Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Barack Obama

Barack Obama Signs JOBS Act Into Law

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:54:55 +0000

President Barack Obama has signed the JOBS Act into law, making crowdfunding legal for startups by non-accredited investors. Entrepreneurs can now raise money from anybody too. However startups will be limited to $1 million per year and will have to use portals that are approved by the SEC. The legislation has also cancelled the 500-shareholder rule.

The JOBS Act requires all crowdfunding websites to be members of a national securities association in order to protect investors. The principles of the group are to:

- Establish strong protections for investors in the form of an Investor’s Bill of Rights, including tests to assess investors understanding of risk, criminal background checks on issuers, and adequate disclosures by issuers;
- Ensure confidentiality of investors’ personal financial information;
- Ensure that investors do not exceed statutory investment limits, by implementing standardized reporting and communication among platforms;
- Establish standard communication processes for transparent flow of information between the issuer, the investor, the intermediary and the regulatory agency;
- Develop a code of conduct for crowdfunding platforms, with enforcement mechanisms to punish bad actors;
- Create a recognizable brand common to trustworthy intermediaries (akin to VeriSign or BBB).

There are over 400 crowdfunding platforms that exist as of January 2012 and most likely there will be additional crowdfunding websites that will launch after the JOBS Act.

President Obama Signing JOBS Act On Thursday

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:36:27 +0000

President Barack Obama is signing the JOBS ACT on Thursday, which would make crowdfunding legal for startups. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act has gone through the Senate and House with a few modifications. The legislation will allow startups to raise $1 million or less to purchase a limited amount of equity.

The JOBS ACT is also eliminating the 500-shareholder rule, which would mean that startups can wait longer to publicly report financial data to the SEC. The JOBS Act passed in the Senate with a 73 to 26 passing vote and the revised law passed in the House with a 380 to 41 majority.

President Obama Names Todd Park As U.S. CTO

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 04:55:54 +0000

President Barack Obama has appointed Todd Park as the new U.S. Chief Technology Officer. For about three years, Todd has served as CTO of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Park oversaw the creation of HealthCare.gov, the first website to provide consumers with inventory of public and private health insurance plans available across the country by zip code in an easy-to-use tool.

President Obama created the CTO position on his first full day in office to help modernize a federal government that was relying too heavily on 20th century technology. As the CTO, Park will continue the work of Aneesh Chopra. who stepped down last month after thee years on the job.

Barack Obama Sets Up A Facebook Timeline

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:08:29 +0000

Barack Obama’s campaign team has set up a new Timeline design for his Facebook profile. President Obama’s Facebook Timeline features a cover photo that shows the job creation between December 2007 and present. This graph is often times shared with Obama supporters. Placing this as the Timeline makes sense given that Obama is running for re-election based on an “America is back” motto.

Obama’s Facebook widgets includes photos and video content alongside links to donate to his campaign. There is also a store to buy Obama-themed swag. As you scroll down his Timeline, you will notice photos of supporters at campaign events. His Timeline also includes major administration accomplishments like the repealing of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, leaving Iraq, and the bin Laden assassination.

When you click on Born on the Timeline, you are taken to August 4, 1961 where it says “Made in the USA” with a link to a mug that has a picture of Obama on a coffee bug with his smiling face on the front and a picture of his birth certificate on the back.

[Mashable]

President Barack Obama Plans On Buying A Chevy Volt

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:41:31 +0000

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he would buy a Chevy Volt when he leaves office. During a conference in Washington, President Obama told representatives of the UAW that he would buy a Chevy Volt in five years after fulfilling a potential second term. Obama visited the GM factory in Hamtramck, Michigan where the hybrid is built. He had sat in a Volt “fresh off the line,” but the Secret Service prevented him from driving it.

“But I liked sitting in it,” said Obama to the conference attendees. “It was nice. I’ll bet it drives real good. And five years from now when I’m not president anymore, I’ll buy one and drive it myself.” At the conference, Obama defended the administration’s bail-out of GM and Chrysler in 2009.

Google, Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo! Join Privacy Bill Of Rights Proposed By Obama

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:51:37 +0000

Today President Barack Obama has announced a new framework that would push for online privacy that is intended to address concerns about the way that web companies use the personal data of their customers. The title of the framework is the Privacy Bill of Rights and it asks for advertisers to respect do-not-track instructions sent by their users.

Google, AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo! have all joined voluntarily and they promise to give the option for avoiding being tracked. The do-not-track agreement is part of a larger set of principles that were laid out in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The larger set of principles are focused on giving people more control of their information online

The core of these principles is that Internet users will know what data is being kept about you and where. If the data is incorrect, you should be able to correct it. The Obama administration is working with Congress to make the Privacy Bill of Rights a law and develop the legislation for it. Companies that sign up will be overseen by the FTC.

White House Administration Assures SOPA Legislation That Reduces Freedom of Expression Will Not Be Supported

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:48:33 +0000

Earlier today the White House administration released an official statement about their position on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). As of right now, the hearing about SOPA in the House of Representatives has been delayed until there is a consensus on the bill. Thousands of people signed a petition against the bill, which is why the White House responded. President Obama did not indicate that he would veto the bill, but the White House administration assured that they will “not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” [White House]

WATCH: Video Mash-Up Of Obama Singing Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:49:17 +0000

Above is a video mash-up put together by YouTube user Baracksdubs of speeches from President Barack Obama being mashed up to match the lyrics of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. The video was uploaded yesterday and has hit over 20,000 views. If you’re a fan of Obama and Lady Gaga, then the odds are that you will end up watching this more than once.

President Barack Obama Now Has Instagram

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:03:45 +0000

President Barack Obama has joined photo filtering social network Instagram. He joined Instagram this past Tuesday around the same time that the GOP campaign in Iowa took place. You can follow the President’s campaign account on Instagram at @BarackObama. President Obama has 4 Instagram photos and over 30,000 followers as of right now. President Obama’s campaign team is encouraging people to use the hashtag #Obama2012 when taking Obama-related photos. President Obama is known for using social media as a way to spread the word about his viewpoints when campaigning. President Obama has accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Tumblr. [Mashable]

University of Texas College Republican President Cassien Wright Sends Out Offensive Tweet About Obama

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:28:45 +0000

“My president is black, he snorts a lot of crack. Holla #2012 #Obama” is a tweet that was sent out by University of Texas College Republicans president Cassien Wright. Shortly after sending out this tweet, Wright has been all over the news and now her Twitter account is set to private. This is the second time a president of the University of Texas College Republicans sent out an offensive tweet.

“Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012″ is a tweet that was sent out by the former College Republicans president Lauren Pierce. She was removed from her position shortly after sending out this tweet.

I don’t consider myself as a Democrat or Republican because I have voted for candidates on both parties in the past, but I must say that Cassie and Lauren are idiots for sharing this kind of stuff on Twitter. As the president of a professional organization at a prominent school, you have to conduct yourself properly. If you do not like Obama, there are other ways of expressing disapproval besides suggesting that he should be shot or saying he uses crack cocaine. You can mention how you think is healthcare reform or economic policies are flawed instead. Below is a screenshot of Wright’s tweet.