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John Edwards Courts the Tech Crowd in Seattle

Via Kevin at LexBlog: Presidential hopeful John Edwards spoke to the crowd at Gnomedex in Seattle. He got a standing ovation when he left the stage.

One Gnomedex attendee pointed out that the human voice so fundamental to blogs contrasts with the practiced messages delivered by many politicians. Edwards agreed, and acknowledged his own shortcomings in that regard, saying that he can often sense when he is slipping into that mode.

"The problem is that we're so trained and so conditioned over a long period of time that being normal and real and authentic requires you to shed that conditioning," Edwards said of politicians. "It is not an easy thing to do."

I think that's right. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the polticians whose blogs I've read sound like they are reciting their campaign speeches. There's no persona, no sense of human being inside. They are all too predictable, as if three handlers vetted their blogposts to make sure no potential voter would be offended before posting them.

Yet, I also don't think people want to go to politicians' blogs to read posts by staffers. Especially those who just track the candidate on the road with things like "Seattle was awesome. We had breakfast at the Donut Shop where 300 people turned out in chilly morning weather to hear X describe his plan for revamping health care."

I'd be more apt to read a candidate's blog if it revealed something about himself or herself besides policy statements and if it tried to engage, not just inform us.

Maybe John Edwards will be the one to break through on this. He does seem to have a real personality and a knack for telling stories -- probably because he was a trial lawyer. I give him credit for trying.

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  • Re: John Edwards Courts the Tech Crowd in Seattle (none / 0) (#1)
    by Bob In Pacifica on Sat Jul 01, 2006 at 02:58:52 PM EST
    I found Edwards to be a very convincing and appealing candidate the last time around, and more than Gore, Kerry, Clinton or any of the other frontrunners, I would like to see him commit to running next time around. He spoke eloquently about social justice, and social justice is what this country needs desperately.

    A politician who goes on record as saying that he is trying to retrain himself to BE himself, instead of a talking points RSS? Someone who thinks authenticity might not be political suicide? I guess I'd call that an 'event' no matter how long he was actually there... Baby steps... I gotta keep remembering, baby steps for these guys. It's a whole different world they live in. Let's give them a big welcome to ours, not a lot of hositility.

    I think that's right. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the polticians whose blogs I've read sound like they are reciting their campaign speeches. There's no persona, no sense of human being inside. They are all too predictable, as if three handlers vetted their blogposts to make sure no potential voter would be offended before posting them.... In this day where a candidate will be crucified for the slightest misstep, I understand the natural wariness. But I agree 1000% and said as much to Peter Daou -- essentially the one thing he could bring to Hillary Clinton was the message to write the blog posts herself. I would much rather read Clinton once a week say something relevant and from her heart, gut, brain, then read the predigested talking point spun up by a staffer. That said, I get emails from Clark, Edwards, Kerry, Dean. Wes Clark sends the best emails in terms of having a personal voice and a strong, important message. That's not surprising since Wes Clark is a god, or at the least, a hemi-demi-semi god.

    I also hope Edwards is sincere trying to break the politician blog mold. I spoke at length last night with Ryan Montoya, Edwards head tech guy, about exactly that. That will include making his blog and podcasts feel like other blogs and podcasts, as opposed to the typical politician look and feel. Ryan heard the same message again in a live podcast of the Gillmor gang. John cannot have a suit and tie on standing in front of an American flag in his video podasts. He has got to look real - like one of us, as opposed to a politician, if he expects to receive any bounce via the blogosphere.