This past weekend saw something we hadn't seen before on Twitter. Someone started an angry trending topic? True, but that's not new. People everywhere started cursing in a massive simultaneous attack of Tourette's? Yes, but that's not it either.
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Jeff Jarvis, one of the most successful bloviator/bloggers on the Net, rolled a Twitter snowball down a hill that turned into an avalanche. He started by ranting about the debt ceiling farce that has consumed much of our summer, which then turned into a crude hashtag I cannot repeat in this space, but which involves our nation's capital and a violent act of love.
That simple crude sentiment apparently struck a chord. The FYW tweet storm so completely dominated Twitter traffic that Jarvis says Twitter temporary shut down his account for tweeting too much. And though it never showed up as an official trending topic -- because Twitter monitors those for potty language -- that hashtag completely overwhelmed worldwide twitter statistics, per Trendsmap.
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Americans Elect is trying to create a viable third-party alternative to the donkeys and the elephants by using the power of the Net, Friedman writes.
The goal of Americans Elect is to take a presidential nominating process now monopolized by the Republican and Democratic parties, which are beholden to their special interests, and blow it wide open — guaranteeing that a credible third choice, nominated independently, will not only be on the ballot in every state but be able to take part in every presidential debate and challenge both parties from the middle with the best ideas on how deal with the debt, education and jobs.
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http://www.infoworld.com/t/cringely/political-revolution-has-been-brought-you-twitter-167976