The Blog

Dennis Whittle: "We tried that and it didn't work?"

2009-11-22T17:22:44Z

"We've already tried something like that and it does not work."

One of the most difficult challenges of innovation is knowing when to discard an idea or hypothesis because "it does not work." Sometimes, a change in the external environment, such as the launch of Apple's iPhone Apps Store, can cause a piece of software suddenly become valuable. And sometimes, the addition of what is seemingly a small tweak to a product can transform a "ho-hum"product into something revolutionary.

I was reminded of this the other night when Mari and I were touring the Terra Cotta Warriors at National Geographic. I noticed that the horses on display, dating from 350 BC, had saddles without stirrups. They had bridles, bits, and reins, but no stirrups. By this time, saddles had been around for about 4,000 years, with few design changes. Around 200 BC, someone tweaked the saddle by adding a wood "backbone" that helped distribute weight across the horses's back and reduce fatigue. The saddle itself was a significant but not overwhelming advantage for its users.

Finally, after about another five hundred years someone in the Jin dynasty in China decided to hang stirrups off the saddle. This minor "tweak" to the saddle was revolutionary. Some credit this tweak as being "one of the basic tools used to create and spread modern civilization. Some argue that it is as important as the wheel or printing press."

This left me wondering what could be the most revolutionary minor tweak to our existing features on GlobalGiving.

Dennis Whittle is the co-founder and CEO of GlobalGiving.

David Weinberger: What's Irreplaceable About Books?

2009-11-22T14:27:47Z

As Marshall McLuhan said, new media generally do not replace old media. For example, radio remained important even after television came to dominance. On the other hand, by the time Western Union ended its telegram service in 2006, the cultural role and importance of telegrams had changed ... and shrunk. So, after we have networked digital books, will books be as ubiquitous and culturally important as radio? Will their role become as narrow as the telegram's in 2005? Will they be as cherished but infrequently attended as live theater? What's the future of books?

The answer depends on what we value about printed books that electronic books cannot replace.

We won't know the answer until we invent the future. But, I'm going to hypothesize, predict, or stipulate (pick one) that at some point we will have ebooks (which may be distinct hardware or software running in something other device we carry around), with paper-quality displays that are full-color and multimedia, that are fully on the Net, with software that lets us interact with the book and with other readers, that are a part of the standard outfitting of citizens, and that exist within a world that provides ubiquitous Net connectivity.

Those are a lot of assumptions, of course, and each and every one of them could be disrupted by some 17 year old at work in her parents' basement. Nevertheless, if the future is something like that, then what of pbooks' value will be left unreplaced by ebooks?

Readability. I'm assuming paper-quality displays, which may turn out to be unattainable without having to wheel around batteries the size of suitcases. But, with a display not as crisp as ink on paper, ebooks' ability to display text in various fonts and sizes should remove this advantage from pbooks.

Convenience. I am assuming that ebooks will be more convenient than pbooks: as legible in sunlight, at least as easy to hold and use, easier to use for those with certain disabilities, long enough battery life, possibly self-lit, etc. The biggest open question, I believe, is whether it will be as easy to annotate ebooks...

Annotatability. The current crop of ebooks make highlighting passages and making notes so difficult that you have to take a break from reading to do either of those things. But, that's one big reason why the current crop of ebooks are pathetic. With a touchscreen and a usable keyboard (or handwriting recognition software), ebooks of the future should be as easy to annotate as a pbook is. And those annotations will then become more useful, since they will be searchable and sharable.

Affordability. The marginal cost of producing ebook content is tiny, which doesn't mean prices will drop as dramatically as we might like. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine a world in which ebook content costs more than pbooks. Of course, this assumes that ebook readers will be cheap enough to compete with pbooks, given the combined cost of content and hardware. On the other hand, if ebook readers turn out to be software that runs on some more generalized device, the economics will likely work in ebooks' favor.

Social flags. We use the books we own as tribal flags, as Cory Doctorow points out in a recent interview. You probably carefully choose which book you're going to bring with you on a job interview, and which books get moved to the shelves in your living room. Ebooks can serve the same role when introduced into social networks, including social networks explicitly built around books, such as LibraryThing.com. They obviously don't work in physical space that way; if you want to show off your books to people who visit your home, you're going to have to get physical copies.

Aesthetic objects. Many of us love the feel and smell of books. While ebooks might be able to simulate that in some way — maybe their page displays could yellow over time — it'd still just be a simulation. While ebooks will undoubtedly develop their own aesthetics, so that we'll call people over to see how beautiful this or that new ebook is, they can't replace the particular aesthetics of pbooks. So, those who love pbooks will continue to cherish them.

Sentimental objects. For my bar mitzvah, some friend of my parents gave me a leatherbound copy of A.E. Housman's "A Shropshire Lad" and other poems. It was a beautiful aesthetic object, but I also understood that it had a personal meaning to the giver. I doubt that that particular copy did — I don't think it came from his own collection — but the physicality of the book was itself a marker for the personal meaning it had for the giver. As Cory says, the books your father read — the very copies that were in his hands — probably have special meaning to you. It's hard to see how ebooks could have the same sentimental value, except perhaps if you are reading the highlights and notes left by your father, and even then, it's not the same.

Historic objects. Likewise, knowing that you're looking at the very copy that was read by Thomas Jefferson gives a book an historic value that ebook content just can't have. It's hard to see how an author could autograph an ebook in any meaningful way.

Historical objects. As John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid have pointed out, as has Anthony Grafton, books as physical objects collect metadata that can be useful to historians, e.g., the smell of vinegar that indicates the book came from a town visited by cholera. Ebooks, however, accumulate and generate far more metadata. So, we will lose some types of metadata but gain much more...maybe more than our current norms of privacy are comfortable with.

Specialized objects. It will take somewhere between an improbably long time and forever for all collections of pbooks to be digitized. Thus, books in special collections are likely to be required well after we can take the presence of ebooks for granted.

Possessions. We are headed towards a model that grants us licenses to read books, but not outright ownership. (This is Cory's main topic in the interview that stimulated this post.) If we lose ownership of ebooks, then they won't have the sentimental value, they will lose some of their economic value to readers (because we won't be able to resell them or buy them cheaper used), and we won't be as invested in them culturally. Whether ebooks will be ownable, and whether that will be the default of the exception, is unresolved.

