Steve Rosenbaum has been working with User-Generated Content since he created MTV UNfiltered in 1995. Since then, he's been in and out of
mainstream media, producing films for HBO, A&E, National Geographic,
CNN, and Discovery. Now, as the founder and CEO of Magnify.net, runs a platform company that allows Publishers, Brands, and Web communities to build and manage web video communities. You can follow him on Twitter at :http://twitter.com/magnify

Blog Entries by Steve Rosenbaum

Obama Inauguration Speech -- A Draft

Posted November 16, 2008 | 09:26 PM (EST)


...what Obama Will Ask Us To Do.

On January 20th, Barack Obama will stand in front of the American People, and be sworn in as the 44th President Of The United States. He will have the Nation's attention. There will be a crowd in Washington larger than any Inauguration...

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My Third Encounter with Barack Obama

5 Comments | Posted November 2, 2008 | 06:37 PM (EST)


I've had 3 encounters with Barack Obama, and each of them surprised me. I share them with you because as weary as we all are, there's no doubt that the election on Tuesday is the start, rather than the end of anything. What we're agreeing to start, either with Obama...

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The Ghost of Kerry - '04

2 Comments | Posted October 13, 2008 | 10:03 AM (EST)


A long, long time ago, David Morehouse stood on the tarmac of the Phoenix Airport and looked wistfully up at Air Force One. The plan dwarfed John Kerry's campaign plane. Morehouse, a Senior Adviser to Kerry and part of the traveling staff said: "See that? That's our plane. We...

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The Debate Conversation -- Twitter Style

3 Comments | Posted September 30, 2008 | 08:40 PM (EST)


TWITTER TV comes of age.
On Twitter - no one knows who you are, really.

Last Friday - as Barack Obama and John McCain launched into what was clearly going to be one of the most watched and potentially important debates in this Presidential Campaign, I settled in with...

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The 9/11 Generation

Posted September 10, 2008 | 11:03 AM (EST)


I don't remember JFK's assassination.

I have a dim memory of watching a blurry TV when we took our first step on the moon.

But on 9/11 I can tell you precisely where I was, what I was doing, and what I thought and felt.

So can you.

You and...

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Resigning from Car Culture

Posted August 24, 2008 | 10:59 PM (EST)


So, I am now without a car.

After 27 years of being part of car culture - I resigned.

It wasn't easy to think about - and I confess I stalled for a bunch of months. But now, I've traded my car in for a dog and it turns out...

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The Dawn of the Diamond Age

Posted August 17, 2008 | 09:22 PM (EST)


I've been reading a lot of gloom and doom lately. I even thought for a moment all the dire predictions might be right. But after looking at all the mile markers and drivers of change - I think we're on the eve of something wonderful. That may seem counter-intuitive if...

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I Killed The Electric Car

Posted August 10, 2008 | 12:45 PM (EST)


So, who really killed the electric car? Sadly, I think I did. Here's why:

Rick Wagoner was interviewed the other day and said - "The future of GM and the American Automotive Industry is in electric cars". The ABC News report mentioned something about a failed prior attempt called the...

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Did Google Kill Journalism?

Posted August 3, 2008 | 08:22 PM (EST)


There was a moment when big government and big journalism were able to keep each other in check.

Eric Schmidt of Google did some pretty heartfelt navel gazing the other day - wondering if Google was in part responsible for the undermining of the economic support system that paid...

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Where in the World is George Bush?

Posted July 12, 2008 | 12:26 PM (EST)


So, i get it. He's a lame duck. He's in his final few months of his administration.

Wait!!! 7 months. SEVEN MONTHS.

What will happen to gas prices in 7 Months?

What will happen to the stock market in 7 Months?

What will happen to global warming in 7 Months?

...
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McCain's Viagra Moment -

Posted July 12, 2008 | 12:25 PM (EST)


John McCain. Glib he is not. When asked a reasonably straightforward question about why insurance companies cover Viagra but not Birth Control - McCain was STUMPED!

First of all - someone ought to get him copies of the play book. There's a dodge and weave move that he shouldn't have to reach for. It's politics 101.

