Here is the video (in German). Scot mainly talks about the differences between American and German interpretations of free speech, the rights and duties of the press, and how the Internet undermines German privacy rights via American websites. Good stuff.

One of the younger transatlantic blogs in the German blogosphere is USA Blogger. Since December 2008 the (so far) two-man show is online and offers well-researched articles—one link every three sentences—on American politics and transatlantic culture. In their self-introduction, the two bloggers describe their mission as the attempt to portray the complex and diverse cultural and social reality of the United States as it is today—a goal tapmag wholeheartedly supports.

tapmag: Who’s blogging on USA Blogger? What is your background, are you American, European, or both?

Thomas Furlong: I’m a British bloke who’s been living in Germany for the greater part of my life. I’m currently trying to wrap up my studies – I take American literature/history and African studies at Cologne University – but for the time being I’ve relocated to Berlin where I dabble in online marketing. I’ve been to the US a number of times, lived in upstate New York for a year and have generally always just been intrigued by the States.

Daniel Heise: I’m (just) a German, studying social sciences in Bochum, with an interest in politics and a continuing fascination with the U.S. ever since my exchange year in High School (Charlotte, NC).

Thomas: Oh, and of course we’re always looking for anyone who wants to help out and join the fray.

tapmag:  Which topics do you write about? Who do you write for?

Thomas: For the time being we’ve mostly taken to writing articles about subjects being bandied about in American public debate that haven’t received as much coverage over in Germany. And of course we’re still coming to terms with the new Obama administration. You know, the whole “well I’m glad he won, now where’s that pet unicorn he promised me” thing.

tapmag:  Why are you blogging? Why did you start in the first place?

Thomas: At some point we found we were spending far too much time on the phone having heated discussions about minutiae of American politics, so we thought it might be a nice idea to share our nerdiness with other people. Plus I find it helps me collect my thoughts and is a good way to bookmark articles for later reference. Everyone wins.

tapmag:  Soccer or Football?

Thomas:  Same thing. Love it. Big England and somewhat disgruntled Mönchengladbach supporter. When it comes to what Americans call football on the other hand I only really watch the Superbowl. But that’s a game I never miss. Really I’m more of a basketball guy when it comes to US sports.

Dan: Soccer for me (though just a bit). When it comes to US sports I barely watch or follow any, though I like some football and baseball. Sometimes.

tapmag:  What is your favorite article on USA Blogger? Which one is the most clicked?

Thomas: You know, the problem is that the articles I like most always seem to get read least. I’m pretty happy with my article on the future of the Republican Party (although Bobby Jindal’s crash ‘n’ burn Kenneth the page performance may have impacted his chances for 2012) but the one that gets the most traffic by far is my article on the conspiracy theories surrounding Obama’s birthplace – most of which seems to comprise exactly the kind of nutters I was trying to debunk.

Dan: My favorite would be about the Minnesota recount, written after watching hours of people looking at paper (….members say Aye…..Aye!) and giving me a small reason to having watched that. To protect my sanity, I should have stopped after a couple of minutes, though.

tapmag:  Jesus or Obama?

Thomas: What, they’re not the same person?

Dan: You shouldn’t compare Obama to a convicted felon. I’m going for hope

tapmag:  What question would you have liked to answer? And what would be your answer to it?

Dan:
Q: Is it true that you are omnipotent?
A: No, but thanks for asking.

Thomas: Speak for yourself, man.

tapmag:  Tatort or The Wire?

Thomas: The Wire, hands down.

Dan: The latter is on my to-watch list.

tapmag:  Your favorite blog?

Thomas: I have far too many of the pesky things in my RSS reader, but if I have to pick one, my shout-out for the past year definitely has to go to Numberz Nate at FiveThirtyEight.com.

Dan: Have to agree there, checked it a couple of times each day at high times, which should keep me away from polls until the midterms.

tapmag: Thanks.

You can find all blog posts of this series on transatlantic blogs here.

It is highly recommended reading for everyone trying to keep up with transatlantic culture, global politics, and European and American perceptions of the significant other. Edited by a three men team, including an alumnus of the Free University of Berlin, Atlantic Review has drawn a sizeable audience, as evidenced by the lively discussion surrounding each post in the comments.

tapmag: Who’s blogging on Atlantic Review? What is your background, are you American, European, or both?

