It featured minimal graphics, no sound effects, and deeply flawed gameplay. Yet one of the most important game titles of 2008 was played by thousands and helped change the face of American politics. I’m writing about My.BarackObama.com.
Game designer and scholar Ian Bogost considered it a washout election cycle for political games. McCain had his “Pork [...]
“Yes we can,” as an election slogan, implies a relatively simple mission: get more people to cast a ballot for your candidate than for the other one. But as Barack Obama’s creed pivots from a battle cry to a governing philosophy, what, exactly, “we can” becomes a much larger and more complex matter. So, too, [...]
The morning of November 4, 2008 found me — like thousands of others all across the nation — rushing from door to door the final phase of the get-out-the-vote (GOTV) effort. In those pre-dawn hours in rural New Hampshire, the fate of the election came down to the mundane work of footsoldiers armed with low-tech [...]
Recently, Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, became a source of inspiration for many Americans. In his Last Lecture, given soon after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Pausch spoke about what it takes to achieve your lifelong dreams. It takes, he said, believing that the barriers we face are only [...]
There’s been much speculation about what kind of puppy the Obamas might buy for the girls. Some have suggested a pit bull (named “Maverick,” of course). But we would commend the suggestion of Saturday Night Live’s “Crazy McCain Rally Lady,” who opined that “Obama cavorts with terriers.” We prefer Cairn Terriers ourselves:
(Terrier courtesy of tanakawho, [...]
In the past several months, Internet-and-democracy types have wondered how Obama’s Netroots-savvy campaign might translate into governance. Should Obama win on Tuesday, will we see some form of wiki governance? How “Google-transparent” will the Administration and its agencies be? Will Obama focus an empowered blogosphere to pressure Congress to pass major reforms?
These are useful speculations, [...]
