White House: Let’s all hold hands and share the airwaves
The full backing of the U.S. executive branch is now behind the idea of spectrum sharing, which would split time between federal and commercial users on the wireless airwaves. Read more »
The White House opens the data floodgates, and now the real work will begin
photo: Flickr user Tom Lohdon
The U.S. government has reams of data locked away in agencies and even filing cabinets, but an executive order signed Thursday should make more of it accessible. Read more »
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski confirms departure
After nearly four years as FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski is stepping down in “coming weeks”. President Obama will now get to appoint two new commission members in his second term. Read more »
Where the money is in cleantech: oil and gas
Cleantech investment is not dead, it just requires new approaches and a recognition that the traditional oil and gas industry may very well be the best patron for cleantech development and deployment. At least for now. Read more »
Report: Genachowski resigning as FCC chairman Friday
The Democratic chairman is stepping down, according to the Wall Street Journal, just as a Republican commissioner is departing, preserving an administration-friendly majority on the commission. Read more »
Obama starts unveiling his plans for climate change, clean energy
President Obama starts to show his hand for how he’ll keep support going for clean energy and greener vehicles, and also fight climate change, at a time when Congress won’t likely approval major budget increases or aggressive policies. Read more »
Just as companies and even armies are becoming media entities, so are governments
photo: Shutterstock / Picsfive
The Obama administration has shown what is possible when a government becomes a media entity in its own right. But is that good or bad for a free press and for society in general? Read more at paidContent »
President Obama: If Congress won’t act on climate change, I will
President Obama made one of his most aggressive declarations to using market-based means to fight climate change since early on in his first term. Read more »
Obama calls for action on climate change, clean energy in inauguration speech
In a surprising move, President Obama called out the need to fight climate change and transition to cleaner energy sources in his inauguration speech on Monday morning. While Obama’s first term provided many resources for clean energy, the administration’s support became controversial and politicized. Read more »
Where to watch the 2013 Presidential Inauguration live online
It’s inauguration weekend, and hundreds of thousands are flocking to Washington D.C. to take part in the festivities. Live streams if the event are going to be available on the web, on iPads, mobile phones and connected devices. Read more »
Report: Energy Secretary Steven Chu to leave, end of a green era
Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu is leaving his position, and the news will be announced next week, reports Bloomberg. If true, it’s an end of an era for the Obama Administration. Read more »
Where to watch the 2012 third presidential debate live online
Monday night’s third presidential debate is your last chance to see Obama and Romney duke it out in front of an audience of millions before election night. Our ultimate debate watching guide lists all the live streams, apps and fact checking feeds you need to know. Read more »
Where to watch the 2012 second presidential debate live online
Live streams of the presidential debate? Check. Second screen apps that let you voice your opinion about either candidate’s performance? Got it. Live-teweeting fact-checkers? Of course. A debate drinking game? Cheers! Our ultimate guide to watching the second presidential debate got all your needs covered. Read more »
Where to watch the first 2012 presidential debate live online
Are you away from your TV when Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are going to face off during their first presidential debate this Wednesday? No worries, plenty of sites are providing live streams, combined with realt-ime fact checking and mobile cheering and booing. Read more »
New report shows huge drop in startup jobs (but don’t just think tech)
A new report from the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, shows that the number of jobs created by startups has fallen sharply since 2010. Small businesses are hiring again, so what is the particular problem with startups — and why are they suffering even in a recovery? Read more »
What is combined heat & power & why does Obama like it?
At the end of the day, it may be the really boring stuff — uh, industrial energy efficiency — that does the most good and needs the most support. Read more »
Fact-checking politics: Why we need “open journalism” more than ever
photo: Flickr user Hans Gerwitz
There has been a rush of fact-checking of recent comments made by Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan, but does this mean the traditional media’s obsession with objectivity and the “view from nowhere” has changed? Not really — which is why more alternative sources are necessary. Read more »
Feds recommend opening up the nation’s airwaves for shared use
In an aggressive proposal, the President’s Council of Advisors on Policy and Technology not only wants the administration to double the amount of federal spectrum being targeted for new mobile and wireless networks, but it also wants to make a good portion of those airwaves shared. Read more »
Twitter, World War II and the death of official secrets
photo: Flickr user Jennifer Moo
The government’s attempt to keep the president’s trip to Afghanistan a secret was foiled by Twitter — in the same week that the Associated Press apologized to the reporter it fired 67 years ago for breaking the embargo on the end of World War II. Read more »
Feds to carriers: Let’s share the airwaves
Federal spectrum managers on Tuesday recommended that a huge chunk of spectrum used by the 20 government agencies be made available to commercial mobile operations, but instead of clearing the those airwaves, the government is proposing the carriers and federal agencies share them. Read more »
Obama administration to push big data agenda
Big data must really be big to get its own White House-sanctioned research and development initiative. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will host a live webcast Thursday to outline how the government can “help big data” efforts. Read more »
What happened when I got retweeted by @BarackObama
I thought it would be cool to be retweeted by the President, but it kind of sucked. Read more »
Subscriber Content
How the natural gas craze will impact renewable energy
A morning chunk of last week’s Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics Conference focused on hydraulic fracking and natural gas. It represents an aggressive new vision for the U.S. energy economy that will contribute to climate change and could slow development of renewable energy. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Vote for me: How data will change the 2012 elections
The files J. Edgar Hoover kept are nothing compared to the data collected by the Republican and Democratic campaigns in the coming 2012 elections. Thanks to tools such as Hadoop and Hive, campaigns can now predict how to target their campaigns. What’s next? Read more »
Where to watch the 2012 State of the Union Address online
President Obama’s State of the Union address will be carried on all the major broadcast networks, as well as on all the cable news channels. But if you’re unable to watch on TV, the speech will be available online and on multiple mobile and connected platforms. Read more »
The next broadband battle: AT&T/Dish and Verizon/Cable
The business model for standalone wholesale wireless network operators is broken. But in the coming year a new and ultimately more successful model is poised to emerge, transforming the entire communications landscape as we know it Tim Farrar of Telecom, Media, and Finance Associates, Inc. explains. Read more »
4 ways technology will impact politics in 2012
photo: Image courtesy of Flickr user Lower Columbia College
Another election year is nearly upon us, and if the past is any lesson, new uses of technology will impact the outcome in many new and unpredictable ways. Read more »
Could e-books be a game-changer for 2012 Presidential candidates?
