More Than Marketing » SoMeElection08

Social media and the Obama administration

Todd Van Hoosear — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:33:11 +0000

I resisted the incredible urge to add my voice to the post-election noise for most of yesterday and today, but my perusal of InformationWeek has forced my hand. Mitch Wagner wrote a very good analysis of the president-elect’s pioneering use of Web 2.0 and social-networking technologies. Mitch hailed the election as “the end of the era of television presidency that started with JFK, and the beginning of the Internet presidency.”

Mitch then went on to quote SocialSphere advisor Joe Trippi, which is of course when my ears perked up. Mitch wrote that

Obama used a combination of television, the Internet, and social media to recruit volunteers and supporters, and cement relationships with them. He asked supporters to supply their cell phone numbers, and sent out regular text-message blasts, even announcing his selection for vice president over text message. Using a custom social-networking site, created with the help of a Facebook co-founder, Obama supporters were able to log in and find lists of people they could call, or whose doors they could knock on, to try to persuade others to vote for their candidate.

And it’s only the beginning, said Trippi. That kind of networking will likely transform the White House. Trippi anticipates Obama will create a similar social networking for his legislative initiatives, and recruit supporters to lobby Congress to get his policies enacted into law.

The result will be further increase of presidential power, and erosion of Congressional authority. “Congress will be put between a rock and a hard place, if millions of citizens sign up to help the President pass his agenda,” Trippi said. “If the President says, ‘Here are the members of Congress who stand in the way of us passing healthcare reform,’ I would not want to be one of those people. You’ll have 10 or 15 million networked Americans barging in on the members of Congress telling them to get in line with the program and pass the healthcare reform bill. That will be a power that no American president has had before. Congress’s power will be taken over by the American people.”

Mitch and Joe paint a picture that is at once scary and inspiring. Setting the political implications of a weaker congress aside (this isn’t a political blog, after all), this will—we hope—be a new kind of presidency. But don’t get fooled—BusinessWeek reminds us that Barack wasn’t the first presidential candidate to be good at tech.

The real test will be in how well Barack is able to transform his social media marketing machine into a true engine for change. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve taken the first step toward change by electing him, but his mastery of social media will not be solidified until his social media adoption becomes more than marketing. As Mashable’s Adam Ostrow writes, “How Will President Obama Use His Massive Social Media Influence?” Or as FreshNetworks asks,

How would [the Obama/Biden administration] use social media and online communities to continue to engage with people when they are in power[?] Social media can really help engage people when it provides away for them to have a real exchange about things that matter to them, where they can find out information on things they are interested in, share ideas and thoughts with peers and with politicians, report things to them and feel that they continue to be part of a campaign.

Newsweek cautions us that his road will not be an easy one, and the American public may have to be patient. Keeping us feeling connected is one way to do that, and social media is the way to do it. I hope I’m still getting emails from him two years from now (and maybe tweets too!).

Tweet your vote report

Todd Van Hoosear — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:30:35 +0000

When you vote on Tuesday, tweet in your vote report! If you’re not on twitter, Text in your vote report. Here’s how it works (from http://twittervotereport.com/how-to-help/):

It’s simple. We voters are using Twitter and other texting tools to report on how the vote is really going during this election, and we’re urging everyone to use the common word (or “hashtag” in Twitter lingo) of #votereport as they do so. If that happens, we’ll all be able watch on maps and graphs how the election is going across the country.

Including “#votereport” in your tweet is enough to get your report tracked by Twitter Vote Report. But the more details you can stuff in, the better. So, for example, include in your Twitter post:

#[zip code] to indicate the zip code where you’re voting; ex., “#12345?

L:[address or city] to drill down to your exact location; ex. “L:1600 Pennsylvania Avenue DC”

#machine for machine problems; ex., “#machine broken, using prov. ballot”

#reg for registration troubles; ex., “#reg I wasn’t on the rolls”

#wait:[minutes] for long lines; ex., “#wait:120 and I’m coming back later”

#early if you’re voting before November 4th

#good or #bad to give a quick sense of your overall experience

#EP[your state] if you have a serious problem and need help from the Election Protection coalition; ex., #EPOH

I Don’t Twitter, But I’m Willing to Try

Don’t worry, Twitter is really easy to use. That’s one reason so many people love it. Just jump over to Twitter.com to sign up for a free account. You might want to watch “Twitter in Plain English”, the short video to the right, to learn how it works. Then follow the steps above for sending in a report.

I Don’t Twitter and I Don’t Want To. Can I Still Participate?

Sure thing. Our team of crack developers have come up with all sorts of ways for you to make your vote report known:

Send a text message to 66937 and start your message with “#votereport”

Download and use the iPhone app

Find the “votereport” app in the Google Android marketplace

Key in a report by calling 567-258-8683 (VOTE), 208-272-9024, or 617-960-8900

Okay, I Sent in Reports. Now What?

#votereport reports will, in real-time, be made available to anyone who wants them. Visit TwitterVoteReport.com to see the reports flow in. Voters can read these messages and help one another solve problems, liking letting someone know when a polling place has been moved. Advocacy groups can use them to spot problems. Citizens can figure out how to lend fellow voters a hand. And the press can zero in on local voting stories worth telling. Just sending in short reports can help your fellow citizens to vote.

Documenting your 2008 election experience

Todd Van Hoosear — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:19:00 +0000

I have to drop a shameless plug for SoMe Election 08, a project started by the Boston Social Media Club. We’re capturing thoughts, photos, video and other content related to the 2008 election for posterity’s sake.

You can contribute by joining the group and uploading content or sharing your thoughts, or simply by tagging your blog posts, tweets, photos or videos SoMeElection08. Here are some of the photos that have been uploaded:

Find more photos like this on SoMe Election 08

Need I have to add: DON’T FORGET TO VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4TH! (Get the date right, @vanhoosear)