Ozean Political Blog

A political blog about digital media, data, research and consulting.
Why you need a political consultant

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...

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How much is a scandal worth politically?

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...

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Simplicity

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...

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Digital Sabbatical: What I learned

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,...

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Does Social Media use indicate political behavior

Does Social Media use indicate political behavior

It is science Friday (Wednesday edition), and I am off on an electronic sabbatical after a very difficult week.   Therefore, I am admitting right now that I am lazy and this may be the laziest post ever written for Science Friday, but that is still no excuse NOT to...

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Online Comments hurt understanding, but register

Online Comments hurt understanding, but register

In a relatively new study released by the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication titled "The 'Nasty Effect:' Online Incivility and Risk Perceptions of Emerging Technologies", an interesting theory emerges. The study measures subjects' understanding of a science...

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Social Pressure and Voter Turnout

Social Pressure and Voter Turnout

A 2008 study published by the American Political Science Association by Alan Gerber, Donald Green & Christopher Larimer lays out a convincing case of how social pressure can lead to increased voter turnout. We lamented in a previous blog post, how...

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Rereading a Classic – Positioning

Rereading a Classic – Positioning

I was having lunch with a client this past week, and I was told in no uncertain terms of a mutual acquaintance that does not like me personally. In fact, it was expressed to me that this person hates the living daylights out of my guts.  Let's set aside the fact that...

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Use of social media by minorities

Use of social media by minorities

Pew Research Center recently released a study finding that minorities are increasingly outnumbering whites in their use of certain social media platforms. The study entitled, "The Demographics of Social Media Users — 2012", shows that in general, Blacks and Hispanics...

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