In today’s crowded media marketplace, presidential candidates (and their media consultants) have an almost mind-boggling number of mediums in which to get a message across. From TV to talk radio to the printed word and all the permutations in between, there’s no doubt that a mastery […] Read more »
10 things that sold at Solyndra’s auction
Bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra held a two-day auction for part of its assets last week in an attempt to recoup some of its losses, and reportedly drew thousands of people looking for both bargains and gear with Solyndra logos. Here’s 10 things that were bought. Read more »
Smart grid: Obama pushes for speedier transmission lines
If there’s one thing the Obama administration can do to push clean energy, it’s make sure the necessary transmission lines get built. On Wednesday, the administration said it’s starting a pilot project to speed up the approval and construction process of seven transmission lines. Read more »
Subscriber Content
What the Solyndra case says about the government and cleantech
A quick Google news search on Sunday of the term “Solyndra” produced 3,830 results, ahead of “Tom Cruise” (3,210) but still safely behind “Lady Gaga” (12,300). It’s fair to say that Solyndra’s bankruptcy and the ensuing congressional investigation into how Solyndra secured its loan guarantee has ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Will spectrum scarcity sink wireless access to content in the cloud?
Incumbent wireless service providers and a chorus of experts have warned of a looming spectrum crisis, which could threaten the success of cloud-based and other high-bandwidth offerings. A silver lining is on the horizon, however, in the form of policy and technological innovations. Read more »
DOE bets on lightweight steel for fuel efficient cars
Greener transportation doesn’t just involve electric vehicles and biofuels. Lighter weight steel can make a car more fuel efficient, too. That’s the idea behind the Wednesday announcement by the federal government to offer a $730 million loan to a steel maker Severstal in Michigan. Read more »
President Obama’s Twitter Town Hall, a live streaming & big data mashup
Obama will have a virtual town hall meeting with Twitter Wednesday, as he uses social media to reach out to voters and constituents. But more importantly, the Twitter Town Hall will provide Obama and the White House with invaluable data about what voters are thinking about. Read more »
Obama administration unveils programs to build the smart grid
As expected, at an event at the White House on Monday, Obama administration officials unveiled a slew of programs and initiatives that will aim to help add information technology to the power grid to make the grid more efficient and more secure. Read more »
How YouTube Wants to Rock the Vote
YouTube will stream one of the final pre-primary debates between the GOP’s contenders to challenge President Obama online, and the site will once again let users participate by asking the candidates questions. It’s part of a bigger plan to ramp up election coverage on the site. Read more »
Where to Watch Obama’s Town Hall Meeting Live Online
President Obama is coming to Facebook HQ tomorrow to answer questions about the economy and the budget in a special online town hall meeting. The event will also feature Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Obama may have to deal with questions about marijuana and gambling. Read more »
Federal ID Plan: No, It’s Not a Government ID Card
The Obama administration introduced its National Strategy on Trusted Identity in Cyberspace on Friday, and took pains to point out that this program will be led by the private sector, and isn’t some kind of Big Brother-ish, government-issued ID card everyone will be forced to use. Read more »
Tesla to Become the 4th American Automaker… Really?
Are we underestimating the electric car market? A bullish outlook from Morgan Stanley and President Obama’s energy speech apparently have raised that question, even though neither has made a good case for the answer to be “yes.” Read more »
Obama to Silicon Valley: A Side of Innovation Please?
Steve Jobs and several other tech industry leaders, including Google’s Eric Schmidt and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, met last night with President Obama at the home of venture capitalist John Doerr. Subjects of discussion at the meeting included technological innovation and private sector job growth. Read more »
