K Street Cafe

Earlier today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Adfero Group and the Politico sponsored the last event in the Innovative Advocacy series: Intelligence, Media Monitoring, and Tracking the Buzz.

Panelists included three K Street Café contributors: Peter Waldheim from the Blog Council, Chris Kinnan from FreedomWorks and Brad Fitch from Knowlegis. Others on the two panel discussions, moderated by Mathew Zablud of Adfero Group and Brad Peck from the U.S. Chamber, were Chris Ramsey from Radian6, James Tipton from Google, and Evan Tracey from TNS Media Strategies.

Here were the key points from the two panels: READ MORE »

Rather than respond in the comments to a question from JK on my last post, Millennials at the Gates, asking for evidence of the reshaping of American politics, I will respond here.

I understand JK’s hesitation about waiting for the evidence.  After all, I was a full-time academic for many years.  I remember back in 1992 when I was on the Political Science conference circuit talking up Rock the Vote’s voter registration drive.  I kept getting comments like, “We hope we are wrong, but young voter turnout programs never work,” from political scientists.  Well, they were wrong.  Rock the Vote register a million first time voters and for the first time since the 18 year olds got the vote, turnout in the 18-24 group went up.

I also like to remind people that many who waited until the evidence for television’s impact on politics found themselves on the losing end of a TV campaign by their opponent. If we wait for the evidence to arrive, we will always be behind the curve. READ MORE »

Crushing failure for lobbyists (The Hill)
Despite all the hard work of lobbyists in the past week to pass a bailout bill in Congress, yesterday’s vote that defeated the proposed legislation shows that politicians are actually listening to their constituents.

Commenting 2.0 (Community Guy)
New technology promises to create a global blog commenting system that will “revolutionize” the way that  blog readers will provide feedback to engage in the conversation.

Survey: 93% of Americans Expect Companies to Have Social Media Presence (PR Newser)
A new study finds that the majority of people not only expect companies to have a web presence, but also that they use social media to communicate with their consumers.

House Republicans Launch New Media Caucus (Tech Daily Dose)
The U.S. House of Representatives is starting a New Media Caucus, supported by Minority Leader John Boehner.

Congressional offices this past week reported getting swamped by emails and calls from constituents who are angry about the $700 billion bailout that Congress will vote on this week. Congress.org, which offers a free service allowing constituents to e-mail and write their Member of Congress, sent over 100,000 communications last week on the topic – one of the biggest turnouts for a topic in the last few years. But what is really driving that outrage? READ MORE »

I’m John Wonderlich, program director at the Sunlight Foundation.

For this introductory post, I’d like to do two things: explain a bit about what I do, and explain what I’m doing here.

READ MORE »

It seems like everyone in Washington is focused on one thing: the financial bailout. Over the course of the past week, conservatives and liberals have done battle to shape the message. Think tanks, non-profits and other interest groups have debated policy proposals in hopes of finding a solution — or preventing one.

Then yesterday came a 10-minute YouTube video called “What Caused Our Economic Crisis?” posted by TheMouthPeace. It quickly found its way onto right-leaning blogs, including the popular Hot Air and Power Line. Even the Drudge Report linked to it yesterday. READ MORE »

When Ed Feulner took the helm of The Heritage Foundation more than 30 years ago, one of his principal objectives was getting policy information to Congress quickly. Other think tanks in Washington produced very good research, but more often than not it arrived too late to make a difference.

Staffers searching for policy solutions still turn to Washington’s think tanks for answers. But unlike 30 years ago, there are more voices and countless new ways (such as video) to educate lawmakers. The 24-hour news cycle can also quickly shift a congressional debate over legislation. Failure to respond in a timely fashion can leave you in the dust. READ MORE »

Facebook for suits (The Economist)
In recent weeks, business-focused social networking Web sites have seen an increase in activity due primarily from the uneasiness regarding the financial markets.

YouTube Accord Eludes House (Roll Call)
The Senate’s recent approval of third party Web sites, such as YouTube, has left the House wanting a similar resolution.

Will Social Media Change the Political Process? Has It Already? (Social Media Explorer)
With over a third of Americans having watched a political video on the Internet, could the predictions that this years election will be the “Social Media Election” be true?

Congress Should Harness Social Medial Amid Bailout (PR Week)
In the wake of the bailout controversy, PR Week examines the need for further transparency in the government and how social media can help provide the means to achieving it.

Google Maps: Elections ‘08 Map Gallery
The internet continues to make this election easier for voters: Google Maps has introduced a way to track candidates and their campaigns.

Suite Talk (Politco)
Politico alerted its readers about K Street Cafe’s launch, writing that readers should check it out ”just in case you want to learn a bit more from the lobbyists and PR gurus themselves” in the newspaper’s Suite Talk column.