Moveon.org just launched a contest to see who can create the best TV ad for Barack Obama. These should be along the line of MoveOn.org’s BushIn30Seconds ad contest in 2004 (except these are supposed to be positive). Anyone can upload a video, and the best one submitted to ObamaIn30Seconds by April 1 will aired nationally. The winner will also receive $20,000 worth of video equipment. The judges include Matt Damon, Steve Buscemi, Jesse Jackson, Lawrence Lessig, and Moby.
Yet another example of how the Web is playing to Obama’s advantage. The YouBama folks should love this. But come on, we already know who the winner is:
I’m sorry, but is TechCrunch becoming the Obama news network, too?
Could you please stick to relevant tech news, and not post obvious shill promo pieces for the Senator from Illinois?
Thanks.
@Gmo
It’s never a bad idea to get in good with a powerful politician.
@D.L. – Of course not, but could TC at least ATTEMPT to mask it a little? The entire meat of the “story” is basically a cut-and-paste of the rules for this content, plus viral video distribution for the Obama campaign.
I mean, honestly. Could you at least work a little harder to pretend this is newsworthy?
It is newsworthy and is relevant to site content.
After the reaction to “Bush in 60 Seconds,” I’m sure that Bill O’Reilly will pop a blood vessel “fact checking” the winning entry.
There are 1001 things the Obama campaign has been doing relating to web2.0 technologies, strategies, platforms, etc that are noteworthy. Web2.0 is changing not only the business aspects of the Internet but social, political, and cultural aspects as well.
As far as this particular story, maybe it should be on digg more than TC, but I can’t wait to check back to the comments here to see how many more people other than you DL are going to bitch and moan about this…
Go Obama Go !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love to make a video called ObamaCrunch or TechObama
This is a blog, and not a very good one…every piece on this blog is opinionated, why would a political post be any different.
If it wasn’t for Bush there wouldn’t be a Web 2.0.
Does this mean MoveOn is now supporting Obama?
I think TC should stay away from promoting this garbage. Everyone knows that movenowhere.org is an extreme left, Anti-republican site. Let them market their own trash – don’t do on a site where we are looking to find out about technological news – new that doesn’t (or shouldn’t) have some political affiliations to blatantly tacked to it.
@crunchy: I agree 100% re: Web 2.0 & the campaign and Obama’s effective use of these tools — and when TC writes an article that’s remotely as articulate as your quickly-penned comment regarding the use of Web 2.0 tools in this campaign instead of just cutting and pasting the rules for an Obama viral video contest, that’ll be worth reading.
Til then, pieces like this are just empty promotion. I have no problem with TC expressing a preference for a candidate, especially as it relates to technology, but I DO have a problem with sloppy, lazy “reporting.”
ugh..i’m so tired of the obamasturbation.
if i were to make an obama ad it would just be a big “?” for 30 seconds. and the soundtrack would be “let down” from ok computer. werd.
camera and editing package???? moveon is terrible….
Et tu, Techcrunch? I thought you would have better judgment than to use techcrunch as a transparent shill for a political candidate.
There is nothing remotely innovative or web 2.0ish about a contest for a political ad.
When I saw ObamaIn30Seconds, I thought the post would lay out his entire campaign platform in 30 seconds.
My second thought was what to do with the last 25 seconds!
The master of online campaigning is Ron Paul.
And no, I’m not a Ron Paul fan. Or an Obama one.
Maybe I can edit this down to 30 seconds
http://www.yout...h?v=zWvxTUy47Fk
User generated political ads, nice!
http://www.fant...portsmatrix.com
Easy video to make. Simply a white flag waving.
Have you seen this one? Longer than 30 seconds though:
http://www.yout...h?v=mY2jmgwwmFk
Hi, good blog I invite you to visit my blog http://mundolib...0.blogspot.com/
The winner of creating the best video gets a $20,000 GC for a new camera and editing equipment???
That’s like giving the winner of a golf tournament a new set of golf clubs.
The winner of a fishing tournament a new fishing rod.
The winner of an auto race a new car.
Shouldn’t the GC go to the worse video?
……
Go Obama !!!
Whats the big deal ?
If you see a heading you dont like skp it . You dont have to read every single sentence on the blog .
Its like a magazine . I dont read everything in it .
I see the content of the two ads will be a little different. What happens if someone makes an ad criticizing Obama? Will it be considered on its artistic merits?
I believe the owners of this site can post whatever they so choose. It’s no one bit different than you voicing your political preference to a co-worker or friend. This is a free blog so no one here has a right to bitch about it. Grow up !
Do you think people are doing this for the 20k worth of stuff or for the exposure of being the creative genius behind a national ad campaign?
I would think that being able to tell your friends “see that ad? I made that” would be far more valuable than the 20k worth of video camera stuff.
I”m gonna enter and win. Cheer up, have some fun.
I’m with Allen (post #10) on this. I’m a relatively new arrival to TechCrunch, and seeing this kind of garbage really turns me off to the site. See MoveOn.org as blathering idiots, am not am Obama fan, and certainly don’t want any part of their viral marketing campaigns when I visit a tech blog.
If this is going to be a political site, especially one that even mentions the idiots at moveon.org, then I’m likely to stop visiting it. My two cents!
-steve
The whole “Hillary and Obama” thing is getting really old. Makes me want to vomit now.
Will The Onion compete in this contest?
Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early
http://www.theo...identally_leaks
Dear TechCrunch:
Why don’t you start an ObamaCrunch site so I can read my tech news without being blasted with your political agenda?
Truth be told, I don’t care who you vote for, who you endorse, or which political candidate(s) you promote. It won’t change my vote (or the fact that out of the three big-party candidates, ALL are promoting basically the SAME higher-taxes, anti-business agenda, which runs counter to the entrepreneurship you report on. But I digress.)
I come to you for tech news. Please reduce the signal-to-noise ratio.
How on earth could someone make a video for him? doesn’t this suffice:
http://abcnews....3788&page=1
So TechCrunch is morphing in to Obamarama.com — and over at Valleywag – the charismatic Ms. Melissa Gira Grant ( Grant Gira ? ) has turned it into Fleshbot – as every second article is dedicated to orgies or call girls.
I admire her prolificness – its time for an MGG microsite.
Give the people what they want.
Incidentally, as an interesting follow-up to this “story,” how about posting something on how Web 2.0 online community organizing is also a double-edged sword? According to them, Obama’s site allows anyone to sign up, and they’re not responsible for the content posted on the site (e.g. the New Black Panther party’s registration of a page on My.BarackObama.com), but clearly they’ve received a ton of flak for pages like those, and this post as well (http://my.barac.../shaesmith/CsNZ) which is STILL up on their site.
I’d love to see a story discussing TechCrunch’s views on what Web 2.0 community owners’ responsibilities should be for this type of content (if any), and what actions (if any) should be taken (e.g. IP blocking of posters putting up hate speech, etc). This is especially an interesting topic for political websites & communities, and I wonder if you see a difference between these sites, and say, the responsibilities of video web 2.0 community sites being hit for copyright infringement.