Is Technology Liberal?

These days, I can’t say I have a burning passion for these topics, but without a doubt, given the season and my profession, both technoloy and politics are front and center on my RADAR. However, outside of silly DMCA issues and ‘trucks in tubes’ and the like, I never really tied the two together in any obvious way.

Today, David Brooks has a column talking about the class war. It’s mostly an opinion piece on how the GOP is bleeding itself of traditional supports. The snippet that stuck out to me, however, was this one:

The Republicans have alienated whole professions. Lawyers now donate to the Democratic Party over the Republican Party at 4-to-1 rates. With doctors, it’s 2-to-1. With tech executives, it’s 5-to-1. With investment bankers, it’s 2-to-1. It took talent for Republicans to lose the banking community.

That’s a ratio that seems oddly outside the  norm for an industry that I never really considered leaned one way or the other politically. What makes technology liberal (aside from Al Gore inventing the Internet jokes)? I could come up with some random theories, but I’m probably not in a position to back any of them up. Just thought I’d share that interesting datapoint at the intersection of technology and politics. I’ll leave the analysis up to the pundits.

MinneDemo - 7pm Nov 12, 2008 @ Intermedia Arts, Lyndale & 28th

Save the Date.
More info forthcoming @ MinneDemo.org

Where: Intermedia Arts on Lyndale Ave and 28th St.
When: Wed, Nov 12, 2008 7:35 pm - 9:00 pm

Websota.com - Minnesota Web Design Gallery Launches

I love the MN design community. It’s filled with people that go out and build stuff to scratch their own itch. The latest example of this: Websota - built by the FiveTechnology team 1.

“Aaron Weiche of Five [Technology] wanted a home for the great web design work close to home here in Minnesota.”

There are only 14 designers listed in their directory, so, I encourage all of you to add yourselves and those designers whose work you love, same for blogs2.

1. I’m hoping this isn’t just part of their heavy SEO campaign visible on the fivetechnology.com site, e.g. linking the phrase ‘Minneapolis, Minnesota area web design’ to yourself….yeah, um, could you at least link it to Websota. kthxbye.

2. Cullect - one of my projects - has an number of reading lists aggregating Minnesota-based blogs in a number of categories. Minnesota Design, MN Local, Twin Cities are just a few.

Al Franken Sucks

OK, maybe that title isn’t completely fair. After all, I am a pinko liberal commie who will ALWAYS watch Trading Places through to the end when I stumble upon it while channel surfing…so I don’t hate Al. Perhaps it’s fairer to say Al Franken’s Marketing team sucks. Or, at the very least, likes to piss off their own voter base.

Over the past month or so, at LEAST once a week, we get a nice lady robot calling us to inform us that my union supports Al Franken.

Well, there are a few things wrong with these phone calls:

  • autodialing robots are evil
  • I’m not in a union
  • My wife isn’t in a union
  • after the 5th time, do they really think they are cementing votes? Methinks they may be pissing off votes more than not.

So, I hunt down Al’s campaign web site and call the number. Apparently he’s turned his daughter into a voice mail robot. So, I write an email. An email to not-so-subtley complain about these very annoying and misplaced campaign calls (even if they may not be sourced from his office).

Do I get a nice personal response? An apology? Well, no. Instead I immediately get added to the campaign’s email spam list.

I thought McCain was the only candidate running this season that was clueless about the internet?

UnSummit 08

What’s the coolest thing about the MIMA Summit getting so popular it can’t hold everyone interested?

The creation of the UnSummit. Thanks to Don Ball for striking the match.

Update: An excellent UnSummit recap from Phil Wilson over at Minnov8

Where: TBD
When: Wed, Oct 01, 2008 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Fred Beecher Teaching Axure Training @ MPL, Oct 13-15 2008

MNteractive’s own Fred Beecher is offering a Basic and Advanced class on prototyping with Axure at the Minneapolis Public Library in October.

They’re $599 each, and if you’re interested, sign up at http://axuretraining.eventbrite.com/

MNteractive Event Calendar for iCal, Google Calendar, etc

Pete from WolfMotell asked about offering the MNteractive events in hCal.

Seemed like a good opportunity to remind you that all the events are available in an iCal.app and Google Calendar compatible url: http://mnteractive.com/wp-ical.php

For iCal, Go to: Calendar -> Subscribe and enter in the above url.

For Google Calendar, Click ‘Add’ in ‘Other Calendars’, then ‘Add by URL’ and enter the above url.

Twin Cities IA/UX Meetup: Oct 7, 2008 5-7pm Monte Carlo

The next Twin Cities UX Meetup group will meet October 7 at the Monte Carlo. After September’s riveting discussion on personas (SUPER interesting), we’ll switch gears to discuss “what projects make you want to drink daily?”. Come get some help and support with your gripes and challenges.

Look for Lori Baker and the “UX Meetup” table sign
Check the patio if the weather is nice

Where: Monte Carlo, 219 3rd Ave. N., Minneapolis 55401
When: Tue, Oct 07, 2008 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Curbly’s new Siblings

Minneapolitan Rails developer Bruno Bornsztein’s Curbly site has sprung a few offspring…er…siblings…er…well, he has some new sites:

He has a write up of the weebabystuff back end development on his blog.

Nice work, Bruno!

Google Chrome

When I think back
On all the crap I dealt with in IE
It’s a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of decent surfing
Hasn’t hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Google Chrome
They give us those nice bright tabs
They give us the protected memory
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a MacBook Pro
I love to surf on Facebook
So mama don’t take my Google Chrome away