More4 News Blog

Welcome to Conservatives 2.0

Silly title aside, the Tories' new 'Webcameron' website is a clever step forward in the world of video webcampaigning.

It's fully compliant with all the latest fashions in internet design - known to the dot-cognoscenti as 'Web 2.0'. There are easy-to-play videos, just like YouTube. There are shortcuts to the trendy social bookmark service del.icio.us. (We have them too - see the column on the right). There's even a MySpace-style 'friends' section, called the Guest Blog, though there's only one friend so far - US senator John McCain.

But though the site is a slick professional bit of work, the videos are amateurish efforts, apparently shot on wobbly handheld cameras in two minutes flat.

And that's the beauty of them. As one of the Lib Dems behind the Ming Campbell conference vidcasts explained, one of the best things about video podcasts is that they only take five minutes of the candidate's time to do. The aide points a camera, the candidate talks for a couple of minutes, then gets back to work - or in the case of the first episode of Webcameron, the washing up.

It's even quicker than a blog to do (though the minions still have to spend hours posting them). And they give a quick, unmediated glimpse into what the candidate is like as a person, without a reporter shoving a microphone up his nose.

They aren't, perhaps, the ideal forum for exploring the minutiae of fiscal policy. But they could be just the way to present the candidate as a honest, decent, dishwashing sort of chap. You know, the kind of guy you could vote for.

Such is the theory - but will the public buy it? Will those elusive swing voters and non-voters tune in for these neatly presented slices of backstage political life? Who out there really wants to watch videos of the Conservative leader up to his arms in ecological soap suds?

If they don't, here's one sure way to get the YouTube generation to tune in - film politicians mixing mentos and diet pepsi. The results would be explosive.

Ming and me: talking to LibDem bloggers

Our very own self-styled Blogfather Iain Dale is in Brighton at the Lib Dem conference, where he met up with three of the party's chief bloggers - Steven Tall, Alex Foster, and Rob Fenwick.

He began by asking Steven (pictured) what it was like to be the newly-crowned Lib Dems' Blogger of the Year.

You'll find Iain Dale in conversation with the LibDem bloggers in today's Channel 4 News Radio Morning Report (it's around 19 minutes into the show).

 

See also: Is Alan Johnson running for leader?, Channel 4 News Party conference special, Channel 4 FactCheck at conference

Is Alan Johnson running for leader?

Is Alan Johnson running for leader of the Labour Party? Well someone clearly thinks so - they've registered johnson4leader.co.uk and a number of other domain names.

As our regular blog expert Iain Dale explains, it's a classic internet story, where schemeing politicos have been caught by sleuthing geeks, who understand the tech much better than they do.

The best detail of the story is that the owner of the domains tried to cover his or her tracks by setting up the websites to forward all visits to the homepage of Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota.

'Oh fine,' you're invited to think - 'It's an American site. Nothing to do with us.' But why would a US senator register a UK internet address? As soon as someone raises this question on a blog, the site mysteriously stops pointing to Tim Johnson's blog.

Busted! But who exactly has been busted? The domain name is registered is in the name of a David Taylor. But who exactly is he? And is he linked with Alan Johnson?

The Dizzy Thinks blog broke the story, and he has a theory - you can hear his account here, or listen to Iain's telling of the tale here.

The blog of the week is Tim Worstall.

Iain Dale: How I made the front page

Bloggers have made the front pages this week, with the news of how the company that is building a casino inside the Dome played a bit fast and loose with the views of local clerics.

Our resident blogologist Iain Dale reckons it's a key moment in the history of media - blogs are now mainstream enough to make the front pages. Either that, or the editors were short of material in August.

Either way, you can hear his account of the event here. He nominates 'Niles's Blog' by Lib Dem blogger Alex Foster - 'entertaining, unpredictable and at times hilarious'.

http://www.channel4.com/news/podcasts/morning_report/mp3s/blogs/iain_dale_30.mp3

Credit where credit is due, though - the blog which spotted the story was Greenwich Watch.

