America’s fiscal crisis is fueling activism in cities and town across America where Tea Party rallies shine the light on our national debt and out-of-control government spending. But there’s also a revolution happening online, particularly with web videos that tell the story of an economically challenged country.
Debt, spending and taxes don’t exactly translate into blockbusters. Over the course of the past couple weeks, however, web videos on each subject have illustrated just how significant those issues are for engaged citizens.
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When it comes to Facebook, what’s more important: Having a large network of “friends” whom you don’t know? Or a smaller well-connected group of individuals with whom you have real relationships?
I consider myself a friendly person, but that’s no longer the case when it comes to Facebook. After careful thought and deliberation, I’ve decided to stop accepting friend requests from people I don’t know.
With more than 350 million users, Facebook is home to an incredible network of people. Complete strangers ask to be my friend every day. Some are so self-absorbed they’ve even prodded me to become “fans” of their pages. Others bombard me with event invites I have no interest or possible way of attending. Don’t get me started on annoying applications like Pillow Fight and Blingee Book. Enough is enough. (more…)
President Barack Obama’s commitment to transparency and open government has resulted in a surprising response from conservatives — many of whom are trying to outdo the White House with their own efforts to engage the citizenry.
The top two leaders of House Republicans, Reps. John Boehner (Ohio) and Eric Cantor (Va.), have appealed directly to Americans as the first policy battle of Obama’s administration takes shape.
The week before Obama took office, Cantor held a hearing on Capitol Hill that featured four video questions from citizens about the economic stimulus. The hearing had a similar feel to the YouTube debates during the presidential primaries. Boehner, meanwhile, invited users to ask questions on Digg. Nearly 1,500 were submitted, and Boehner answered the top questions on CNN. (more…)
Earlier this month U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore of California tried a new experiment in fundraising: Tweet for Chuck was the creation of online strategist Justin Hart to tap into the newly organized Top Conservatives on Twitter. The experiment has generated 136 donations so far, mostly between $10 and $25.
Although this was hardly a fundraising haul for DeVore, it was the first time a candidate used the microblogging platform to raise money. It generated positive press and got him noticed in a tough race against incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer. The website Hart built tracks donations (promoting transparency) and referrals (inspiring competition).
After observing the success, my Heritage Foundation colleague Nathaniel Ward and I asked Hart to create a similar effort for Heritage. Year-end fundraising is a priority for every nonprofit, and we saw very few downsides to asking for donations on Twitter. Last week we launched Tweet for Heritage.
Despite having more followers than DeVore, we haven’t enjoyed the same kind of success. That could be because DeVore was the first to do it or the holidays are keeping people occupied. Regardless, I hope the experiment prompts other nonprofits to use Twitter in new and creative ways.
Will fundraising work on this platform? The jury is still out for our experiment. But it would be great to have feedback or suggestions for others considering similar campaigns.
In the closing stretch of the presidential campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama have invoked the name of The Heritage Foundation to justify their policy proposals and attack their opponent. Unfortunately, neither campaign accurately reflected the views of Heritage. I’ve spent much of my time over the past week trying to set the record straight and protect our name.
Heritage is a nonprofit organization with strict limitations on political activity. As a nonpartisan research institution, we produce analysis on public policy issues, including the candidates’ tax proposals, but do not — and legally cannot — support or oppose a candidate for political office.
I thought it would be useful to share our approach this week responding to both McCain and Obama, particularly because we used the Internet and social media to tell our story. Our goal in each case was to set the record straight and clear up any confusion about the use of our name in their campaign materials. (more…)
A few weeks ago Billy Hallowell of VoterWatch pitched me on the idea of annotating video of the presidential debates. Due to a bunch of distractions at work, I missed the first two presidential contests and the VP debate. But this morning I fully annotated the third debate with commentary and links from The Heritage Foundation.
By embarking on the project — and possibly continuing it with congressional video — I hoped to provide an important service to our readers who want more than sound bites from the candidates. VoterWatch allows you to do just that by blogging within video coverage.
The experience was rather enjoyable. After watching last night’s “Saturday Night Live” skit with Fred Armisen and Darrell Hammond, I even had a few laughs at the real Barack Obama and John McCain.
Last Tuesday as I was sharing my thoughts on Twitter during the second presidential debate, I noticed frequent updates from the Cato Institute. Like Heritage, Cato reguarly tweets about its policy work. But what made Cato’s debate coverage special was the instant reaction from its analysts.
Rather than wait until after the debate to comment on the candidates’ policy proposals, Cato’s manager of new media, Christopher Moody, put the libertarian think tank’s policy experts to work right away. The result was instantaneous and informative analysis. The experiment was such a success that Cato plans to replicate it tonight.
By my count, Cato provided 44 updates on Twitter during the 90-minute debate. Its Twitter team included Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow for energy policy and environmental protection; Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies; and Jagadeesh Gokhale, senior fellow for economics and expert on entitlement reform. (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. (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. (more…)
Think tanks have long been known for producing serious policy research usually in the form of lengthy papers, charts or bound reports. With people on the go and consuming information at an extremely fast pace, however, it’s more challenging than ever to market this extensive research to key constituencies.
As I wrote Monday, think tanks need to adapt to the changing world of the web. I covered a textual way to have a greater impact through the use of better headlines. Now I want to share my experience at The Heritage Foundation with the use of video.
Back in November 2006, Heritage began actively using video to spread our policy message. Our first video upload to YouTube about the reasons we must win the war in Iraq became the model for more than 300 that we’ve produced since then. They are a critical way of spreading our research to Capitol Hill, journalists and conservative activists. (more…)