Joerg: One American (Kyle Atwell, California) and two Europeans (Nanne Zwagerman, Netherlands and Joerg Wolf, Germany)

tapmag: Which topics do you write about? Who do you write for?

Joerg: All things transatlantic, but especially security issues (NATO, Afghanistan, Russia) and US commentaries on European policies and what Europeans say about the US.

Nanne: We don’t have a detailed concept of a target audience. We write for anyone who is interested in transatlantic relations. I think the blog does a good job of staying accessible but also a bit serious, and I know we have a lot of interesting readers.

tapmag: Why are you blogging? Why did you start in the first place?

Joerg: To promote critical, but fair analysis about the United States and Europe, which is needed to strengthen transatlantic relations in the 21^st century.

tapmag: Soccer or Football?

Joerg: Soccer.

Nanne: Snooker for watching, pool for playing.

tapmag: Which one is your favorite article on “Atlantic Review”? Which one is the most clicked?

Nanne: Our top two posts are about murder rates in the US vs. Germany and a youtube video from the EU that shows European sex. This only shows what people who come to us through search engines care about.

Our third most clicked post is also one of my favourites, and that’s a detailed post about how a German passenger was defamed in the ‘United 93’ movie. This is about addressing stereotypes that exist on both sides of the Atlantic, which is also an important part of what the Atlantic Review has done.

tapmag: Jesus or Obama?

Joerg: Nope, Forrest Gump it is.

Nanne: You’re sure you don’t mean Senator Fulbright, Joerg?

tapmag: Which question would you have liked to answer?

Nanne: Can German bands rock?

Joerg: Can the Dutch win in soccer?

tapmag: Tatort or The Wire?

Joerg: Neither for me.

Nanne: I haven’t watched The Wire.

tapmag: What is your favorite blog?

Nanne: talkingpointsmemo.com by Joshua Micah Marshall & team. This is actually the first blog I started reading, which was in 2003. It’s an example of how far you can take blogging and one of the best sources on DC politics.

Joerg: Tapmag, of course. There are so many blogs that I like for different topics and moods. Here are some of them: New Atlanticist, The Moderate Voice, USA Erklärt, Lifehacker.

tapmag: Thanks.

You can find all blog posts of this series on transatlantic blogs here.

His first entry from July 2004 pretty much sums up his motivation: “This blog serves to support dialogue about culture and politics, with a special emphasis on repairing German-American relations.”

tapmag: Who’s blogging on Dialog International? What is your background, are you American, European, or both?

David: My name is David Vickrey and I am an American who has had close ties with Germany.  Formerly, I was a banker in Frankfurt and New York, working on cross-border investment opportunities.  I also have a strong interest in German history and literature, and wrote my doctoral dissertation on the Weimar Republic.

Today I live with my family on the coast of Maine in New England and work as a business consultant to technology companies. I am also an adjunct professor of German at a local college.

tapmag: Which topics do you write about? Who do you write for?

David: I write about books, painting, theology, politics, history – especially if there is a transatlantic angle.  Increasingly I find myself writing about literary topics, since contemporary German literature is all but unknown in America today.  Only 3% of books published each year in the US are translated from other languages; in Germany it is more than 35%, and American writers are well-known there.

tapmag: Why are you blogging? Why did you start in the first place?

David: I started blogging around the time of the US invasion of Iraq, when relations between Germany and the US were at a low point. I wanted to create a forum where Germans and Americans could meet and discuss our common interests.

tapmag: Soccer or Football?

David: Actually, I am a basketball fan (college and pro). I’m very pleased that the success of Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks has made basketball much more popular in Germany (although I  am a Boston Celtics fan).

tapmag: What is your favorite article on Dialog International? Which one is the most clicked?

David: I have two favorite articles: one on Salka Viertel and the other on Dorothy Thompson, two women who, in very different ways,  did so much to save the lives of the greatest German and Austrian writers, composers, and artists during the Nazi period by getting them  passage to America and helping them survive here. Their sacrifice and courage need to be much better known.

The most clicked article is on Barack Obama’s half-sister Auma.

tapmag: Jesus or Obama?

David: I am a Christian who canvassed door-to-door for Barack Obama in New Hampshire. I see no contradiction in that.

tapmag: What question would you have liked to answer? And what would be your answer to it?

What is the most beautiful German poem?  Answer forthcoming in a blog post soon.

tapmag: Tatort or The Wire?

David: Cannot get Tatort where I live.  Love The Sopranos.

tapmag: Your favorite blog?