Here's the RIGHT (lame) answer:

"That's a very good question Young Lady! First of all, health care in this country is a mess, and when I am in the White House, I'm going to clean it up. We're going to look at every single decision about how health care is paid for, what is paid for, who is getting special treatment, and we're going to root out fraud and waste in the system and make sure that the average American is getting the health care they need... (this needs to take about 5 minutes of blather to fill up the reporters allotted time).

If this doesn't work - the reporter has the temerity to say: "But, Senator, you didn't answer the question"

Then, with slight disdain and anger;

"Well, with all due respect I did. We're going to look into it - We're going to get it fixed if its broken, and I'm not going to sit here with you and parse every decision made by the Insurance Industry expect to say that you're darn right, we need to make sure that American's have the best darn health care system in the world, and i'm committed to that."

This is the standard: agree, obfuscate, and refocus. This is the trick that all candidates use when posed with questions that they haven't already got talking points on.

It's politics 101.

And McCain just got an "F".

The reporters question was fair, interesting, and worth a thoughtful response. But short of that, an elegant dodge shouldn't have been that hard to come up with.

I can't wait to see what happens when he's buttonholed on Fannie Mae or the Bear Sterns bail out, or the sub prime mess, or the cost of ethanol after the floods in the Midwest destroy the corn crop.

Someone get this guy a new earpiece, his batteries must be running low.

Or, he knows he's not the candidate, and he's just running the clock... but that's another story....

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Happy "Inter-Dependence" Day!

Posted July 5, 2008 | 11:09 AM (EST)


Holidays are funny things.

They being about an idea. A celebration of something. And the evolve into a more amorphous event, a celebration of ... well... celebrating. Christmas is about the Birth of Jesus, of course, but it's also about getting a new Plasma TV and a tree.

So --...

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Is She A Terrorist?

Posted July 4, 2008 | 10:37 AM (EST)


We all know the story of putting a frog in boiling water. He jumps out. But if you put a frog in cold water, and slowly turn up the heat, he'll boil to death. Are we frogs? Perhaps. I travel a good deal, and so I'm often confronted with the...

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Guns and Gas

Posted June 29, 2008 | 03:03 PM (EST)


It's been a week of guns and gas, and it won't be the last one either. Seemingly unrelated. But what we're seeing is the legacy of the Bush administration as it begins to unwind before our eyes.

Guns, or more specifically gun ownership, has moved front and center with the...

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When McCain Drops Out

Posted June 15, 2008 | 09:03 PM (EST)


When the Republicans choose their candidate on September 4th, there is a very real chance that they could throw the election into an unexpected chaos as they pull a genuine September Surprise.

I think there is every reason to believe John McCain won't be the nominee. Ok, let me say...

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Why Can't Politics, Tech, and Environmentalists Play Nice?

Posted June 2, 2008 | 02:07 PM (EST)


If you stand back and look at the environmental issues facing the world -- they're not likely to be solved by a single group or discipline.

Let's take energy for example. There's a powerful movement to rethink how we both generate and consume energy. The environmental movement is focused...

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Obama Wins Bumpersticker Primary

Posted May 8, 2008 | 09:41 AM (EST)


If you're looking for some real world data about the state of the Hillary/Obama battle -- and proof that it is truly over -- just check the bumper sticker sales info.

My friend Jon Fischer has access to unique, and heretofore unreleased data that should have the pundits further solidifying...

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Stark Contrasts

Posted May 4, 2008 | 08:12 PM (EST)


I've got images in my head I can't seem to sort out.

One of them is a grainy black and white image of a truck or van - with a military target hovering over it - then - an explosion and the truck is gone.

The other is a weapon...

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Is Obama a "Hybrid"?

Posted April 20, 2008 | 08:34 PM (EST)


If you haven't noticed -- we're living in the era of the hybrid.

My gas guzzling car is thankfully on its last legs -- and so I find myself test driving a Ford, a Honda, and a Toyota. All Hybrids that are counting on an electric motor to jump in...

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Clinton becomes Political Hors d'œuvre on Colbert Report

Posted April 18, 2008 | 01:16 AM (EST)


It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time. Stephen Colbert is in Philadelphia, his show is being taped there for the debates - why not do one of those funny walk ons that politicians love to do.

2008-04-18-DSC03462.JPG

And so...

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