Single-mindedness. Books are the exemplar in our culture of thinking. We write our best thoughts in books. We engage with the best thoughts of others by reading books. Books encourage and enable long-form thinking. Ebooks, because they are (ex hypothesis) on the Net, are distracting. They string together associated chunks and tempt us with links beyond themselves. It is easy to imagine ebooks providing the singleminded pbook experience: "Press here to remove all links." But, of course, you could always unpress the button. Besides, since your ebook is on the Net (ex hypothesis), all that's stopping you from jumping out of the book and into your email or Facebook is self-discipline. So, while ebooks can provide the singledminded experience of pbooks, some of us may prefer the paper version to keep the distraction of the Net at bay.

Religious objects. Some books have special meaning within some religions. It's hard to imagine, for example, that an ebook is going to replace the Torah scrolls in synagogues. In fact, orthodox Jews can't use electronic devices on the Sabbath, so they are certainly going to continue to buy pbooks. But, this is the very definition of a specialty market.

So, what does all this mean for the future of books? It depends.

First, are there other values of pbooks that I left off the list?

Second, I haven't listed any unique advantages of ebooks. For example, ebooks will allow social reading: engaging with others who are reading the book or with the traces left by those who have already it. That's potentially transformative of reading. Also, ebooks are likely to radically reduce the cost of reading, especially of some categories of overpriced pbooks (e.g., textbooks). Also, ebooks will make it much easier to understand the content of books through embedded dictionaries, search capabilities, and links to explanatory discussions. Also, as more of the corpus gets digitized, ebooks will make it far easier for scholars to pursue the footnotes (except they'll be embedded links, not footnotes). Also, ebooks will incorporate multimedia. Also, reading ebooks will build a searchable personal corpus that is far more useful to us than bookcases filled with out conquered pbooks. Also, we'll always have our entire library with us, ready to be read or reread, which is good news for readers.

I leave it to you to decide how this mix of values is likely to play out. What will be the social role and meaning of pbooks as we go forward into the ebook era? In twenty years — giving ourselves plenty of time to develop usable ebook readers, to digitize most of what we need, and to build an always-available network — will pbooks be used mainly by collectors, and scholars working with unique texts? Will they be sentimental objects? What poor people read? What rich people read? Will physical books be the equivalent of AM radio, of the road company of "Cats," of quaint objects in book museums — and/or the continuing pinnacle and embodiment of learning?

Craig Newmark: Big news From Washington That Everyone Misses

2009-11-21T17:24:49Z

Hey, Beth Noveck is working at the White House getting really serious about giving all Americans a serious voice in running our Federal government.

She talks about how this is happening at city and state levels in Open Government Laboratories of Democracy:

Inspired by the President's call for more open government, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts launched its data catalogue, following in the footsteps of Washington, DC, San Francisco, New York, and elsewhere around the country (as well as cities in Canada and the UK), to provide public access to information by and about government. What makes this exciting is not merely having transportation information available in machine-readable formats, but that professional and amateur enthusiasts can then get together, as they did last weekend, to create new software applications and data visualizations to better enable public transit riders to track arrival times for the next subway, bus, or ferry. Publishing government information online facilitates this kind of useful collaboration between government and the public that transforms dry data into the tools that improve people's lives. (For another great example, check out what happened

when we published the Federal Register for people to use.)

However, here's the big story:

The Obama Administration is taking unprecedented strides toward creating the most open and accountable government in history.

We could all use help getting that message out there.

Andy Plesser: Video: eBay is a Style Barometer: Plaids, Rocker-Chic and Leather Jackets are Hot, Says Constance White

2009-11-21T02:19:13Z

NEW YORK, NY-- eBay has the pulse of the fashion market because, "It's probably the only place that a person could come to and really see the breadth and depth of style at their fingertips," says Constance White, Style Director for eBay.

Yesterday, Andy met up with White, a former fashion writer for the New York Times, who explained that eBay is a reflection of real-time fashion trends. The top trend of the moment according to traffic on eBay plaid, leather jackets, and the rocker-chic look.

In addition, eBay has recently launched a line of mobile boutiques to appear in 13 cities this holiday season. The 5,500 square feet New York pop-up store will be open today until November 27th and has already been visited by the likes of Kim Kardashian, actress and avid eBay seller.

In the latter half of the video, White shows us some styles in Kim's eBay store, including some from her own collection. Some of the proceeds from Kim Kardashian's sales will go to charities, including the Dream Foundation.

Online or in store, eBay shoppers can donate to a charity of their choice at checkout and eBay will match the final donation up to $200,000. At the 57th Street location, it will match every purchase dollar-for-dollar, up to an additional $200,000.

Check here for White's interview with Narciso Rodriguez on his upcoming eBay collection.

You can also find our story on NBC Local Bay Area.

And please find our story on Beet.TV

Robert D. Atkinson, Ph.D.: Whack-A-Mole Security: Bad Policy, Bad Legislation

2009-11-21T01:15:16Z

Guest post by Daniel Castro, Senior Analyst, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

The recent disclosure of a confidential Congressional document has at least one congressman calling for a ban on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software, but a closer look at the problem reveals that this effort would merely be treating the symptoms, not the disease.

First some background. Last month the Washington Post revealed that more than thirty members of Congress and staffers were under investigation for possible ethics violations, including for "accepting contributions or other items of value... in exchange for an official act." While this revelation was shocking, perhaps even more shocking was the means by which this information was leaked -- the information was downloaded from the Internet. As detailed by the Washington Post and the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in the U.S. House of Representatives, a low-level committee staffer had saved a copy of a confidential House ethics committee report on her personal computer while working from home. Unfortunately, the staffer was also running a peer-to-peer file sharing program and inadvertently saved the file in a folder that was shared with other users. By saving the file in a shared folder, the staffer made the document available to all other users on the publicly accessible file sharing network. While only one report from July was reported by the Washington Post, the Standards Committee noted that the potential disclosure involved several confidential documents.

The initial reaction from House leaders was tempered. The Standards Committee issued a statement reminding House Members, Officers and employees to maintain good information security practices when handling sensitive materials and noted that "no matter how robust our cybersecurity systems are, they remain subject to individual error." The statement also emphasized that the disclosure took place on the staffer's personal computer, that the staffer was no longer employed by the committee, and that no House information systems were compromised.

Case closed? Not so fast. Some members of Congress are jumping on the media attention surrounding the ethics leak to enact a legislative ban on peer-to-peer file sharing software. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) has introduced the Secure Federal File Sharing Act which would prohibit the use of peer-to-peer software on all computer systems run by the Federal government or its contractors. In addition, the legislation directs the Office of the Management and Budget (OMB) to address the use of P2P software on the home computers of government employees used for work purposes. To be fair, this is not a completely reactionary move. Congress has held a number of hearings over the years detailing instances of sensitive and confidential information being revealed over peer-to-peer networks--including Social Security numbers, financial records, and even location information about a safe house for the first family. In fact, the latter incident spurred Rep. Towns to first announce his call for a ban on the use of peer-to-peer software on all government networks.