David: For politics I like NachDenkSeiten for the articles and links; my favorite American political blogger is Matthew Yglesias because of the amazing array of topics he covers.

For cultural topics I follow Sign&Sight (too bad it scaled back) and Lyrikzeitung.

tapmag: Thanks.

You can find all the blog posts of this series here.

Apparently, a guy named Michael mentioned in a respond to a friend’s Facebook status message that he’d had “veeery bad experiences” with a certain video production company, and advised other to stay aways from them.

A couple of days later, a lawyer for said company contacts him with a cease and desist letter, demanding a correction of his status, a written statement saying he will refrain from spreading any such “credit-damaging statements” in the future, and € 720 for the lawyers services. Read more on the story and its background here.

Now, I have to wonder – what ever happened to free speech? Obviously, Michael was expressing an opinion, not a factual statement. The story is now spreading online, for example here and here. I really wonder when companies will finally realize that slamming people with attorney statements and damage payments gets them absolutely nowhere. Or, as a commentator puts it:

“gee, these companies, always the same – they’re stuck in the old times. Hey, if you threaten someone with a lawsuit these days, you’ve already lost.”

Unfortunately, there’s lots of money to be made in making unsuspecting citizens pay “damages” for their statements (rapper Bushido knows that, too). In this age of rapid communication, a simple email seems to be asking to much from some people. They’d rather bring out the “guns” right away.

Oh, and just to be clear: this is an expression of opinion, so keep your lawyers at bay.

It is these misconceptions and misunderstandings Scot W. Stevenson likes to target with his blog USA erklärt. Scot explains everything from humoristic differences, administrative particularities, and popcultural references that Germans have a hard time to understand. Post after post, using his (and his parents’) wide knowledge about German and American culture, his readers are lead towards a more accurate picture of America.

Whatever he discusses, he never fails to entertain on his one-man quest to bring cultures together and to proof that literally anything can be explained using Buffy quoations. Scot W. Stevenson was deservedly nominated for the Grimme Online Award in 2007 and the Golden Prometheus in 2008.

tapmag: Who’s blogging on USA erklärt? What is your background, are you
American, European, or both?

Scot: I’m a 40-year-old American who has been living in Germany since he was six. I live near Berlin, Germany with my wife, two kids, and an old, friendly cat.

tapmag: Which topics do you write about? Who do you write for?

Scot: I try to explain the United States to Germans, as far as it can be explained. So I’ll do a little piece about Halloween, about what the President can or cannot do, why root beer isn’t beer, who the Lone Ranger is, or why you should never, ever put sugar on your popcorn.

When asked, I’ll always say that I write for people who are interested in the U.S., with the ideal of not picking sides—if you hate America, you should be able to find background here just as if you love it. There are enough pro/anti-American blogs out there, and I wanted to do one that just presents the facts.

However, I really write for myself, because…

tapmag: Why are you blogging? Why did you start in the first place?

Scot: …it is so much fun. I’ve learned an enormous amount about the U.S., because the blog has forced me to read all the stuff that I always avoided. I get to make terrible word puns and spend pages talking
about the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated. I started—well, my excuse to start—were all the mistakes that people kept making about the United States. Somebody should do something about that, I thought
to myself, and since there was nobody else around, I figured I’d have to do it myself.

tapmag: Soccer or Football?

Scot: Football. American Football, that is.

tapmag: What is your favorite article on USA erklärt? Which one is the most clicked?

Scot: My favorite article is about Halloween. I think it captures a lot of what makes this such a special holiday and explains why it is spreading throughout the world.

The most popular one is “Warum Amerikaner (Briten, Kanadier) nicht sagen, was sie meinen” which explains why Americans, Brits, and other English speakers don’t always say what they mean and mean what they say. This is a big thing for Germans, who are honest to a fault.

tapmag: Jesus or Obama?

Scot: Jesus.

tapmag: What question would you have liked to answer? And what would be your answer to it?

Scot: Why do you put all those Buffy references in your blog?—Because it is a great show to explain stuff with, because the humor is great, and because it gives me an excuse to watch old episodes without giving the impression I’m obsessed. Well, not too obsessed, that is.

tapmag: Tatort or The Wire?

Scot: I’ll have to go with Tatort since I haven’t gotten around to The Wire yet. I haven’t even gotten around to most of Navy CIS yet … in fact, I’m still missing lots and lots of Futurama episodes.

tapmag: Your favorite blog?

