Elections
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Political TV ad archive preserves lies for the ages
You're about to see a lot of political TV ads in the US (if you haven't already), and keeping tabs on them is going to be... difficult. Who paid for which ad, who are they attacking, and who's playing fast and loose with the facts? That's where the Internet Archive wants to help. It's launching a Political TV Ad Archive that will use audio fingerprinting to track federal campaign spots in 20 markets spread across eight states. In addition to preserving videos, the collection will include info on where and when the ads have aired, their sponsors and their targets.
Twitter keeps you up to date on the 2014 midterm elections
November brings midterm elections in the US, and Twitter is looking to lend a hand when it comes to keeping you informed on all the latest heading into next week. To do so, the social network developed the #Election2014 dashboard. As you might expect, the hub will monitor the political discourse in real time for key issues, candidate info, demographics and on-going discussion. From there, you can select your home state to catch up on all the local happenings, and, of course, the content is piped in through a smattering of hashtags, usernames and keywords. Twitter will also be sharing the info with its news cohorts like USA Today, MSNBC, and Bloomberg.
How one player helped to reform EVE Online's election system
Last year EVE Online players were given the news that the standard method of voting in members of the Council of Stellar Management was on its way out, with a new voting system put in place that allowed players to rank 14 of their favorite candidates. The story behind that change is a fascinating one, relayed to us by the PA Report. In short, CSM official Trebor Daehdoow (just read that backwards) realized that the old system was proving too divisive and allowed middling personalities to get elected due to the stronger ones splitting the vote. He used his influence on the council to push for a new "Australian-style multi-seat election" to allow players to nominate several of their favorites instead. The end result was an election in which the candidates cooperated rather than competed and players had more of a say. Daehdoow is happy with the legacy that he's leaving behind: "It had exactly the results I had hoped. It elected a bunch of diverse and really hard-working, knowledgeable people. The strongest people got elected. We got the best blogger in the game, Ripard Teg. He couldn't even get elected a couple years ago. This year, because people didn't have to tactical vote, he came in second."
EVE Online starts Council of Stellar Management elections
Elections are live for EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management 8, and players are invited to wade through the nominations to choose their ideal candidates to represent them to CCP. The full list of candidates along with their campaign promises are now posted for all to see. The 28 31 32 candidates listed have all managed to gather enough endorsements to be put on the ballot. Instead of voting for just one candidate apiece, players will pick and rank their top 14 choices. These votes will be tallied and weighed accordingly, and 14 members of CSM 8 will emerge as the player delegates. A player can vote for CSM given that he or she has an active account that's older than 30 days. But if your taste for drama leans more on events than politics, then this link's for you: CCP has also just posted the details on streaming for the upcoming EVE Fanfest.
US presidential campaign trail winds its way to Xbox Live on August 27th with Election 2012 Hub
Can't get enough coverage of the US presidential race even with YouTube in the mix? Microsoft's Election 2012 Hub for Xbox Live may be able to satisfy your inner political junkie. Redmond's initiative will provide video of town hall events at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, daily content from NBC and full coverage of results as ballots are cast and counted on November 6th. Throughout live streams of the debates, users will be able to rate the performances of public office hopefuls and see what marks other viewers give them in real-time. Information on voter registration, politicians and their take on issues will also be included. According to Microsoft, roughly 40 percent of Xbox-owning voters surveyed aren't concretely committed to a candidate running for the Oval Office, placing them in the highly-prized swing voter category. The service won't launch until the Grand Old Party's pow-wow kicks off on August 27th, but we hear there's plenty of relevant reading to keep you busy until then.
