PhillipPerry.com

Because of a recent election complaint and ambiguity in Florida’s election laws, the ability for non-federal political campaigns to use Google and Facebook advertisements as a medium to communicate with voters is in serious jeopardy.

It all started a few weeks ago when a complaint was filed against the campaign of St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Scott Wagman for not including a political disclaimer in Google AdWords his campaign was running on opponent’s names – a technique that has grown in popularity after being extensively used in the 2008 presidential race.

The Wagman Campaign now has until August 10^th to make a difficult decision: do they contest the complaint – potentially resulting in thousands of dollars of fines for each individual ad – or do they pay a small fine to stop the investigation, which could set a dangerous legal precedent on the issue. There is great concern among Florida political consultants that it could very soon be illegal for campaigns to ever use Google or Facebook text ads.

With over $20 million spent on online political advertising in 2008, Google, Facebook, and other advertising providers could stand to lose a big chunk of political business if this shakes out the wrong way. But even more importantly is that campaigns in Florida would lose an entire medium to communicate with voters. Indeed, many of Florida’s statewide candidates were running Google ads that have since been pulled, and the fear of an election law violation is starting to spread to down ballot races.

The arguments against needing a disclaimer on text ads of this nature are numerous. The most obvious is that Google text ads are limited to 68 characters when a typical political disclaimer would require 90-100 characters or more. Additionally, the ads are just links to a website with the full disclaimer and the campaign doesn’t have to pay for ads unless they’re actually clicked. There are also issues of free speech to be considered. Mike Zaneis of the Interactive Advertising Bureau summed it up best in the Wall Street Journal report:

“It becomes a de facto restriction on political speech on search engines and things like Twitter and Facebook. It really becomes a scary precedent.”

This debate will more than likely be decided by the Florida Election Commission, who meets next in November, but it could require a change in Florida’s election law statutes during the 2010 legislative session. At the end of the day, we should be encouraging the use of online advertising, not punishing campaigns for being effective and efficient in using it. This affects all campaigns in Florida, Republican or Democrat, so please help bring attention to this vitally important issue.

More Coverage:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/baybuzz/2009/08/scott-wagmans-election-troubles-make-wall-street-journal.html

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/08/st-pete-election-complaint-could-have-wide-repercussions.html

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/04/na-online-campaign-ads-questioned/news-metro/

http://www2.tbo.com/video/2009/aug/03/social-networking-used-in-st-petersburg-03320/video-news/

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110860&catid=8&GID=c/7BIFRL5RH4ZvaF4zMr/TfAWJjaKjrFFdjhTGEilH8%3D&provider=email

http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/florida-battles-over-google-ad-disclosure/

http://www.jordanraynor.com/2009/08/florida-where-google-ads-for-political.html

http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1025987.ece

Phil Blog Facebook, Florida, Google, online advertising, Scott Wagman

UPDATE: This video was recorded last night but not posted until now due to some technical difficulties. Since then, my nephew decided to come 10 days early. Both he and my sister are happy and healthy and I’m one proud uncle/brother today!

Phil Blog Albania, italy

In my first blog post, I wrote:

For all my years working with the web, I’ve never consistently blogged, but fortunately, that’s about to change.  That’s because I’m about to embark on an amazing new opportunity that has inspired me to write about the daily happenings in my life for my friends and family.

Daily happenings? I know, I know. It’s been a month since my last blog post, and that is absolutely, positively unacceptable. So to tide you over until the next post, I’ve included the list of things I miss below, which I started to write last week and finished up in my head while I was sick in bed this weekend.

8.) My own washer and dryer: Between taxi drivers not being able to find my laundromat to going three days in a row because my clothes still weren’t completed to paying an arm and a leg every two weeks, I could really go for my own washer and dryer. Needless to say, I never knew that laundry could be such an adventure. And here all I wanted was a coin laundromat, which doesn’t seem to exist in Tirana.

7.) Google maps: You don’t realize how reliant you are on some technologies until they stop working. I couldn’t figure out why Google Maps wasn’t working for any addresses I tried to pull up in Tirana, but then I was informed that there are some streets which still don’t even have a street name. That would explain it.

