Category — politics

I come here to the blog, a couple days after writing political posts, and on the day Congress rejected the $700M bailout plan. I come here not to talk again about politics - but to talk about a section of startup culture and of startup writing that can work to combat what we’re seeing today; namely, the strife, pettiness, and anger all over Washington and Wall Street, and for that matter, all over twitter (and presumably, all over the US population). I don’t like it, and really, I’m pretty sure no one likes it.

where do we go then? what do we do about it? well… that’s a big question. and I believe there are many answers. but I do believe one of them is community. startup communities. I think that in the new Internet age, less and less people are reaching out to authorities and major news media for answers and direction, and I think more and more people are reaching out to smaller, self-selected communities for the same thing. and really, I think that’s a great opportunity. it’s a great opportunity because we have the chance to create those communities from scratch - to make them warm, supportive, and helpful… rather than bitter, partisan, and destructive.

we should pay attention to community, now more than ever. we should create new startups to foster it, and we should create communities within those startups that are warm and empowering, not angry and suffocating. we should put the energy in to create our next meeting places, and encourage those meetings to transcend the limits of our current ones. writing matters, because it creates community. community matters, because in a new age, I believe it will create a better population.

I do. I believe that. that’s even where I’m headed professionally - to help good web 2.0 startups build good communities. and I know, of course, that it’s not where most of you all are heading. but in some way, somehow… it would be great to have you along.

This is part two of my political posts (part 1 is here), this one about John McCain. and perhaps this is even the more important one, namely because the Obama one was so darn easy to write (he’s damn good at nearly everything I talk about here), and because McCain isn’t so good at the same things (he doesn’t even have a twitter account, for example). but considering they’re nearly tied in national polls, and considering McCain is a damn-good politician in his own right, there’s plenty there to talk about below the surface.

and I think this is the most important one: substance. because I think that’s what McCain does very well. he doesn’t look all that great, he doesn’t have a great stage presence, or a great feel for oratory. he doesn’t have gushing crowds, or an overly-enthusiastic base. but he does have a good deal of people who say: “yep. John McCain. he’s a smart man/good guy/great candidate.” that comes partially from his record, not only as a war hero but as a highly-respected popular maverick senator. but it also comes from his writing and his branding. he’s straight-talk, and no matter what you think about his policies, they’re well thought-out and all have validity in reality. he has substance, no doubt, and even if it’s not flashy, his campaign (and his communication) reflect that.

I think, being a Republican, McCain has too much of an uphill battle to fight… it’s darn-hard to be a maverick running in Bush’s party against someone who is out-changing him. and I think Obama will win (by even a comfortable 3-5% margin). but that doesn’t mean McCain hasn’t done a lot right, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn something for his campaign. mostly, that more than flash, writing is about substance.

in the end, it’s about knowing what you want to say, and about saying it. it’s about sticking by what you believe, about sticking by what you say, and letting what shakes out shake out. about honor really, not deception in delivery. about good, straight-foward, substantitive writing.

political fervor has struck America. it’s time for our once-every-four-year presidential campaign. it’s an exciting, and also often overwhelming time: parades, conventions, signs, speeches, donations, critics, pundits, idiots, yahoos, and on a good day, just maybe, a well-thought out and intelligent discourse on American society.

in an effort to find some sense amid the chaos, or maybe just to add to the noise, I thought I’d write a political post or two. but since this is a blog with a subject, writing, I figured I’d stick to it. what follows is a two-part post about what we can learn about good (copy)writing from the campaign, and the candidates. I’ll start here with Obama, and sometime soon, get to McCain.

and in starting with Obama, I’ll start at the only logical point: his oratory. it’s good. astoundingly good. the best I’ve ever seen live. no matter the outcome of this race, I believe 4th grade social studies classes will be listening to Obama just as they listen to Martin Luther King, jr. now. his delivery is impeccable. his timing is right on. his nature fits the message, and the message fits. his speeches are well-written, and they’re well delivered. for anyone who disputes my point that delivery, timing, and rhythm are crucial to good copy (and good speeches) has to look no further than Obama.

and in a secondary, related way, we ought to learn about magic from Obama. his speeches are as good as they are not because of the beginning or the middle - where he communicates what he needs to communicate. they’re special because the end - where he communicates the magnitude of his message. where he transcends politics, and speaks to the human (and even the divine) spirit. where he inspires and energzes, like seldom before him have. they’re special because he believes his words can become magic. from a previous post, as a reminder about good, even great writing, here’s a quote from Stephen King: “we are talking about tools and carpentry, about words and style… but as we move along, you’d do well to remember that we are also talking about magic.”

King is a good teacher, and Obama is a good reminder: writing should be simple. it should be to the point, and it should be effective. but do that well - get your message across - and you might have some room for magic. you might be able to do more than sell, or more than get elected. you may be able to inspire.