While it’s far too early for any candidate to earn the highly coveted Mortar Endorsement, we thought we’d take a moment to heartily applaud these ads from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Two simple spots, with just a hint of humor to them, and the proverbial switchboards are lighting up.

The spots are the:

• 18th most viewed today on Youtube
   
• 3rd most viewed Political Video
   
• 2nd most linked-to political video
   

Why are people reacting so positviely to Richardson’s ads? Because political advertising is a wasteland.

And we’re insulting wastelands when we say that.

Richardson’s ads prove once again – creativity is the ultimate "force multiplier." It makes the little guy seem big. When you’re running a distant fourth in the horse race, do you do what everyone else is doing? We think not. We think, you get creative. Sure, being different is scary for some.  (The D.C. establishment is, as usual, scratching its collective head  over the spots,) And sure, everyone will tell you why you shouldn’t.
But the payoff? Unquestionably the biggest bang for your buck there is.

All it takes is a clear idea of where you are, and where you want to go.
And a spine. Vertebrates have a clear advantage in the marketplace.

Well done, Governor. We, along with many others, will be on the lookout for your next spots.

Anyone else out there want to do work people actively look out for?  Operators are standing by.

For years, companies have talked about doing business "at Internet speed." Finally, someone’s figured out how to do more than talk about it. Grand Opening is a simple, open space located at 139 Norfolk, on New York’s Lower East Side. For the next three months, it will be operating as "Pong," a ping-pong club featuring "…pickup games, or (visitors) can become
members and compete for a chance to win the L.E.S. Cup—a season-ending
tournament that will reveal the Lower East Side’s most talented table
tennis luminaries. Video replays, a competitive ladder,
leagues, tournaments, spectator bleachers and an on-site pro are just a
few of the exciting features that can be found at PONG."

(On site pro?  "So, what do you do?" "I’m a pro at a tennis club." "Really? Which club?"  "Uh…." )

Much as we love ping-pong. (OK, beer pong,) that’s not the best part. The best part is, after three months, there’ll be another grand opening, as the space reinvents itself.  The virtual world’s greatest asset is its ability to reinvent itself at the click of a mouse. We love seeing the brick-and-(ahem)-Mortar world do the same.

We don’t even live in Manhattan, and we can’t wait to find out what’s next.

(Thanks for the tip, Coolhunter!)

Yet again, another MSM story about the blogosphere and it’s growing influence over politics repeats the canard that the blogosphere is populated by children tapping away in their PJs. From the Chicago Sun-Times via DailyKos:

But Sree Sreenivasan, new media professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, says the effectiveness of Web sites and blogs as political tools may only go so far: “It’s still a small percentage of people using these technologies.”

Most are young and what Sreenivasan terms “early adaptors.” And, as he concludes, the impact of young voters “is notoriously hard to predict.” It was thought they were going to turn out in big numbers in 2004 but that didn’t happen.

In the end, who has time to blog? After reading four newspapers each day and my e-mails and doing my work, I’ve had it. Blogging remains a luxury for the young — or the bored.

Firedoglake quotes from the 2006 Blogads readership survey to beat back the bunkum:

The median political blog reader is a 43 year old man with an annual family income of $80,000. He reads 6 blogs a day for 10 hours a week. 39% have post-graduate degrees. 70% have contributed to a campaign.

Mr. Sreenivasan is a new media professor? What kind of “new” media? Telegraph?

EVERYONE–IS–TALKING.

Just yesterday, I was sitting in Union Square (San Francisco) listening to those around me spreading “the word,” talking up a storm about this and that (blah-blah-blah).

Word of mouth (WOM), a popular PR and marketing strategy has spun out of control making its way through blogs, across websites, into chat rooms and of course back to the daily dish of those out to lunch in Union Square (typical, old fashion lunch gossip – aka- WOM).

The whole world is now involved in PR, but little do they realize (the public) how quickly a buzz can become a “buzz kill.”

How much do we trust what we hear? With so many channels to gather our information and get “the scoop,” how are we measuring what’s real, fake, BS or not? 

The public has taken the concept of WOM (see wikipedia), maximized it via the Internet, and made it a thousand times easier to create a “buzz” (or "buzz kill" for that matter) and deliver it to an unlimited amount of people.

According to many, the public relations industry is taking the heat for the very public campaign of what I like to call: “have mouth, will travel.”  Thanks to this ‘virtual’ generation, WOM is traveling at a rapid speed.