It is hard to fault the Congress for misunderstanding the problem when some of the press reports surrounding the incident have often been misleading or inaccurate. In fact, most of the press seems to blame the disclosure on the peer-to-peer software, rather than on human error or the bad policies and practices that led to the disclosure. And some reports are simply erroneous and reflect a poor understanding of the technology. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal, by using a peer-to-peer network the staffer "allowed someone to hack into her computer and obtain the document." That's like saying by publishing an article on its website, the Wall Street Journal allowed its readers to hack into their web server and read the news.

To be clear, using peer-to-peer file sharing software exposes users to a number of risks. First, P2P software is often used by Internet users to download and distribute copyrighted content, an illegal act for which individuals can and should be held responsible. Second, the files shared on P2P networks often contain malware -- viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that can steal the user's private data and turn an infected PC into part of a botnet. But peer-to-peer software, by itself, did not cause the confidential Congressional document to be leaked to the press.

Some have argued that peer-to-peer software presents a unique threat because users are often unaware that the software is sharing files on their personal computer. For this reason, Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), John Barrow (D-GA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) introduced the Informed P2P User Act (H.R. 1319) earlier this year which would require peer-to-peer software to give users conspicuous notice and obtain consent before sharing files from a user's PC. First, most file sharing software does not share your entire hard drive, but just a few select folders. In addition, P2P software is already evolving and responding to their users' demands for more control and notice over how files are shared and preventing accidental disclosure of private information. Finally, while more notice may reduce some accidental file disclosures, incidents such as the recent leak of Congressional documents stem from misconfigured settings or operator error, not a lack of notice.

But the legislative response from Rep. Towns is more troubling. The congressman has argued that "We can no longer ignore the threat to sensitive government information that insecure peer-to-peer networks pose. Voluntary self-regulations have failed so now is the time for Congress to act." However, the committee staffer revealed confidential information by mistakenly saving the document in a shared file folder. This mistake was human error. If the staffer had accidentally emailed those documents--say by inadvertently clicking on the wrong attachment--would members of Congress now be calling for a ban on email? Of course not. The underlying problem is not that the staffer was running a P2P program on her computer, but that the sensitive documents had virtually no access controls on them to prevent their unauthorized use. After the staffer was allowed to take the document home as an unsecured file, the confidential information could have been leaked in many different ways--from a lost USB drive to a stolen laptop to a snooping roommate. If the file would have even had basic password protections enabled, probably none of the ensuing drama would have happened. A properly encrypted file, even if lost or made publicly available, would remain secure and confidential.

Unfortunately, this type of response is typical when organizations face a data breach, as executives scramble to fix the immediate problem without taking time to understand the bigger issues. This whack-a-mole approach to information security problems is bad strategy for an organization and bad policy for the Congress. Good information security practices depend on IT leaders forming a solid understanding of risk and taking action to manage those risks. For example, in this case, the risk here is not peer-to-peer file sharing, but rather inappropriate disclosure of confidential information. A better approach would be to review the policies and procedures for access to confidential information. Questions to ask include:

Who should be given access to sensitive information?

Should employees be permitted to take sensitive documents out of the office?

If so, what controls are in place to ensure that the data stays secure?

If not, what controls are in place to ensure files remain in the office?

Are sufficient penalties in place to punish those who violate these policies?

Are the known risks acceptable, and if not, what else should be done?

Certainly people are not perfect and some data breaches will still occur even with better policies and technology. And prohibiting P2P software probably makes sense for most agencies, but it is only a small part of a bigger problem. Rather than narrowly focusing on P2P, policymakers should be promoting broad strategies for sound information security policies across government. For example, rather than legislate that government IT executives should have a full accounting of P2P use on their network, they would be better off mandating that these IT executives need to have information security programs in place that give them detailed network intelligence so they can inventory what applications are running on their computers and track suspicious outbound and inbound network connections. In addition, government-wide policies should be developed to promote secure teleworking. As teleworking becomes more common the perimeter for enterprise security becomes wider and the amount of control that IT administrators can exert over remote PCs becomes weaker, thus creating a new threat environment. Government best practices in this area would be helpful to small and large businesses in the private sector.

Policymakers should use this experience as an opportunity to push for substantial progress on information security practices, not merely small mandates banning a particular type of software.

Gerald Sindell: iTablet Beta Tester Breaks Embargo

2009-11-20T17:27:46Z

Recently I was given just 24 hours to explore a first production build of the Apple iTablet -- and here are my first impressions and discoveries. First, it's more like an iPhone than a MacBook. The operating system depends on gestures, and expands the vocabulary. Your hand is going to be dancing.

Second big news: it's not just an application platform and full-color reader and media player. It's also a dual camera and, yes, read this twice, a phone. And therein lies a tale. For those whose habits have been formed around their iPhones, be very, very careful when your iTablet rings for the first time. That urge to whip the thing with its ginormous 10 inch screen up to your ear is going to play havoc with your eye. In the small group of folks I ran into who were returning their demo versions, most of us had nasty shiners.

Apple assures us that final production versions will come with training corners -- foam wedgies that will soften the blow until the user gets used to answering the giant device. And the second mod will be a catcher's mitt-like webbing on the back of the iTablet so you can one hand it.

Killer apps? Try this -- for those who will want to mount the iTablet high on their dashboard, this thing is going to block your view. So Apple has come up with the brilliant iDrive. The camera on the back side stays live and you basically can see right through your iTablet, like a virtual window. A second camera, imbedded invisibly in the screen, can provide help in backing up.

When you're not in your car, the embedded cameras creates iMirror, and one of the coolest apps we've seen so far is iTrim. Male or female, select your hairstyle from dozens of possibilities, and then iTrim gives you cut by cut directions so you can do it yourself. You might need a little help for the back and top, or you can sync up two iTablets and put them on the Infinite Barbershop Mirror setting.

Now with all that extra screen area to dance your hand on, Apple has greatly expanded the gestures it understands. First, there's the Full Palm Down. Just spread out your hand and plant it on the screen. Whatever program that's currently running will screech to a halt. Flip your hand over and give it the Brush Off, and the program will go away. Do it several times and the screen will clear. Then there's the Fist Bump. Closed fist means 'Yes.' Or Agree, or Continue, Install, or 'Can I have some more, please?'

