Barack Obama — doing well online
p2pnet news | Politics:- Will this help Barack Obama in his efforts to become the next president of America?
His latest political gain comes from a brand new political group that’s sweeping through Europe.
It’s the Pirate Party of the United States and it’s declared its official support of Obama.
In a press statement, it says:
Since you’re reading this, you clearly understand the value and importance of the internet and what it can be used for. It is a tool for aggregating and making available hordes of information; it is a networking and social forum which brings people together instantaneously; it facilitates business, commerce, and is fast becoming an essential part of everyone’s lives. That’s why it’s important that our government protects and nourishes this vital technology. As senator Ted Stevens made apparent, we cannot rely on just anyone for this task, and that’s why the Pirate Party of the United States endorses and supports presidential candidate Barack Obama, as he is the candidate which expresses legitimate concern for the continued improvement of technology, as well as the other key issues of importance: patent and copyright reform.
Mr. Obama has promised to keep the nation up to date with ever improving technologies, ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of innovative thought. Unlike the current administration which refused to devote funds to certain areas of scientific research, Mr. Obama promises to create permanent tax breaks for the research and development sector which will help improve growth in the sciences and technologies. Furthermore, he has promised to bring the internet to even the poorest of regions and improve broadband speeds, and in these endeavors do we support him.
Mr. Obama clearly understands the important role that the internet plays in delivering information and communications in general, and his stance on privacy reflects this, saying at a speech given at the Google campus, “I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality.” Network neutrality is an issue of critical importance, which as of yet, has no legislation to protect this fundamental idea which has thus far governed the internet. However, as commercial interests push to increase their own profits, they will attempt to commoditize the information itself, restricting access to the poor. The ability to access public information must be considered as fundamental as the right to freedom of speech, lest we end up living in a dictatorship. Barack Obama seems to be the leading candidate best qualified to tackle these issues as they arise and promote the advancement and expansion of the internet- as he himself says, “the internet is perhaps the most open network in history, and we have to keep it that way.”
As for the matters of copyright and patent reform, in his technology position paper, Barack Obama clearly outlines methods of improving the current systems in order to improve efficiency, promote discourse, and avoid litigation. He advocates updating these systems into the digital age and exposing them to greater peer review. We believe he will negotiate and strike the inevitable balance between producers and consumers of these commodities, where artists and inventors will get their fairly deserved dues, and consumers will not suffer the penalty for it. With independent thought and planning, a fair solution is easily achievable, and Mr. Obama has promised to create one, without bowing to special interests. We believe that Barack Obama will be able to ethically lead our nation into an even greater technological age while preserving and upholding the rights of the citizens of this country.
Meanwhile, Obama is doing well on the Net.
Says Heather Hopkins on Britain’s HitWise, “As you can see Barack Obama comes out ahead of all other presidential hopefuls, including rival Hillary Clinton. In the past four weeks, Obama received 31% more visits from Internet users in Iowa than Clinton and 18% more in New Hampshire. Both leading Democrats beat out Republican candidates.
“Among all US Internet users, the picture is very different. Ron Paul is way out in the lead, followed by Mike Huckabee. The … chart [upper right] shows the market share of all US Internet visits to websites for presidential hopefuls.”
The Net has, “also played a pivotal role in Obama’s community-buoyed campaign in all of the key campaign areas of communications, event-organization, and in the rallying of supporters, attacking rivals, fund-raising, phone-banking and even policy discussions among members of the community who violently but thoughtfully disagree with each other about controversial issues,” says Sarah Lai Stirland on Wired, adding:
“That’s not to say that Clinton’s campaign hasn’t also pioneered uses of the Web over the course of 2007. All I’m saying is that this latest pattern of traffic could be one reflection of Obama’s support base and campaign strategy.
“What’s really weird about the above ranking is that libertarian Republican Ron Paul’s campaign site is ranked lower than those of rivals John McCain and Mike Huckabee’s in terms of traffic from the ‘Live Free or Die’ state.”
Also see:
HitWise – Obama Beats Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire Online, January 2, 2008
Wired – Obama Has More Online Traffic in Iowa and New Hampshire Than Clinton, January 3, 2008
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