Fresh Loaf

Ample-chested blonds across the country grabbed their sledgehammers this week when it was announced that the CIA had purchased software to monitor “blog posts, Twitter tweets and chatter across the Internet.”

Visible Technologies’ platform helps brands to monitor the millions of posts and conversations on blogs, forums, YouTube, Twitter and other online forums. “There is a world full of countries with people who are in online chat rooms,” Tighe says. “They may talk about something important to national security issues, or maybe someone becomes concerned about what they hear in one of these rooms.”

In celebration of this purchase I would like to say hello to the CIA: 9/11, RaHoWa, Building 7, JFK, Area 51.

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Kyle Keyser, in front of City Hall

Kyle Keyser’s surprising announcement that he was running for mayor of Atlanta invigorated an already dramatic campaign race — but it came with a catch.  In order to officially enter the race, Keyser had to raise the $4,425 filing fee to get on the ballot.

And he had to do it in 48 hours.

The following is an account of the emotional days leading up to the announcement and the critical hours that followed in which the unlikely upstart candidate used Facebook, Twitter, Freedom Rock and an iPhone app to rally a community and help him get in the game.

Friday, Aug. 28

6:30 p.m: Keyser speaks at a rally at Bessie Branham Park in Kirkwood, held in response to the shooting of a 55-year-old man who was mowing his lawn.

This is when things really started to kick in. There were probably 200 people and I got up to speak at the end, and I just looked out and saw all these eyes looking at me and I just felt this sadness in the community, like they’d been broken by this incident, and a little hurt more so than angry. I thought to myself, “This is eight months from the time I started [Atlantans Together Against Crime (ATAC)].  How many more rallies do there have to be?  How many more people are going to be affected by this?”  That’s when I started to strongly consider running.

Monday, Aug. 31

3:21 p.m.: Facebook update: “ain’t gonna do it.”

I was not going to run at this point. But I was still flirting with the idea; maybe I should do it.

6 p.m.: Keyser speaks at another Kirkwood rally, this one organized by ATAC, in front of Vinocity.

The Monday rally was what put me over. I sat on my pile of signs, cleaning up, and talked to people who attended the rally and lived in the neighborhood. I just felt compelled to do something. I examined the situation and looked at myself and was like, “What can I do to affect the most change?” It was really like a compulsion. I’m like, “I have to do something.”

Then I decided, “I’m gonna do it.”

(more…)

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Don’t read this expecting an answer because I don’t know. Obviously, websites and social networking have assumed a prominent position in politics since Howard Dean first used the Internets to build a coalition of Deaniacs and Daily Kos became a must-read blog for millions.

Speaking as a reporter, I find myself questioning a candidate’s commitment if he can’t be bothered to put up a website. But does Web savvy portend a winning campaign?

Take a look at the three leading candidates for Atlanta mayor. Recent polls say Mary Norwood is leading the pack, followed fairly closely by Lisa Borders, with Kasim Reed trailing. But when it comes to attracting supporters on Facebook, Reed is far and away the front-runner. He’s got 4,502 Facebook supporters, compared with 2,886 for Borders and a mere 881 for Norwood.

According to Emory University associate professor Michael Leo Owens, as quoted in the AJC, “This will be the Facebook election.” Does that mean Borders and Norwood should pack it in?

(more…)

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Last Wednesday, anti-crime advocate Kyle Keyser made the Atlanta mayoral race — which has seen its fair share of drama the last few weeks — much more interesting when he announced his candidacy.

One problem: Keyser didn’t have the $4,425 to get his name on the ballot. Another problem: the Little Five Points resident had only 48 hours to raise the cash. Either that or gather 2,300 signatures in the same amount of time.

So Keyser, the co-founder of the 10,000-member strong Atlantans Together Against Crime and who’s well-known among the city’s more social, younger crowd, asked for help from friends and strangers via Twitter, Facebook and DailyKos. It paid off. Here are the numbers.

(more…)

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This writer has noticed, and Silicon Alley Insider confirms, Twitter is down. Facebook also seems to be acting wacky this a.m.

If it stays down for three more hours, I may finish my Don’t Panic! column on time for a change!

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Have you been wondering why your employees are 19 percent less productive this year? Could it be because of this:

The number of Facebook users in the Atlanta area rose 142 percent the last six months, from 535,000 to nearly 1.3 million, according to a digital marketing firm called iStrategyLabs.

Peter Corbett, a 2003 Emory grad who founded iStrategyLabs, said he has no solid theories to explain the Atlanta surge. He’s analyzed Facebook usage for two years using data Facebook publicly supplies to its advertisers.

