Archive for August, 2010
It’s an old idea on Epolitics.com, but a good one still — email and social networks work well together, no matter how many people try to predict (for instance) that Facebook dooms email to irrelevance. Two good examples popped up today, the first in an email from the Center for American Progress:
To be progressive is to be connected. To stay on top of what’s going on, and to spread
progressive ideas to your networks. To challenge conservative misinformation with the facts.
And CAP’s Facebook page can help. Just go to www.facebook.com/americanprogress and click
on the “Like” button at the top of the page:
[big blue button]
After you’ve clicked “Like,” click the “Suggest to Friends” link on the left side of the page to
invite your Facebook friends to join you.
Yep, you can use email to build a base of support on Facebook, helping to create critical mass for future viral growth. Just as you can also use a Facebook Page to build your email list, as Oceana recently did — over 60 days, they gained 5000+ email-list signups and more than 4000 new Facebook “likes”. The keys? Engaging supporters consistently on their Facebook Page, providing people with information and giving them opportunities to sign up for actions while also being sensitive to any blowback (i.e., they were careful not to overdo it). They also made it easy to act, in part by including an online petition in a tab directly on their Facebook Page. So the next time someone presents email and Facebook as an either/or proposition, set ‘em straight — for their own good.
– cpd
August 31st, 2010
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The elements themselves may have ganged up against us the last time we tried this, but let’s see if we can get together and whoop it up WITHOUT provoking the wrath of water, wind and fire. Come kick off your Labor Day weekend a day early at a…
Re-Scheduled Summer Party at The Reef: An Epolitics.com Production
Yes, it’s time for a knock-down, drag-out, old-school party of the highest caliber possible, featuring all the people you like and none of the ones you don’t, plus food, booze and good times all around. Here’s the scoop:
- This coming Thursday, September 2nd, starting at 6 pm sharp
- On the main floor of The Reef in Adams Morgan (DC), just a flight of stairs away from a lovely roof deck
- 6 pm until ???
- Open bar for the first few rounds of drinks
- Plus plenty of tasty Reef appetizers and snacky foods, all enviro-friendly to boot
Let’s grab hold of these last long days of summer and wring all good times out of them we can. And with much of DC out of town for the holiday weekend, it’s a good opportunity to shuffle the social deck as well — we have new friends to introduce to old, plus plenty of trouble to get into along the way.
Hope to see you Thursday! YOU WILL WANT TO ARRIVE EARLY OR ON TIME, ’cause the free booze will only last so long, and then you’ll have to cry in a beer you purchased with your own hard-earned cash (buy me one while you’re at it, thanks). Looking forward to an absolutely kickass good time, and you should too. Rock and roll. BTW, here’s the Facebook invite, should you heed your mother’s advice to always RSVP.
– cpd
August 31st, 2010
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Finally! A much-needed revision of the legendary Online Politics 101 is under way, a little over two years since its last substantive rewrite. The new version will have an entirely new chapter on Twitter, for a start, and will also see plenty of detail changes throughout. I’m about a third of the way through the document now, and hope to have it wrapped up within the next week or two. Fortunately, Learning from Obama and the Winning in 2010 guide are much more up-to-date, so I’ll be lifting some text from them, and I’ve also been hitting up experts on various topics for ideas. Watch this space….
– cpd
August 31st, 2010
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Also published on techPresident
Update: See also Kate Kaye’s earlier coverage at ClickZ.
Politico’s Morning Tech column has highlighted a clever use of mobile advertising in last week’s Florida primaries:
As the Sunshine State headed to the polls yesterday, down-ballot candidates bought Google online ads on mobile geo-targeted to specific districts, hoping to capture people who are doing last-minute research while waiting in line at the polls. Democratic State Senator and Attorney General hopeful Dan Gelber, who easily won his primary, used mobile Google ads for a 24-hour blitz on primary day. Lisa Small, likely soon to be declared winner of her circuit court judge race, also used the strategy, Google told us.