6.) American coffee: Don’t get me wrong, I have acquired a great appreciation for the strength of European coffee, but sometimes you just gotta have a Starbucks Cafe Latte with two Splendas. But before I get myself into trouble, I want to get a quick shameless plug in for the Tuscan Sun Coffee House if you live in Tallahassee. They beat Starbucks hands down!

5.) Florida politics: It’s easy to feel out of the loop when you’re far away and not in the thick of things. It’s especially so when Florida is on the verge on having one of the most exciting political cycles in modern history. We’ll just have to wait and see what Gov. Crist announces in a few weeks.

4.) Driving: Walking around the city is enjoyable – especially on a beautiful day – and taxis are an efficient means of transportation if you’re in a hurry, or the weather is bad. All of that is true, but there is a certain freedom to being able to get in your car at any time and go wherever you want. Fortunately, I did find a nice taxi driver name Jhevi who speaks decent English and helps me out when I need it.

3.) Bar-b-q and Mexican: There are a few restaurants that make a valiant effort at Mexican in Tirana, but the spiciness is definitely a missing ingredient. And what I would do for Sonny’s – or any other type of barbq – you have no idea. Gimme some sweet tea and pulled pork!

2.) Friends: It’s always nice to grab a drink with familiar faces, which I look forward to doing more of when I return, especially at this newfangled trivia night in Tallahassee. I’m glad to hear about all my Obama colleagues getting jobs in DC, and to those that are patiently waiting – hang in there.

1.) Family: Lots of good things are going on in my family right now. My Dad got another dog. My twin sister is having a baby boy in June. My brother and sister are doing great as managers at their stores, and my Mom and step dad are finishing up remodeling their house. Josh is doing well, and he is actually coming to visit me later this week. I can’t wait! There should be more fun stuff on the blog then.

If you think of something else I should be missing, then drop me a note in the comments.

I will try to do a better job of posting. If you want to get quick updates in real time, you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/phillipperry or at the top of my blog. Until next time…

UPDATE: #9 is fishing, and that’s not just because I’m in Albania. It’s been way too long since I’ve been bass fishing with my Dad!

Phil Blog Albania

Today was both a beautiful and productive day. The sun was out and it’s considerably warmer than the typical rainy 40’s and 50’s since I had arrived. It seems that Skanderbeg square is the happening place to be on Saturday mornings. There were all kinds of people, merchant tents, and even a marching band out there.

I was able to start catching up on some US projects that have been lingering, and to those that I still have some pending items with, know that I am working hard to get them completed. Besides working and a little admiring of the day, I went for another run but decided to give my knee a few days off after today. Somehow the lock of my door decided to have a mind of its own and stop working despite getting a new card made. It was kind of funny at first but I had to wait around in my room for awhile before it was fixed.

Josh really made my day today because he put together a little video with pictures of the two of us, as well as photos of my family and friends. It really touched me and I’m so glad that he put it together for me to be able to watch whenever I get lonely over here. The background music was a great song – “Never Far Away” by Rush of Fools – which was written by the band for their families when they’re on tour. The lyrics were really fitting:

I close my eyes and try to see
See you right in front of me….

…. It’s like I never left at all
And all the world feels so small….

….Oh, oh, oh, oh, you’re never far away
From me.

So to Josh, my family and friends: Even though I may be miles away, you’re never far away from me.

Phil Blog Albania

The rest of this week has been going well. I started to get a little stir crazy working inside a lot, so on Thursday, I took a walk around and snapped a few more photos:

This pyramid is nearby the government buildings. It was originally built by the communist dictator to be buried in, but now it houses a bar and a TV station.

Here is a close up view of the mosque nearby

The mosque is the one that I can hear during prayers five times a day – usually starting around 5am, and spaced throughout the day from there. Besides Muslims, there are a good number of Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics here. They all seem to exist in harmony without any religious extremism or discrimination.

My body is finally getting used to the time difference and a normal sleep pattern again. After US daylight savings last weekend, I’m 5 hours ahead of everyone in the Eastern Time zone, so don’t be alarmed if you receive emails from me at strange hours. Though I will admit that some would probably say they already received late night emails from me even before I ended up over here!

