Social media no vote changer

Greg Barber, the unofficial leader of the Victorian Greens, swears social networking has been the "strategic equaliser" of the state election campaign.

This article talks about how many candidates used Twitter and Facebook to appear more modern to voters as well as have a platform to attack their opponents. They have used Twitter primarily for up to date commentary on their campaigns.

While it is admitted that these social media sites will be viewed and discussed frequently, experts say when it comes down to actually influencing voting trends social media makes no difference. People like to use these websites to stay informed of the gossip going around about campaigns, but apparently don't actually take all of the information as true.

I was actually happy to hear this because a lot of the information we see posted on Facebook and Twitter is not actually true. It is a good source to get information but you need to make sure where the sources are getting their information to see if it's actually accurate or not. Are the experts right or wrong? Does social media actually influence voting trends?

Governments Benefit From Embracing New Technologies To Engage With Citizens

According to author Kelly Dempski, "Governments around the world must continue to embrace social media and other new technologies because besides empowering citizens new technologies bring in a "myriad of benefits" for the public sector as well."

In today's world, public service organizations are using social media, mobile computing, cloud computing, and web services to interact with people. This is a much more cost effective way, as well as more transparent and easier to relay information back and forth.

Recovery.gov is a website that allows people to track spending and improving economic outcomes of the American Recover and Reinvestment Act, which is supposed to create new jobs and save existing jobs, spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth; and foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

I think this is a pretty cool idea, I like that these organizations are using the internet and tools that the common person uses daily to provide us with important, up-to-date information. I think the public should be able to access and track where the money we pay out is going. Any thoughts?

Twitter Is Destroying Press Criticism

"Twitter's 140-character blasts aren't bringing down the newspapers. They're just turning journalists into sniggering cheap-shot artists." Or so according to an article by Ben Crair in The Daily Beast. He goes on to say that Twitter is undermining the art of journalism. He said press criticism is the type of journalism being most affected since every journalist posting on Twitter is acting as though they are a press critic and giving the real ones a bad name.

I'm not so sure I agree with this statement....I think true journalists are still able to find ways to showcase their true talent without worrying about Twitter. What do you guys think, is Twitter undermining the art of journalism?

Georgia city urged to use social media responsibly

The Moultrie Observer, in Moultrie Georgia published an article today highlighting the use of social media, mainly Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, by city employees. Mike Scott, the city manager, added an amendment to human resources department policy pertaining to this matter. He explained it is now policy for employees to watch what they say and post on their personal social media websites.

Scott stated, “It is the policy of the City of Moultrie that employees may use social media technologies,” according to the policy. “However, it is the responsibility of employees to ensure that such use does not cause a decline in public confidence in and/or respect for the city or the individual employee. Employees must exercise appropriate discretion, so as to not discredit the city or themselves as employees.”

Very interesting to me that this even needs to be an amendment added to a human resource policy for a city. I guess it proves the power of the Internet and social media in our times. The main concern being once something is put out there, there's no taking it back...and they don't want any bad reflections on the city. What do you guys think about it?

Text the AJC for Unusual Situations at the Polls Today

Not really much of a story but a quick side note I noticed on the ajc.com homepage today. They're telling everyone to text them if they feel they have seen any "unusual situation" occurring at the voting polls today. Personally, I think this the idea of everyone expecting there to be problems at the polls is making people specifically look for reasons to complain about it. Just my thoughts, thought I'd share.

And just in case any of you need to text them the number is 404-890-0252.

Social Media: The New Political Battleground

As we all know, and I've posted before, social media is the new way politicians are trying to reach the younger vote for this years elections. The main criticism now is that the information being put out there, especially on YouTube, is not the best quality source to base your opinions on....I bet you didn't see that one coming did you?! They're afraid of what's being posted since it cannot be controlled or influenced by anyone. People can post whatever they want and claim it's the truth and that it came from a reliable source.

Maybe we shouldn't be putting so much faith in all aspects of social media...almost a catch 22. What do you guys think?