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August 30th, 2010
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Time to git us some learnin’! First up, the Women Who Tech Telesummit, taking place September 15th on a computer or phone near you:
Women Who Tech brings together talented women breaking new ground in technology who use their tech savvy to transform the world and inspire change. Hundreds of women (and this year men will be participating too) from across the US and abroad in the non-profit, political and business world will be coming together on September 15th to participate in this virtual event. Panelists include women on the forefront of social change and technology.
Check out the website for the excellent list of panels, presentations and presenters, and also note the after-parties — I’ll see you at the one in DC. Next up, the Amp Summit:
AMP Summit is an annual forum for influentials and thought leaders in the activist, media and political spheres. Public officials and regulators, experts from think tanks, trade associations, and public relations, and members of the media will attend. This conference in our nation’s capitol is intended to bring together respected colleagues and new friends to inspire new thinking, challenge traditional strategies, and create opportunities to learn from each other.
The AMP Summit hits DC September 24-25th, and be sure to take a look at the packed agenda — I’ll be on a panel entitled “Elements of an Effective Online Campaign” on Saturday the 25th. See you there!
– cpd
August 30th, 2010
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The folks over at Ranker.com have done us a solid by gathering their ten favorite instances of Jon Stewart absolutely destroying Fox News, typically with its own anchors’ own words. My only complaint? They link to the clips and describe them, but they don’t actually embed them in the page so you can watch them directly. But all it takes is a quick click and you’re in satirical heaven — fair and balanced, indeed. Here’s my favorite as a teaser:
– cpd
August 27th, 2010
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Also published on The Huffington Post
Check out Kate Zernike’s piece in the Times today for a glimpse of how the Republican establishment is “shaping tea party passion into [a] campaign force” — or at least, how they’re trying to. The article profiles the efforts of Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks to “turn local Tea Party groups into a standing get-out-the-vote operation in Congressional districts across the country,” in part through a series of trainings that would be right at home in the 2008 Obama grassroots operation. But this paragraph shows what game is actually afoot:
Its candidates are libertarians and economic conservatives, but in the 2010 midterm elections, FreedomWorks is urging Tea Party groups to work for any Republican, on the theory that a compromised Republican is better than Democratic control of Congress.
So much for an independent force in American politics! Voting for a “compromised” Republican is exactly the kind of decision that should be anathema to Tea Party idealists, since it’s a classically cynical political calculation. Regardless of their rhetoric and their libertarian-heavy reading list, Armey’s army is essentially trying to channel the Tea Partiers’ anger into a form that furthers the ambitions of the broader Right.
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August 26th, 2010
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Here in the Delany family, we’re generally not ones to think small — and my father is the prime example. An inveterate inventor who couldn’t stop playing with ideas if he tried, he’s come up with some fascinating tools that might change the way people live in impoverished areas across the globe. How? By coming up with simple technologies they can use to make and repair everything from pots and pans to agricultural equipment, built with materials common around the world. The essential parts can come from junked cars and trucks, for instance, which are lying around just about everywhere. Plus, one branch of this mechanical family tree can also help power a village, charging cell phones and letting students study after dark by the light of LED bulbs.
Why take this project on? Because the ability to manufacture and repair machinery is one crucial handicap of most Third World economies — for instance, you can help people drill water wells all day long, but if there’s no mechanical infrastructure in place to repair it, they’re still helpless when the pump breaks (the parts are likely a continent or two away, which usually means that they might as well be on the moon).
Perhaps more importantly, these tools also teach skills, since you start with the plans and construct the machines themselves using local materials — and once you’ve done that, you’re on your way to being able to build anything up to and including a battleship. Note that in some cases this project revives mechanical techniques that have been forgotten for a century or two but that are perfect for areas short on resources other than human hands and brains.
