September 6, 2012

There were 4 posts published on September 6, 2012 (this is page 1 of 1).

What Bill Clinton Wrote vs. What Bill Clinton Said

I heard that Bill Clinton ad-libbed a lot of his speech last night. What I didn’t realize is just how much he ad-libbed.

The Atlantic Wire compares what he said with what he wrote. Check it out here.

If you were following any journalists on Twitter last night, one of the most remarked upon aspects of Bill Clinton’s nomination speech was how liberally he deviated from the prepared text. What was handed out to the media was four pages of single-spaced, small font text, but — as an exasperated TelePrompTer operator found out —that was really just a guideline to what Clinton actually wanted to say during his 49-minute address. We decided to compare the two versions to see how one of the great speechmakers of his era goes about his business.

via What Bill Clinton Wrote vs. What Bill Clinton Said – Politics – The Atlantic Wire.

Why High-Tech Companies Are Moving to the City – WSJ.com

Downtown’s where it’s at. Just ask Red Hat and Citrix!

For as long as many of us can remember, high-tech industries have flourished in the suburban office parks that are so ubiquitous in Silicon Valley, North Carolina’s Research Triangle and other "nerdistans." But in recent years, high-tech has been taking a decidedly urban turn.

Silicon Valley remains the world’s pre-eminent center of high-tech industry, of course. But even in the Valley, denser, more mixed-use and walkable places, like downtown Palo Alto, are becoming the preferred locations for start-ups and smaller firms. And many other start-ups—Pinterest, Zynga, Yelp, Square and Salesforce.com, to name just a notable few—are taking up residence in downtown San Francisco.

via Why High-Tech Companies Are Moving to the City – WSJ.com.

Clinton’s DNC speech

Bill Clinton


Wow, did Bill Clinton give a good speech last night. Regardless of what you think of the man (he has his faults), he is a masterful communicator. There are few people who can connect with an audience the way Clinton can. He was thoroughly in control at that podium last night and it showed.

Obama can give a good speech, too, but while Obama is undeniably intelligent and generally chooses good policy he does tend to come across as too scripted. A bit on the wonkish side. I think the main reason voters have a tough time connecting with him because his fabled cool demeanor. A quote in The New Yorker from a source close to Obama says he “doesn’t really like very many people.” Contrast this with Clinton, who was legendary for chatting with nearly everyone he met to the point of always running late. Obama’s speeches often come across more as lectures, like he’s a high school principal or the law professor he once was. He needs to trade in that cold calculation for some unscripted passion every once in a while (though, uh, not to Howard Dean levels). It apparently doesn’t come naturally to him the way it does to Clinton.
Continue reading →