Finally, all of publishing has been praying that the iTablet will be a Kindle killer and free the publishing world from the threat of world domination by Amazon. Success may depend on whether people will want the reading part of their life to be as easily interrupted as everything else in their world. When your book can hurl e-mails at you, ring your phone, cut your hair and even show you who's sneaking up behind you, some may not find that to be the ideal reading environment.

Then there's the concern about the infantilism that permeates Steve Job's attitude toward culture. "People don't read anymore," is one of his brilliant observations. On iTunes, all music has become a "song." Verdi's Requiem Mass is downloadable as a bunch of songs. For an entire generation, a Beethoven symphony is now four songs. This is surely a crime against humanity of some sort.

So take the same attitude and apply it to books. And guess what? You aren't going to be buying a 'book' on the iTunes store. You're going to be buying a 'story' one chapter at a time, whether it's Wind in the Willows or Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, everything is going to be just a chapter in a story.

The good news is the color is great. You can zoom in for spectacular detail. And when you check in to that "mirror" function you'll be able to track the progress of your shiner.

Neal Rodriguez: Digg Founder And President Advise Entrepreneurs To Do It Themselves

2009-11-20T12:15:38Z

I filmed Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson discussing new and concept features on which the company is working. They included some tips on how start-ups can execute a solid web marketing campaign speaking before the Web 2.0 Expo audience which comprised many entrepreneurs. Rose repeated the act of seeding junior writers at major blogs. And the heavily retweeted "Hack the press... Don't try to approach Arrington; he's a dick," Rose joked.

Andy Plesser: Video: Adobe Aims to Dominate Software Format for eReaders

2009-11-20T03:58:13Z

Adobe sees a big growth opportunity in the emerging eReader market, says Bill Rusitzky, who heads media alliances for the software company.

The company is heavily promoting ePub format which will be used in the Nook and the Sony eReader. It is not used in the Kindle and will not likely be used in the anticipated Apple Tablet.

MediaMemo's Peter Kafka reports on the looming software battles over formats for the new devices.

I interviewed Bill last month in New York at the Beet.TV Online Video Roundtable.

Andy Plesser, Executive Producer

You can find this post on Beet.TV

Jose Antonio Vargas: Palin Online -- Palin's Web Buzz Trumps Obama's

2009-11-20T01:04:13Z

Is there anyone quite like Sarah Palin online?

At the moment, no -- not Michael Jackson, not Manny Pacquiao, not even President Obama. According to Google Insights for Search, which tracks what the online masses are searching for within specific times and regions, the former Alaska governor-turned vice presidential nominee-turned media celebrity far surpasses Obama when it comes to Google searches. Online, interest in all things Palin has surged in the past few days. Of course, the more TV appearances she makes promoting her book "Going Rogue" -- first with Oprah Winfrey, then with FOX's Sean Hannity and a multi-part series with ABC News -- the bigger draw she becomes online, in blogs (right and left), on YouTube (1,320 Palin-oriented videos have been uploaded since last Thursday) and other social networking sites. Online popularity can be defined in various ways. Sheer ubiquity is one.

"Searches for Sarah Palin have surged to their highest level since the election -- even further than when she resigned as Governor of Alaska," Google spokesman Galen Panger told HuffPostTech. "While search interest now still pales in comparison with when she was announced as John McCain's pick for VP, at the moment she's all the rage--and right now people are searching for her more than President Obama."

The top 10 search terms in the past 30 days on Sarah Palin are in the image below.

Not coincidentally, this has been a big week for Palin's presence on socnets like Facebook and Twitter. On Tuesday afternoon, Palin reached a crucial Facebook mark -- attracting 1 million fans to her official page. (It must be noted that not all fans are actual fans but more voyeurs if not downright anti-Palin.) "I would like to thank everybody who has signed up to follow this Facebook page," Palin (or somebody working for Palin) wrote on her page. "We are now over one million strong! Our voices have been heard loud and clear on issues ranging from energy to health care. Your support has made this unfiltered communication medium a success." Yesterday, Palin created a new Twitter account; @SarahPalinUSA has been adding hundreds of new followers by the hour. As of 7 p.m. EST Thursday, 20 hours after her first tweet, her account lists 24,031 followers. For a political figure who's been consistent in her attack of the mainstream media, her use of what she calls an "unfiltered communication medium" is key. And downright necessary.

Colin Delaney of EPolitics.com said that Palin's online strategy is "classic insurgent jujitsu." He continued, "The more the "media elites" criticize her, the more credibility she gets with her followers. And since the Internet lets her do an end-run on mainstream media filters and speak directly to the people, she can get her message out unfettered." Adam Brickley, the young college student and early Palin supporter who created the Draft Palin for Vice President blog long before the 45-year-old mother of five became a household name, wrote in an e-mail to HuffPostTech that "social media will continue to be the linchpin of the Palin operation moving forward." Added Brickley: "She has over a million followers and she's the only person that I know of who regularly has their Facebook postings treated by the media as if they were columns in major publications. That's really a breakthrough not just for Palin, but for Facebook as a communication medium."

Leading up to the 2008 election, when more than 50 percent of the American electorate went online to get their news, spread information within their own social networks and, most importantly, interact with campaigns, the GOP trailed the Democrats. With some exceptions, the technological gap was wide -- not just in the use of old and new tools (Obama's sophisticated use of e-mail and text messaging was miles ahead of the nearest campaign), but in the energy those tools attracted from supporters. But a year after Obama's historic win, it's clear that the young tech-savvy Turks of the GOP had been keeping score and taking notes. In some ways, the GOP is now experiencing an online renaissance of sorts.

Evidence abound. With the help of the online political firm EngageDC -- headed by Mindy Finn and Patrick Ruffini, both veterans of the Republican National Committee's eCampaign department -- Republican Robert McDonnell effectively leveraged social media in his race for Virginia governor. McDonnell's campaign spent 7.5 percent of its overall media budget on online advertising. Translation: if you were a Virginia voter, McDonnell ads were almost inescapable online, popping up from site to site, in your computers at work and laptops at home. It's not just Republican pols who have gotten savvy. Ditto Republican groups. On Tuesday, the same day Palin announced passing the 1-million-Facebook-mark, the conservative think-tank Heritage Foundation crossed the 75,000 mark for Facebook fans. "While that might be a fraction of what Palin has produced, it's significantly more than any other think tank or policy organization," Robert Bluey, Heritage's director of online strategy, told HuffPostTech. Bluey also pointed to NoEnergyTax.com, which Heritage built using Facebook Connect to mobilize and organize its supporters. As the GOP has learned, technology is all about organizing, mobilizing and, in these hyper-partisan days, getting its message out.