But don’t take my word for it; go through the slideshow below, which was prepared for Maker Faire Africa and which describes four the four core interrelated machines, which can be used in everything from a village blacksmithy to a full-scale factory or trade school. The best part? Dad’s giving them away — this is an entirely open-source project. The problem? Getting people in the NGO/development community to even understand what a machine tool is and why one would be valuable. If you can help spread the word, please do! His contact info and links to more information are in the slideshow, so please check it out.
– cpd
August 25th, 2010
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- E=mc2? Not on Conservapedia.
- How to raise funds for your nonprofit using social media. Note extensive E.pol quotes.
- New list of politicians’ social media channels.
- Social networking sites gain clout in campaigns, with politicians using social media to fight for votes.
- More from Campaign 2010: Campaigns do battle on the Internet: Campaign managers for Reid and Angle exchange barbs via Twitter, as Quayle, Gorman lead YouTube chase in congressional race, Walker Staffer’s Tweet Causes Political Controversy, and 10th Congressional candidate urging supporters to post comments online (getting them to flood the comments section of a news story).
- Political attacks thrive online, as Protected by online anonymity, hate speech becomes an online mainstay. Thank you for noticing.
- In Congress or on Digg, Politics Is Politics.
- John McCain, Twitter genius. Note that the measure is volume, not quality or effectiveness, and c.f. How You Test a Senator’s Online Social Smarts.
- Whither the tweeting politicians. Charlie Rangel weighs in: Empowerment via the new media.
- North Korea makes Twitter debut.
- Hosni Mubarak calls on Egyptians to vote, son’s campaign impeded by Facebook fiasco. Plus “Dilmaboy” and Twitter: Brazil election goes online.
- Iran’s Robotic ‘Ambassador of Death’ is More Envoy of Annoyance.
- Online Petitions are a Sham. Let’s get a second opinion: A “Sham” or Democracy at Work?
- Blogger says Ground Zero Mosque’s twitter consultant made sexually inappropriate comments. C.f. The education of ‘Mosque’-tweeter Oz Sultan and The Voices of @Park51.
- Did Sarah Palin really Tweet that? Yep.
- Daily Kos launches new email program, including a pop-up signup form when you go to the site.
- ActBlue releases new “Donate” tab for candidates’ Facebook pages.
- There Are Now 8.5 Million .ORG Domains, And Growth Is Accelerating.
- Combat Malaria With Nothing But Nets and Facebook Credits.
- RNC Re-Assigning New Media Staff For 2010 Election and RNC Shifts New Media to Field. But is it a big deal?
- Furor Over Israeli Soldier’s Facebook Photos. C.f. Israeli Soldier Defends Her ‘Sexy’ Facebook Prisoner Pics
- NYC’s Advocate Tracks Corporate Political Spending. Also, the NY Senate has released an iPad App.
- Worldwide Advertising On Social Networks Estimated To Hit $3.3 Billion In 2010, 40% going to Facebook. Meanwhile, comScore: Facebook Now The Third Largest Video Site In The U.S. and Hulu Serving 3x as Many Video Ads as YouTube.
- Dems Experiment with Using Tweet Button to Build Base.
- 10 Types of Nonprofits That Absolutely Must Add Themselves to Foursquare.
- Top Five Ways To Use Facebook Places Effectively.
- Facebook Places: Where Are People Checking In?, and This Week in Social Media: Facebook Places Edition.
- Ten Ways to Engage Your Supporters.
- Hunting “Propaganda,” GOP Watchdog Sets Sights on Obama’s New Media. C.f. Dept. of propaganda.
- CauseOn, Like Groupon But Partially For Charity.
- Total Cost For France.fr: 4 Million Euros.
- Top 5 Mobile Advertising Trends To Watch, as Location-Based Text Message Ads Get a Major Boon.
- Wired Declares The Web Is Dead…Don’t Pull Out The Coffin Just Yet.
- Charity:Water’s Site Raised $3 Million Last Year.
