A short, sort of sad conversation with Cleverbot and the author

Does everyone on the Internet eventually turn into an asshole (See: YouTube comments)? Why do people feel the need to verbally abuse a robot? Have you ever been tricked into a conversation with a computer program…and enjoyed it?

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Facebook. Twitter. Mybarackobama.com. Text messaging. The president-elect used all of these digital tools to devastating effect in the 2008 election. How did he do it? What strategic lessons can we learn from Barack Obama’s high-tech campaign? How might he deploy this online army of millions to govern? And does President Obama’s historic rise to the White House also propel social networking into the mainstream?

The answers to these important questions have a profound impact on the very near future of our democracy, as well as how we organize, communicate and even do business in the digital age. On the eve of the Obama inauguration, the University of Washington’s Master of Communication in Digital Media program held a dynamic, engaging “UW Insight” conversation that sought to put this digital revolution in perspective.

Part 1 includes the Introduction to this event and a presentation by Prof. Lance Bennett, UW Political Science and Communication, on the digital tools employed during the election.

Parts 2 & 3 after the jump…

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