BB's community manager beats MSM on breaking tiny but neat-o election news
Making Light, the blog co-edited by Boing Boing's community manager Teresa Nielsen Hayden, was among the first sites apparently the first news/media/blog/whatever entity to publish voting totals from a district that's reported in for the 2008 US presidential elections. TNH explains:
It's a silly distinction, but it's the best we can do with our far-flung staff of reporters. That is to say: our co-blogger Jim Macdonald lives just a few miles from Dixville Notch, NH. It's the home of The Balsams, a surviving grand resort hotel from the 19th C. They've got less than two dozen registered voters up there, and New Hampshire law says that if every registered voter in a town has voted, they can shut down the polls and announce their results.Live From The Balsams 2—Electric Boogaloo (Making Light)Every four years, The Balsams starts voting at the stroke of midnight on Election Day. Everyone gets their own voting booth. They finish and count up as quickly as possible, and are always the first district in the country to report in. Jim Macdonald was up there tonight with his laptop, waiting to hit "publish" as soon as they announced their numbers. By the way:
Obama: 15
McCain: 6
Minutes by which Making Light beat CNN: 5A few links:
The emphatic "first in the nation" historic marker: one, two.
Old photos of The Balsams. The last time ML did this (with photos).
the latest
latest episodes
CNN has a bit more gate keeping, which is a good thing.
Obama 15! Landslide!
@#1, nobody's saying Making Light should replace CNN any time soon. This post is a fun acknowledgement of one of the few times an unlikely david beats a familiar goliath at "OMG FIRST!!!"
Yay!
Xeni,
Ok, maybe I'm just grumpy. The "First post!" thing is fun. Hey, this is "ZOMG! FRST VOT3 REZULTZ!" Still, it's hardly the first time a blog got out news before a traditional news source. The DrudgeReport, for instance.
DrudgeReport isn't so much a blog as it is an online tabloid. Different critter. It's no Making Light, in any event.
Themiddleroad@5: Hey, no making light of their achievement!
I call FAKE! It's a commonwealth, not a state.
(Clue: circle)
New Hampshire is most definitely a state and not a commonwealth. You're thinking of our commie neighbors to the south.
Is 'dozen' the SI unit for voters? Why not just say 'only twenty-one'?
Do you Americans have an equivalent of Peter Snow to tell you what would happen if these results were repeated across the whole country?
"Commonwealth" is an academically marginally interesting yet ultimately meaningless subset of "State," at least as far as the specific definition of one of the United States of America.
Also, Boston sucks.
You're thinking of our commie neighbors to the south.
I resemble that remark!
It's adorable :)
Also, Boston sucks.
Yeah, what did Boston ever give America? I mean aside from a Revolution, a Constitution, and Higher Education.
#9: Careful. They're moving up there to take over. New Hampshire might be wise to let Massachusetts annex Nashua.
"Is 'dozen' the SI unit for voters? Why not just say 'only twenty-one'?"
How about "slightly more than a score?" Sounds more presidential.
"Is 'dozen' the SI unit for voters?"
It was back when they were all 'angry men'.
"...our citizens have personally met the candidates..." Wow. Just wow. Why this jump over state gets to do or decide anything is beyond me...