July 2009
1 post
3 tags
WatchJust got a request from one of our team techs, Brian, about creating interactive visuals for our Help and How To sections on InsightApp.com. It’s always good to see a TED video that supports your thinking!
March 2009
0 posts
February 2009
2 posts
December 2008
2 posts
In The Works
Hey all, I just thought it might be polite to let anyone who is reading this blog know that we’re currently in the process of some changes. I can’t say what yet, but you’ll know soon enough. We intend to rev up and improve this blog in the near future. Until then, we may post infrequently. Thanks for visiting us and check back soon!
"Ameritocracy" on the Daily Show
I’ve always hoped Ameritocracy would end up on the Daily Show:
Jon: “I think you’re looking at sexuality and not attributes, and I think it’s odd because the conservative mantra is “Ameritocracy”, and I think what you’re suggesting is, the fact of being gay parents makes you not as good as others.” (Dec. 9, 2008)
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10cMike Huckabee Pt. 2
Barack...
November 2008
4 posts
The Mayor, the City Councilman, and Obama 2.0
A few months ago I moved to the DC metro area. During the final stretch of the presidential campaign, I noted over and over how many times the candidates talked about “bringing change to Washington.” That mythical beast Washington was waiting for the salvific hero from outside to come tame her.
Now as far as I can tell in my brief time here, the only politicians in Washington, DC are the ones...
Whoa
History’s a-happenin’.
What a week it’s been, and what night Tuesday was. We’re not gonna comment much further, since America is drowning in a sea of commentary, but we did think we should pick out some of the most interesting quotes from outside the box regarding President Elect Obama’s historic win.
JOHN BOEHNER: America remains a center-right country. Democrats...
11 tags
As promised, right now, on election day, is part two of our roundup of the candidates’ statements on the issues.
TERRORISM
BARACK OBAMA
“The war against terrorism began in [Afghanistan] and that’s where it will end.” (view details)
“The consequences of defeat would have been increased Iranian influence. It would have been increase in sectarian violence. It would...
One Last Look!
Hard to believe, but election day is tomorrow. Thanks to the work of community members like you, Ameritocracy has a rich database of quotes from the candidates concerning the issues that matter to voters. So we decided to help you take one last look at where the candidates stand on the issues. Four major issues are presented to you here, and four more will follow tomorrow. Follow the links...
October 2008
17 posts
Squawk -or- A Very Ameritocracy Halloween To You
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. `’Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door - Only this, and nothing more.’ Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the...
Is race a late entry into the race?
For a presidential race that saw the first ever black candidate recieve a major party’s nomination, the subject of race has been kept surprisingly under the radar. Which is not to say it hasn’t been there: invocations of the Civil Rights movement here, a little paranoia about Obama being a secret Muslim terrorist there…
Is this an indication of America’s relative and...
Internet Sensation-of-the-Day: "WTF, WFTV"
The most talked-about YouTube video (today) is this interview between WFTV (Orlando, FL) anchor Barbara West and V.P. candidate Joe Biden.
It includes West invoking Karl Marx
It also includes Biden asking such probing questions as “Are you joking?”
Here is her interview with Biden:
And by contrast, here is her interview with John McCain:
What do you think? Fair and...
Questions, ladies and gentlemen? Questions?
As you may have read in out community email or on the blog last week, one of the many cool features of Ameritocracy is our Questions feature.
Here’s a picture of The Riddler. Y’know…’cause he asked a lot of questions. Right?… What? Fine, I’m tired today.
One of Ameritocracy’s main objectives is to help our community members understand complicated...
Election protection in an acorn shell
The right to a valid, counted vote is a democratic (with a lower-case “d”) issue of such import that it should be a priority of all Americans - regardless of party afflitiation - and especially the media to point out when it occurs, to whom, and why.
The fact is, in the history of democracy, there probably never has been a 100% fair election. Tampering happens, votes are miscounted...
Muse Coffee Co. = awesomeness.
We got some coffee shop lovin today that totally tickled me. James and Porter have been patronizing Muse Coffee Co. as of late and awesomely (that’s the point here), one of the crew there wrote up a generous mention of us after discovering the two working on the site. That’s awesomeness right? I thought so too.
Muse is located in Queen Anne at 1907 10th Ave West.
