Many of you may have read
Zack Exley's "Exit fake blog hype. Enter real blog power." last month:
The influence and impact of the political Blogosphere has only begun to take off. The Mainstream Media, however, is about to stop paying attention. From now on, bloggers will read less and less about themselves in the pages of Newsweek or the New York Times. CNN's "Internet Reporter" will start reporting on something else (maybe podcasting!). It's on to the next big fake thing. What will it be? Joe Trippi, the originator of the Mainstream Media-fed blogger bubble, says '08 will be the year of the political SMS text message -- so maybe that's it.
(my emphasis added)
Whether or not the political SMS text message is the "next big fake thing", I cannot say. However, take a look at these two recent posts at textually.org that appear within the span of 7 days. Compare and contrast...
Focusing exclusively on "
texting,
SMS and
MMS",
textually.org offers some interesting reads.
There's last week's "US political campaign scene mobilizes":
The US political campaign scene is starting to mobilize, according to Hotline On Call.
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and John Edwards are two national political figures starting text messaging campaigns.
John Edwards' One America Committee launched his test message campaign Thursday. Users can sign up on the Web site and give their name, email and cell phone number to receive periodic updates of his campaign trail.
Santorum debuted his SMS campaign at a Women For Rick breakfast last week hosted by Mary Matalin, who demonstrated the new technology for the open event. ... [In what I think is an amazing mis-perception and a sexist comment, ] Internet director Mindy Finn said they chose the all-female crowd because women tend to be busier and use their cell phones in more creative ways.
Starting in July, the campaign plans to use more of the technology with issue-based messages, such as a text on Santorum's work on immigration. They also have plans to integrate SMS into their direct mail and perhaps television and radio ads. As Finn put it, the opportunities are "limitness."
(emphasis and comment courtesy of emily from textually.org)
Then there's today's "Chinese Communist party sends out MMS propaganda for birthday celebration":
In what I believe is a first for a political party, the Chinese Communist Party sent out a propoganda MMS animation as part of its 85th anniversary celebrations.
Update [2006-7-9 15:27:12 by The 40oz Funk]: The little pigtailed girl pictured here bounces up and down to a tinny tune that seems to be a rendition of Enter the New Era, the Deng era propaganda classic about reform and opening up.
The lo-tech animation is accompanied by a litle text that uses the name of various songs such as The East is Red to form a poem wishing the Party a happy 85th birthday, and you a happy weekend.
Some of the lyrics:
Singing The East is Red, we get ourselves together and stand up
It's spring time, we're reforming and opening up
And we're gonna get rich!
(emphasis courtesy of emily from textually.org)
This leaves me with just one question: when do we get to enjoy the antics of cartoon bears on our mobile phones?