Ozean Political Blog
A political blog about digital media, data, research and consulting.
Judgement versus Choice
Ever read a line and it hits you as a WOW! moment? You know a paragraph that when you read it clarifies something so well that it is embarrassing that you haven't connected the dots on your own? I had one of those moments this past week when reading How Voters...
Do not ask for applause, format your speech for it!
Rhetorical Design in Speech Making Welcome to 'science time' with Ozean Media (Yes, it normally it is Science Friday, but I have recently become aware of NPR's Science Friday so we must re-brand!) While we re-brand, I came across some literature that I found...
What we learned from Talk of the Town
I am bummed. The failure of our attempt to save Talk of the Town kicked me right in the gut. We lost money, time, and ego, and if you know anything about me, you know that I don’t take losing easily. Losing hurts, and I admit upfront that I am a horrible loser. I...
What makes a good political candidate?
I am asked all the time, what makes a good candidate? While we all know a great candidate can get beat when the political environment and/or district are not in his/her favor or at least even, we will set this aside. We will just look at the simple question, “What...
The case for negative campaigning
Science Friday: Why negative campaigning works! An Overview As political consultants, we catch TONS of blow-back for negative campaigning. However, when we are asked why we engage in negative campaigning, we don't do ourselves any favors by flippant remarks such...
It’s NOT a Low Information Voter
There has been a trend towards political pundits using the term "low information voters"; however, I am growing greatly concerned with the misuse of this term. Low Information Voter Low information voters, also known as LIVs or misinformation voters, are people who...
The speed of the Internet
A good friend of mine made a comment that has stuck with me over the past few days "The Internet moves at the speed of Imagination!" That statement remained with me over the past 3 days as we designed, built, and tested (I use those words VERY loosely) a complete...
Most likely, you cant afford BIG DATA
I am in a mood, so buckle up, but we need to talk. We need to talk about data. I am putting out a warning: the next time a candidate walks into or calls the Ozean office asking for "big data", a web, or a social media presence 'like President Obama's', they are going...
Why you need a political consultant
The calls are starting - first time candidates and incumbents are starting to call in order to explore potential campaigns in 2014. Awhile ago, I wrote a check list for first time candidates, and while I still stand by this simple checklist, I have something...
How much is a scandal worth politically?
Welcome to Science Friday. A day when we look at some research and discuss the findings and/or implications. When I was on my rant about Mark Sanford's "win", I came across this gem from Nate Silver : Sanford and the Electoral Effect of Sex Scandals, which in...
Simplicity
With apologies to Luke Sullivan & Thoreau, Ozean Media is stealing this as our theme for this year. Always remembering Occam's razor: when you have two correct answers that both solve problem, the more correct one is the simplest one! We must keep in mind that...
Digital Sabbatical: What I learned
For the past 4 days, I have been on a self-imposed digital sabbatical. I decided to go on this sabbatical after a difficult month and especially trying week. I am still not completely sure of nor can I fully explain why I felt the need to totally disconnect. However,...