Super PAC app for iPhone is like Shazam for political ads
The free Super PAC app has just been released for the iPhone and it gives you a look behind the curtain to see who is funding the political ads that are blanketing the airwaves and the internet, and gives you some places to check the 'facts' that the ads claim. In a way it is like the Shazam app that identifies a music track when you let your phone hear a sample of a song. You hold the app up to a speaker to catch the audio from a TV ad, and using speech recognition technology, the ad is identified, and you'll learn how much the Political Action Committee behind it has spent, and you can get references to various fact-checking groups that can tell you how accurate the claims are. You can also vote your feelings on the ad, saying you love it, that's it's fair, fishy or a fail. Radio ads aren't supported yet. I tried the app on several political ads I found on YouTube. In each case, the add was identified, and the group behind it was named. Don't expect the app to make decisions about the literal truth of an ad, it simply refers you to fact-check organizations and articles about the ad, and they may have their own political agendas. Still, enough information was given on both sides for me to make my own decision about the honesty of the claims being made. I couldn't find any political agenda or bias in the app, it seemed to collect information from partisan and non-partisan sources. The app comes from Glassy Media, an outgrowth of the MIT Media Lab, and the aim is to bring increased transparency to the political process. The app works only on presidential ads. Other candidates and issues aren't supported. If you've been wondering who is behind the ads you are seeing, there is now an app for that. Give it a try. %Gallery-163240%
YouTube's Elections Hub is a one-stop channel for the latest US political happenings
In case you haven't noticed, it's election year in the US of A. And while we already have a slight idea of which political party your beloved neighbors prefer, why not have an all-inclusive video hub to keep you updated with the latest action taking place on the road toward America's historical White House. Here's where YouTube comes in. The Google-owned service announced earlier today the creation of its Elections Hub, which it's dubbing as the "one-stop channel for key political moments" happening now and all the way until the final US election day on the 6th of November. Naturally, the social vid giant's teamed up with some of the biggest outfits around to bring live and on-demand content to the Elections 2012 channel, including ABC News, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and, for the spanish-speaking crowd, Univision. Regardless of who's landing your worthy, priceless vote, this should be a great corner of the internet to keep you in the loop during this year's Stateside political battle.
Keep track of the candidates and the issues with PollTracker
If you're following all the election news this year, it's hard to avoid all the results of the many polls that are taken. PollTracker is a well done non-partisan iOS app that keeps you on top of the ups and downs of the polls in the Presidential race, Senate and House campaigns, gubernatorial races, and even statewide issues. The app has easy to read graphics, and you can see trends easily. The data comes from polling expert Dr. Charles Franklin of the University of Wisconsin, who has been tracking this kind of info since 2006. %Gallery-162213% You can set push notifications that let you know if a favorite race has some new polling data or new analysis. Poll results go up and down, and as far as the Presidential race goes, it's pretty early to pick favorites, but I still enjoy following the results. The app is free, and requires iOS5 or greater.
Both US presidential candidates pushing iPhone apps
It's an election year, iOS devices are almost everywhere, and that's why both US Presidential candidates this year are already pushing iPhone apps. Governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, has released an app called Mitt's VP -- he plans to announce his choice for Vice President from that app first, and there's other sharing and notification features coming in the app as well. President Barack Obama has made a lot of waves for using digital media in his campaigns, and so of course there's an official Obama for America app. That app also shares news and allows for social sharing about the Obama campaign, and allows users to sign up to volunteer at campaign events, or help get out the vote in other ways. Apple's platform consists of a huge audience of well-connected people, so it's no surprise that the presidential election is reflected in the App Store. As we get closer and closer to November's election here in America, it'll be interesting to see how the candidates use these apps to reach out to their voter base. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Washington to become first US state to enroll voters through Facebook
Washington state has commissioned a Facebook app to provide another avenue for its residents to register to vote. Officials will soon post the software, developed by local company Microsoft, on the Secretary of State's page and allow users to like it in order to spread the word. Once it's ready, residents looking at using it will need to allow Facebook access to their personal info and provide a driver's license number or state ID number, which the social network will use to put them on the voter rolls -- but it would have no access to government databases, according to an election director. The state's current online system already saves up to $2 per voter registration, so on top of getting more out to vote, the new effort should keep even more dollars in the coffers.