Los Angeles (97 percent) and Houston (71 percent) saw the next highest increases.

According to the AJC story story quoted above, 72 million Americans are now spending countless hours every week on Facebook — which means they’re filling out ridiculous polls (”If you were a dog, what breed would you be?”), sharing inconsequential details of their lives with virtual strangers (guilty!) and hoping that their “friends” don’t tag them in unflattering photos (thank the social-networking gods for the “remove tag” option).

One more thing: Facebook is no longer for the young and hip. The biggest group of Facebookers are now the 35-to-54-year-olds. (Admittedly, many of them are still hip, but definitely not young.) Yikes.

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Farah Fawcett’s passing last Thursday prompted a generation of now-middle aged males to recall their frustrated adolescent fantasies. Michael Jackson’s death, on Friday, nearly broke the internet. The equally untimely death of householder-appliance pitchman Billy Mays, who likely succumbed to heart disease, inspired entirely different sorts of reminiscences.

Mays already had almost 52,000 fans on Facebook, over 2,000 of whom have visited his page since then to pay their respects. (Condolences ranged from “NOW who will I buy useless shit from?” to “zorbies won’t absorb my tears…and Mighty Mend-it can’t fix my broken heart” to “why couldnt the sham-wow guy die.”) Mays’ death pushed Twitter into another day of overload, while on MySpace users were hawking Orange Glo as collector’s items.

Though while the outbursts of sentiment following Fawcett and Jackson’s untimely deaths were not at all surprising, the phrase “infomercial star” that all the obits are throwing around wouldn’t even exist without Mays. So how to account for the impact of “the OxiClean guy” on the cultural zeitgeist?

(more…)

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Rank of Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy Tell ’Em’s Twitter page on a list of “businesses” with the highest number of Twitter followers: 9

Rank of CNN: 1

Total number of Twitterers following Soulja Boy: 892,491

Total number of “tweets” the rapper — or his handlers — have posted on his Twitter site: 4,412

Estimated number of tweets worldwide that were related to the Iran protests, following the country’s June 12 election: 79,000

Estimated percentage of tweets that referenced Michael Jackson in the two hours following the king of pop’s death: 30

Total number of Twitter members worldwide: 37 million

Number of other major social-networking sites that have grown faster than Twitter over the past year: 0

Number of jobs that MySpace was forced to cut following stiff competition from Twitter and Facebook: 300

Sources: Twibs.com, twitter.com/souljaboytellem, WashingtonPost.com, ColumbusDispatch.com, Mashable.com, NYTimes.com

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Atlanta cyclists will gather near Piedmont Park on Wednesday evening to remember fellow bike riders killed or injured by motorists on public roadways.

Details from the Atlanta Ride of Silence Facebook page:

Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph/20 kph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.

For Atlanta riders, meet at Charles Allen & 10th at 6:45pm. Please wear a black armband to honor those who have fallen, we’ll have some on hand as well. We will have a sign-up sheet you can sign to indicate if you’re riding in memory of someone in particular. A few words will be said, then our ride will leave promptly at 7pm.

To sign up as a confirmed guest, visit the Atlanta Ride of Silence Facebook page. For more information about the worldwide event, visit the official Ride of Silence website. If you’re interested in spreading the word about Wednesday’s event, check out the organization’s blog and resources page. Both have templates for posting information on sites like Craig’s List, logos you can download and other organizing materials.

(H/T to Maigh; Logo courtesy of Ride of Silence)

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Mayoral front-runners: Borders (left), Norwood (middle) and Reed (right)

As reported by the AJC, Atlanta’s mayoral candidates have taken to social networking sites such as Twitter, utilizing the art of mass-updating to keep in constant touch with supporters and potential voters. And where there’s a seemingly innovative new political outreach tool, there’s almost always a predictable new catchphrase for it:

“This will be the Facebook election,” said Emory University associate professor Michael Leo Owens.

Four candidates — [Council President Lisa] Borders, Councilwoman Mary Norwood, state Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) and [Glenn] Thomas, a former city employee — each have pages and videos on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Candidate Rod Mack, who works in logistics, has a MySpace page that plays the Sam Cooke classic “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

The campaigns do concede that, most often, it’s their staffs who are updating these accounts for them. Borders, for example, has three individuals from the firm Relate Media Group on staff to manage her social networking accounts.

Like everything else in politics, this is a competition — one that Reed and Borders would seem to have a head start on. Reed boasts more than 4,000 Facebook friends, while Borders has approximately 1,700. Each have more than 1,100 official supporters listed on their Facebook pages. On Twitter, Borders has more followers than any candidate: 749 as of last Sunday.

