K Street Cafe

Twitter Grows Public Policy Team With Former FCC Staffer Colin Crowell (techPresident)
Twitter and Facebook are both adding former Congress staffers and policy makers to strengthen their corporate team.

How to Create a Facebook Fan Base to Drive Social Advocacy (ClickZ)
Check out this free white paper from ClickZ, which will give you a better understanding of brand marketing and an approach for understanding the value of earned and paid impressions in a social context.

Cross-posted from Adfero

We’re living in a mobile age. You can’t walk down the street without bumping into someone on their smart phone. And now with the stunningly fast growth in sales for iPads, people are spending less and less time at their actual computers.

Wired magazine famously declared last year that “The Web is Dead.” In the article, Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff argue that we’re abandoning the web for sleeker, simpler services. They say that “these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into [people’s] lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen).” People are no longer interested in seeking. They are interested in getting.

In today’s world, people are constantly on the go. And so naturally, staying connected and receiving information happens on the go as well. In fact, a recent study by Flurry found that people are now spending more time on mobile apps than they are on websites.  Consumers in June spent 74 minutes per day on websites compared with 81 minutes using applications. That’s a growth of 91 percent over the past year. The data speaks for itself: mobile apps are crucial in reaching audiences.

So what does this mean for advocacy? Web sites alone will no longer cut it. Sure, your online Grassroots Action Centers and the Web tools you employ for grassroots action (for example, providing the opportunity for your activists to send emails directly to Congress) should remain part of your overall advocacy strategy. But you have to look beyond the Web now. (more…)

David Cameron Considers Banning Suspected Rioters From Social Media (Guardian)
According to UK officials, people are using social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter to organize riots throughout England. The Prime Minister has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to end the violent unrest.

Charity Feeds Videos Across Web for Hunger Action Month (ClickZ)
Feeding America has created a customizable widget with video featuring celebrity supporters like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Local food banks can post the widget on their site and add their own logo at the end of the video for a personal touch.

Analysis: Dueling Narratives Emerge From Debt Fight (Reuters)
In the aftermath of the national debt conflict, a new battle emerges: White House and Republican aides alike are taking to Twitter and other social media to win over a frustrated public.

Foundation Converts Young Professionals Into Philanthropists (Washington Post)
Northern Virginia Community Foundation’s ‘Future Fund’ uses social media to encourage young professionals to donate time and money to improve their local communities.

Debt Deal: Lobbyists Flood Congressional Supercommittee (The Daily Beast)
K-Street lobbyists are gearing up to target  the 12-member supercommittee that was formed to negotiate the $1.5 trillion of cuts from the federal budget. “It’s going to be a lobbying bonanza,” says a senior Capitol Hill aide.

5 Tools to Measure Social Media Success (Ragan)
When it comes to monitoring your social media presence, watching website traffic isn’t enough. Find out which facts and figures are important to keep an eye on, and tools that can help you monitor them.

Cross posted from BisNow.

Sometimes a letter isn’t enough. Here are a few groups that have delivered a message to Congress by actually delivering something. 

When Medicare faced major cuts a year ago, the American Medical Association sent over 2,000 white lab coats to members of Congress. (A true fashion statement.) The association held a “Write Coat Rally” (above) at its annual meeting in Chicago, where members signed and wrote messages on the lab coats before they were hand-delivered to congressional offices. “White coats are personal to physicians and signify the work they do to care for patients,” AMA president Peter Carmel tells us. “They provided physicians a place to write a personal message to their elected officials on this important issue.” They also helped generate media coverage, including a photo and story in The Washington Post. Last Novermber, AMA held a “virtual white coat rally” to again convey the need for permanent Medicare reform. The campaign generated 12,000 phone calls to Congress. (more…)

From All Sides, Online Pushes to Scrap the Deal (TechPresident)
Advocacy organizations from across the ideological spectrum are urging action online as the debt ceiling debate enters its final stage.

10 tips to help you get the most out of Google+ (Ragan)
Learn more about the new social networking site and its many features.

Cross-posted from the Public Affairs Council.

The Congressional Management Foundation’s newest report on Capitol Hill’s use of social media is out. But what does that mean for advocacy professionals?

Join the Public Affairs Council on August 4 or August 10 for insights on what the data tells us about communicating with Congress.

There’s no doubt – social media has gained a foothold in congressional offices. The Congressional Management Foundation has published a unique report that surveys congressional staff on their attitudes and practices with social media. The results will help you understand how members of Congress use social media, who is responsible for strategy and what congressional staff see as the benefits and drawbacks of Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

Be the first to hear what the survey’s findings mean for advocacy and communicating with Congress when Brad Fitch, president and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, shares the data and his insights on:

* How Congress is using social media to express legislators’ views and understand public opinion.

* How new media strategies compare to traditional media strategies for communicating with constituents.

* Congressional staff opinions about the value of social media.

* Staff views on the benefits and risks of using social media in a congressional office.

* How perceptions of social media differ between offices and between senior and junior staff.

Presented in partnership with the Congressional Management Foundation.

Follow the conversation on Twitter: #SocialCongress

Social Media Advocacy: Get with it or get left behind (Lobbyists.info)
Some disagree with its place in advocacy, but social media is undoubtedly changing the way we communicate with our elected officials.

New Facebook study reveals which posts spark the most engagement (PR Daily)
The study is aimed at journalists to help them better understand what their readers ‘like,’ but PR pros will find the information useful, too.

The Forty-Percent Rule (Tech President)
Reform Immigration for America’s take on what makes an effective text message call to action.

Snooki Taught Sen. McCain the Power of Twitter
(USA Today)
Sen. McCain said that Twitter is “fundamentally restructuring the whole nature of information and how it is dispensed in America.”