Top 50 US politics Twitter accounts to follow

This is a list of the top 50 Twitter accounts for following US politics and election coverage according to Richard Adams's blog. Very interesting how it has it broken down into categories..thought it might be of interest to some of you. This is supposed to be the most intellectual Twitter accounts to follow as far as actually getting accurate information, not necessarily the most popular accounts.

Journalists

Ben Smith @benpolitico
Hyperactive politics blogger for Politico
Dave Weigel @daveweigel
Political blogger for Slate, specialises in Tea Party and conservative coverage
Felicia Sonmez @fixfelicia
Political blogger with The Washington Post
Taegan Goddard @pwire
Veteran Political Wire blogger with remarkable news judgment
Susan Page @SusanPage
Washington bureau chief of USA Today
Alex Wagner @alex_wags
White House Correspondent for AOL's Politics Daily website
Reid Wilson @HotlineReid
Editor of The Hotline, part of the National Journal
Phil Elliott @PElliottAP
Covers national politics and elections for the Associated Press
Beth Reinhard @bethreinhard
Covering Florida politics for the Miami Herald
Garance Franke-Ruta @thegarance
Political blogger at the Washington Post
Mike Memoli @mikememoli
Reporter in the Tribune Washington DC bureau for the Los Angeles Times (among other Tribune papers)
Erin McPike @ErinMcPike
National political reporter for Real Clear Politics
Mark Knoller @markknoller
White House correspondent for CBS News Radio
Suzy Khimm @SuzyKhimm
Political reporter for Mother Jones
Jake Tapper @jaketapper
ABC News senior White House correspondent

News feeds

NPR Politics @nprpolitics
Political coverage from National Public Radio News
McClatchy DC @McClatchyDC
Washington DC bureau of the McClatchy Newspapers chain
Swing State Project @SwingState
Democrat-orientated highly detailed campaign and election news
Wonkette @Wonkette
Political snark and gossip from the left
GOP12 @GOP12
Breaking news on the likely Republican presidential candidates and other races
Senate US @senatus
Non-partisan coverage of the US Senate
PolitiFact @politifact
Tweets from a nonpartisan politics fact-checking website
Cook Political Report @CookPolitical
Twitter feed for Charlie Cook's respected forecasting outfit

Pundits

Liz Mair @LizMair
Former RNC online communications director, Arsenal fan
Larry Sabato @LarrySabato
Director of the University of Virginia's centre for politics
David Wasserman @Dave_Wasserman
House of Representatives analyst at the Cook Political Report
Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox
Serial blogger and DC politics junkie
Sam Graham-Felsen @samgf
Former chief blogger for the Obama campaign in 2008, now a new media consultant
Donna Brazile @donnabrazile
Veteran Democratic political strategist
Chuck Todd @chucktodd
Political analyst for NBC and MSNBC

On the left

Christina Bellantoni @cbellantoni
Covering the White House for Talking Points Memo
Atrios @Atrios
Pioneer blogger and acid-witted tweeter Duncan Black
Nico Pitney @nicopitney
National editor at the Huffington Post
Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald
Influential progressive politics blogger for Salon.com
The Wonk Room @wonkroom
Collective news blog of the Centre for American Progress Action Fund
Steve Benen @stevebenen
Blogger at the Washington Monthly
Alan Colmes @AlanColmes
Recovering ex-host of Hannity and Colmes, surprisingly good Twitter feed

On the right

Erick Erickson @ewerickson
Editor-in-chief of RedState.com and Tea Party favourite
Mindy Finn @mindyfinn
Republican new media operative
Doug Mataconis @dmataconis
Virginia lawyer and libertarian blogger
Timothy Carney @TPCarney
Author and columnist for the Washington Examiner
Josh Barro @jbarro
Senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute
Mark Hemingway @Heminator
Washington Examiner blogger
Reihan Salam @reihansalam
Conservative political writer and fellow at the New America Foundation

Political parties

Republican Study Committee @RepublicanStudy
Influential caucus of House conservatives
Nathan Daschle @nathandaschle
Executive director of Democratic Governors Association

Pollsters

Nate Silver @fivethirtyeight
The pollster's pollster, now blogging for the New York Times
Public Policy Polling @ppppolls
North Carolina-based polling company with a good track record
Mark Blumenthal @MysteryPollster
Blogger and founder of Pollster.com, now migrated to Huffington Post
Scott Rasmussen @RasmussenPoll
President of Rasmussen Reports polling company

