If you go to Technorati and do a search for Zephyr Teachout, I think you’ll come away from the experience wondering what exactly it is you’ve been doing with your life so far.

Or perhaps you might just wonder if Zephyr suffers from Fatal Familial Insomnia disease. Though I’ve been given inside information that indicates that this all stems from top secret time management powers that far exceed your average mortal.

Anyway, you’ll see that she was recently in Hungary for an Internet conference and writing op-ed pieces among many other things.

My suggestion for a bumper sticker should Zephyr decide to run for office

One op-ed that escaped my attention until yesterday was in the Washington Post on November 11th, called “YouTube? It’s So Yesterday.”

Zephyr and Columbia Law School professor, Tim Wu (author of “Who Controls the Internet?), amusingly discuss the brave new world of political organizing.

They write…

What took political candidates so long to figure out that electronic data is power? Harrah’s Casino had the e-mail addresses of 28 million Americans in 2005, far outstripping the databanks of both political parties. But, led by the Republicans, the parties have finally caught on to the wonders of corporate data and microtargeting, and they’ll only get better at it.

As the saying goes, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but great data-mining sure helps. If a guy like former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani knows that you’re a libertarian (thanks to your subscription to Reason magazine and your support for legalizing marijuana), his campaign can stress tolerance for gays and abortion rights. But if the data detect that you own a Hummer, out comes the 9/11 package. The politicians of the future — Giuliani, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and others — will be basing their voter pitches first and foremost on likability. Better data-mining will help make sure you like them, whatever your politics.

With better corporate data, instead of “Swing-vote Soccer Moms,” data managers will be examining the persuasion habits of “Abercrombie & Fitch Republicans,” and the particular unreliability of “Shrek Democrats.” Most useful of all: detailed reports about the moods, smells and sounds most likely to make disaffected independents get out and vote.

And…

When former Virginia governor Mark Warner showed up this year in the online virtual world “Second Life” to talk to voters before he abandoned a presidential bid, the event was overlooked by everybody but geek blog BoingBoing.net. Too bad. Places like “Second Life,” with its 1 million “residents,” and World of Warcraft, a massive online role-playing game, are regularly outdrawing networks such as CNN and Fox. In time, virtual campaigning will be an essential part of any successful campaign, and “gaming outreach coordinators” may be a hot commodity for the 2008 candidates.

It’s easy to imagine a 2008 primary season in which politicians begin raising armies of followers on World of Warcraft and Ultima Online. The first candidate who does so may be mocked — until her opponent’s supporters notice thousands of political warlocks, chanting slogans, infiltrating banquets and chat rooms. Just imagine the battle of Helm’s Deep from “The Lord of the Rings” with Democrats and Republicans instead of Orcs and Elves.

A virtual campaign would be more fun and more inclusive. It could include a violent rally — complete with tire-burning, stone-throwing and maybe blowing up of opponents — with no one getting hurt. If you think we’re polarized and partisan today, just wait. In the fantasy worlds of the Internet, real political participation can mean more than just holding a sign. It can mean boiling your opponents in oil and firing catapults: Medieval mudslinging meets Lee Atwater.

And it closes…

If you’re a stickler for dignity in politics, the future we’ve described may not be for you. But boring old blogs, knocking on doors and, yes, campaign speeches aren’t going away, either. So the choice will be up to the voters: Do you prefer to watch Hillary’s televised debate with Barack, or their online duel with giant battleaxes?

Pretty funny, to be sure, but probably not so far-fetched.

And if you happened to wonder, while reading those two mentions of Barack Obama above, whether Zephyr has Mr. Obama on the brain, VDB can help flesh out the story a bit…

The Obama effect is already palpable and powerful here, without — as far as we can see — the Senator himself lifting a finger.

Already VDB has word of two separate Obama support networks knitting together, slowly but surely, with the prospect of a collaborative sit-down sometime in the next few weeks.

Zephyr Teachout and the mighty Neil Jensen — both well-versed in digital democracy from Dean 2004 — have registered a Yahoo Group designed to draw in interested parties early.

Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m mentioned, too.

Zephyr kindly reached out to me a month or so ago about possibly working for Obama here in Vermont. And I enthusiastically accepted.

The kick-off meeting is on December 14th at 6:00pm at the Euro Gourmet on Main Street in Burlington.

Speaking of me, I’ve been granted yet another 45 seconds of fame in the latest issue of UVM’s online publication, the View.

The topic? Knitting blogs, of course.

Megan Thomas ends her nice overview of the UVM blogging scene with this…

Jensen concedes that some of that responsibility — especially that which surrounds blogs and their credibility — lies with the reader. “Blogging is part of a larger phenomenon of more easily accessible technology — the barrier to being a personal publisher has been lowered in the past five years,” Jensen says. “And the way that the media world is evolving, there are all these competing voices out there. It’s the reader’s responsibility to not just rely on one specific source — whether it’s The New York Times or a blogger. Neither is infallible.”

Thanks for including me, Meg!

A better self-referential blog post deserves some attention, though. Haik Bedrosian has a great one up today…

Haik writes…

First a little about the family I was born into (anachronistically including my younger brother.)

My Dad (born 1909) is an Armenian who after being conscripted into the Soviet army, captured by Nazi Germans, surviving a concentration camp and spending two years of WWII as a slave laborer- came to Ellis Island on a boat in 1950. My father’s grandfather was the last in a 900 year line of priests that ended when the Bolsheviks came.

My Mom (born 1937) grew up on a farm in Sudbury, near Brandon in Addison county, went to Castleton State College and had a long and successful career as a teacher, culminating in a 30 run- first at Wheeler, then at Barnes. My mom’s ancestry can be traced throughout Vermont and New England history, includes several of those who sailed to Plymouth on the Mayflower, then back to England all the way to William the Conqueror. Her blood is 15/16 English or Welsh and 1/16 Dutch.

My older brother (born 1963) -my father’s from his first American marriage, whom my mother adopted at nine, has spent the last 20+ years climbing the ranks in the US Army. He’s either a major or a lieutenant colonel at this point, I’m not exactly sure.

My younger brother (born 1977) is a local rock star bass guitar player who has played with such acts as Concentric, Gordon Stone Band and Outer Bass Project. He also teaches bass. You might have seen him play.

Now about me- here’s some bullets. They are not in order and this is not a complete list.

Go to Burlington Pol for the full scoop.