- Pew Study Claims One Fifth Of American Adults Don’t Use The Internet.
- How Contests Can Create Long-Term Engagement with Users on Facebook.
- What An Australian Facebook Election Would Look Like.
- Why to integrate Twitter’s new “Tweet” button into your website, and You Like? Facebook Makes Updates To Its “Like” Button.
- 5 Useful Facebook Trend and Search Services.
- 5 Key Benefits of Monitoring Your Client’s Brand on Social Media, as you Track Social Media Campaigns from Inside Microsoft Excel.
- A domestic violence PSA done right.
- Colorado GOP Race Prompts Facebook Attack Page. Missed this one when it came out.
- Political scientists on the Obama era, part 1 of many.
- How Polling Places Can Affect Your Vote.
- The Emergence of Long-Form Web Video.
- RGA Makes Plans for Video Paywall. But, Campaign Videos: Will Anyone Pay to See Them?
- The New Right-Wing Smear Machine. From 2008, a detailed look at the mechanics of the conservative email-forwarding network.
- Soldiers Try To Trade Tech Support For Afghan Intel.
- Is the Internet a ‘weapon of the strong’?
- Demographics of text messaging, with charts. C.f. How Mobile is Affecting the Way We E-mail.
- Going Viral Takes a Posse, Not an Army.
- And finally: In porn, a story of Iraq’s politics.
– cpd
August 24th, 2010
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Welcome to DC, Tea Partiers in town for the Glenn Beckathon in the Mall Saturday! DCist prepared the map below to show you where you’ll feel “comfortable” in the area, based on a handy online guide from a Maine TP group. Stick to these protected areas (Mom,* click each colored area on the map to see what pops up), and you’re much less likely to encounter actual DC residents, who clearly can’t be trusted to be Legal U.S. Citizens with birth certificates and all. Or to be white, for that matter. Have fun! I’d invite you up to my neighborhood, but you’d be a minority here, and that would be scary and stuff.
View The Tea Party Guide to DC in a larger map
– cpd
*Mom wanted me to strike her name so that no one would think she was a Tea Partier…meaning that she must be a commie socialist. No wonder I turned out this way.
August 23rd, 2010
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The big news in the social media space: Facebook has released “Places,” a much-anticipated geo-location service that will allow users to “check in” at locations around the world. Or rather, Facebook is in the process of releasing Places, since it’s not available everywhere as of this writing. In an interesting move, Facebook has partnered with several of the top providers of location-based tools, including Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and Booyah, rather than taking them on directly. In fact, Places as it stands is relatively rudimentary, with none of the competitive features that have turned Foursquare into a game for millions of users, for instance.
But the slim functionality of the initial release suggests something deeper about Facebook’s approach to geo-location: they’re providing the basic tools, but letting others provide the interesting applications. In some ways, it’s similar to Facebook Apps, since Zuckerberg and company built the framework in which Mafia Wars, Farmville et al live, but they didn’t build the actual games themselves. Foursquare has already been working with its larger colleague for months (roughly 20% of Foursquare users currently push their check-ins to Facebook, for instance), and Facebook appears to be trying to turn other potential competitors into partners as well. Watch this space — with 500 million users, Facebook’s attitude might not stay so benevolent forever. One potential clue? The new Places logo is a “4″ in a square…hmmmmm.
More on geo-location in politics and advocacy:
– cpd
August 19th, 2010
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Also published on techPresident and K Street Cafe
Maybe not yet, but AOL would certainly like political professionals to start thinking that way — with Google monopolizing search advertising and Facebook dominating the social space, AOL wants to own political display (banner) ads through its Advertising.com platform. Judging from conversations with AOL staff at a launch reception for the company’s new political advertising dashboard, AOL sees what Google and Facebook have done in the political space and sees an opportunity to build a new constituency for online display advertising, something that campaigns have tended to drop in favor of search and social advertising in recent years.
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August 18th, 2010
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