Most states currently do not provide constituent service blogs for their legislators. One reason is the fear that blogs can be misused. Legislative staff make every effort to offer non-partisan services and information and fear that blogs could be used as state sponsored tools for campaigning.

Most U.S. Representatives and Senators have both official governmental websites and private sites for operating campaigns. The question is, could state governments promote a similar dual model of separate sites/weblogs for constituent services and campaigning?

Elected officials and those running for office have seen how RSS news syndiction can help them spread their message. Howard Dean rose out of obscurity last year using a combination of weblogging and local web meetups to become his party's front runner in the presidential race. Dean and others learned that this technology can even the playing field and allow someone to rapidly organize a grass roots campaign. RSS syndication can help create a dynamic website and produce both email and online newsletters in the same process. With legislative staffs slow to offer the service, there is an inviting market niche for the private sector.

Recognizing this golden opportunity, LaVarr Web, Publisher of UtahPolicy.com today issued an "Invitation to Blog" to elected officials and party leaders wishing to communicate directly to citizens. Mr. Webb writes:

We would like to invite you to become a blogger. UtahPolicy.com is creating the Utah Policymaker Blog and we hope you will be part of it. It is an opportunity for you, as a Utah policymaker, to publish your opinions, thoughts and ideas to a wide audience of opinion leaders. It is an opportunity to participate in an exciting new high-tech communications medium that is becoming a powerful tool in politics, business and in every walk of life.

It's fun and exciting to be a blogger. You are probably aware of how bloggers are credited for toppling the powerful Dan Rather and CBS News. The phenomenon of blogging is growing rapidly and as a leader in Utah you ought to become familiar with this new method of communicating and use it to your advantage. In effect, Utah policymakers will have their own electronic publication in which to communicate with the public.

Some reasons UtahPolicy.com offers as to why elected officials ought to consider blogging include:

• You can communicate directly to citizens and other policymakers and opinion leaders without having your comments and opinions filtered by the news media.


• You can talk back to the news media. You can comment on news stories published by newspapers, and magazines and aired by television and radio. You can even link to the original articles.


• You can promote your pet projects, priorities, legislation, causes, and issues.


• You can respond to others' comments in the blog, creating a dialog.


• You can learn how to use an entirely new, and very powerful, communications channel. At some point you might want to create your own personal blog, and this will give you experience.


• You will be joining millions of other bloggers, some of whom have developed large followings.


• The Utah Policymaker Blog will become a very popular blog if enough policymakers participate. News reporters will read it for story ideas. It will help set the political agenda of the state. It will become a valuable forum for the exchange of opinions and ideas on public policy issues in Utah.

Utah policymakers interested in the offer should send an e-mail expressing their interest to daily@utahpolicy.com. While the general public will be able to read the blogs, only invited policymakers (i.e. elected and appointed officials and a few key opinion leaders) will be able to publish to it.

This is an example of the union of business and government to promote democracy and inform the citizenry using RSS news syndication. We wish them well in their efforts!

The State of Delaware has two new RSS newsfeeds featured by links right off the state's homepage. As lead of the team that developed the feeds, I'm pleased to report this as a joint effort of our office, the Government Information Center (GIC) and the Register of Regulations.

The first feed, Delaware.gov - Statewide News is a general collection of news and press releases from across state agencies.

The Current Monthly Register is the newsfeed equivalent of the The Delaware Register of Regulations, a monthly publication of all proposed regulatory changes, general notices, and final regulations from our partners in the Legislature.

The Government Information Center is the office that manages the state portal, Delaware.gov. The mission of the GIC is to develop and deliver accurate and complete governmental information online. The office works with state agencies, legislators, the public and others to improve the delivery of government services and information through Delaware.gov and other channels.