Thanks guys!!!
7 tags
Politics lesson #47: Saying stuff on the TV is...
Especially in the age of YouTube. And Ameritocracy.
One of our goals here is to hold people accountable for what they say and to help you decide whether or not their words have been taken out of context.
Do did Michele Bachmann make an enormous, career-ending gaffe?
Just a few days ago (October 17) on Chris Matthews’ show Hardball, Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachmann came on to...
7 tags
...1 cup sugar, 1 lb cherries, 3 ounces Human...
The candidates have moved away from baseballgate and moved on to piegate.
Yep, that’s right - with two weeks to go til election day, the national dialogue has centered around apparently-genetically-modified enormous America-sized pies, which can be shrunk and grown based, apparently, upon which of the two candidates’ economic policies are implemented.
First, here’s John...
Let's go [insert local team name here]!!!!
We love politics. And we love baseball. And we love the absurdity of political campaigns.
So we couldn’t help but feature this quote on the homepage this afternoon.
Seemingly out of angles of attack, McCain appears to have attempted a Hail Mary play (<—- see what I did there?) tapping into the deepest fear of the American electorate: that the man they are electing president does...
6 tags
Brad Friedman accuses Fox News of being "fair and...
Check it out right here at ye olde Ameritocracye
Of course, I’ve buried the lede here, pretty dramatically, by disguising the true story - the arrest of GOP worker Mark Anthony Jacoby in California for registration fraud. The story just happened to break during an interview with Friedman on Fox News, and he took the opportunity to rein in Fox’s obsessive coverage of the ACORN...
Read me, Seymour. READ me!
Ameritocracy’s mad scientists have been hard at work in their lab the last couple weeks, and in the midst of accidentally producing 3 mutants spiders that can recite the works of Beckett backwards and our CTO now having the ability to program his TiVo from 40 feet away using only his mind (which, in an unfortunate coincidence, due to brain trauma resulting from a previous...
4 tags
Obama was born in a manger???""
Someone’s gotta fact-check this stuff. Among the probably not-quite-accurate claims made by both candidates last night. Two examples:
McCain-“All of their positions will now be held by a man named Joe the plumber” [after having claimed to have fired his entire campaign]
Obama- “Contrary to the rumors you’ve heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually...
8 tags
ROBOTS!!! ROBOTS AND CAPITAL LETTERS ATTACK...
It’s pretty much a universally agreed-upon fact that robots are one of maybe the eight coolest things of all time (OR IS IT???? Post this quote - “robots are one of maybe the eight coolest things of all time” - and attribute it to ME with THIS URL and find out! First one to do that wins the “I Have Too Much Time” Award. Shiny.)
Exhibit A
But sometimes robots...
Thanks, Pacific Standard!
The coolest beer bar in Brooklyn (seriously, if you like beer, this place will make you think you won some kind of prize where you get to magically manifest your dream bar…like those old “McWorld” commercials, minus all the saturated fats and corporate evil) Pacific Standard was cool enough to let us and our friends from beermenus.com sit in at their debate-watching party and...
I say, the gentleman from Freetopia wants to...
The highest rated show on TV last night involved two men in suits sitting at a table arguing about policy! No, producers from the Charlie Rose Show didn’t secretly hack into the broadcasting frequency of “Deal Or No Deal”. We’re talking about the third (and last) debate!
Still, neither of these guys are gonna get as many votes as David Cook…
And it was...
Ameritocracy ups its awesomeness for YOU!!!
Hey there, Ameritocracy Community!
We’re excited to tell you about some new features available to you on Ameritocracy.com. First you will already have begun to see some cosmetic changes to the homepage. These include better access to our blog and more featured content, including a featured community member. We are implementing these changes with you in mind, to make navigating the site...
Valleywag intern posts first blog - we're the...
The well-known Silicon Valley gossip rag has kicked off the academic year with what must be a post from a new intern. The aspiring online media pundit got most of their facts right, including the successful copy-pasting of a quote in the body of their blog and the correct citation of Esther Dyson as an investor in Flickr. There was just one wee little misstatement, probably just a lack of coffee...
