As the gay marriage issue is dominating headlines worldwide, social commentators are discussing the recent attitude shift among Americans. This decade, polls began to show a majority support of same-sex marriage. And now more and more politicians are voicing their changed opinion on the subject. Even conservatives.

Seven years ago, 70% of Americans were still opposing same-sex marriage. How can we explain this shift? Did Americans evolve? Become less conservative, all of a sudden?

It’s a reminder that people aren’t nearly as consistent and predictable as we’d like to think, says author David Berreby. Our minds aren’t wired to be either conservative or liberal. People can change their politics or hold seemingly conflicting views.

Berreby asked psychology professor Jonathan Haidt about the matter, who explains it as the result of personal experience. With more gays coming out of the closet over the past few decades, more and more straight Americans have come to see the issue in personal terms. Like Senator Rob Portman, who changed his opinion because his son is gay. It’s then no longer an abstract question about society, but a problem facing someone close.

Professor of sociology Lisa Wade says the same thing. She refers to a study in which people were asked why they changed their mind. The most common response was that knowing a gay person made them rethink their position on gay marriage. Which is consistent with a theory called the contact hypothesis; the idea that positive experiences with someone we fear or dislike will change our opinion.

To me it definitely seems a matter of social behavior, rather than a sudden evolution of moral and political thinking. Over the years, gay people have gradually become part of straight people’s social environment. Now, a tipping point may have been reached, at which gay people are no longer an alien group to most Americans, but part of their own social groups. Causing a shift from ‘them’ to ‘us’. 

Hopefully, in the next few years, this shift will lead to way more acceptance of our gay friends, neighbors, family members, collegeas, teammates and lovers.

While Obama’s 2008 campaign showed groundbreaking use of social media, the cleverness of his 2012 campaign was more hidden in the background. It was all about data - big data, to use the term du jour. Now the successful campaign is over, Obama’s team is offering us an inside look. Interesting for all us marketing villains out there, keen to get a grasp on big data’s potential.

So, what can we learn from these insights? Well, what’s most striking is the sheer dedication to data crunching. Every move was calculated and evaluated. Nothing was left to chance. Some of the key success factors:

• All separate databases that were used in 2008 were merged into one ginormous datafile. With this rich datafile they could model all kinds of voter types. Models that could predict which people were most persuadable and which appeal would be most effective.

• They set up an intricate email campaign for fundraising, that raised one billion dollars. What made it so effective? A large set of preliminary emails was sent out to test which combination of message, sender and subject line worked best for each specific voter group. 

• The team discovered that the campaign’s Quick Donate program, which allowed repeat giving online or via a text message, triggered people to donate about four times as much as other donors.

• Thanks to the enormous source of polling data they could accurately monitor who their voters were and who not, at any give moment. For example, when the polls slipped after the first debate, they knew which voter group had changed sides.

• Each night they ran computer simulations to find out what the chances were of winning each state. This way they always knew exactly how to allocate their resources.

• Through an app, voters received pictures of their Facebook friends in swing states, who they could urge to vote for Obama, with one click of a button. The team found that 1 in 5 people that were urged by a friend acted upon the request.

• Media buying was entirely based on data as well. They knew where to reach their most persuadable voters and didn’t need to rely on traditional media planning. This led to some unusual, yet clever choices. Like Obama’s appearance on Reddit, where many ‘turnout targets’ were hanging out.

Many of these ideas and techniques may seem nothing new or groundbreaking. Actually, Claude Hopkins, author of Scientific Advertising, popularized some of them a century ago. However, the scale and precision of this data-driven campaign seems unprecedented. It’s not difficult to imagine this trend evolving to even bigger and more sophisticated practices.

Teenage Engineering is a Swedish synthesizer company that not only has an awesome name, but creates über-cool products as well. Last year they released their first synthesizer, the OP-1, which is a powerful tool with deceivingly toyish looks. I love the company’s knack for design and other companies have also taken notice; IKEA let Teenage Engineering design the world’s cheapest digital camera for them. 

Recently Teenage Engineering released a new range of accessories for the OP-1, including an interface that allows Lego Technic gears to be used as controls. And it is now the first company to let customers 3D-print replacement parts for their product, for free.

All this really makes my want to buy an OP-1. Shame I’m no musician though.

This picture of an absurdly cute looking moth was taken some years ago, by a zoologist in Venezuela. It was uploaded to his Flickr account and remained rather unnoticed until last week, when the mysterious critter turned into an internet sensation, getting the full meme treatment. Now it appears to be an unknown species, this image being the only sign of its existence. Coincidently, another bug species was discovered through Flickr earlier this month. Making the interwebs a new hotspot for wildlife discoverers. Quite a Baudrillardian thought: we don’t need to explore the real world anymore, just its virtual counterpart.

Anyways, the internet is loving the hell out of this poodle moth, comparing it to Furby, Mogwai and Pokemon creatures. I think it would be nice to crowdsource its official name, making it the first species adopted and named by the internet.

If you doubt the authenticity of the picture, take a look at the original Flickr set. It’s full of amazing and unreal looking moths photographed in South America, where each year thousands of new insects are still being discovered.