Scot: I Can Has Cheezburger. Of course, I don’t look at the pictures, I only read the text.

tapmag: Thanks.

Scot: Thanks for having me.

You can find all the blog posts of this series here.

It was founded by the Atlantische Initiative in 2007, and is an excellent starting point to explore global issues and politics on a broad scale. David Lebhar was so nice to answer our set of questions on behalf of the Atlantic Community editorial team.

tapmag: Who’s blogging on Atlantic-community.org? What is your background, are you American, European, or both?

David: Atlantic-community.org is the budding, online, open think tank on transatlantic and foreign policy. It’s a social utility where anyone can publish their own articles, post comments and read the latest from our members on today’s crucial issues – all in our Open Think Tank.

We feature articles from experts, political leaders, students, journalists, professors, think tankers and civil servants from America, Europe and all over the world. Our editorial team is also an international bunch currently hailing from the United States, France, Germany, Finland, Cyprus, and the UK – check us out at About Us.

Becoming a member is free and easy, and there is no better way to connect to political experts, students, professors, professionals and engaged citizens all over the world.

tapmag: Which topics do you write about? Who do you write for?

David: Atlantic-community.org focuses on transatlantic foreign policy and broader issues of international affairs. Most recently we have covered issues such as Davos, Afghanistan, the financial crisis, the Gaza conflict and new systems of global governance in a changing world order.

The editorial team synthesizes the best arguments and policy recommendations from articles and comments into Atlantic Memos. These memos are distributed to high level decision makers throughout Europe and North America in an effort help set the transatlantic agenda through collective intelligence.

tapmag: Why are you blogging? Why did you start in the first place?

David: Atlantic-community.org believes that the challenges of the twenty-first century can only be overcome if Europe and North America work together. As political decisions are increasingly made at the international level, social platforms for political debate need to become more global as well – our online platform is ideal for such a cause.

tapmag: Soccer or Football?

David: Aren’t they the same thing?

tapmag: Which one is your favorite article on Atlantic-community.org? Which one is the most clicked?

David: My favourite article appearing on the front page of the website is our exclusive video interview with Maliha Zulfacar, Afghan Ambassador to Germany. Our most clicked article is our latest poll: Which Topics Should be Prioritized on the Transatlantic Agenda? Vote Here!

tapmag: Jesus or Obama?

David: We all know the only way to decide this type of thing is through Google Fights:

• Obama: 340,000,000 results
• Jesus: 185,000,000 results

tapmag: Which question would you have liked to answer?

David: If your blog were a person, what would it eat for lunch?

tapmag: Tatort or The Wire?

David: Gotta love the “retro” introduction on Tatort!

tapmag: What is your favorite blog?

David: I don’t know if The Onion counts as a blog, but if it does, it’s definitely on the top of my list.

tapmag: Thanks!

You can find all the blog posts of this series here.

Every week, we will feature one blog that we think you should know. To kick of the series, we invited Igor and Adrian from Amerika Wählt to answer our questionnaire. Their blog has intensely covered the past elections, and they will continue to report on American politics, the Obama administration and everything else with wit and knowledge.

tapmag: Who’s blogging on Amerika Wählt? What is your background, are you American, European, or both?

Adrian: I am German, honorary Texan, and also a kind of wannabe New Yorker. I studied American Cultural Studies, Political Science and Journalism and now work in online communications for a PR agency in Berlin. I have always been interested in American politics ever since I went to Washington as part of a political awareness program called Close Up – and then Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole enthusiastically forced me to shake their hands (they apparently didn’t know that I was not a prospective voter).

Igor: Well, I have been living most of my life in Germany, but I was not born here. I was born in CCCR (in the part that is known as Republic of Moldau). After a few different stations in different countries we ended up being in Germany where I finished high school and studied Political Science in Frankfurt am Main. Like Adrian I was pretty much from the start very interested in US politics and I’m also a wannabe New Yorker. Mostly, because I have family there and visiting this amazing city quite regulary.

Plus there’s also Ranty Islam, who works as an editor for Deutsche Welle and was with us from the start. We occasionally also have various guest bloggers.

tapmag: Which topics do you write about? Who do you write for?

Adrian: Pretty much erverything that is related to the election and now the Obama administration, often with a wink and an emphasis on the absurdities of the campaign. Although my job did not (and still does not) leave a lot of time to cover the election, I try do write as often as possible. I wish I had more time to really write more in-depth pieces though. There are so many drafts of articles I was never able to finish. As for the target group: everbody that is interested in American politics.