September 2008
11 posts
Ringing Untrue, Again and Again →
New York Times
Freedom to Speak Campaign
The Freedom to Speak Campaign is a project by Puget Sound Access Television and the ACLU of Washington State, celebrating our most basic civil right. Events will be held at select King County Libraries (in or near Seattle) on September 17 and 18th from 7 to 9pm with speakers ranging from a poet to a supreme court justice. Our very own Porter Bayne will be speaking on the 17th in Auburn, WA! If...
Someone at the New York Times loves us!
We were delighted to see that Virginia Heffernan at the New York Times mentioned us quite favorably at the end of a thoughtful and critical article called “Facebook Politics” about the internet presence of the election spectacle. She had this to say about us:
“Wikis and social networks and open-source miscellany have sprouted like campaign buttons in this election year. What’s...
“All campaigns are populated by operatives “with an active investment in...”
– Calvin Woodward | Campaign Shocks! The Outrage Machine Is On A Roll
New Press/Blog Mentions!
TeenVogue just released a really well-written article about us featuring Bobby and Porter. Thanks Lindsay Talbot for introducing us into the TeenVogue world! I love it when everyone else seems to be able to explain what we do far better than I can. T_T
We also got some GOP lovin’ today (finally!) from GOP.com. Thanks guys & gals! We’re really looking forward to more...
“Facts ought not be debatable. The media have an obligation to point out when a...”
– Paula Begala | The McCain-Palin Lies and the Neil Armstrong Principle
The Rhetoric and the Reality →
A political convention is a license if not to lie then at least to tell the truth creatively. At their quadrennial gatherings over the last two weeks, Democrats and Republicans presented their records and their platforms — and those of their opponents — through typically partisan lenses that blurred or distorted the real picture.Both sides filled the airwaves with dubious claims, exaggerations and...
“We have all become responsible for political truth, like it or not. One of the...”
– Zephyr Teachout | Thoughts on the Palin Email
August 2008
5 posts
Does America Trust The Media?
During this political primary season, the media, especially cable news networks, have seen a large increase in viewers, listeners and/or readers. But, with all this do people actually trust the media?
The answer is not really.
54% of Americans say they tend not to trust the press 30% of Americans say they tend to trust the press
46% of Americans say they do not trust television 36% of Americans...
YAY! We have a widget.
Check it out! Neat right? It’s pretty, fits just about anywhere you want to stick it, and it’s all kinds of free. America’s favorite f word! (HA!) The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of Ameritocracy.com. Anyway, you can get a widget from most content on the site - any search result, tag or quote can be turned into a widget. All you have to do...
1 tag
“Computation, storage and communications capacity are in the hands of practically...”
– Yochai Benkler | Open Source Economics
Yochai Benkler explains how collaborative projects like Wikipedia and Linux represent the next stage of human organization.
July 2008
5 posts
“Wikipedia—with the cooperation of many Wikipedians—has developed a system of...”
– { Jonathan Zittrain: The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It }
Politics in Social Networking: Ameritocracy →
I’m so glad to see this post, because its one of our early organic posts and although its fairly balanced, Leslie Poston is overall doubtful about Ameritocracy. As said below, this is awesome, I want people thinking critically about the site and its definition of success. At the same time, I’d like to reply. Leslie says: “When anyone can submit any bastardized quote and claim...
Seattle startup hopes to aid Internet accuracy →
Mike Flynn, long-time Northwest region journalist and former publisher of the Puget Sound Business Journal (for 24 years!) has written about us on his blog and email newsletter, which apparently is read by a cadre of influential business community members in the Northwest. It’s a great read.
- Porter
Ameritocracy: fact-checking for the masses →
I’m so glad to see some skepticism surrounding Ameritocracy. Skepticism will help us grow. What I really love are people who ask GOOD QUESTIONS. In the comments, a user named Mattt said: “So this is basically an invitation to millions of appeal ad populum fallacious arguments.”
What he means by “appeal ad populum fallacious arguments” is essentially claiming that...
June 2008
26 posts
Radio(talking)head(s)
We’ve had a few interviews over the real and virtual airwaves lately:
I was a guest on Karen Jagoda’s Digital Politics on June 20th. Fortunately for us, if unfortunately for the listeners, the other guest - well-known pollster Mark Mellman - was running late, so we got a few extra moments to discuss Ameritocracy. Go to Digital Politics to stream or download the interview.
Bobby...