And, right now, the messenger who attracts the most intrigue is Palin, who may run for president in 2012. Memo to her fans and detractors: outside of her native Alaska, interest on Palin is high in the early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa.

So why is she burning up the Web?

Follow Jose on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joseiswriting

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2morrowknight: Ameeda Chowdhury: The Newest Sensation in Social Media

2009-11-19T22:38:48Z

When technology fans think about movers and shakers of social media, they often cite Gina Bianchini of Ning, Evan Williams and Biz Stone of Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Pete Townsend of Mashable and Ashton Kutcher of Katalyst, among many others. As we close out another exciting year, it's natural to wonder what people and innovations will be among the most talked about in 2010 and beyond. One name buzzing in industry circles is Ameeda Chowdhury, the visionary and enterprising CEO of SnazL, the hot, new site for web 2.0 enthusiasts.

Ameeda is, quite simply, a revelation. She talks passionately about social media's proven ability to connect the world, and, to help promote awesome ideas for the greater good. SnazL, she believes, can take things to a new level. She started the company straight out of school with friend Bo Zhao, a fellow Williams College grad. In fact, it was conceived in the basement of their college chapel. While Bo runs operations in Beijing, Ameeda spearheads efforts in New York City, and does all of the company's outreach.

Thus far, her inspired efforts have paid off. A well-received, how-to video about SnazL has hit the web:

Additionally, SnazL is currently partnering with New York Entrepreneur Week, Nov. 16th to Nov. 20th. This is perfect because and marriage of social media and business has been nothing short of amazing. Also, SnazL has partnered on a deal with Singaporean filmmaker Siok Siok Tan and producers Jeff Pulver and Geo Geller, the creative team behind the groundbreaking Twittamentary. This is huge. Make no mistake about it: Ameeda is a tremendous spirit whose enthusiasm for innovation and networking knows no limits. My Q&A with her is confirmation.

You are the creative force behind the social media site Snazl. There's been nothing but great buzz about it. What differentiates it, and sets it apart from sites?

What sets SnazL apart is its interactive media experience. It's much more human and simplifies your online life. User's don't just watch media on SnazL, they can connect interactively around rich media, sync up media across multiple sites, and update across them all. Each SnazL is like it's own video, a rich media video wiki, if you will, that you can embed anywhere. In fact, I was asked recently about Snazl's place in the real-time web movement. It's a great question. SnazL's magic is that it enhances our digital lifestyles from ever-flowing real-time web information streams to a more human stream of richly immersive shared experiences. It unlocks the real-time web's potential further by allowing people to connect across locations based on having common ground/interest.

Snazl is very much a part of the launch of the Twittamentary. What does it aim to achieve and how will it be different from other documentaries on Twitter?

Twittamentary is a crowd-sourced documentary, so we wanted an easy way for the community to be a part of the story and live the experience. Community members can add their video, image, or audio story directly to the Twittermentary Snazl media stream, and pass it on to their friends to add it as well. The SnazL also enables supporters of the Twittermentary to come together and watch clips together in real-time from anywhere. Twittermentary aims to explore the human impact of Twitter. We want to see the lives of all kinds of people. The stories we're getting are tremendous. Some are web celebrities, some are homeless, some are cancer survivors. The cross section of participants is amazing.

2009 is ending on such a favorable note for you. What's next on your radar?

The heart of SnazL is its community, and we want to connect with more people who have the same desire for better connectivity on the web. We want to reach more people and help them discover how SnazL can improve their digital lifestyles, making them more interactive and streamlined. We are looking to grow. We want every human being, in ever corner of this great planet connected to Snazl.

To find out more about Ameeda Chowdhury and her exciting projects, connect with her through her SnazL profile, and, through her Twitter feed. To get more info on the Twitter documentary mentioned above, log on to Twittamentary.

This post was originally published at 2morrowknight.blogspot.com.

Jeff Goldstein: Shuttle Atlantis in Orbit: Make It a Teachable Moment

2009-11-19T22:21:04Z

A space shuttle has now lifted off from Kennedy Space Center 129 times. The flight of Atlantis that began on Nov. 16 is also the 31st to the International Space Station. After she returns to Earth, a space shuttle will clear the tower only 5 more times before the fleet -- Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis -- is retired in 2010. Atlantis is scheduled to go up only once more.

We take the technical aspects of shuttle flights for granted, even the shuttle flights themselves. But it's a remarkable technological achievement that deserves both our reflection and awe. So let me help. Here's what happened Nov. 16 close to 2:30 p.m. EST, when folks on the west coast of the U.S. were thinking about where to go for lunch. East coasters were looking forward to the end of the work day. But down at Kennedy Space Center, a now famous clock was ticking.

Sitting at Pad 39A before launch, the orbiter Atlantis, its external tank, and the two solid rocket boosters weighed in at a combined 4,522,383 lbs. Let's put that in familiar terms. That's 2,261 tons .... or about 1,300 cars (assuming the weight of 2010 Toyota Camry V6) ... or 30,000 average human adults. Yet only 6 adults were aboard, waiting to leave our Earth. It's something we humans have been able to do for less than 50 years. It's worth noting that well over a billion of us alive today remember a time when we could not. Pointing heavenward, Atlantis waited. At a height of 184 feet (56.1 m) it was a nearly 20-story-tall machine waiting for the clock to tick down to 0. Just 6.6 seconds before T=0 the three main engines on the orbiter ignited. At T=0 the vehicle was explosively unattached from the pad (you need to detach from the planet rather quickly), the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) ignited, and this massive, magnificent machine was set into motion .... up.

Imagine a 20 story building moving slowly down the street. Boy, that would be something to see. Imagine a 20 story building racing down the street at 60 miles an hour. Imagine a 20 story building accelerating ... up, and already traveling more than 60 miles per hour by the time it cleared the tower at Pad 39A -- only requiring it to travel less than twice its height. The space shuttle does 0 to 60 mph (0 to 100 km/hr) in 5.5 seconds, not too impressive by racetrack standards. It does beat the 6.2 seconds for the 2010 Toyota Camry V6, but did I mention the shuttle is going up, and it weighs as much as 1,300 Camrys? You've got to just step back from this and recognize what we're talking about here.

And it keeps accelerating. The two solid rocket boosters separated just 2 minutes after launch, when the vehicle was already at an altitude of about 24 miles (39 km). Just 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the shuttle was in a preliminary orbit at an altitude of 140 miles (225 km), and moving over 17,000 miles per hour (27,400 km/hr) -- that's fast enough to go from New York City to San Francisco (2570 miles; 4,140 km) in just under 7 minutes. It's fast enough to go around the entire Earth every hour and a half. In more poetic terms, it's fast enough for the astronauts to see a sunrise every 90 minutes.

