Digital Election?

According to AdAge Daily, the internet (come on, YouTube debates, are we really surprised???) is well on its way to becoming the prominent means for getting information on both candidates and elections. Granted, the internet is, of course, the go-to location to access a world of information (yes, corny, i know), but with the sharp rise in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace since the 2004 elections, the way that we are interacting with candidates is changing as well. I could go to MySpace and "friend" the candidates, information about which would be linked from their campaign home page. I could also find them on MySpace and link to their campaign homepage. I think that the levels of potential involvement are helping make this feel like a more interactive election, and I personally hope that the numbers from the polls will show this in November, too.
http://adage.com/campaigntrail/article?article_id=123398

Paying for Popularity

In this article from Ad Age Digital, I read about the new social network Badoo, based in Great Britain, that has recognized our disdain for the high volumes of advertising present in the "standard" social networks, like MySpace and Facebook. Badoo offers a service called "Rise Up," charging $1, 1 pound, or 1 Euro depending on your location, per access, and has banned advertisements. I personally feel as though it shows the power of advertising--sure, you have a way of opting out of them, but then you tend to realize just how much of an effect that they truly have. Badoo would charge me a dollar per time I accessed it. If I used it as much as I use Facebook now, that could run up to $10 on a really slow day at work. I get irritated with ads sometimes, but I haven't found the ones on Facebook to be so intrusive that I would seriously consider an alternative. I'm curious to see where they'll be and how much profit they can get--in other words, how much people are affected by ads...

Even Electronics are Going Green

In keeping with the ever-popular "Go green!" movement that has recently been gaining momentum, the EPA is now working with cell phone manufacturers and service providers. An estimated 150,000,000 phones are replaced each year, an astounding amount of waste considering that many are still operable and potentially hazardous if dumped in land fills as well. Three major service providers (AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) have joined forces with the EPA as they launch a public education campaign striving to raise awareness and get more cell phones recycled. They're primarily targeting 18-34 year olds through lifestyle and technology publications. The campaign is further targeting this demographic by creating a podcast, and the EPA is making a list of drop-off drives available as well. Sprint is also going so far as to offer customers credits on their bills for as much as $50 when they turn in their old phones to the store.
Given the target audience and message that the EPA is working to put out, in addition to their big name partners, I think that this movement will catch on and end up helping the environment. And with over 250 million cell phone customers, it has the potential to have a truly substantial impact.