July 2010
1 post
5 tags
Nurture vs. Nature
The nurture vs. nature argument is old, really old. The question is largely considered outdated now, as many modern psychologists have reached the consensus that as Forrest Gump put it “It’s a little bit of both, perhaps.”
Part of the reason that I’ve found it harder than expected to blog while back in Louisiana is the constant flux of things to eat and people to see. I’ve spent the last 12...
June 2010
10 posts
2 tags
Transitioning
Transitioning- this word describes lots of things, but universally it signifies change. Recently, an old friend of mine was talking about the struggles of packing up and starting a new life in a new place. Before moving, she felt like she was living in limbo- she hadn’t yet started her new PhD program and her current job was just to fill the time before she did. So when facebook asked her what...
“There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are...”
– Rebecca West
4 tags
Let's Move Forward
Famed journalist and writer Rebecca West once said, “There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are intersecting monologues, that is all.” While this principle may have once been true, it is fast changing. In order to engage audiences and create strategic partnerships, campaigns must engage users and invite them into the conversation. Even if Ms. West’s...
6 tags
The Greatest Generation 2.0
Michael D. Hais and Morley Winograd’s book, Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics predicts that generational changes cause political realignment in the U.S. in 40-year cycles. These cycles coincide with generational shifts. The book then builds a strong case for how the Millennial generation is positioned to re-energize the civic spirit and transform...
2 tags
Is there space for MySpace?
Personally, I had long ago abandoned my MySpace page, after a few too many run-ins with ex-boyfriends and some pretty weird spam. I hadn’t bothered to actually deactivate my account when I departed. So, my page was suspended in digital limbo for over two years- until this month that is. Returning to my MySpace page was like stepping into my childhood bedroom at my parent’s house after I went...
9 tags
Staying true to your Grassroots in Washington: Is...
Ari Melber’s “Year One of Organizing for America: The Permanent Field Campaign in a Digital Age,” which is featured on the online politics site Tech President, discusses the transition of the grassroots mobilization of the Obama campaign and its adaptation during his first year in the White House. In an attempt to harness the grassroots effort that secured Obama’s victory in 2008, the massive...
1 tag
“That’s how I discovered PR doesn’t work and that markets are...”
– The Cluetrain Manifesto
4 tags
From the Virtual Playground to the Marketplace
So states the Cluetrain Manifesto. A decisively atypical business “book” (it was originally published online), the Manifesto is written in multiple voices by multiple authors, yet it is unified under a common theme: the search for REAL conversation and voice via the Internet. This theme is reflected in not only the Manifesto’s content, but through its structure (multiple authors with unique...
7 tags
Foursquare: The New Contender on the Virtual...
When I first heard of four square I immediately thought of middle school. In fourth grade, four square was all the rage. Kids lined up, their feet adorned with a variety of colors of converse high tops, all waiting to play. The objective of the game was to pass the ball between four squares. It was like ping-pong with your hands, except the interaction came from all directions- not just...
10 tags
Remember, Remember the 5th of November!
On November 5, 2008 the election of Barack Obama was being touted around the world as the dawn of a new era. President-elect Obama was a fresh face for the country and his election was revolutionary- but not necessarily for the reasons many would cite at the time.
Yes, he is the first African American President. Yes, his name is Barack and not John, James or George. And yes, his father was...
May 2010
12 posts
9 tags
Oil, Oil Everywhere and a fake BP will Tweet
Last week, I briefly discussed the potential usefulness of facebook as an advocacy platform and I wrote about how in the old days, groups often formed to advocate a cause or discuss an issue. Now that groups are long gone, online activists are creating new ways to gain support.
Yesterday, I was invited via facebook to the event “BP Oil Flood Protest.” The host or creator of the event is...
11 tags
Text Text Revolution
Mobile phones are everywhere. I still remember when I got my cell phone back in November of 1999. It was a pretty basic set-up. I got calls and I made calls. My phone had a standard Nokia ring tone. I didn’t send my first text message until 2004.
Yet, also in 2004, Fahamu’s social justice campaign in Africa harnessed support and signatures for a petition via SMS, activists in New York City...
When in Washington
New York Times writer Matt Bai’s 2007 book The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, gives amazing insight into both online politics and the progressive movement that it spawned in the mid 2000’s. Bai tracks the goings on of key players from the blogosphere, while also lending reference to the state of the country via the context of the Bush...
1 tag
6 tags
Turn Around and Face the Change....
Facebook has undergone A LOT of changes since its inception in 2004. In fact a facebook page from 2004 would stand out like a Model T would in a mall parking lot today. It seems like every few months or even every few weeks, the format changes. Yet no matter how many changes occur, one thing remains the same- the changes always stir a controversy. In the good ole’ days, facebook “groups” would...
7 tags
Online organizing? That was so 1998!
Anybody can advocate via social networking sites or social media platforms- and I mean ANYBODY. In Rosenblatt’s blog post, “Organizing on the Social Web: A Cold Blast from the Past,” he not only shows that the web was an advocacy tool prior to the recent wave of social media, but he also illustrates the ways that the web can be used to advocate- by hate groups. As proof of both of these facts,...
10 tags
There Goes the Hierarchy!
Once again, the story of the little red hen can be used to illustrate a concept born from web 2.0 technologies: ridiculously easy group forming (as coined by Seb Paquet). In his book Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky explains that in the past, McCallum’s six management principles would have dictated that a hierarchical structure was the only way to create and oversee a group. McCallum would...
7 tags
Facebook: Communicating to Advocate
While I’ve been on facebook for over five years, I only recently realized the prevalence and impact it has on my day-to-day life. Since moving from Louisiana it has been my primary mode of contact with many people back home. In fact, I have facebook friendships with other former Louisianians living outside of Louisiana who I commiserate with about watching time pass among our shared friends back...
10 tags
The Essentials
If you are like me, a user of social networking, but not yet a social media strategist per se, you are probably wondering where to begin with so many options. Do you choose YouTube or mobile outreach, or even a Google map when trying to tell a compelling story and reach your audience? With so many options in today’s fragmented media environment choosing the proper digital techniques can be ...
The Little Rouge Hen goes 2.0
So, this is my first blog post. I can’t say that I’ve quite gotten used to the idea of writing without constant self-editing and revision, but I’m working on it. For me, blogging feels like posting a first draft for everyone, or perhaps no one, to read.
Yet, here I am. Admittedly my foray into blogging is being spurred on by a class assignment for an Internet advocacy course, which...