K Street Cafe

I recently gave a lecture at American University’s Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute on how to use social media and other online strategies for advocacy. You can watch it here.

In case you missed it, the Hill ran my column “Promoting a Cause Through YouTube,” about the State Department’s use of social media as a powerful diplomacy tool used to promote democracy around the world.

Much can be learned by studying State’s Democracy Video Challenge user generated content campaign.  Launched last year, the Video Challenge invites citizens worldwide to submit videos completing the phrase “Democracy is…”  The campaign had more than 900 video submissions and was successful in engaging the public through social media.

The Democracy Video Challenge provides many good lessons for advocacy organizations trying to recruit and mobilize supporters both here and around the world.

Today YouTube announced the official launch of YouTube DIRECT, a tool that allows organizations to collect, moderate and then display videos from users directly on their organization’s web site or an associated YouTube channel. The stated intention of the tool is to allow news organizations to develop an array of user-generated stringers who can upload video reports and commentary to a news web site while maintaining the news site’s editorial control. (At the time of writing it was not 100% clear whether the tool was limited to official news services only – let’s hope not).

But let’s think outside of the box here. Why limit this to news organizations? Could you image what a forward thinking non-profit or advocacy group could do with this kind of technology? (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…)

Obama to Address the Nation Each Week on YouTube (Read Write Web)
Rumors are circulating that President-Elect Obama will be broadcasting weekly on YouTube in an effort to continue to reach the masses of new media users who elected him.

Former Feds Mentioned as Possible Federal CTO (Next Gov)
With all the names being thrown around for Obama’s cabinet, Allan Holmes wonders who will be named to the position of Chief Technology Officer.

Survey: Kraft’s Sincere Messaging Helps Its Reputation (PR Newser)
A new study found a slight correlation between the perceived level of sincerity in a company’s messaging and the probability that the company has a better reputation among consumers.

Twitter’s Role in Digital Democracy (Internet Revolution)
Twitter is providing an open dialogue for the presidential candidates to not only spread their message, but to also communicate in a two-way conversation with their supporters.

How Much is YouTube Worth to Obama and McCain? (Tech President)
Micah L. Sifry examines how future political candidates may not be able to ignore the power of YouTube following Senator Obama’s success with the video site.

Facebook for suits (The Economist)
In recent weeks, business-focused social networking Web sites have seen an increase in activity due primarily from the uneasiness regarding the financial markets.

YouTube Accord Eludes House (Roll Call)
The Senate’s recent approval of third party Web sites, such as YouTube, has left the House wanting a similar resolution.

Will Social Media Change the Political Process? Has It Already? (Social Media Explorer)
With over a third of Americans having watched a political video on the Internet, could the predictions that this years election will be the “Social Media Election” be true?

Senate Updates Web Rules to Allow YouTube Videos (Roll Call)
Due to a change in Senate chamber rules, senate offices can now embed Youtube videos and Flickr albums.

Social Mention Scours Through All Social Media Content (Rotor Blog)
Social media is jumping into the presidential election with a new event on Twitter which allows users to rate and score the presidential nominees.

Twitter Presidential Debates (Web Strategist)
With all the social media and networking sites available, companies and organizations now have a way to monitor how their message and customers are responding.

The coming of age of the Millennial Generation, the first civic generation since the GI Generation (dubbed the Greatest by Tom Brokaw), is converging with the arrival of the most civic-friendly communication technologies we have ever seen. And with this convergence, American politics is being reshaped. That was the message delivered yesterday by Morley Winograd and Michael Hais at the Internet Advocacy Roundtable. The authors of Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube & the Future of American Politics provided some serious grist for the mill to the audience gathered at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Building on a rich body of research about political realignment in America, Hais and Winograd explained that a key driving force in realigning the political landscape is the arrival of new communications technology, and the coming of age of a new generation that embraces the technology and demands its incorporation into the political process. The rise of radio in the 1930’s and television in the 1960’s both reshaped politics in this country. And today, the rise of online social media is doing it once again. (more…)