Igor: Yeah, time is really the problem. I’m working in the same agency as Adrian, so it leaves me with about the same time frame for blogging.

After the election we had this wish to be covering the Obama Administration in a very in-depth, “The West Wing”-kind of way. It’s still something that we want to do, but we probably won’t be producing 7 seasons of it, if you know what I mean.

tapmag: Why are you blogging? Why did you start in the first place?

Adrian: Out of pure interest for the topic. I’ve been following American politics for a long time now, especially since I majored in Political Science and American Cultural Studies. And blogs now gives us the easy opportunity to share what I discover while surfing and what I think about the elections with others. I also have a private blog and we are also planning something for the European Elections later this year.

Igor: I started blogging back in 2004 – which is like a century ago in Internet standards. Why? Well, because I can. It’s the most important part of it. It’s definitely not because I think that I’m smarter then everybody else. Sharing thoughts, discussing them with others and creating the largest library of the world (=Internet) is fun.

tapmag: Soccer or Football?

Adrian: Definitely soccer.

Igor: Yeah, soccer.

tapmag: Which one is your favorite articles on Amerika Wählt? Which one is the most clicked?

Adrian: The most read piece on our blog not surprisingly was our live coverage of the election night, which we spent at the Democrats Abroad event in Berlin, plus every other article which was prominently featured on the homepage in the days leading up to election day.

As for my favorite articles: From an analytical point of view, I really liked “Legacy of the Gingrich Revolution and the Era of Small Government” by guest blogger Aaron Wu. Other than that, I really enjoyed writing all those Sarah Palin articles.

Igor: Aaron did an amazing job with his blog posting about Gingrich.

tapmag: Jesus or Obama?

Adrian: Obama.

Igor: Obama.

tapmag: Which question would you have liked to answer?

Adrian: Will Sarah Palin run in 2012?

Igor: What will really *change*?

tapmag: Tatort or The Wire?

Adrian: Since I don’t really know The Wire, I have to go with Tatort.

Igor: Sopranos.

tapmag: Your favorite blog?

Adrian: I really don’t have a single favorite blog. I do read all across the board and there are a lot of good ones out there I check regularly:
Talking Points Memo, Wonkette, Huffington Post, The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan, FiveThirtyEight, USA Erklärt, Internet und Politik… and tapmag of course.
I also enjoy some of the conservative blogs from time to time. Chuck Norris is definitely my favorite blogger over at Human Events.

Igor: That’s a hard one, because I’m really reading a lot of them and it’s hard to pin point the favorite. USA Erklärt would be one my favorite German blogs, but for the rest… I really can’t answer that and just will leave you with a link to my social bookmarks: www.mento.info/igor

tapmag: Thanks.

You can find all the blog posts of this series here.

And of course, it’ll be much less fun without you! That’s the point of online self-exposure, after all, isn’t it?

Therefore, join us on twitter to check out our brandnew feeds and tweeds. Additionally to thoughts and instances of genius (hopefully) you’ll find out where the tapmag editorial team will hang out, which means you can meet us in real life, too (remember, that weird non-virtual state of being?).

Of course, social networking in the internet age isn’t complete without Facebook. Tapmag already has a group on there, but now we’re taking it up a step: Instead of just becoming a group member, you can become a fan right here.

Also, check out the event calendar on tapmag.net, which you can follow via RSS. Same is true for posts and comments, so keep yourself in the loop and involved in the discussion.

We’re looking forward to discussions, feedback and more!

It took the new media team of now finally President Barack Obama only minutes to move into their new virtual home—www.whitehouse.gov. While the new President was still delivering his Inaugural adress, his web2.0 workers already published the first new post on the President’s official domain.

Big news they have. Obama’s campaign pledge to be an accessible President is being kept, it seems.

One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.

Open-source legislation is here. There are also some controversial parts, like the section where the Obama team slams former President George W. Bush for his handling of Katrina.

President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.

President Obama swiftly responded to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration’s “unconscionable ineptitude” in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims. Obama visited thousands of Hurricane survivors in the Houston Convention Center and later took three more trips to the region. He worked with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to introduce legislation to address the immediate income, employment, business, and housing needs of Gulf Coast communities.

Expect more to come up in the next days.