Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

On Election Day, I commented about how the aesthetics of politics assisted to the outcome of the elections. It was evident that the Obama campaign listened to the hopes and aspirations of the American people, offering visuals that support such a choice – a genius approach, given that millions of new and younger voters are more Internet-savvy and better educated than the generation that produced eight years of “doom and gloom” under former president G.W.Bush.

A new administration is in place, bringing political, financial and social hope and aspiration to the American people. By employing the smartest people for each job, the Obama administration faces a long but successful road ahead, if it continues to listen to the heartbeat of the American people.

As of today, change has come to the official White House web site, at WhiteHouse.gov featuring similarly strong yet elegant hues, colors and a spacious layout as the BarackObama.com web site did during the presidential campaign. Offering a clear, attractive and intuitive navigation, the new presidential web site looks better than ever, displaying options and menus that present information for a multitude of resources. It’s an expertly designed web site that combines elegance and well-defined content.

Hopefully the owners of WhiteHouse.com will now spend some cash to redo their crappy web site as well – it’s still stuck in the Bush era.

As a graphics designer, I am attracted to the visual elements that constitute effective delivery of a message. Generally speaking, I seek a clear, distinct and spacious method that is also bold and concise in its typography.

Enter, the 2008 political campaigns of the two candidates.

The John McCain camp opted for a rather traditional look and feel, with the use of conservative colors with no intermediate hues: bold blues and reds, populated by serif fonts and video footage that promoted John McCain’s military past. When it came down to brochures and pamphlets – and I received many in the US mail, as my former gf is a registered  Republican – the elements consisted of ominous displays of authority: judges, soldiers, politicians – along with stock photography that had rather melancholic and overly serious overtones.

Meanwhile, the Barack Obama campaign camp opted for something on the opposite side of the design spectrum: full-fledged branding.

First, the message about “Change” was selected, along with the corresponding color palette: various hues of blue, red, orange and intermediate colors that constitute a full range of warm, “feel good” colors. The sans-serif fonts with their rounded, bold typeface delivered the message loud and clear; and yet, not aggressively or in an overbearing manner. The use of glows, soft gradients and cloudy effects against a blue background sky, created their intended  atmosphere quite well, generating emotions that deliver hope, comfort, progress.

But it goes beyond that: Obama’s campaign focused almost entirely into delivering the positive elements of Obama’s positions and plans, offering well-placed images and graphics that helped voters and visitors alike navigate and explore an environment that they could learn from about the candidate. John McCain’s campaign attempted to deliver warnings, stern messages about the opposition, spread false rumors and partial truths; in a dark, cluttered and unimaginative way. The smear campaign of 2004 against John Kerry was attempted once again; the problem is, times change and progress is inevitable. The Republican campaign has been visually an extension of the “gloom and doom” sensation created by current president, George W. Bush and his eight years of fear-induced politics.

Obama is heading towards a landslide victory on November 4th and a great deal of his anticipated success is owed to the well-thought and expertly delivered visuals of his campaign. A friend of mine had the opportunity to work on video footage for the Obama camp and he is one of the best in his field.

I have no doubt that if one wants to lead they must possess a method of offering not just plain strategy and verbal promises, but also deliver a vision and hope to the eyes and the soul as well.

With less than 48 hours remaining before Election Day, it is evident that all along there has only been one candidate in this race. Having watched all of the debates and having followed the campaign analysis closely, I believe that I am not the only one who has seen the stark differences between Barack Obama and John McCain.

Frankly, I don’t need a 72 year old to dictate my life’s future, regardless of his – dubious – military past and veteran status. While I have great respect towards war veterans, John McCain seems to be an artificial idol that did not earn the POW title by means of fighting like thousands of other Americans. The true POW veterans delivered Europe free from the Nazis and liberated nations with their sacrifice. John McCain simply came in and out of Vietnam as a career choice owed to his high military official father.

But enough of John McCain, whose most flexible body part seems to be his eyebrows. In all the televised debates, Barack Obama maintained a relaxed stance, a non pretentious attitude and an honest “in your eyes” stare. He held his spouse, Michelle, and kissed her in public showing his true emotions; those of a family man that aimed for the American Dream and is about to conquer it and write history while doing so.

This election will determine whether America moves forward, into the 21st century as a nation with a common dream: to raise from its 9-11 ashes like an eagle soaring into the skies. The fear, self-pity and hostility towards America from foes and former allies alike, will end once a respected man assumes the top spot in the country’s leadership. The statue of Liberty is the icon of freedom across the globe, signifying the land of opportunity and success. The youth of America must live in a country where they can pursue their dreams and hopes and aspirations; not in a country that rests in its own muddy shadow of a glorious past.

Unification of the two major parties towards a common goal, towards success, towards hope, towards restitution of America cannot occur under John McCain. Barack Obama is the suitable choice and he is a man of integrity, culture and honesty. And as such, he can lift up America and lead it towards its leading place among the other nations of the world.

Let’s face it: you’ve seen the various endorsements that media and organizations have provided the Democrat candidate, Barack Obama with. It looks like Obama is heading towards a steadfast landslide victory on November 4th. There are lots of domains and web sites that do the same type of endorsement by promoting Barack Obama’s message and/or attacking the opposition.

A few weeks ago I registered GoMilfy.com and built on it a web site that serves two purposes: One, to spoof VP candidate Sarah Palin, whose mannerisms and political bravado has surprised many equally new and old in politics and two, to provide a platform that pokes fun at GoDaddy’s use of mostly female celebrity figures and “in your face” advertising, consistent with the culture of NASCAR racing. Two birds with one stone, you might say.

I did not advertise the web site at all, other than through the signature of my (admittedly numerous) posts at DNForum.com. Then, 10 days before the election I decided to put the domain name GoMilfy.com and its current content on eBay. If you’re wondering why the high starting price, you’re obviously missing out on the low cost of conducting such large scale advertising: roughly $11 for 10 days of promotional listing. Plus it might actually sell.

By visiting GoMilfy.com you get an instant idea that it’s a parody, a spoof web site that cannot be seriously “real”. I mean, every drop of my known sense of humor is there: from the mirroring of the GoDaddy logo and the “.mom” TLD, to the statements supposedly made by Sarah Palin – consistent with her well-known, airhead phrases during the past weeks of her campaigning.

There are no Joe the Plumber jokes, I’m afraid.

GoDaddy is the world’s largest registrar of domains, famous for their Superbowl commercials and constant use of NASCAR racing celebrities. The depictions are more iconic than kitsch; and for that I must say that GoDaddy has become a household name outside the domain industry, rising from the levels of “just another registrar” around 2000 to that of world dominator with domains.

And as such, spoofing GoDaddy is a fun thing.

Around 4pm today I received a call by a GoDaddy domain services manager, Karen N. She politely explained that they have received inquiries about GoMilfy.com – apparently from people that were wondering about GoDaddy’s affiliation with it. I shared a laugh with Ms. Karen, explaining that this must mean I did a good job spoofing their web site, if I had visitors wondering about GoMilfy.com. It was a compliment towards the roughly four hours of detailed work I put into it, on a boring Friday afternoon, a few weeks ago.

So now the web site has been mentioned on Digg and Stumbled upon and the hits keep coming. I’ve added GoDaddy’s requested disclaimer that they are not affiliated with the web site and although I don’t foresee it will sell on eBay, it has definitely received some “word of mouth” visitor traffic.

Does GoDaddy and its CEO & former jarhead  Bob Parsons, endorse Barack Obama? I don’t know, but I have a hunch that they do