Twitter Rules

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was interviewed for separate articles on the Twitter phenomenon that appeared on the McClatchy News Service and in the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper. I talked about the origins of Twitter, how much it has caught on, and its effects. I further noted how Barack Obama's Twittering will have a downballot effect on other politicians running for office who want to emulate him. Some quotes: "There's definitely tech envy," said Perlmutter, author ofBLOGWARS, a book about how political blogging changed elections. When politicians hear about their peers successfully using other media, he said, "you're going to want to try it yourself." "When I first heard about Twitter, I couldn't possibly come up with a use for it," said David Perlmutter, professor of journalism at Kansas University and author of the book "Blog Wars." "I thought, 'Why would I want to alert everybody that I'm having a tuna sandwich?' It seemed like something you didn't need technology to do." But Perlmutter is amazed at how Twitter has become...
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Texting Ourselves to Death?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
 [Image: Scott Frederick Starrett]   I hosted a conference and co-wrote the report for a summit of experts on the TOP TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY ISSUES FACING THE NATION* sponsored by The University of Kansas Transportation Research Institute (KU TRI), presented by The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics and theUniversity of Kansas School of Engineering, and funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovation Technology Administration & Federal Highway Administration. Our main point was that America has tried many times to create a national transportation policy over the last century, with the latest and most comprehensive attempt in 2000-2001. None of these ventures was conceived or executed at the presidential level save possibly President Eisenhower's "National Defense Highway System." Now humankind confronts interrelated crises of energy and transportation in a rapidly changing world where we must deal with spiking petroleum prices, decaying bridges, growing congestion in all modes, an aging and inattentive driver population, a shortage of adequately trained transportation engineers, and the diverse ramifications of global climate change....
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Perlmutter at Jeremy Taylor Show

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was a guest on the Jeremy Taylor Show on 1320 am radio in Lawrence. Our planned topic was "What will happen next in politics and media and our personal lives after the very prominent rise of online social-interactive media in campaign 2008?" Among my points: It will be interesting to see how the Obama administration uses OSIM in governing and gaining support for policies, programs, and projects in a different or similar way than they did for winning votes and raising money for the presidential election. I suggested that it would be a mistake to overdo OSIM--that is, if all those who had given their text message address to the Obama campaign received a note from him daily, there would be a significant turn-off of interest and enthusiasm. Like all weapons in politics or war, OSIM outreach must be used prudently. Second, referring to my previous post on a "slow blogging movement," I wonder whether we will reach a saturation effect, with instantaneousness, interactivity,...
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The End of Geoprivacy

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Ever have the feeling that someone is spying on you? Today, it's more likely that you are broadcasting enough information thatanyone can spy on you. In the most recent issue of Wired magazine, freelance writer Mathew Honan recounts his "I am here"adventures of a "3-week experiment of living la vida local." Using all the new technology (software and hardware) especially iPhone apps, he demonstrates how easy it is to be constantly monitoring your environment electronically as well as for everybody to know where you are. For example, with the program WhoseHere, you can send your latitude and longitude location and instantly get responses from other people in the area. The responses, needless to say, range from "I'm looking for sex" to "Really great coffee shop." Other interesting revelations: "Because iPhones embed geodata into photos that users upload to Flickr or Picasa, iPhone shots can be automatically placed on a map." In other words, people will know exactly where you were when you took the picture. Interestingly,...
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Perlmutter at Kansas Governor’s Public Health Conference on Social Media

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
David D. Perlmutter was a keynote speaker at the Kansas Governor's Public Health Conference in Wichita. His two topics were: "Marketing Health Information: The Challenge of Online Social-Interactive Media" and "How to Tell the Story of Your Success Via Online Social-Interactive Media" Originally posted May 5, 2009 at PolicyByBlog...
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