K Street Cafe

Collaboration Brings Opportunity (Politico)
Fred Humphries, vice president for U.S. government affairs at Microsoft, shares lessons for using technology for collaboration.

Twitter hires Obama administration’s Katie Stanton
(LA Times)
Former Obama new media strategist joins Twitter, Inc. to head the company’s international strategy.

Maryland Politician on Twitter Rules: Not So Fast (ClickZ)
Maryland State Delegate raises concerns over new social media and online ad policies.

Environmental issues appear to be top of mind for citizens, according to data from June’s Congressional Conversation Index (CCI). The CCI is a monthly survey, conducted by DC-based firms Adfero Group and Fireside 21, measuring the average number of constituents that contact their U.S. Representative on various issues.

Of the top ten issues eliciting citizen response, the environment ranked second highest while energy ranked fifth. When combined, the joint issues skyrocket to the top of the list. The outpouring of concern likely comes as a result of the yet unresolved oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that took place in late April.

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Financial services climbed to the top of the list of citizen concerns expressed to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives last month, according to June’s Congressional Conversation Index (CCI). The CCI is a monthly survey, conducted by DC-based firms Adfero Group and Fireside 21, measuring the average number of constituents that contact their U.S. Representative on various issues.

The financial services category was the number one issue driving citizens to contact their representatives, replacing immigration in the top spot. Increased citizen concern likely resulted from the House’s recent approval of a financial reform bill that will overhaul the banking system and re-write U.S. financial rules.  Engagement on the issue has risen steadily since February, with the number of related contacts more than doubling in the past month.

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About the CCI

The Congressional Conversation Index (CCI) is a joint effort by Fireside 21, a communications software provider to more than 100 Members of Congress, and Adfero Group, a public relations firm that runs issue advocacy and public awareness campaigns for corporations, associations and non-profits. For the first time ever, the CCI allows the public a glimpse into the issues driving citizen engagement with Congress. Each month, the CCI measures the average number of recorded emails, letters or phone calls that participating Members of the U.S. House of Representatives receive about various issues from the constituents they represent.

HuffPo Buys Politics Poll Site Pollster.com (Advocacy 2.0)
The Huffington Post picks up poll aggregator Pollster.com, making its second acquisition in less than a month.

Twitter Forces Media to Confront the Myth of Objectivity
(Giga Om)
Resignation of Octavia Nasr,  CNN senior editor, over controversial tweet raises issues of objectivity online.

U.S. Government on Your Smartphone? There’s an App Store for That (Read Write Web)
Re-launched USA.gov site includes mobile application store for quick access to needed government information.

C-SPAN Moves to Bolster Twitter Presence (Hillicon Valley)
C-SPAN partners with bit.ly to create cs.pn URL shortener.

Google Adds New Personalization Features to Google News (Advocacy 2.0)
Users are now able to customize a “stream of headlines,” tailored to their specific interests.

California Launches Government News & Social Media Aggregator (The Next Web)
The state government of California last week unveiled a news and social media aggregator combining RSS feeds, YouTube channels and official Twitter accounts.

How is Social Media Impacting Free Speech Rights?
(CNN Politics)
A look into the power of controlling content on line.

Silicon Valley: DC Doesn’t Get Tech (Politico)
Industry leaders worry whether lawmakers understand the tech community’s most pressing issues.

All Buzz is Good Buzz: Taking Online Rapid Response to the Next Level (e.politics)
Learn how to stay two steps ahead of other political campaigns by being on 24-hour alert to engage the web.

How the Gulf Coast Benefit is Using Social Media to Rally Support (Mashable)
See what social media tools Gulf Coast Benefit used to gain nationwide attention, garner donations & raise coast-to-coast awareness in less than a month.

Social Media 101 for Activists (Congress.org)
Seven tips on using social media to change the world.

Facebook Simplifies Privacy Controls for Applications (Hillicon Valley)
Wednesday, Facebook unveiled new privacy controls that allow users to easily manage the information they share with third-party applications.