Obama for America: Ur doin it rong.

Obama's campaign usually gets it right, but this is just bad. It would be better as its own blog. The joy of Google Reader is the serendipity of letting other people read blogs I don't, and trusting them to share just what they think is cool or important. The Obama for America Google Reader shared items feed makes a mockery of this personal connection.

If anyone from the campaign reads this: guys, pick a few staffers to scour the media for articles that help you make your point about why we need Obama's policies, and KEEP IT PERSONAL! Nobody wants a stentorian advisory that further information on the subject is available elsewhere. Inject an on-message bullet point with some genuine personality and move on to the next item.

For example, when linking to the story about the 2,000,000th campaign donor, your comment on it was: "Listen to Barack Obama's phone call to the 2 millionth donor at http://my.barackobama.com/twomillionth".

How about: "Turns out it was a small-business owner who said business is terrible. I guess he considered his donation a strategic investment in the American economy."

The ANNOTATED Beloit College Mindset List, Class of 2012

Beloit College has released its Mindset List for the incoming class, which (for those who finish, and take only four years to do it) will be the Class of 2012. Here it is, with my comments.


Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.

More interesting: they might actually have a Quidditch team.

2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.

What's more annoying, a karaoke machine in a diaper or a misplaced modifier in a college's press release?

3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.

I've been doing that since 1985. Get with the times!

( They have always put long lists behind an LJ-cut... )