As we count down the final flights of the space shuttle, I invite you to use Atlantis in orbit as a teachable moment with your kids, or if you are a teacher, with your class. Below are two posts I wrote at Blog on the Universe that ask a couple of cool questions: "How far is outer space?" and "Why are the astronauts weightless?" And if you missed it, here's the launch of Atlantis on YouTube.

The Business Trip
Essential questions: How far is 'Outer Space'? What does this imply for the thickness of Earth's atmosphere?

You Want Me to Do What With a Bathroom Scale?
Essential question: Why are astronauts weightless in space?

Photocredit: NASA

Ed Zitron: Road Wars: Arming for the Subway Commute

2009-11-19T16:00:16Z

My commute is far from gruesome. I've seen worse - hiking up hills in Aberystwyth or cross-country marching at 8AM to an early-morning class in University Park, PA were far worse.

However, short and sweet as the morning PATH journey is, it lacks the stability of my own two feet, and commonly throws my fellow passengers and I to-and-fro, making anything more than listening to music difficult. And, frankly, I grow very tired of listening to music in the morning.

It's something individual to the NYC/NJ commute, too - the rough-and-tumble ride isn't in effect in London, Paris, Japan, or even riding in a taxi along the winding turns of Sardinia's hills. The controlled chaos that we deal with requires a certain steely will - and a plethora of entertainment means that fit those hanging on for dear life.

Please keep all naughty jokes related to one-handed anything to a minimum.

The Kindle and iPhone/iPod Touch are the most generic choices, mostly because they’re built to be held, navigated and used with one hand. More importantly, you can also get a significant grip on them if, for example, the train judders wildly from side-to-side at an unexpected opportunity. This is where phones like the Droid lack in finesse - the proud inclusion of the keyboard in a tight package makes for a hard-to-wield device when supporting yourself on the morning rush.

Road warriors trying to eek out that last email on the train will prefer the Droid's physical keyboard which is far more reliable than shakily stabbing at the iPhone's on-screen keyboard. I fail to mention other e-readers simply because, at present, the Kindle is reliably better for anyone trying to read with one hand. You can do everything with a firm grip with most of your fingers, deftly clicking between the menus using your thumb. This may seem somewhat of a trite point, but Sony's awkward clicky-wheels and touchscreens, or the oncoming glut of Tablets don't seem like they'll be too useful for anyone standing.

Neither the Nintendo DS nor the PSP are particularly friendly for a bumpy subway journey without a seat. Playing the PSP with one arm wrapped around a bar will work briefly, but a wrong turn will send it hurtling out of your hand. The DS is just too fiddly to be used by anyone destabilized.

The iPhone features plenty of games that are totally and utterly unsympathetic to the road warrior yet remains arguably the best gaming tool for the job. However, Bookworm ($2.99), Crush the Castle ($1.99) and Civilization: Revolution ($6.99) can all be played effectively either with a nimble thumb or in small, controlled doses - between stops, calm moments on the journey, or when the train decides to stop for no reason.

In fact, here's my little tip to the print industry for its next technological leap; whatever you use to display the news on next, please make it usable with one hand. The New York metro will thank you for it.

If you have any great ideas for how to keep oneself entertained while being flung about in a tube full of sweaty individuals, feel free to leave a comment.

Robert J. Elisberg: The Writers Workbench: It's an iPod World

2009-11-19T15:44:37Z

In the MP3 world, there is the iPod and everything else. In part, that's because it's a good device. In part, that's because it's an innovative device. But, in truth, there are other good and innovative devices. What most has kept the iPod as the King of the Mountain is the world of accessories that have built up around it. Today, if you can plug it in, there's a good chance an iPod accessory will be created for it. From time to time, we like to look at a few of those accessories, and here's the latest few.

Griffin Navigate

iHome IP9 Clock-Radio

Otter Box Defender Case for iPod Touch

GRIFFIN NAVIGATE

Griffin Technologies has long been one of my favorite innovators, and they've come up with yet another, in their Navigate, a wired remote control with FM radio for iPods and the iPhone. (This is no smaller matter - on some remotes, the iPod connector is so large that it covers the bottom-based earphone jack on the iPhone and iPod touch. Not an issue with the Navigate.) I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to remotes, and the Navigate hits most of the notes.

As noted, this is a wired remote, and I tend to prefer wireless since there isn't a mess of cords to deal with, and you have more freedom of movement. But the Navigate handles the issue extremely well. Rather than require the earphone jack to be separate from the connecting cord, you simply plug the earphone into the opposite end of the Navigate, and it's as if there's just one seamless cord, rather than having a jumble, twisting one another.

The Navigate is small, yet with six buttons big enough that you can control it easily. I wish that the tactile feel of each button was a bit more differentiated, so that you can control the device easier without looking (despite what the company suggests), though it's still possible to do so. The buttons provided are forward, reverse, volume up, volume down, play/pause and Mode. To make these remotes small, most manufacturers today are eliminating the mute button, and that's my biggest disappointments with the Navigate. It's not necessary when playing the iPod, since you can just Pause - but it is an issue when listening to FM. Obviously, you can always just lower the volume, so it's critical, but a mute button would be so much nicer.

It's the Mode option that helps make the Navigate special. From your remote, you can toggle the button and chose songs by artist, playlist, shuffle or album. Usually, these choices have to be made directly from your iPod. It's extremely convenient. Also, you can adjust EQ settings from the remote via Mode.

Additionally, a wonderful feature is that the Navigate includes an OLED screen. And though it's small, it still provides helpful information, displaying the songs you're scrolling through and playing. Of course when listening to the FM, the OLED displays the station, but it also provides information on the broadcast, such as the name of the show, and also the song playing.

One small inconvenience about scrolling through albums, playlists and such. You're only given a couple a seconds to decide if you want to choose that selection. Then it reverts back to the mode it was in before, and you not only have to start scrolling again, but scroll from the top of the list, rather than returning to where you left off.

The only other issue to be aware of with the OLED screen is that if you're outdoors in bright sunlight, it's unusable, completely washed out. But as long as you can find some shade (or of course are indoors, though remotes are usually meant to be used outside), it's fine. To be fair, this washing-out occurs with most OLED screens, unless they're higher end with heavy backlighting, something one would not expect on a small remote.

