Author: Jason

Todd Alcott has some very interesting thoughts on super villany.

…you sue it for $30 million. Since MySpace is supposed to be a parent now can I ask it for an allowance?

Lauren Gelman, associate director of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, said she does not think MySpace is legally responsible for what happens away from its site.

“If you interact on MySpace, you are safe, but if a 13-year-old or 14-year-old goes out in person and meets someone she doesn’t know, that is always an unsafe endeavor,” Gelman said. “We need to teach our kids to be wary of strangers.”

Yep.

National Journal has polled insiders about their thoughts on the impact of blogs on the upcoming midterm elections. Republicans by and large believe they will have no impact (70%) with the rest evenly split on whether it will help Republicans or Democrats more. Democrats, on the other hand, swing the opposite way, with 69% thinking blogs will help Democrats and the rest saying no impact. Some interesting quotes as well.

I think what you’re seeing is the “echo chamber’s” impact with the insiders. Blogs are majority Liberal, perhaps with as large as a 2:1 split. So Democrats view it as their territory and their territory alone, they will drown out any attempts by the GOP to enter the fray. Insiders see these netroots efforts and think in dollar signs but what they fail to realize is that a good portion of these Liberal sites are not only caught up in the “echo chamber” of other sites but are not all as effective as the Dean campaign made them out to be two years ago, especially given the large number of bloggers hiding behind pseudonyms.

Republicans, on the other hand, look at the “success” of the Dean campaign’s netroots efforts and laugh. If they do think it’ll have an impact, they either fear that Dems have gotten their act together in the last two years or believe Republicans can make gains in a predominantly Liberal medium. Overall, blogs are meaningless in their eyes.

My thoughts? Blogs can potentially be a boon for both parties, but only in as much as how much the MSM pays attention to what is being said. For example, the “anti-Semetic” cartoon in the Webb/Miller primary. Blogs started that conversation and eventually the MSM caught onto it. Perhaps with a helpful push from the Miller camp, but the blogs formed the foundation of the story.

Nationally, Dems have a definate headstart. But localities may see it differently. Virginia has its very own netroots Conservative network ready to work for Allen and counter the Dem efforts.

Here or there, though, Blogs alone will not sway voters, but they may sway the MSM and that is where its greatest impact will be felt.

Folgers scares me.

…or is this a conflict of interest?

– The Dr. Pepper Rip-Off Page

– “Building a video game around a premise based on very realistic, cold-blooded assassinations of innocent bystanders and police” is “more akin to hate speech, not free speech.”

– Drats. Missed the list once again.

– The rewards of being shy.

– Even bears love hammocks.

– Five Hardest Nintendo Games EVER. And they’re right. As great a game “Ninja Gaiden” is there’s just no getting through it without breaking something. And “Back To The Future” is frustrating as hell but you can’t help but keep going back…

…but when you park your car under a sign that pretty much said “parking for shopping center customers only, all others towed at owner’s expense”, don’t be too shocked an hour later when you find the car gone after coming back from your kid’s gradation across the street.