I’ve been doing a decent job of going to the gym to run and lift weights, which is also helping to adjust. I think I need some new running shoes because my knee is starting to give me some problems after getting over a pulled heel muscle a few weeks ago. Still, it feels good to exercising again!

Phil Blog Albania

I just got back from a 2-day detour on a business trip to the Ukraine. I had a great view flying over this part of the world especially of the small villages and towns in the mountains. In Austria, there were lots of windmill farms, which I’ve never really seen from above before.

Once again, I didn’t take any pictures (really wishing I had the iPhone or BlackBerry Storm with a camera on my phone right about now) so I cheated and snagged a few stock photos below. The architecture was beautiful in the capitol Kyiv – an interesting mix of West and East. I even got to see snow in the morning though it was just a few flakes here and there. Overall, it was a quick trip, but great to see another new city.

Old building reflected from glass wall of new office's building in Kyiv

Monument of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and Mikhailovsky monastery, Kiev, Ukraine

This was clearly not taken during the winter! Lilac bushes with Vidubichi monastery, Kiev, Ukraine

Phil Blog Ukraine

Over the weekend, I’ve spent a lot of time with the folks I’ll be working with on the campaign discussing the website and online efforts, but also just getting to know each other.

We’ve eaten at a few decent restaurants where I’m starting to get a sample of the Albanian cuisine. I had meatballs on Friday night, which were good but nothing like my Mom’s.  Yesterday, I had a traditional chicken and stuffing meal, similar to what we have at Thanksgiving, along with some Albanian cheeses and different pepper appetizers. While at this restaurant, I wish I had my camera because the restaurant is by a large park and a herd of sheep went grazing by my window. I’ve heard a few stories (good and bad) about eating bear meat, so I’ll have to give that a try before I leave.

As you can probably tell by some of my photos, the traffic here is interesting to say the least. No one really abides by the lanes, meanwhile stop signs and traffic lights almost seem optional. It’s not just the drivers though – pedestrians walk out in front of cars anywhere on the street instead of at cross walks. I’ve been in a taxi that comes within inches of other vehicles in roundabouts or pedestrians crossing the street. It’s a little nerve racking at first but somehow they don’t actually have that many accidents in the city. All in all, I thought South Florida traffic was bad, but it’s not even close.

I’ve started working on some new website designs, which would be coming along nicely if I can just shake off this “designers block.” That’s the extent of my weekend. Nothing too exciting – just getting settled in.

Phil Blog Albania

I just wanted to write a quick note to say that my flights were uneventful and I made it safely to Albania. Here is the great view from my hotel:

This is the view from my hotel in Tirana. It kind of reminds me of Denver or Colorado Springs with the mountains in the background behind the city.

Another shot with some mountains in the background

This is Skanderbeg Square or just "the Square" to the locals. It's a main part of town that is supposed to be closed to pedestrians only in the future, but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon when you look at the traffic.

That's the Opera House right on the corner. And right behind the Opera House is a mosque which sends prayers over a loud speaker I can hear in my room a few times a day.

Another shot of Skanderbeg Square

Phil Blog Albania

For all my years working with the web, I’ve never consistently blogged, but fortunately, that’s about to change.  That’s because I’m about to embark on an amazing new opportunity that has inspired me to write about the daily happenings in my life for my friends and family.

Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to Tirana, the capital of Albania (the country just north of Greece), to work on the online operations for the parliamentary elections at the end of June 2009. This is really my first time overseas, unless you count my short stint on a Caribbean cruise after the 2008 election, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing new culture, cuisine, people and places, but also learning about political campaigning and public policy in another part of the world.

The most exciting part is that I’m coming in with a blank slate, which means there is endless potential for the campaign’s online efforts. The eternal optimist in me hopes that we can encourage more civic engagement and maybe even foster a new relationship between online citizens, their government and political parties. But even if we only reach half the potential for use of the web in this campaign, it will at least cause those in the political process to think about their future political campaigns in a whole new light.

I’ll be blogging about my experiences in Albania, new media techniques, Florida politics, technology policy and much, much more! Feel free to leave a comment, as well as follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for your support!

Phil Blog Albania