Conference held at George Washington University.

This handbook introduces some of the latest mobile technologies, examines their current uses and political successes, considers future possibilities and challenges and offers simple how-to guides for implementing these new technologies into campaigns. The publication features ten diverse chapters of forward-thinking articles and practical guides written by 50 expert authors, totaling 131 pages of informative reading that will help you take your next campaign to the next level. The Politics to Go Handbook is available as an Adobe PDF document, and as a podcast (.MP3 format, runs 30:54, 10 MB).

Although I was not able to attend the event I had the pleasure of many conversations over the phone with Julie Barko, Editor, Politics to Go and Deputy Director, Institute for Politics Democracy and the Internet.

Here’s the official media release:

For Immediate Release, August 8, 2005
For more information: Kathie Legg
Phone: 202-994-1003

DAVID HARPER TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE POLITICS TO GO HANDBOOK, NEW PUBLICATION ON MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICS AT GW’S INSTITUTE FOR POLITICS, DEMOCRACY & THE INTERNET

Washington, Aug. 10, 2005 – David Harper, founder of Winksite.com, will author a section in Politics to Go, a handbook on the political uses of mobile technology that anthologizes over 50 of today’s top names in technology and politics. The Politics to Go Handbook is published by the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI) at The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.

“The Politics to Go Handbook will serve as a manual for using mobile technology in the political realm,” said Carol Darr, Director of the Institute, “not only for candidates, but for issue advocacy groups, nonprofits, civic groups, political consultants, lobbyists, local governments and citizen activists.”

It also draws on the experience and expertise of experts from around the globe to describe the mobile political audience, predict how mobile tech will be used in future elections and discuss any roadblocks that may occur.

The publication will be released at an event hosted by IPDI and sponsored by Wired magazine on September 13, titled Politics to Go: How Mobile Technology Empowers Just-in-Time Politics. The event will introduce some of the latest mobile technology techniques, examine the current uses and political successes of mobile technology and discuss future possibilities and challenges. It will feature a gadget lab and sponsor display area. Two panels of visionaries, analysts and practical implementers will discuss these issues and facilitate an open question-and-answer dialogue with the audience.

The Politics to Go report release, panel discussion and hands-on event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, September 13, 2005. Breakfast will be served. The event is free and open to the public.