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I guess Mayor Boyd Austin of Dallas, Ga., is still a victim of other people playing with his Facebook profile?

Privacy settings, sir! Privacy settings!

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1. Atlanta job fair at Georgia World Congress Center (If this post had attracted thousands of visits a few years back, I’d have laughed to myself and said, “What next? Creative Loafing declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy?” Hahahahaha.)

2. Soapbox: Jekyll Island Authority ‘at it again’ (At 239 comments and counting, the Jekyll post is encroaching on Black Mafia Family territory. A JIA v. BMF beef? Scary.)

3. AJC layoffs: this week or next (I’m not going to make a snide remark about the abovementioned job fair. This economy is no place for snide remarks.)

4. Georgia mayor’s Facebook page confuses nation (How easy it is to offend with a can of Schlitz and a pack of Camels!)

5. Sneak peek: Creative Loafing’s website makeover (The euphoria of making our own top-five list is only slightly diminished by the fact that most commenters trashed our makeover. Meanies.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Meet Boyd Austin, mayor of Dallas, Ga. Consider him added to the list of folks who need to realize what many people already know: The Internet was invented to place you in awkward situations.

Yesterday, political blog Wonkette wondered what Austin was talking about when he updated his Facebook status message to say this:

The status message refers to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s recent visit to the United States. Brown gave President Barack Obama a pen holder carved from a magical tree. Obama gave Brown a set of DVDs (come on, we’re in a recession, people!). This pissed off the British media.

I was also baffled by Austin’s status update. Confused as to what I should do, I dusted off my Creative Loafing Employee Ethics Manual, turned to the appendix, and saw that I was supposed to “call the story’s subject.” I was pretty sure that was Austin. The mayor, who identifies himself as such on his Facebook profile, sounded surprised that anyone noticed the status message.

(more…)

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>> Oh, Lindsay, you’re one of the only reasons anyone should bother reading those hilarious gossip mags in the checkout line at Wal-Mart. You’re just so funny.

>> One cool thing about a recession is you get bargain prices on stocks and real estate. That is, if you were too poor to afford them before and thereby haven’t lost every dime already…

>> As the world’s most “globalized economies” (read: wealthiest) are hard hit by the world-wide recession, both rich and poor foreign workers head home.

>> Brit-Brit brings her comeback to Atlanta today. Maybe she’ll be warmed-up from her NOLA show and rip it like the Britney of yore. Or maybe she’ll be a stumbling drugged-out mess. Either way, entertainment at its finest!

>> In the war between Facebook and Myspace, the latter wins the battle of Koobface. Your secrets (and passwords) are safer on  Myspace.

>> Most informative story on the web today. So full of information, in fact, that if I said any more about it, I’d be violating copyright law by giving away too much….

>> And because the MSM is so good at getting to the real story American needs to know — a discussion on Obama’s graying hair.

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>> CHANGE: The new administration lifts the ban on photographing military coffins’ arrivals, letting the families of the fallen decide if they want them photographed.

>> SURPRISE!: The recession didn’t go away overnight. The economy just keeps shrinking and rapidly so.

>> Clint Eastwood says down with political correctness. The whole easily-offended schtick is putting comedians out of a job.

>> PENDING EGG SHORTAGE?: Nope, just a continued intelligence shortage affecting mostly the political populace. If comedians weren’t so busy being politically correct, they could’ve thought of a much better joke involving the first black president and watermelons.

>> Lesson learned by Facebook: Don’t piss off social network users. They know how to wield an online mob like nobody’s business.

>> Obama administration puts its Robin Hood plans in action with new tax cuts and increases.

>>STOP THE PRESS: Colorado’s oldest daily newspaper says goodbye in the classiest, and most stirring, of ways.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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COLLAPSE?

>> Palin’s daughter has more sense than her mom, which is really not a difficult feat. Bristol 2016!

>> But who needs abstinence education when you have recessions to do all that anti-sex dirty work for you?

>> On the verge of foreclosure? Prepare for stimulation!

>> SHOCKING: There’s actually something Kanye West doesn’t think he does the best.

>> People probably shouldn’t keep 200-pound chimps as pets. This is why. In related news …

>> ‘PLEASE EXPLAIN TO THE NON-AMERICANS?’: Worst. Cartoon. Ever. Read the comments for the best (saddest) parts.

>> Finally, a Facebook group was created that actually managed to affect change. So, FB doesn’t own you. For now.