Halloween is still more than a month away, but it’s never too early to start getting ready for the spooky season. If you’re in the mood for some new DIY projects, Aurelie Erikson’s Instagram page is a great source of inspiration, and she’ll help you get ready for the spookiest holiday of the year. Erikson […]

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognizable buildings in the entire world, but what if we told you there are several buildings that look just like it? Architectural marvels that look like doppelgängers of Australia’s timeless symbols are scattered all around the world, and these three have to be seen to be […]

Taking amazing photos when you’re exploring the world on your own isn’t an easy task, but having the right tools can help you get there. Here are three amazing photography gadgets every solo traveler can buy without spending a fortune because they come with a low price tag. Bluetooth Shutter Bluetooth shutter barely costs any […]

If you are a professional Mobile Web Developer looking to develop Mobile Websites and Web Apps then Kendo UI is the Mobile Framework for you as it has all the features and functions that are needed for easy Mobile App Development. Kendo UI Framework has a very simple and easy to use consistent programming interface …

Master the Art of Mobile Web Development with Kendo UI Framework Read More »

Practical Cyber Intelligence provides a thorough and practical introduction to the different tactics, techniques, and procedures that exist in the field of cyber investigation and cyber forensics to collect, preserve, and analyze digital evidence, enabling readers to understand the digital landscape and analyze legacy devices, current models, and models that may be created in the future. Readers will learn how to determine what evidence exists and how to find it on a device, as well as what story it tells about the activities on the device. Over 100 images and tables are included to aid in reader comprehension, and case studies… [Continue Reading]

SHARGE has introduced the ICEMAG 2 MagSafe power bank (soon available here). It includes a new active cooling system (a fan) and an aluminum backplate to support effective heat management and maintain charging performance. It supports 15W Qi2 wireless charging, aimed at delivering faster speeds compared to traditional MagSafe batteries and improving on the previous ICEMAG model. Visually, the ICEMAG 2 features a transparent design with RGB lighting for added aesthetic appeal. The power bank also includes a foldable kickstand, allowing for hands-free use and adjustable viewing angles. In terms of functionality, the ICEMAG 2 offers 30W two-way USB-C charging,… [Continue Reading]

Humans are generally the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, so training and awareness are essential alongside technology to keep organizations safe. With the launch of its AI Scenario Generator, Immersive Labs enables organizations to seamlessly generate threat scenarios for crisis simulations to ensure their workforces are ready for the latest threats. By inputting a few short prompts, customers can use the AI Scenario Generator to rapidly generate and launch customized cyber exercises to prove and improve individual and team cyber skills against various attack types, such as ransomware and supply chain threats. Organizations can automatically tailor content by attack… [Continue Reading]

Branding is important, and this is something we’ve already seen with digital assistants like Siri. Moving into the artificial intelligence era, companies have been falling over themselves to get their own stamp on their version of AI. Apple has opted for the reasonably predictable “Apple Intelligence”, while Microsoft’s approach has been a little more haphazard. But now there are clues that suggest the company has finally come to understand the importance of giving people an overarching term to cover all of its AI-related offerings. Say hello to Windows Intelligence. See also: As is so often the case, it is the… [Continue Reading]

The latest figures have revealed that, in the UK alone, there are over 3.24 billion gamers, with the majority of British adults regularly playing video games in their spare time. Today, there’s a video game for almost every kind of gamer too – whether you want to be creative, get the brain ticking or even compete […]

The post How Game Developers Stay Ahead Of The Curve appeared first on The Design Inspiration.

In video editing, one key aspect that can significantly enhance the visual appeal of your videos is...

Google is showing both seller ratings and product ratings on a single Google Shopping Ad unit. It is a bit weird to see both ratings, and it can potentially be confusing to see different ratings for the same retailer but one is for the rating of the specific product and one is for the rating of the company selling that product, i.e the seller.

This was spotted by Hana Kobzová who posted about it on her PPC News site who wrote, "Google started showing both seller ratings and product ratings can appear together in Shopping ads. This help retailers to be more trustworthy, visible, and competitive."

Here is what it looks like:

There is a lot more detail on this over here but again, I am not sure I like this.

Forum discussion at X.

A couple of weeks ago, Google announced the new features for travel search ads through integration with travel feeds. These may now be out in the wild, as we are seeing pricing and other rich markup showing up for hotel ads in Google Search.

