The 463: Inside Tech Policy

Obama Ad Update; Party & Vacation

Three things:

1. You might remember that my little brother (big liberal) and dad (life-long Republican put together a DIY YouTube ad in support of Obama. They subsequently shortened the ad to 30 seconds; made it one of 1000+ submissions to a MoveOn Obama ad contest; and, just learned yesterday that the ad made the final 15. (!) My family ad (They Said He Was Unprepared) and the other finalists can be view here.

2. If you're DC area and are interested in attending a 463 Happy Hour next Thursday, May 8), email me.

3. But, if you do email me, don't expect a quick reply. I have been and will be on vacation until next Tuesday. This means that the posts here be sparse to invisible.

463 West: Big Moves

We don't talk much about ourselves, but we have news that begs for an exception....

In 463's three years, we've accomplished a lot. First-class clients, a smart, experienced team and a penchant for irreverent videos have all been hallmarks.

However, we started with one representative in the Bay Area (me), and until last week, I was still manning the helm solo.

463 West has doubled in size thanks to the addition of 463's fourth partner, Hani Durzy. Obviously, adding a fourth partner is a huge deal to 463's founding partners -- me, Jim Hock and Tom Galvin. But, once we got past Hani's obnoxious Red Sox Nation-isms, we knew that he would be the perfect compliment to our team and a great asset as we grow in the Bay Area.

And, we do plan to grow in the Bay Area. We're close to securing an office in Palo Alto (knock on wood) and making additional notable hires.

Hani was most recently the director of corporate communications at eBay and was their chief spokesperson for the last five years. His bio is after the jump...

Voters to Prez Candidates: It's Time to "Get" the Internet

In advance of today's State of the Net conference, 463 worked with the conference organizers at the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee and Zogby International to put together (another) poll to tap the zeitgeist of Americans about Internet issues.

In the poll, two-thirds of voters believe that presidential candidates should have at least as much knowledge about the Internet as them.

They were asked" "Do you think that the next President will know as much about the Internet as you?" Almost 45 percent said, yes, and they should because of the importance of the Internet. And, 22 percent, didn't think the candidates would be as savvy of them, but wished that they would be. Not surprisingly, 38 percent of 18-29 year-olds don't think the candidates know as much as them, but wish that they would.

More data:

--The top tech policy priority for the next president? Energy technology policy first (38 percent) with privacy and security policy next (29%), Health IT, third, (14%) and the digital divide fourth (9%).

--Privacy expectation. When asked what would they would find to be the best example of a privacy violation, respondents said that the exposure of geo-location (GPS) data is tops (49%). Other exposures were ranked lower: 11 percent if someone posted a picture of them in a swimsuit; 11 percent if someone posted a picture of them visibly drunk; and, 9 percent if someone posted a video of them simply talking with their friends

--Among the age groups polled, all agreed on that the geo-location issue was the top concern. Coming in second for 18-24 year-olds and those over 65 was the posting of a drunken photo. 25-34 year-olds were more concerned about the posting of a video of them speaking with their friends, and, tellingly 35-54 year-olds were more concerned with the posting of them in a swimsuit.

--Sources of info on presidential candidates. We found that the Internet has dethroned radio and television as the primary source of candidate information for an increasingly Internet savvy electorate. 48 percent of those polled cited the Internet as the primary source of their knowledge of the presidential candidates. Only 31 percent and 13 percent cited television and radio, respectively. as the primary source. Nearly 67 percent of 18-29 year-olds cited the Internet as their primary source. Only 29 of those 65+ did so.

--Internet = smart. 89 percent of respondents said that the access to information found on the Internet has made them smarter. Four percent say that the distraction and time-wasting online has made them dumber.

--Nearly two-thirds (66%) of respondents said that they could at least "sometime" work from home and do their job well.

--Not ready for Internet voting. Despite all the other Internet warm fuzzies, 67 percent said that Internet voting could lead to fraud.

The online poll surveyed 3,585 adults and was conducted from 1/21-1/23. It has a margin of error of +/- 1.7 percent.

At the State of the Net Conference Today

First, apologies for the relatively sparse blogging this month. I'm quickly learning that when you are a new dad, "blogging time" finds a way to get replaced. Things will pick it back up again very soon...

Second, I'm at the State of the Net conference today in DC and will be moderating a panel on online video regulation. If you are a reader and at the show, please come by, say hello and tell me how you would like to see this space improved.

463 Turns Three-Years Old, Makes Video, Throws Party

Rob Haralson -- Many thanks to all that made it out to 463's Self-Important Holiday Bash last night. We hope everyone had a great time. If we had been able to project our true popularity, we certainly would have reserved a bigger space...

Oh Yeah, David McGuire is Now a 463er

You might remember him from his recent role as director of communications for the Center of Democracy & Technology (CDT). And, you loved him as a tech policy reporter for Washingtonpost.com.

Now, we are proud to say that Dave is a director at 463 in DC. (And, his post this week from the Rio IGF kinda gave his new gig away).

Dave joins relatively new 463 additions Katie Hallen, who is our emerging rock-star-in-residence and who brings great experience as a former Congressional reporter and Silicon Valley PR whiz, and Stephanie Tackach, who after earning a college degree full of honors made the post-graduate journey from New Jersey to DC to satisfy her quest to work in tech policy. (Needless to say, when I was a college grad, there pretty much was no such thing as tech policy.)

Hi there. I'm the Internet. I like romantic dinners, long walks on the beach and....

It won’t make you dinner or rub your feet, but nearly one in four Americans say that the Internet can serve as a substitute for a significant other for some period of time, according to a new poll released today by us kids at 463 Communications and Zogby International. (All the details follow after the jump...)

Bay Area to Brussels

First, apologies for the slow posting in recent weeks. One, 463 has been quite busy. B, I just got finished with a move. Phew.

I did want to make the rare move of asking the community who glances at this blog for a favor.

463 is expanding in both San Francisco/Silicon Valley (where I work) and into Brussels. If you have any ideas people who would be a good fit for us, let me know. My email is here and for those of you on Facebook, you can find me here.

In the Bay Area, we are looking for a strong, experienced (8 years plus) person who has a corporate communications technology background and has a more than curious interest in public affairs. In Brussels, we are looking to serve our clients with a senior-level individual who can provide an ear-to-the-ground, media relations, and, where appropriate, public affairs/lobbying support. We assume that this person will also collaborate and partner with other firms.

Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions.

Kids These Days and Their Darn Internet

Working with the Congressional Internet Caucus, 463 has helped pull together another fun, yet, hopefully insightful, Internet perception poll with Zogby International and is releasing the results tomorrow.

You remember that when we did our last Internet related poll with Zogby in December, we found that more than 80% viewed the average 12-year-old as smarter than their Congress person on the Internet.  We also learned that there is great skepticism that the next Bill Gates will come from America.

This poll finds that 18-24-year olds feel remarkably different about the Internet and its implication than age groups older than them.   For example:

Internet Attitudes Poll Coverage

The Internet Attitudes poll that we put out yesterday had us pretty busy talking to reporters as far as way as Australia and India. After the jump, are outside perspectives on the data that we collected from 1200 Americans.

Yes, we thought that the front page report in the San Jose Mercury News was pretty cool.