Social Media and Politics: Candidates Interact Directly with Voters

Living in Washington D.C. and working for a public affairs firm has made me more politically inclined than ever before, and I still feel as though there is too much information for me to fully grasp everything that is being thrown my way. Which is not a good thing – especially during a high-intensity election year.

I could spend hours sifting through the campaign sites on the New York Times or Washington Post Web sites trying to educate myself on the myriad issues that presidential and congressional candidates are addressing in their platforms, but as a Gen Yer I want something a little more… personal, conversational, direct. And then I want to read news articles to supplement these conversations – they shouldn’t be my sole source.

Luckily, politicians are taking advantage of social media tactics that make campaigns more personal with their constituents (hey, isn’t that a novel idea?). Federal and state Senators and Representatives are blogging (and allowing comments). The White House has a Twitter account. Barack Obama has changed the face of online campaigning with his appearances on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. John McCain is breaking the generation stereotype and showing up on these outlets, too (albeit with far less momentum than his opponent). Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has joined the conversation, and even several government agencies are showing up on the new media map. Both the House and the Senate have Twitter accounts to track legislation moving across their respective floors.

I don’t know about you, but this is very exciting for me. For the first time, I feel like I’m hearing these messages directly from the people I may or may not be voting for. There isn’t a staged press conference, no paid advertisements – just an open dialogue where I can interact with the people who will be representing my voice.

Actually, on that point, an interesting thing I’d like to know is just how interactive are these politicians and groups. I’m not talking in terms of updating and using the tools, but the practicality of it – if I were to @BarackObama on Twitter a question about his platform, what are the odds he’d get back to me or even see the Tweet amidst his 40,000+ followers? Does John McCain (okay, I’ll even take a staff member who might relay information to him!) actually check to see how many people are watching his YouTube videos?

So while this is an excellent step in bridging the gap between politicians and the people they serve, I hope true engagement and interaction do not take a back seat to the publicity and fund raising elements that these tactics have obviously ignited.

Regardless, I’m very happy to have multiple media to evaluate and learn about candidates’ and their platforms while also staying informed about current government issues. As a social media aficionado, I hope to see this trend expand as more and more in the public affairs realm begin to experiment, and I’d also like to see the effect this has on young voters this fall.

So what about you? Are you using any of these tools to stay up-to-date on the candidates or other issues? Do you think this will help politicians reach out to audiences that might have been missed otherwise?

How to Lose your Mind: Drowning in Information Overload

I’m a big fan of how-to guides and an even bigger fan of the 2003 romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days where Kate Hudson creates a how-to in reverse – a list of what NOT to do.

A while back, Cody McKibben tagged me in the Media Diet meme and asked the simple question: how do I filter through the static? So that got me thinking: what do I do to stay afloat in the ocean that is today’s mass media? Well, I could give the typical list of everything I use… but instead, I’m going to copy Kate’s character and give you a how-to, in reverse:

1. Don’t start a Google Reader to help you stay on top of your favorite blogs without cluttering your e-mail account.
2. Don’t subscribe to online newspapers’ RSS feeds so you have to browse through entire Web sites to find headlines that actually interest you.
3. Don’t organize your RSS feeder using folders and notes.
4. Don’t create a del.icio.us or other social bookmarking account to let other people with similar interests “do the work” for you – or in the spirit of good Samaritism, do the work for them.
5. Don’t browse tweets on Twitter to see what industry experts or other influentials are linking to that day.
6. Don’t use Google Alerts to stay on top of latest news about your clients (or football/baseball teams that you love with all your heart).
7. Don’t use Mozila Firefox’s toolbar bookmarking system for sites you check obsessively.
8. Don’t start an iGoogle page that can give you a one-stop look at things like the weather, your Gmail and Google Reader accounts, top news headlines, and fun stuff like games and pictures of places you should see in your lifetime.
9. Forget that there is life outside of the Internet and never watch your favorite TV shows on DVDs, read good books, or browse print publications (you don’t see a lot of the great print ads online).
10. Don’t take a break from mass media by going for a run, hiking, grabbing drinks or dinner with friends, or, ahem, sleeping.

What do you use to sift through the static? Is there an awesome new tool out there that I’m overlooking? Is FriendFeed worth its weight? Please, let me know!

Are you going to BlogOrlando? You should!

To all my Floridian readers, especially USF PRSSA members, I highly suggest attending this year’s BlogOrlando conference on September 25-27. This FREE event features top bloggers Shel Israel, Geoff Livingston, Joe Thornley, and many more. Florida blogger Josh Hallett will be in attendance as well as other social media experts from around the state.

You can find information about the conference, sponsors, location, and sessions at the Web site: http://blogorlando.com/

I can’t stress enough how great of an opportunity this is for PR students to meet intelligent people, learn about the industry, and broaden your social media knowledge – trust me, it’s a valuable resource to have out here in the workforce.

Wish I could make the trip down from Alexandria for it, but I’ve already signed up for one chicken marsala dinner at my friend’s wedding.

(Also, for RSS subscribers: not sure what is up with the crazy characters at the beginning of my most recent posts… they aren’t showing up on my blog and if anyone can help me get rid of this issue, I’d greatly appreciate it!)

Another Absent Blogger? Shame on Me– But I’m Back!

I put myself in the corner today. I’m punishing myself for being a bad, bad blogger. It’s unfortunate— just when I was getting passionate about blogging, I experienced several major life changes that, well, exhausted me and kept from being as committed as I had been earlier this year.

I won’t ramble on with tons of excuses because I don’t have any you haven’t heard, but I will briefly fill you in on what my life has been like the past 6 weeks:

I wake up at 6 a.m., a time I didn’t know existed while I was still in college. Instead of throwing on sundresses everyday, I have to stare at my closet and try to create a business-saavy outfit from what’s inside. Sometimes I eat a bowl of cereal while cursing my unreliable Internet connection. As I run out the door, I grab my umbrella and a novel (I’ve read 6 books in 6 weeks – all for pleasure!). I walk across the street (literally) to the metro station, usually just in time to see my blue line train whizzing past me, which means I have to wait 4-6 minutes for the next one. While on the train, I alternate between people watching and reading. Then, I get to work around 7:45 a.m. and stay until 6 p.m. After that, I commute home and run with my roommate around Alexandria or some of the fantastic parks in the D.C. area. Any spare time I have is spent eating, sleeping, showering, watching LOST, or exploring.

So while I have been lazy with my blogging, I have been productive in other areas of my life. I’m running regularly again, something I haven’t done since I got injured my freshman year of college. Reading has once again become my favorite hobby and I’m doing a pretty great job of staying in touch with all my Florida friends while managing to go out and meet amazing new people here. I love my job and the people I work with—looking back, I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in a month and a half.

But… just because I left the blogosphere does not mean I’ve been ignoring the community. I still check my Google reader religiously and have been active on Twitter. Learning from other PR professionals’ posts and online conversations has helped me in my career, and having knowledge about social media tools has allowed me to work on some very interesting projects at my agency.

This is reason enough for me to put away the excuses and to make time to blog. I feel better now. Maybe if I finally put up that “The First Month at Your First Job” post, I’ll let myself out of timeout.