Narwhal vs Orca - People rule, and outsourcing drools!

This subject fascinates me. I can't pin down why I am fascinated. It ticks several of my interests.  

This story is about David vs Goliath. It is about community strengths vs corporate structure. It is about people vs design. It is about project management. It is about people management. It is psychology. It is sociology. It is technology. It is about nerve-wracking competition. It is about gaming. It contains role-playing and a DM. It is about preparedness. It is about high performance, and doing things to the best of your ability. 

It is loads of stuff.

It is about People.


In no particular order:

Tech analysis

• Inside Team Romney's whale of an IT meltdown "Orca, the Romney campaign's "killer" app, skips beta and pays the price." - Ars Technica
• Built to win: Deep inside Obama's campaign tech "How Obama's tech team built a "force multiplier" with Amazon and a narwhal." - Ars Technica
• How Team Obama's tech efficiency left Romney IT in dust "Obama campaign's tech team beat Romney by using opposite strategy—"insourcing."" - Ars Technica

Marketing analysis

• Ground Game: Orcas versus Narwhals "What we do hasn't changed - only how we do it." - Campaign Lexicon

Stats analysis

• Orca meets Narwhal - How the Obama Ground Game Crushed Romney "A look behind the math" - Communities Dominate [Ed. This is the most interesting analysis, imo pov.]

Journalist analysis

• When the Nerds Go Marching In - The Atlantic
• The Romney Campaign’s Ground Game Fiasco - The Daily Beast 
• Orca Failed; but So Did Obama's 2008 Version of the Same - The Atlantic 

Republican analysis

• The Unmitigated Disaster Known As Project ORCA - Ace of Spades 
• ORCA, meet Narwhal. This is how it’s done. - Red State 

Disclosure wrt the 2012 USA elections: my opinion is - ultimately the message carried the day. 

Not the candidates. Not the technology. If people weren't motivated enough to vote, then they didn't vote. If they didn't vote, then it's because of the message.