Ed Wallace:

A few weeks ago the automotive world was all a-flutter with the news that, as part of the first step toward finding ways to solve its financial problems in Europe, General Motors was taking a 7 percent stake in France’s Peugeot Citroen. Not mentioned in those stories is that competitors in the auto industry have been doing joint ventures for decades, but so far these very expensive plans have failed to yield much of value. More to the point, however, although it’s been the joint venture leader over the past 17 years, all GM has to show for it is the Duramax diesel engine.

To be fair, GM’s Opel in Europe has not managed to turn a profit in over a decade. Yet even in the recent discussions on the new venture with Peugeot, apparently not one automotive journalist has remembered what happened to Opel all those years ago that made it a less competitive car company in Europe.

Lois Beckett:

President Obama’s re-election campaign is reportedly building a massive database of information about potential supporters.

The database seems to bring together information about supporters gathered from all branches of the campaign — everything from an individual’s donation records to volunteer activity to online interactions with the campaign — aimed at allowing the campaign to personalize every interaction with potential supporters.

Earlier this month, we built an interactive graphic showing how different Obama supporters received different variations of the same email — one way that the campaign may be using data to personalize messages.

We can’t describe the Obama campaign’s database with certainty because the campaign won’t talk about it. Citing concerns about letting Republicans learn its tactics, the campaign declined our request for comment — as it has with other outlets — about what data the campaign collects and what it’s doing with the data. The campaign did emphasize that, regardless of what information it gathers, it has never sold voter data or shared its voter database with other candidates.

Matthew Braga:

“Mobile payments” is about as unsexy as technology buzzwords get. We’re basically talking about phones and money. And it’s hard enough to get people excited about money in the first place—unless you’re receiving large sums of it, that is—let alone using a phone to make or spend it.

But it is exciting! Trust us. And there’s a reason why you’re going to be hearing a lot more about mobile commerce before this year is done.



The philosophy behind mobile payments is simple; it’s the idea that everyone should have the ability to buy anything, anywhere. And it sounds a lot better—not to mention sexier—when explained that way. Because, beyond all the oddly shaped geometrical dongles and near-field communication magic, that’s essentially what the likes of Square, PayPal, Google et al want to do.

Matthew Braga:

“Mobile payments” is about as unsexy as technology buzzwords get. We’re basically talking about phones and money. And it’s hard enough to get people excited about money in the first place—unless you’re receiving large sums of it, that is—let alone using a phone to make or spend it.

But it is exciting! Trust us. And there’s a reason why you’re going to be hearing a lot more about mobile commerce before this year is done.



The philosophy behind mobile payments is simple; it’s the idea that everyone should have the ability to buy anything, anywhere. And it sounds a lot better—not to mention sexier—when explained that way. Because, beyond all the oddly shaped geometrical dongles and near-field communication magic, that’s essentially what the likes of Square, PayPal, Google et al want to do.

Germany’s political establishment doesn’t know how to react to the Pirate Party, which now has seats in two state parliaments and owns the debate on Internet issues. But although the party’s radical experiments in transparency and participation may have caught its rivals off guard, its no-holds-barred debating culture can also backfire.

When German political parties invite their leaders to retreats, they like to use proven formulas. On the evening before the event, the top officials arrive in their dark limousines at a luxury hotel in the countryside, where they attend a festive dinner followed by fireside chats in small groups.

The next morning, they meet for discussions behind closed doors. The view of the beautiful rural surroundings is meant to take the politicians’ minds off their hectic lives in Berlin and allow them to focus on the important things. After the retreat, the leadership announces its new strategy to the party base.

But it can also be done differently. A couple of weeks ago, the national and state executive committees of the Pirate Party, which campaigns on a platform of political transparency and Internet freedom, met at a youth hostel in the central German city of Kassel. The officials slept in four-bed rooms with bunk beds, which makes sense, given that the party advocates a culture of sharing, at least when it comes to data. Their debates were broadcast via the Internet using webcams, so that party members would not feel left out when their leaders discussed upcoming election campaigns.

Aleks Lessmann, the managing director of the Bavarian wing of the Pirate Party, was happy to explain some terminology — while sitting outside on a table tennis table in the sun. Phrases like “executive meeting” are taboo for his people, because they make them think of hierarchies and backroom meetings. Continuing with the pirate metaphor, “captains’ meeting” isn’t bad, Lessmann said, but perhaps it would be even better to use a term like “small harbor.” In the end, the group agreed to name their weekends at the youth hostel the “Marina Kassel” (“Kassel marina”).