Also, apologies to Jeffrey Archer. Reports that he was bored of blogging are much exaggerated, it seems. His blog is back in business with a post about sailing on the QE2.

Castro, Cuba and a curious neighbour

Ever since news broke that Cuba's ageing leader Fidel Castro was ill, there's been a media circus surrounding his every move - not least online.

And with diplomatic relations between the Carribean island and the US problematic to say the least, his health's been of huge interest to North America podders.

This week's Top of the Pods (it is 24 minutes into the show) - on Channel 4 News Radio's The Morning Report - took a look at what America's been saying about their old enemy.

Iain Dale: Political Betting, female Tories, Chicken yoghurt

This week our resident blogosphere watcher Iain Dale looks at the debates that rage on PoliticalBetting.com, where the punters and pundits have been thrashing over the issue of David Cameron's plans to get more female MPs elected.

Is it the defining moment of his career? Is it his 'Clause 4 moment,' where he redefines the destiny of his party? Or is it a sinister conspiracy to concentrate power in the hands of a small elite? There's someone to argue every point of view, and the site's owner Mike Smithson tries to keep the debate under control.

And this week's blog of the week is Chicken Yoghurt - one of the most popular comment blogs on the net, where the author has a view on everything from airport security to cordon bleu cooking. Help yourself to a chicken nugget here.

Or listen to Iain Dale's report here.

Stars Wars stops attacking the clones

In this week's Top of the Pods Ben King discusses a little reported decision that could have far reaching consequences.

Lucasfilm, the people who own the copyright to Star Wars quietly gave their blessing to people who show their own Star Wars related films online.

The popular video site, YouTube, for example, hosts thousands of these films but this month it took them all down after what they mistakenly thought was a request from Lucasfilm.

Here's how Kevin Rose at the Diggnation podcast told the story: "Lucasfilm tells YouTube to put all removed Star Wars content back online ... Awesome."

That means you can still catch the likes of Chad Vader. This is the story of Darth Vader's less successful younger brother who - still wearing the family's distinctive black cape and mask - works as a day shift manager at a local supermarket.

Top of the Pods appears weekly on Channel 4 News Radio's The Morning Report.

Tommy Sheridan, Sarah Smith and Scottish connections

"How I would have loved to have been the Channel's woman in Edinburgh over the last few weeks," says More4 News presenter and former Channel 4 News Scotland Correspondent, Sarah Smith.

"The Edinburgh Festival may have started but the best show in town was to be found at the City's Court of Session - the Tommy Sheridan (pic) defamation trial."

"But any visitor just arrived in Edinburgh worried they've missed the performance should be reassured - Tommy the stage show is being written as we speak and should be on stage by the end of the month."

Listen to Sarah Smith's podcast in full now.

Blogging tips for Jeffrey Archer

Our resident political blogger Iain Dale names Jeffrey Archer as his blogger of the week but not before pointing out a few harsh lessons for a would-be member of the blogosphere.

"Lesson one: Update your blog every day even if it's only a couple of lines. Lesson two: interact with people who leave comments and don't leave it for days on end to moderate them."

Super-blogger Brian Micklethwait thinks Archer has got potential.

"He's a dreadful name dropper but at least he has names to drop. You wouldn't want your sister to marry him but as a blogger he might prove to be quite good.

"Perhaps this blog is Archer's reaction to a big media blackout and perhaps he's using it launch yet another comeback. If so, more potential fun."

Backdoor diplomacy in Tehran, Baghdad and London

Jon Snow thinks back to his visit to Tehran in March. He had a meeting with a mysterious 'Mr Jafri', a man incredibly high up in the National Security Council, the second highest office in the land.

This mysterious gentlemen seemed to be offering something of an olive branch to the US, or at least a chance to discuss how deal with the increasing strife between Shias and Sunnis in Iraq.

History doesn't relate what happened the offer at that date. But Jon Snow learns that Mr Jafri is in London. Are there some back door negotiations going on? About Lebanon, Iraq, or both?

And what would happen if they tried front door negotiations?

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