Lluc B. Penycate posted some examples and screenshots on X of these out in the wild. He wrote, "I think we are seeing the new Google Hotel Ads format announced last week(s) which integrates rooms, prices and availability."

Here are those screenshots:

Google wrote a couple of weeks ago, "all hotel advertisers can now showcase feed data, such as hotels, prices, dates, ratings and images, in this ad format" and then shared some mock examples of those ads. But these look like them in real life.

Forum discussion at X.

This week, Google sent an email to some Google Ads advertisers warning that they may lose access to use Customer Match with their ads cause harm to users or create a poor user experience. Google said they are updating their customer match policy effective January 13, 2025, to enforce this. Google also posted this over here.

Navah Hopkins posted about this notice on LinkedIn after she received an email from Google about this update. The email says:

On January 13, 2025, Google will update its Customer Match policy to state that customers may lose Customer Match access if their ads have the potential to cause harm to users or create a poor user experience. We may take the following considerations, among others, into account when making this determination.

What are those considerations? Google wrote:

• User feedback
• Prevalence or severity of abuse
• Repeated violations of the Customer Match policy

Google added that "violations of this policy will not lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning. A warning will be issued, at least seven days, prior to any suspension of your account."

Here is the email:

Navah Hopkins added, "Google customer match allows advertisers to take customer lists and apply them for targeting and seed purposes in Google Ads. This is a great way to ensure folks get exactly the right messaging as well as giving us an option to exclude our existing customers from prospecting campaigns."

She explained what harm might be:

The first and most important consideration is using someone's email without their consent. I would take this signal from Google that gambling with privacy rules is getting harder.

Second, ad creative needs to pass the "not a creep" check. This means:
1. You're not targeting kids.
2. You're not making it seem like the ad is for any one specific user.
3. You're not including people in a target list who outright told you they didn't want to see your ads.

Third, and most importantly, violating customer match rules will get your account suspended. Don't mess around with it.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

A team of engineers from UNSW Sydney have successfully converted a standard diesel engine to run as a hybrid diesel hydrogen engine. The resulting hybrid reduces CO2 emissions by 85%, and increases output efficiency by around 26%.  The team, led by Professor Shawn Kook, spent some 18 months developing the direct injection dual fuel system. The retrofitted engine runs using 90% hydrogen. Professors Kook believe that the new tech could significantly reduce the emissions from the trucking industry and the...

The post Hydrogen Retrofit Reduces Diesel Engine Emissions By 85% appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

A new system called Pomelo has been developed to estimate population densities during emergencies with unerring accuracy using artificial intelligence. The system has been designed to provide a fast and accurate mini census in times of emergency, such as natural disasters or war. Pomelo, created as a joint venture between the International Red Cross, Lausanne Polytechnic and Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, uses large sets of data from remote sensing systems, and uses a neural network to identify likely population...

The post Pomelo – New AI System Offers Benefits For Humanitarian Relief appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Fruit harvesting is one of the trickiest parts of the agricultural spectrum. The fruit not only has to be selected when it’s at the ideal ripeness, but also has to be picked very carefully so it doesn’t bruise or suffer damage. Now Israeli made Tevel fruit harvesting bots promise to revolutionize the process of fruit harvesting in a big way. The technology, which integrates A.I. based computer vision with clever vacuum based drone technology, offers fruit farmers a perfect way...

The post Tevel Autonomous Fruit Harvesting Bots – produce pickers face a fruitless future appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered an ingenious new way to recycle Lithium Ion batteries, and it’s so simple that even your mum could do it. Maybe. The problem with battery recycling has always been that it’s rather cumbersome. Traditional methods involve breaking down batteries into their constituent parts, then extracting the valuable materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The process works, but it’s not exactly what you’d call efficient, and it can be quite costly....

The post Quick-Release Binder – Recycling Lithium Ion Batteries Just Got Super Easy appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

In one of those science fiction becomes fact moments, an enterprising project in Shenzhen, China has seen the first public demonstration of a manned electric flying saucer. Hey ho, UFO no more. The craft, which was shown flying around a tech park, was developed with the help of Northwestern Polytechnical University and manufactured by Shenzen UFO Flying Saucer Technology. The video of the event shows a vehicle which looks decidedly unsteady in flight, even with six independent ducts with dual...