ABC Streaming Live on Facebook for Novemeber Elections

Apparently the quickest way to get updates on next month's elections is on Facebook. ABC will be streaming live the night of November 2 to ABCNews.com as well as directly to Facebook to keep voters updated by the minute on the outcomes of elections. Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will be hosting this live event entitled "Vote 2010" directly from ABC News Studios in  New York, as well as directly from Facebook's Palo Alto base. This will allow voters to actually interact and ask questions during the broadcasts. I guess the old days of waiting for the news stations on TV to broadcast updates are a thing of the past.....?

Lady Gaga goes to Washington

Lady Gaga goes to Washington via social media to end 'don't ask, don't tell'

Lady Gaga isn't making a poker face when it comes to politics.
By using social media to inject herself into the middle of a heated national debate over gays in the military, the pop superstar is changing the way celebrities influence Washington.

AP photo Lady Gaga plays old-fashioned politics at a rally in Maine.

Sending messages of 140 characters or less on Twitter, Gaga started a highly publicized public dialogue with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the Democratic senators from her home state of New York. Her tweets were simple: repeal the military's ban on gays who wish to openly serve.

"He appreciated her raising the profile of the issue," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, who said the message came as somewhat of a surprise.

With the advent of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, powerful messages can be delivered in an instant, said Garry Hoppenstand, a pop culture expert at Michigan State University. Lady Gaga has been the most prominent _ if the not the first _ celebrity to use these avenues to advance a political agenda, he added.

Gaga, who took the music world by storm about two years ago, is known for hits such as "Just Dance" and "Bad Romance." She has a knack for going pantless and maintains her persona as Lady Gaga at all times.

Employing the same media manipulation to the campaign against the military's so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy that made her famous, Gaga pushed legislators and citizens to rally for the ban's permanent dismissal. She used social media and direct action _ a campaign-style rally in Portland, Maine _ in a fruitless attempt to convince Maine's two moderate Republican senators to allow the repeal vote to proceed.

Although she failed to sway the GOP senators and a Republican-led filibuster Tuesday quashed repeal of the policy, Gaga's methods left an impression. The Mother Monster, as she's been dubbed, released a YouTube video days before the filibuster in which she tried to reach Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and encouraged fans to reach out to legislators. It's received more than 1.7 million hits.

Actions like this that thrust her into a more prominent role in the political arena than stars such as Sean Penn and Brad Pitt, Hoppenstand said.

"She seems to be a level above them in terms of how she works the media," he said. "As she is successful as an entertainer in the media, she also is successful as communicator."

Beyond Twitter and YouTube, Gaga also redirected traffic from her website to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which supports people who have been discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. It also calls for the abolishment of don't ask, don't tell. The site had 500 percent increase in viewers during the past two weeks, said Trevor Thomas, the group's communication's director.

A typical two-week period brings in about 13,000 viewers. With Gaga's help, it was about 300,000.

"Celebrities have spoken out for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues," he said. "The difference with Lady Gaga is she had done it at the right time, asked what she could do and how it could be strategic."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who exchanged tweets and subsequently spoke with Gaga on the telephone, said she also was impressed with Gaga's ability to create a significant buzz around the issue.

"It's terrific because we need advocates in every aspect in our community," Gillibrand said. "She is the one who is mobilizing a whole new generation of advocates."

Gaga's approach provides a stark contrast to the social activism of most celebrities, which customarily includes testimony before congressional committees or speeches at the National Press Club on their pet issues. The same week Gaga took to Twitter, actor Kevin Costner spoke on Capitol Hill about technology that separates spilled oil from clean water.

The pop star will have to wait for final action on gays in the military. Congress will review don't ask, don't tell once it receives a report from the military this December about how lifting it could affect the armed forces, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Aware of Gaga's push for a repeal of the policy, Cornyn said the overall wellbeing of the military is what's important, not the "impassioned pleas" of celebrities.

