Recycle Election Tech Virtually!

The thought of chawin' on some yummy Census, Commerce, and Labor Department jerky and mapping it in a way that's accessible to both the geek and non-geek public would work wonders to generate knowledge and empower an insecure populus. 

Blog the Power

Much has already been written about the Obama campaign and its incredibly successful interaction with young voters via its online components, but the following quote, from this New York Yimes article, really struck me:

Brain Power

60 minutes' segment entitled "Brain Power"

Where, oh where, to begin. Have you ever visited a place - a town, city or a country - and although you may have been somehow aware of its existence, after having visited this place you find yourself hyper aware of even the most subtle allusions to it. For example, I recently visited Iceland and since have found myself constantly bombarded by reminders of all things Icelandic. Let's call this the "Born Into Consciousness", or BIC, effect (I'm sure it has a better, more scientific name - I'm certainly not expecting to coin a new phrase here). The BIC effect is true of many things, not just locations, however this has always seemed to be the strongest evidence as to the existence of the BIC effect. Until recently.

A Post About Posters

People are sometimes dismissive of posters, maybe it's the dorm-room association, or the idea that they're just advertising or propaganda, or perhaps that they're just cheesy, which many are. But posters–when done well–convey volumes about lots of stuff; history, politics, art, style, war, peace, ideas, desires, fashion, the zeitgeist. They can tell you, in one frame, what it would take many pages of text to explain. They're also a (more) affordable way to collect limited edition art, and unlike a Damien Hirst, a poster won't make your house smell of rotten beef after a few months.

Democracy on Display: A look at strategic communication and design campaigns for our nations' most important job

In New York City there are currently several exhibitions that explore numerous aspects of presidential campaign history. “Campaigning for President: New York and American Election” at the Museum of the City of New York looks at how the city has affected the presidential election since George Washington defeated John Adams in 1789. Aside from the show’s link to New York’s influence it features the most extensive collection of memorabilia.

Fleurs Bella Van

The designers of Empax lent a hand in the design of the Fleurs Bella logo and van. Fleurs Bella is a team of beautifiers for flowers and installations. The designers crafted Fleurs Bella's previous arrangements into an even larger arrangement for their new van. You can't miss this van if you're in Manhattan! After quite some time, the van was finally ready for its debut last Monday...

Say SOMETHING!!!

While on the subject of not-very-GOOD information graphics (see the previous blog entry below, from my fellow Empaxer Ehud Tal), here's another example, this time from the New York Times.

I hate to complain about CNN but...

I reluctantly buy into the notion that CNN has the best political team on TV.  Nice job there, but you'd expect them to have the best user interactivity as well, and there's my gripe:  CNN's web interactivity is among the worst of all political media, with the non-availability of John King's "Magic Wall" being the prime example.  They have the data.  They have the hardware.  Why won't they let a little sunshine in and share it with their viewers and users?  For shame, stingy CNN.

Branding: Israel as Battlefield

Our very own Martin Kace was the keynote speaker at the "Environment 2020" conference in Tel Aviv back on April 1st. His talk hilighted his vision for the branding of the Israeli environmental movement, and we'll be adding some clips from the talk soon. Both The Jerusalem Post and The Marker interviewed Mr. Kace about his vision after the talk. Below is a clipping from The Jerusalem Post followed by a translation of his interview from The Marker which was conducted in Hebrew.