The Navigate also deserves particular praise for its FM I've yet to find any FM players for iPods that have exceptionally strong reception, but the Navigate has perhaps the best I've come across. Stations that other players have struggled with, to the point of unlistenable, the Navigate handles respectably, though not without some static. Also you're given four presets to set to your favorite stations, and - this is an odd comment - it's extremely easy to use...but the description in the manual was so poorly written that I was actually bewildered for a while trying to figure it out. Once I finally did, I basically slapped my forehead because it was so simple.

All in all, the Griffin Navigate is a wonderful remote/FM radio. For all the issues, they're reasonably minor - and often for features that other remotes don't even provide. The features the Navigate does have are generally excellent, and it's well made, like all Griffin products. It retails at the time of writing for $60.

(Side note. Griffin offers a free iPod app download, the iFM Radio Browser, a standalone program for iPhone and iPod touch. I didn't test it for this review, but thought it worth mentioning. The app integrates with Navigate, and identifies your location, automatically creating a menu of local radio stations. You can also manually choose from a list.)

iHOME CLOCK RADIO IP9

One might not think of a clock radio as a traditional iPod accessory, but of course the concept of being able to wake up to the tunes on your iPod is a natural. The question is whether the execution works.

Setting up the iHome IP9 is relatively easy. In fact, a button adjusts the time for whatever time zone you're in. And a Daylight Saving Time toggle that let's you adjust the display with the flip of a switch. The latter is very handy. The former is good in theory, but didn't work properly - my Pacific Coast Time Zone was two hours off, but this isn't a big deal. Honestly, it's simple to just readjust the time manually. Or you just set it for the "wrong" time zone. All that matters having the time correct.

(While setting the time manually is easy - you spin a dial - it's just a tad bothersome if you have to make a long time change. More preferable is when you can adjust the hour and minutes separately.)

The most important part of a clock radio is, of course, the alarm, and the IP 9 provides two. You can set either for radio, iPod, an iPod playlist, or any separate line-in device you want to connect, like a CD player or MP3 player.) But beyond this are several nice touches.

For starters, you can set either an alarm to wake you the same way seven days a weeks - or just the five weekdays. Or the two days of the weekend. Additionally, when an alarm goes off, it starts out very soft and then soothingly builds up over about 10 seconds, rather than blasting you with loud music right off. It's a clever idea, and understandable why people would appreciate it. That said, I personally don't mind being blasted, and at times even prefer it - the whole point is to wake you up, after all,

Note that this "soft start" is the way the radio works in general. So, when you turn it on, you not hear anything immediately, as it gradually grows louder. I don't care for that (it can be disconcerting, thinking the radio hasn't gone on), but it's the trade-off with the alarm feature.

I also like that you can adjust the Snooze feature (temporarily turning the alarm off) to any time period you like, down to the minute. This can be quite handy - for instance, the broadcast I wake up to has an annoying four-minute feature, and now I can set the snooze to fit that exactly, and just hit it when the feature starts. Four minutes later, the radio returns.

But how well does it all work with an iPod, I hear you cry? The answer is pretty good, with one glaring exception.

The IP9 comes with a set of iPod inserts, so that a wide variety of iPods will fit in the slot. Then, just select whatever album you want to wake to (and again, it starts softly and builds up). It will also wake to a playlist, but not any playlist on your device - you have to create a playlist with a specific name ("iHome"), the only one the clock-radio will recognize.

All in all it works very well - with that one glaring exception (though, in fairness, it's an intentional decision, and makes sense, but can be problematic to some.) If the IP9 doesn't detect loud enough sound for about 20 seconds, it presumes that the sound isn't working and immediately switches to buzzer mode. This is a great safety net - except that it renders a lot of music unusable. For instance, I like waking to classical music, and much of that is orchestral only and has soft passages. The IP9 was regularly switching to the buzzer. Given that many classical music pieces start quietly, often that means that the alarm was switching to buzzer mode almost immediately. It should be noted that the alarm has worked perfectly with popular music, particularly that with singing. To be clear, it is great to have such an effective backup, one that you know will always get you up. And if you don't tend to wake to classical orchestral music, it shouldn't be much of an issue, if one at all.

You can play your iPod regularly through the IP9. The "no sound" feature doesn't apply here - it just plays normally. By the way, when an iPod is sitting in the cradle, it's always being charged (and will stop charging when full). It's a very nice feature.

If you want to wake to the radio, the stereo sound is quite nice. Hardly great for audiophiles - a touch thin, this is not high-end, home theater equipment, after all - but crisp and clear, not tinny. The two speakers don't provide much separation, but it adds a richness, and there's an EQ setting option to adjust tones. Separate AM and FM antennas are also included. There are six station pre-sets for AM and FM each (a total of 12), and they are very easy to set.

The IP 9 offers some beneficial twists for Sleep Mode, which will play music in five optional increments of time and then shut the system off. A terrific touch is that you can set it to any volume separate from the volume you wake up to. (After all, you likely want to go to sleep to something soft, but wake to something loud.) And the sound will progressively get softer as it nears the shut-off time. (While this is nice, it doesn't strike me as all that important.) You can use Sleep Mode with either the radio or an iPod.

There are eight different dimmer settings for the display. That's probably more than you'll need, but it beats not having enough. But best of all (and this is important) is that you can turn the display completely off, something many clock-radios miss.

The clock-radio comes with a remote control that works well, and even lets you control the iPod. However, it has to be pointed pretty much at the front of the radio - too far off to the side doesn't work, so its usability is limited. There's also a battery backup, with two AA-batteries, that will keep your clock setting in case of a power failure. Note that the radio will not work on battery power, though the buzzer alarm will.

The iHome IP9 retails for $100 at the time of writing. I'm a bit disappointed with the "soft/silence" issue with using the iPod alarm - but to be fair, this will not be a problem for most people, who likely wake to non-classical music. And it's not a problem at all for those who wake to the radio (though, of course, the point of this clock-radio its iPod functionality). And, at heart, this feature gives the confidence of a good, safe back-up. And the slow build-up of volume may not be everyone's prefernce. Other than that, tough, there are a great many very thoughtful features, and the sound is very respectable. So, overall, the IP9 is a good, diversified clock-radio

OTTER BOX DEFENDER CASE FOR iPOD TOUCH

The challenge for protective cases of the iPod touch is how to handle the touch screen. The difficulty is that the protective cover has to be thin enough to allow the touch features to work - yet thick enough to actually protect the screen. Most cases I've come across opt for a thin film. That's great for working the touch commands, but I've never felt the screen was well-protected - and with the touch, having the screen well-protected is paramount, because the touch screen (and its crisp image) is all important.