Blame the 2010 elections for your parents being on Facebook, Twitter
Most of the so-called "young folks" would argue that Facebook lost its innocence the day that parents were invited to play along, but there's no question that politicians would disagree vehemently. A recent study published by the number crunchers at Pew Internet found that over half (54 percent, if we're being precise) of adults "used the internet for political purposes in the last cycle, far surpassing the 2006 midterm contest." A total of 58 percent hopped online for political news, while one in five (22 percent) used Twitter or a social networking site for "political purposes" in 2010. Taken as a whole, a staggering 73 percent of online adults took part in at least one of these activities in 2010, and judging by the power of these networks in the recent Middle Eastern / African uprisings, we get the impression that figures will only be rising in elections to come. Too bad you can't "Like" a politician to give them your vote -- haven't these polling places realized what century we're in?
EVE Evolved: Your vote counts -- EVE's sixth CSM
Of all the groups involved in EVE Online, the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM) may be the most significant influence in the game's development. The council was originally created as a way to reassure players that the developer corruption exposed in the T20 scandal would not be repeated. Players voted for a list of representatives from the community, who were then flown over to Iceland to review CCP's newly created internal affairs department. Since then, the CSM has taken on a more advisory role to CCP, presenting itself as a conduit through which players can focus their ideas and any issues they're having with EVE. With the fifth CSM term now coming to a close, voting has begun to choose the members of the sixth council. Players with active EVE accounts over 30 days old have until March 22nd to log in and register their votes. If last year's record 39,433 voter turnout is anything to go by, this year your votes will matter even more than ever. Competition is high for a spot on the council, and it's up to the players to determine who will best represent them in meetings with CCP. If you're having trouble deciding whom to vote for, stay tuned to Massively's EVE Online coverage this week for a breakdown of all the candidates in the running. This week's EVE Evolved is dedicated to convincing you that your vote counts. In this article, I address a few common reasons people are put off voting, explain why the CSM is a force for change in EVE, and hear a few words from ex-CSM Stephan Pirson.
TERA fan video uncovers political system info
TERA's political system has been shrouded in mystery for some time now, despite allusions to it in various producer and community manager interviews that En Masse Entertainment has given out over the past few months. Thanks to a video interview captured at Gamescom by a member of the Glimpse Dog fan website, we now have a bit more of an idea as to how the feature will play out. The video is part four of a five-part series, and features live TERA gameplay interspersed with commentary by the reporter and an unnamed TERA employee who drops several nuggets of information about the political system. Among them are the fact that the system currently features lordships and kingships. TERA's world is divided into regions that will be able to elect a lord via citizen vote and also via an unspecified PvP mechanic. Details on citizenship and voting privileges were sketchy, and it seems the system is still under heavy development. Once a lordship is obtained, players may then apply for kingship, which also features an election mechanic and grants sovereignty over a particular city. Kings also control taxes and have an unspecified level of control over how monsters spawn in their part of the world. Check out the video after the cut or the full series at Glimpse Dog.
Endgame arrives for A Tale in the Desert 4
A Tale in the Desert 4 is coming to an end, and as players begin to look toward Tale 5, eGenesis has an endgame surprise. The ATitD community will be voting on a Pharaoh and have a direct effect on how Tale 5 is presented. Sami and Wahim are the candidates for Pharaoh, so to speak. Wahim is your status-quo option, so if you like the way things are in game that's the way to go. Sami, on the other hand, is all about change. If Sami becomes the Pharaoh in game, players will be able to invent seven new technologies. Technologies affect how things are crafted and built in the game, and since A Tale in the Desert is a crafting game, it's a chance for players to completely change the content of the game. Keep an eye on the ATitD site for all the details and election results.
