The idea of using Foursquare for advocacy makes a lot of sense, taking the flash mob notion to another level. Because Foursquare lets you post the address where you are and a brief comment, it is a great way to tell the world about demonstrations, events, and other activist activities you want people to join.

This has great potential, and it doesn’t matter that there are only 1 million Foursquare users, which is rather a lot, anyway. Not only is Foursquare mobile, allowing you to check in from anywhere, but it can post your check-in message and address to Twitter and Facebook. This immediately reaches out to all of your followers and friends and taps into the viral potential we all know and love.

But it can be even more effective if you include hashtags to your message for Twitter. Adding #p2 will expose your Foursquare post to hundreds of thousands of progressive activists and adding the #tcot/#teaparty/#sgp tags will expose your post to comparable numbers of conservatives.

If you are at a health care reform event, add the #HCR hashtag to reach people engaged on that issue. Or #CO2/#climate/#green/#COP15 to reach clean energy and climate activists. At a labor rally? Add #labor or #EFCA to reach beyond your list to the broader labor community.

So, don’t feel constrained by the relatively small audience on Foursquare. Because it links to two of the largest and most vibrant social networks for activism, you are limited only by your own creativity.

So start your Foursquare networks and come visit me at Toscana West.

DC Will Debut “Digital Capital Week” in June 2010 (Cheeky Fresh)
Digital Capital Week is a 10 day festival in Washington, DC that will focus on technology, innovation and all things digital in our nation’s capital.

About a month ago, a co-worker convinced me to join Foursquare, which I read somewhere is the new Twitter. If you haven’t checked out Foursquare yet, it provides capabilities for its users to “check-in” and tell friends where they are located.  Each check-in can earn you various points, badges and even special offers from local businesses.

Foursquare seems like a great opportunity for businesses to connect with frequent customers and market their services.  My question is: Can it also be of value to the grassroots advocacy world? Are there ways for organizations to use Foursquare to engage members and motivate activists?

Right now it is hard to believe there are enough users for Foursquare advocacy to be effective, but at the rate social media networks are growing, it may only be a matter of time.

While I’m still navigating the ins and outs of this new location-based social network, here are some top of mind thoughts on how to make Foursquare work for grassroots advocacy:

Check-in day across the country
Organizations could setup virtual “call-to-action” days, encouraging members to check-in at a specified location, or type of location on a given day.   This could be visiting their local legislators, volunteering at soup kitchens or attending rallies.  Organizations could then provide data visualizations of this information.

Earn badges as an advocate
Foursquare has a number of badges that members can earn, like explorer badges for visiting a number of locations and jetsetter badges for travel.  Foursquare could create advocacy badges earned by checking-in to certain locations, inviting friends to join or completing certain activities.  Different organizations could have their own advocacy badges or ask members to list them in the “shout” when checking-in at particular locations.

Create check-in options for advocacy activities
Foursquare has partnered with several brands like Zagat, the New York Times and Harvard University to provide experiences for members in a tips list.  Members can add tips to their to-dos or check that they have participated in that item.  Organizations could setup a similar process for members to check-in but for activities like sending-a-letter, making a phone call or attending a townhall.  Members would see their friends and other activity members who are participating in these activities.

What do you think; can Foursquare be used for advocacy?

DC Decoder: Writing to Congress (Congress.com)
An interesting video with helpful tips on how to write an effective letter to Congress.

Here is one example of the many uses of Skype:

If you are a member of Congress, there is no substitute for meeting with constituents in person, pressing the flesh, looking voters in the eye and letting them know you are with them. But when votes on Capitol Hill keep elected officials from returning to their home states and districts, Skype can be a life-saver. While there aren’t enough hours in the day to talk to everyone, a video call on Skype allows the senator or representative to deliver the contact some constituents (major donors, community leaders, political allies, etc.) have come to expect.

Check out Michael’s full article, “Skype: The next best thing to being there” here. 

Bridging the Divide Between Congress, Constituents (CNN)
Dissatisfaction with the legislative branch has intensified, with bailouts and slow economic relief contributing to voter frustration.

Public Affairs Council – 2009 Corporate Government Relations Washington Office Benchmarking Report

Key Points:

• Despite the economic downturn, companies are finding a presence in Washington critical — and are maintaining their staffing and budget levels.

• The Washington office, rather than being exclusively devoted to government relations, is now taking on additional functions.

• Washington offices are beginning to use more sophisticated performance measurement.

The Economist – Public relations in the recession: Good News

“According to data from Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), a private-equity firm, spending on public relations in America grew by more than 4% in 2008 and nearly 3% in 2009 to $3.7 billion. That is remarkable when compared with other forms of marketing. Spending on advertising contracted by nearly 3% in 2008 and by 8% in the past year. PR’s position looks even rosier when word-of-mouth marketing, which includes services that PR firms often manage, such as outreach to bloggers, is included. Spending on such things increased by more than 10% in 2009.”

PR Week – Year End Survey by Stevens Gould Pincus on 2010 Outlook for PR Industry

The majority of PR agencies saw revenue declines in 2009, according to a year-end survey by StevensGouldPincus (SGP). Of the 157 agencies polled, 63.7% reported revenue declines from the prior year. They also reported an average 11.6% profit margin, a drop from last year’s figure of 19.2%

Despite the results, firms remain optimistic for the upcoming year. Sixty-four percent of agencies said they expect higher revenues in 2010, a prediction that Gould believes will come true.

Advertising Age – Ad Spending Heads Into Tepid Recovery

By most accounts, this recession is over, but advertising is likely to see only a modest recovery. Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Magna forecasts that media firms’ U.S. ad revenue will be lower in 2015 than in 2000.

Over the winter, Price Floyd, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, spoke to a group of communicators about the necessity of social media from the Department of Defense’s stand point.  Floyd’s points, mainly that your audience is larger than you could imagine and that you can’t avoid social media, finally took hold last week with the release of the DoD’s Official Policy on New/Social Media. The newly released memo states, “The policy, which is effective immediately, states that the default for the DoD non-classified network (the NIPRNET) is for open access so that all of DoD can use new media.”

This is a great step forward not only for social media, but also government communications and transparency, and it raises the question that I asked previously – If the DoD can balance security, information sharing and transparency, then why can’t every company?

While the recent hacking of prominent Twitter accounts (see United Airlines recent snafu here) may result in many companies pulling back on social media in caution, in my opinion, the DoD announcement should show them to not be afraid, but instead cautious, of social media.  If the DoD can balance all the priorities of information sharing, principally, national security, then the private sector has no excuse.

Pentagon Loosens Reins over Facebook, Twitter, Web 2.0 Apps (eWeek)
In an effort to balance appropriate security measures while maximizing capabilities of new Internet tools, the Department of Defense recently granted military personnel access to Facebook, Twitter, Google Apps and other user-generated applications.

We the Tweeple: Congressional Directory Adds Twitter Accounts (Washington Examiner)
The annual “Congress at Your Fingertips” book is about to be released, and this year it contains members’ Twitter accounts.