As a company, OtterBox has long made arguably the most incredibly protective cases of rock-hard plastic for all manner of products. They've begun to branch out into MP3 players, which generally don't need the level of protection they offer, but require protection nonetheless. In fact, Otter Box offers two levels of cases: their waterproof, rugged Armor series (most-suited for those who are going camping, or are perhaps paranoid...), and the more home-use Defender series.

I opted to test the Defender case - yet, though the "less rugged" of the two, it's still seriously solid. It comes in three pieces: a very hard Polycarbonate, hi-impact base with a cover that has a very thick, but flexible, clear Polycarbonate membrane screen. The iPod is snapped into this, which you then slip into a hard Silicone sleeve for bump and shock protection. (Note: OtterBox makes separate cases for the first two generations of the iPod touch, which have different dimensions. In fact, OtterBox is always expanding its product line to meet the ever-changing iPod and have already come out with a new case for the latest iPod touch.)

While the clear membrane does not offer the protection you'd get from the kind of transparent hard plastic used on other iPods, that obviously wouldn't allow you to use the touch features. On the other hand, it provides much more protection than the normal thin screen that most touch cases use. It also provides extremely good operation of the touch, although you occasionally have to press down a bit harder than you would otherwise, particularly for commands in the corners of the screen, sometimes needing to press twice if the first attempt didn't take.

As far as protection goes, it's very good. The iPod dock connector and earphone jack are both solidly covered. You flip open the rubber tabs that make the holes accessible. (Though this gives more protection, it isn't my own choice, but that's personal taste -other people may prefer to have the holes covered from dust. Me, I don't mind that as much, particularly since having them covered means that rubber tabs must hang loose when you have the iPod cord or earphone plugged in. But OtterBox always opts for as much protection as possible.) The on/off button is completely covered, but fully responsive. The menu button at the button works well, though it requires a heavy push.
[Insert Otterbox back.jpg]

For a case that's so protective, it should be noted that there is one open space where the light sensor is, on the upper front, and dust could conceivably enter there.

The biggest quibble is that, because the plastic screen is much thicker than most, you generally have to press down a bit hard to make a connection, most especially for icons at the edges, rather than just a simple touch. Also, because the case is so high on protection, you have more levels to remove if you want to take out the iPod for docking. Finally, there is no belt clip available.

Note: there is a very thin film protecting the plastic screen for shipment. While identified to remove, it's easy to miss, and the image will be blurry. (Properly removed, the image is perfectly clear.) Given that many user comments on the Internet have commented on the blurriness, I suspect they missed removing the film.

My current favorite case for the iPod touch is from Griffin, the Convertible, which resolves the screen protection issue by having an open screen with no film at all, but a flip cover. This provides the greatest possible protective, and gives direct access to the screen. The flip cover is removable, as well, for those times you feel well-protected, and there's also a removable belt clip. The only downside is that it's a bit thicker than most.

If you prefer a more traditional "clam shell" type case, the Otter Box is a strong contender, arguably the best of that type. It has its small issues, but since the point is protection, it offers an excellent balance of that strong protection and use. At the time of writing, it retails for $30, but is available on Amazon for $18.

To see this column with complete product graphics and additional "TWW Notes," visit the WGA website.

"The Writers Workbench" appears monthly on the website for the Writers Guild of America. To see this entire column, with complete product graphics and additional "TWW Notes," please click here

Arianna Huffington: HuffPost Game Changers: Your Picks for the Ultimate 10

2009-11-19T15:35:11Z

Three months ago, we asked for your help in picking the HuffPost Game Changers -- 100 innovators, visionaries, and leaders who are harnessing the power of new media to reshape their fields and change the world.

You responded with a host of great suggestions.

We then began announcing our choices for the top 10 Game Changers in Entertainment, Green, Politics, Style, Business, Sports, Philanthropy, Media, Wellness and Technology -- and asked you to weigh in on who the Ultimate Game Changer is in each category.

Again you answered the call, casting over 1.7 million votes. Thank you!

Now it's time to reveal your picks for the Ultimate 10.

There were more than a few surprises. For instance, despite the presence of a number of very recognizable names in Entertainment, Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, took the lead in that category on the first day and never gave it up, going wire-to-wire. The same it's-not-the-name-it's-the-game dynamic took place in Sports, where MLB.com's Bob Bowman beat out superstars like Shaquille O'Neal and Serena Williams.

So check out the slideshow below to see who our readers picked as the Ultimate 10 Game Changers.

And be sure to keep an eye out for who is changing the game as we head into 2010. We're already starting to put together next year's HuffPost Game Changer list.

Congratulations to our 100 HuffPost Game Changers... and a special online ovation for the Ultimate 10.

Daisy Whitney: NFL Ups its Digital Game with Mobile, Live Streaming and Subscription Services (video)

2009-11-19T15:23:58Z

Though it only has two years of online video availability under its belt, the NFL is in the game for new media opportunities.

That's what the league's Laura Goldberg told Beet.TV at the NewTeeVee Live event in San Francisco last week. She's the general manager of NFL.com and she said the league is particularly keen on mobile opportunities for its games.

"We are trying to find more and more ways to offer the games online, and mobile is becoming more and more important," Goldberg said. Currently, the NFL has a partnership with Sprint letting Sprint customers watch Thursday night games on their cell phones (such as the recent San Francisco 49ers-Chicago Bears Thursday night match-up) as well as highlights.

In addition, iPhone users can watch all games on their mobile phones if they have DirecTV's $199 per season NFL package, known as "Sunday Ticket," and the SuperFan $100 upgrade. The league introduced the iPhone option with DirecTV for the first time this season. The SuperFan option lets Sunday Ticket customers watch the games on their iPhone and computers, as well as via DirecTV.

"You will see the importance of the mobile phone growing" Goldberg said.

Sports has been one of the last programming categories to migrate online because the content is so valuable. Also, because sports are live, there is an inherent immediacy to watching them on television and other traditional means.

That's why the NFL, America's most popular sport, waited until 2008 to offer some of its games online. Still, leagues such as Major League Baseball have made aggressive moves to offer games online. MLB streams nearly all its games online in a subscription package and via a number of over-the-top services such as Boxee and Roku. The NFL has been testing online video by carrying its Sunday night NBC game live online since the start of the 2008 season. Goldberg declined to reveal how many viewers watch the games online each week.

Additionally, the NFL offers an out-of-country package for international fans to watch the games live online, Goldberg said. The NFL Game Rewind service includes every game online after they've aired. In addition, NFL.com offers a number of live highlight options during game broadcasters, Goldberg said.

This video was originally published on Beet.TV