EVE's 4th CSM election results are in
Election results for EVE Online's 4th Council of Stellar Management (CSM) are in. The CSM are players elected by the game's subscribers, given the responsibility of representing the collective interests of the playerbase to EVE Online's developer CCP Games. The hope is that future game changes and features will be in keeping with how the subscribers like to play EVE. The announcement from EVE developer CCP Xhagen earlier today lists the election results by real name, character name, location and number of votes:
EVE's CSM elections begin, site matches your views with those of candidates
Massively recently pointed out that the candidates have been announced for EVE Online's fourth Council of Stellar Management (CSM) -- the player-elected body that represents subscriber interests as the game is developed. (Also, if you missed it the first time around, you can listen to the recordings of CSM debates hosted by the Planet Risk radio show.)There are a number of candidates in the running this election: 49 at last count. These prospective CSM delegates have put forth some wildly differing views on how EVE Online should evolve and there's a fair amount of info to sift through on the forums and the individual sites that candidates maintain. Not that this is really a substitute for actually, y'know, reading up on who you're voting for, but there's now a site that can help you zero in on the candidates who share your views on the game. Vote Match will match your views on issues as a player with the election platforms the various CSM candidates are running on. The site was coded by the current CSM Chairman Dierdra Vaal and is definitely worth a look for EVE Online players trying to decide on which candidate to back.
EVE Online's candidates for 4th Council of Stellar Management announced
The roster of candidates for the 4th Council of Stellar Management (CSM) in EVE Online has been announced. According to CCP Games developer Pétur Jóhannes Óskarsson (aka CCP Xhagen), 60 members of the playerbase submitted applications, with 49 players accepted after CCP's screening process. (Players must hold valid passports to attend the CSM summit in Reykjavik, and those with EULA violations are ineligible to run.) From this pool of 49, there will ultimately be nine elected delegates and five alternates who can step in when needed. Although Xhagen didn't break down candidate stats by nationality, there is a substantial number of U.S. players running for the 4th CSM as in past elections. This time around there are candidates from Latvia, Serbia, and Barbados as well. The ages of candidates range from 21 to 54, and only one female candidate is in the running this term which Xhagen notes is a decrease from the previous election. (He also indicates that only 3.9% of EVE's subscribers are female.)
EVE's 4th Council of Stellar Management accepting candidates
The Council of Stellar Management (CSM) is a concept that's unique to EVE Online -- a player-elected council that represents the playerbase's views to the developer CCP Games. CSM representatives identify the major issues that players have with EVE Online and work together with CCP to improve the game. According to EVE dev CCP Xhagen, "Roughly 60% of all issues brought up by the CSM have either been already added to the game or are on the horizon."The Council of Stellar Management is now heading into its 4th iteration and will begin accepting candidates as of tomorrow, October 1st. Candidacy applications will be accepted through October 15th. Interested parties must hold a valid passport (each CSM term involves a summit in Reykjavik) and be willing to have their real names become a matter of public record, for the sake of accountability.
EVE Online's 3rd CSM election results are in
The Council of Stellar Management (CSM) in EVE Online is a body of players elected by the game's subscribers to represent their interests before CCP Games. We've seen no small amount of debate on the CSM in the comments here at Massively, which is actually indicative of the lengthy and contentious discussions on the CSM that take place on the official forums and unofficial forums alike, as well as on player blogs. We'd already mentioned that the 3rd Council of Stellar Management elections were under way but now those election results are in. Two council members from the 2nd CSM were-elected -- Vuk Lau and Omber Zombie. Dierdra Vaal, who sat on the first CSM, has been elected as well. In fact Vaal garnered the most votes in this election (2967) and is thus the new Chairman of the Council of Stellar Management. 9.7% of EVE Online's playerbase voted in the 3rd Council of Stellar Management election.
EVE Online's 3rd CSM election polls close tomorrow
If you've been following Massively's EVE Online coverage over the past few months, you'll no doubt have noticed we've written about the game's Council of Stellar Management (CSM). The CSM is a body of players elected by their fellow players, who represent the interests of the game's subscribers and work with CCP Games to ensure that development and balancing are driving the game forward in ways the gamers like. Opinion remains divided on the CSM, of course, but we think it's an interesting concept; developers letting the players have a say in a game's development pipeline is something that's very rare in the MMO industry. We'd just like to post a reminder to our readers that the 3rd CSM election polls close tomorrow, May 26th. If you've been considering voting, check out what the candidates have to say about themselves and about EVE in the Jita Park Speakers Corner, a section of the EVE Online forums where each candidate explains their respective election platforms. There's still time left, so be sure to make your vote count.
