Given the recent conversation in the blogosphere about information embargoes, I thought yesterday’s slip-up by the Edwards campaign was rather hilarious. Launching a presidential campaign website a day early was one heck of a way to break down the command and control barriers of a presidential campaign, even if it was an accident.
This time around, Edwards is making an effort to be a lot more authentic on the campaign trail. He wants people to see who he really is and not slip into the campaign shtick. He, his wife Elizabeth, and his daughter Cate are all blogging. In one post, Elizabeth joked about the fact that her husband isn’t handy around the house but that she’s sure her next one would be. That’s the kind of joke that American women make all the time, but you’d never expect to see a presidential candidate’s wife say. Even invoking the prospect of a less-than-perfect, real-world marriage is enough to send shivers down the collective spine of every campaign consultant in America. Good for them!
Robert Scoble is with the Edwards family in New Orleans right now and he’s been blogging away about his presence there as a journalist. It’s pretty cool that Edwards is reaching out to the blogosphere through Robert, although it’s a little funny since Robert’s not really a political blogger. This sort of reminds me of when Richard Edelman chose to reach out to the blogosphere via Robert in the aftermath of the Wal-blog scandal.
I wonder what this means for the blogosphere. As much as I like and admire Robert, he is just one (very geeky) man. His notoriety has made him a natural starting point for anyone who wants to engage the blogosphere. But I hope it won’t always be that way.
I think we’re seeing a step in the evolution of the blogosphere and its relationship to the rest of the world. As blogs, blogging and blog technologies become more widespread, perhaps we’ll see less focus on one entry point for getting the blogosphere’s attention. I think this is what Robert means when he talks about paying more attention to the z-list.
Keep in mind that I’m not criticizing Robert or Sen. Edwards on this, just making an observation.
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