K Street Cafe

No Myths Here: 5 Twitter Lessons Learned From the Discovery Channel (PR News)
Learn how the network launched its most successful Twitter Account.

What downturn? Digital ad spend to top $30 billion this year
(Social Media Influence)
Marketers are investing more in digital channels, with mobile advertising more than doubling in the past two years.

Think Globally, Tweet Locally: British Town Council In Midst of 24 Hours of Tweets (Tech President)
The Walsall Council in West Midlands, U.K. put together a a 24-hour project to post notes to Twitter about as many activities of local government as possible.

NARA Names 3 to New Leadership Positions
(Federal Computer Week)
Archivist of the United States David Ferriero announced the formation of a new open government unit to use Web 2.0 and digital media.

Curating the Revolution: Building a Real-Time News Feed About Egypt (The Atlantic)
An NPR senior strategist working on digital media turned himself into “a personal news wire for Egypt.”

Notes From a Father of the Open Internet, 15 Years On
(Tech President)
John Perry Barlow said that the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace that he wrote 15 years ago is still as relevant now as it was when he penned it.

Looking for What Works: Best Online Organizing Reads of 2010 (The Huffington Post)
A compilation of articles from 2010 that enriched the entire field of online organizing and digital social change-making.

New Hampshire Opens its State’s Legislative Data (Tech President)
New Hampshire’s General Court started releasing data on legislation and legislators in a way that web developers and researchers can easily process and explore.

Do Not Blast: Hill Staffers Want Personalized Notes, Digital or Otherwise (Tech President)
Email and the Internet are making it easier for the public to reach out to senators and representatives, but that doesn’t mean there’s been a corresponding boom in the public’s ability to shape the course of events happening.

Twitter, as a Helpmate, Goes to Capitol Hill (The New York Times)
Twitter’s Adam Sharp helps the thousands of politicians and government employees already on Twitter to use the tool better.

State of the Union, the Digital Party (Fast Company)
The State of the Union coverage is a demonstration of how the conversation in politics is shifting to a two-way dialogue between pols and constituents.

Holocaust Historical Data Goes Digital (NPR)
Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial, the world’s largest collection of Holocaust documents, is teaming up with Google to make its photographs and documents interactive and searchable on the Internet.

New Website Will Host Extensive Oral History of September 11 (The Atlantic)
A partnership with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum will provide users with oral histories from those who wanted to share what they saw and where they were on Sept. 11.

Pew Report: 53% Of Internet Users Believe Social Media Affects Politics (Tech Crunch)
Statistics from a recent Pew study show that internet users believe social media affects politics.

By David Almacy

Last Thursday, Edelman released the findings of our 2010 Capital Staffer Index during an event hosted in the Washington, DC office. Edelman’s Public Affairs & StrategyOne teams interviewed senior legislative staffers around the globe in several capital cities including Berlin, Brussels, London, Paris and Washington to determine the role and influence of various communications channels both online and off. Below are some of my initial — and personal — thoughts about the survey results.

Citizen Engagement in the Digital Age

When Barack Obama was sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States in January 2009, much was written about his campaign’s effective use of digital and social media tools to build support, reach new audiences and engage younger voters. Many credit those efforts as being critical to his successful bid for the White House.

Once in office, it was largely expected that the Obama Administration would utilize similar digital strategies for government application. They set out to build on the foundation laid by their predecessors by seeking to leverage emerging digital outlets to better serve and connect with Americans while simultaneously adapting to a rapidly evolving media landscape. The same was true for Capitol Hill.

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North Korea makes Twitter debut (Guardian)
Following the launch of their YouTube channel last month, North Korea continues digital PR efforts with a Twitter account.

B.C. Government Turns Static Intranet into a Community (Ragan)
British Columbia’s public service intranet, @Work, creates community through collaboration and engagement.

The New York Times Goes Social, Too (Rotor Blog)
The New York Times has started its own form of social networking with a program called TimesPeople. The program will allow users to share their favorite stories, make comments on blogs and post reviews of restaurants.

MyPRGenie Launches Version 2.0 and Adds Social Networking and Publicity Engine (Center Networks)
MyPRGenie, known for its free to low-cost services with press releases, has released a new version that helps organizations to manage their press releases and contacts, while allowing other users to discover and learn more about different topics.

The New Battleground (PR Week)
There is no doubt that presidential nominees are using digital media more than ever before in their campaigns, but how will these new forms change communications in the long term? Erica Lacono examines both the historical use of digital media in politics and where it could lead to in the future.