Google Bomb The Elections: My Statement For the Press
by Chris Bowers, Thu Oct 26, 2006 at 09:11:06 AM EDT
Unless I have already agreed to give you an interview on the subject, from now until Election Day I am refusing all media inquiries on the subject of Google Bombing. I have written extensively about the subject on MyDD, from which you are free to quote. For those to whom I have not agreed to give an interview, and who would still like more on the subject, here is my final statement on the topic for the press:Search engine optimization has been a part of political campaigns for several years now. Smart campaigns have been using it for some time. While it is a new topic for discussion in the media as a result of my campaign, it was even rampant during the 2004 election, when conservative bloggers Google Bombed John Kerry as a "flip flopper," with "waffles," and progressive bloggers Google Bombed George Bush as a "miserable failure." If you don't believe me, feel free to try out those keywords in a Google search. The bombs are still active.
There are three main differences between the campaign I started and other, similar campaigns. First, I did it out in the open with full transparency on my blog, using my name, and with my email in full view. Second, it is much more wide ranging, since it has multiple, simultaneous targets. Third, and most importantly, instead of targeting campaign talking points such as "flip flopper" or "miserable failure," this campaign worked to only use non-partisan media reports. No talking points. No opinion columns. A bare minimum use of alternative media. In other words, this campaign works solely to push news reports made by trusted, mainstream news outlets into the foreground during the final two weeks of the campaign season.
At a time when what conservative pundits think about Michael J. Fox has somehow become campaign "news," quite frankly I believe that what I am doing is more substantive and fact-based than much of the reporting we have recently seen on the campaign trail. I am also highly suspicious that I am receiving so many media requests because many might want to use my very small campaign as a way to paint progressives and Democrats as a whole in a negative light. Simply put, I do not trust your motives for wanting to write on this campaign.
Finally, I am running multiple campaigns at the end of this cycle, with absolutely no help outside of volunteers from the progressive netroots. Not only does this mean that my actions are my own, it also means that I do not have a lot of extra time to field interviews every hour. It is more important for me to see these campaigns succeed, and for Democrats to retake Congress, than it is for me to receive press on my efforts. We will see soon enough whether or not these campaigns had their desired effect. Right now, I don't know if they have. At the very least, I would like to see how well these campaigns work before I engage in further discussions concerning them to the press. I will be more than happy to talk with you about this the day after the election, or even to discuss Use It Or Lose It right now. Currently, however, discussions of Google Bombs are off the table.
Best,
Chris Bowers And that's that. It is time for me--and you--to get back to work. To participate in the Google Bomb yourself, click here or here. To see how the Google Bomb is progressing, click here. For more information on why searh engine optimization is so important, please check out The New Politics Institute New Tools Campaign.
There are three main differences between the campaign I started and other, similar campaigns. First, I did it out in the open with full transparency on my blog, using my name, and with my email in full view. Second, it is much more wide ranging, since it has multiple, simultaneous targets. Third, and most importantly, instead of targeting campaign talking points such as "flip flopper" or "miserable failure," this campaign worked to only use non-partisan media reports. No talking points. No opinion columns. A bare minimum use of alternative media. In other words, this campaign works solely to push news reports made by trusted, mainstream news outlets into the foreground during the final two weeks of the campaign season.
At a time when what conservative pundits think about Michael J. Fox has somehow become campaign "news," quite frankly I believe that what I am doing is more substantive and fact-based than much of the reporting we have recently seen on the campaign trail. I am also highly suspicious that I am receiving so many media requests because many might want to use my very small campaign as a way to paint progressives and Democrats as a whole in a negative light. Simply put, I do not trust your motives for wanting to write on this campaign.
Finally, I am running multiple campaigns at the end of this cycle, with absolutely no help outside of volunteers from the progressive netroots. Not only does this mean that my actions are my own, it also means that I do not have a lot of extra time to field interviews every hour. It is more important for me to see these campaigns succeed, and for Democrats to retake Congress, than it is for me to receive press on my efforts. We will see soon enough whether or not these campaigns had their desired effect. Right now, I don't know if they have. At the very least, I would like to see how well these campaigns work before I engage in further discussions concerning them to the press. I will be more than happy to talk with you about this the day after the election, or even to discuss Use It Or Lose It right now. Currently, however, discussions of Google Bombs are off the table.
Best,
Chris Bowers And that's that. It is time for me--and you--to get back to work. To participate in the Google Bomb yourself, click here or here. To see how the Google Bomb is progressing, click here. For more information on why searh engine optimization is so important, please check out The New Politics Institute New Tools Campaign.
Tags: Activism, googlebomb, Media, netroots (all tags)
-----------
myDD - skin
-----------
17 Comments