>> CHANGE WE CAN’T BELIEVE IN: Obama administration war policies are looking scarily familiar.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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>> The Senate gets a fire lit under it after Obama calls them a bunch of whiners. America might actually get some stimulation.

>> Note to Michael Phelps — the next time you smoke the ganja, don’t allow any cameras around. How are you going to fund your recreational drug usage if you keep getting your pay suspended?

>> WTF?: An exotic dancer was purposely set on fire in Los Angeles. Here’s hoping she opted for the fire damage coverage when she insured her um … assets.

>> As more men get the axe in this recession, the percentage of women in the labor force proportionately grows.

>> Finally, someone points out that no one cares if there are 25 Things to Know About You, much less what they are. Shut up, Facebook.

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A Jan. 7 killing and armed robbery at the Standard Food and Spirits sparked community outcry — and questions over who’s to blame for a rise in Atlanta crime.

“The idea that we have a city where this kind of violence can happen is completely unacceptable. … What we have seen is cuts [in police hours] made [by Mayor Shirley Franklin] without consultation and collaboration.”

— Atlanta Councilmember Mary Norwood, who attended a Thursday morning vigil for victim John Henderson, in a Jan. 8 AJC article.

“I proposed a modest tax increase [in early 2008] dedicated to public safety and the Council chose to roll back taxes in spite of our warnings. … [Norwood] has never sought to discuss the budget recommendations with me and I find her remarks today to be ludicrous and irresponsible.”

— Franklin’s response to Norwood, in a Jan. 8 press release.

“i would be happy to pay more taxes for a safer community. but our family can and will leave if the city doesn’t address this problem.”

— Adam Bartolett, in a post on the Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks’ Facebook page.

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He always struck me as more of a film noir type. Interesting.

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I <3 U 2, Rick.

(Screenshot from Sanchez’s Facebook profile)

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Atlanta’s 11 Least Influential People is Creative Loafing’s annual tribute to the Joe and Josephine Averages of the world who try, but don’t necessarily succeed.

Winners 11 through six will be revealed, one-per-day, until Wednesday, November 12, when the 11 Least Influential issue hits newsstands.

WILLIAM TELLULATER: Will.i.am.not.getting.any

No. 9 — William Tellulater

Can’t find anyone in Stockbridge to hook-up with.

William Tellulater (as in, ‘I’ll tell you my real last name later’) is a half-assed Henry County Romeo.

William claims to want have sexual relations with people in and around Stockbridge.

We think this because William has a Facebook group called “stockbridge” where membership is based on “Common Interest — Sexuality” and the group’s description is listed simply as “meet locals — hook up.”

Unlike most people trying to leverage the power of social media to find a mate, William includes no photos of himself smiling, laughing, flexing, or holding a beer bottle while leaning into a friend who is also holding a beer bottle. William does not tell you what kind of music (if any) he may like, what TV shows (if any) he watches, or whether he was elated or disappointed by Tuesday’s election results.

William doesn’t even reveal if he wants to have sex with men, women, or both.

All he offers is an e-mail address, and an open invitation to “hook-up.”

Not surprisingly, of Stockbridge’s more than 22,000 residents, only one has seen fit to join William Tellulater’s online hook-up club: William Tellulater.

See all of Atlanta’s 11 Least Influential People of 2008.

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Just like changing Georgia’s Sunday liquor laws, every couple years a group of NPR-addicted folks bring up the idea of urging WABE, Atlanta’s public radio godsend, to drop its six-hour afternoon block of classical music and replace it with more news. Independent-bookstore owners and dentist offices shore up their resources and successfully quash the uprising. And Lois Reitzes, she of soothing voice and limitless classical music know how, continues to guide us through the day.

Local new-media maven SpaceyG wants to start another insurgency.

I can’t take it any more… 6 hours of classical music programming a day at WABE = 6 too many. Apparently I’m not the only one. So I started a Facebook Group called 6 Hours A Day = 6 Too Many! Please join the group if you’re on Facebook. And let’s let WABE know, by Fall Pledge Drive time too, that we’re very unhappy out here on the receiving end of the airwaves with being held hostage to 6 hours of tedious classical programming a day… especially when we could be hearing some news and talk and other more timely and progressive PUBLIC programming.

I’d be careful, Spacey. Don’t you know Reitzes is part of Atlanta’s Jewish Radio Mafia?

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Where is blog? That bastard was supposed to bring me coffee 20 minutes ago! Get in here, Blog!!!

(Screenshot from my Facebook status updates page)

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