The post World’s First Manned Electric Flying Saucer Lifts Off In China appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Google has just announced a new virtual shopping experience for search which lets you try on apparel virtually using some AI cleverness. Users in the US (only, at first) will be able to try out an item of clothing from a catalog if it has a ‘Try On’ badge on it in search. The service is starting with a limited number of brands including Anthropologie, Everlane, H&M and LOFT, and a limited repertoire of AI generated lady’s tops.  Virtual shopping...

The post Google Introduces AI Based Virtual Try-On Apparel appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Ever felt the need to scream out loud? But you were too embarrassed by close neighbors? Well now you’ve got the perfect chance. The Danbocchi Personal Soundproof Studio is designed to give you a private space to make noise, whenever you want. The person sized box is fully sound proofed and large enough for someone to sit inside and…well do stuff. Like shout, scream, bang a pot, scream some more…you get the picture. It comes, of course, from Japan, land...

The post Danbocchi Personal Soundproof Studio – perfect for your private meltdown appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Everything Electric Show, London Highlights 2024

The post Everything Electric Show, London Highlights 2024 appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

AI model wrapper TypingMind has just introduced Artifacts for any AI model that supports plugins.

The post TypingMind adds Artifacts for any model, not just Claude appeared first on The Red Ferret Journal.

Jamie Penney’s entrepreneurial adventure began when he was in university.  He dabbled in niche sites and a travel vlog on YouTube successfully until the recent Google updates, but he really found his groove when he focused his efforts on a…

The post How Jamie Penney is Growing a +$4000/Month Flipping Furniture YouTube Channel appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Vinny DelGiudice first dove into blogging to pass the time when he moved to Nevada by himself just out of grad school. Although that blog never really took off, he did learn a lot from the process. A few years…

The post How Vinny DelGiudice Grew His Italian-American Food Blog to +100k Page Views a Month appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Mads Singers has a passion for management and for helping companies increase their revenue exponentially by tweaking and improving their business practices.  This Danish entrepreneur travels the world, speaking publicly and consulting privately with businesses and individuals to help them…

The post How Mads Singers Helps Companies 5x Their Business While Working Less appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Data-driven attribution is the default attribution model in Google Ads. Understand how and why to use it in your Google Ads campaign.

The post Using Google Ads’ Data-Driven Attribution Model appeared first on Portent.

Festival season kicked off as revelers from around the globe flocked to the small town of Indio, California for The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2023.

Recientemente en el equipo de Comscore hemos tenido la oportunidad de participar en eventos de industria en los que con agrado escuchamos que los ponentes y participantes de paneles han retomado varios de los indicadores de este estudio para sustentar la evolución de Connected TV (CTV), OTT y Addressable Advertising en Latam pero, sobre todo, para resaltar la oportunidad publicitaria de este fenómeno para los anunciantes.

The Met Gala once again took over NYC - and our social feeds. This year’s theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, paid homage to one of fashion’s greatest designers on one of fashion’s biggest nights.

Comscore’s first Interact Summit in London shared invaluable digital insights for the brand, publisher and agency professionals who gathered for our daylong event in Leicester Square. If there was one theme that continued to emerge in the panel discussions, presentations and Q&As throughout the day it was that relevance is the true path to reach.

El sábado 1 de julio de 2023, tuvo lugar el evento más destacado del mundo del streaming. Ibai Llanos, el reconocido streamer, youtuber y presentador español, organizó 'La Velada del Año 3', un emocionante encuentro que reunió a varios streamers, youtubers y artistas de España y Latinoamérica en un ring de boxeo ubicado en el estadio Cívitas Metropolitano de Madrid. El evento fue todo un éxito, con una gran multitud de fanáticos entusiastas que disfrutaron del espectáculo en vivo, mientras que muchos otros lo siguieron a través de Twitch.