Gaga's outspoken nature and pervasive presence in the media won't damage her career, Hoppenstand predicted. And although she might be bluffin' with her muffin, there's no question where her political passions lie. Just look to Twitter and YouTube.

"She out-Madonnas Madonna even," Hoppenstand said. "That gives her a tremendous voice on political issues."

This report was written by Kris Turner of the Washington bureau.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=73185#ixzz10qTsWFNE

Well it looks like Lady Gaga is using social media as her largest outlet for her campaign on ending the "don't ask don't tell" policy in the military. She started a Twitter debate with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, simply stating to him "repeal the military's ban on gays who wish to openly serve." She's trying to get citizens to rally behind her to end this policy, and using Facebook and Twitter as her main points of contact. Lady Gaga also released a You Tube video only a few days before Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. delivered his filibuster, trying to get people to contact their legislators. That video received more than 1.7 million hits.

What do you guys think? Is she doing a good job in getting her point across? It appears to be working pretty well for her. I think more people are paying attention to what she's doing than what most politicians are doing right now.

Virtual Politics

According to an article in the Cape Cod Times, all Politics have now gone virtual through Facebook and Twitter. Many Politicians and Candidates in the upcoming November elections are having their Facebook and Twitter accounts updated much more rapidly than their official websites in an attempt to reach the younger voting crowd. Many believe this is the only way to get reach the younger audience, as they believe the majority of people on Facebook and Twitter are less likely to watch the news or research the candidates on their own.

Most Politicians used to reach voters by home phone calls and visits to their homes. As most of us aware, many voters (especially younger voters) tend not to have a home phone any longer but a cell phone only. Some are going as far as to say that if you are not using social media, you will fail.

I think this is a very good approach in reaching younger people; however I'm a little concerned by the fact that not much time and energy is being spent on trying to reach all ages of voters. It's been proven that the younger generations are less likely to vote, and while this may be a great way of getting them to turn out at the poles, it really makes me wonder how many older voters will continue to turn out without all of the attention and knowledge being given to the younger voters. What do you guys think?

Smartphones: the new link between politicians and voters

Apparently according to the news, Twitter and Facebook are old news when it comes to voters gaining information about politicans and election campaigns. They were both very heavily used in the 2008 elections, but smartphones are the way of the future. Mainly the IPhone, Android, and Blackberry with their Apps where voters can download apps relating to their favorite candidate or political party. You can download Apps that store your voter ID number, recent up to the date polls, and pretty much anything else you could possibly want pertaining to elections. President Obama was the first to really start this new wave with his campaign for President in 2008.

According to Fox News, Democrats are mre likely to use this new form of media than Republicans. Roughly 11.9 percent of registered voters have either an IPhone or IPad, while 14.3 percent have Blackberries, and lastly 4.6 percent of voters own a Droid. Combined that' a total of 30.8 percent of all registered voters, which could really make a difference in the campaign world.

I found this very intersting, I knew smartphones were a large part of how people communicate, but I was unaware of the high levels of interest campaigers have in reaching voters this way. It makes more sense to haev access through your phone, seeing as how we all have our phones with us 24/7, and everyone can't get online to access Facebook and Twitter as often. This is a very smart way for the candidates to try and reach another audience they may not otherwise reach.

North Korea grasping for support on Twitter and You Tube?

The North Korean government has joined both Twitter and You Tube, hoping to further spread their propaganda against South Korea. They just joined Twitter as of last Thursday, and already have thousands of followers. It is still a mystery who exactly is behind the posts because Twitter has been banned from North and South Korea as a whole. People have also been reminded that ANY communication between the north and south is still illegal and prohibited in any shape or fashion.

This actually doesn't surprise me at all. It seems as though anyone and everyone is using the new media outlets to further their own objectives, whether they're part of the government or just a simple citizen. I think it's kinda sad that we heavily rely on outlets such as this, especially when we don't know for sure who is actually behind it; but on the other hand I think it's helpful and kinda neat that we have access to sites such as these to get more people involved that typically wouldn't be....it's a toss up for me right now!

Hello

Hello everyone! I've never done a blog before, so this will also be a learnig experiece for me as I'm posting political ideas. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it pretty quick...can't wait to read everyone else's also!