Blogging: Burkinabé Style

In class, we are studying blogging in different countries and continents. I was charged with choosing a country that began with the same letter of my name and report on the blogging in that country. I chose Burkina Faso because I remember it from my days in grade school. Every year that I took French (which was approximately eight years) we had to choose a French speaking country to study. Burkina Faso always intrigued me then as it does now.

Burkina Faso Flag

The Blogs

Title: Burkina Faso: Level four culture shock
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2008
Translator: John Liebhardt

This blog entry is told from the perspective of foreign bloggers who are from the United Kingdom and are currently in Burkina Faso, but are heading back soon. They are a few of millions of British that live abroad, but eventually return to the UK. Of the millions of British that work abroad, many are plagued with the question: did they do any good for the country. This entry goes into detail about the bloggers’ varied level of emotions.

The most interesting point in the article is told by a teacher, Liz Jordan, from the states that teaches in Burkina Faso. She describes the state of education in her school in Burkina Faso to be “depressing.” Ms. Jordan explains how families often do not recognize the value of education.

“I mean that they don’t seem to really believe that if their children go through school that the amount of money that they’ll be able to make (and therefore use to support the family) will be so much greater than if they had never been to school.” Liz Jordan

Title: Burkina Faso: Shea butter and other secrets
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2008
Translator: John Liebhardt

Shea Butter

What did I learn from this entry? Shea butter is harvested by African women, not men.

“Western beauty companies have been falling over themselves trying to purchase fresh raw shea from cooperatives of African women. They see it as a win-win proposition: Buying shea provides cosmetic companies with this wonderful natural product while giving African women a chance to earn money harvesting and processing a natural resource.”

Girl power! I knew I liked shea butter for a reason.

Lucky, Lucky DC

While reading a blog created by a classmate called Shannon’s Corner, I became further familiar with the debate about DC getting metered cabs. It seems that others are also livid about the issue. Check out this one blog here written by a cab driver in DC. My feeling on the issue: It’s about time! You must excuse me if I do not sympathize. I am from just up the highway in Baltimore and we have had metered cabs since I remember. If metered cabs are not to your liking, there are several ways to avoid cabs in Baltimore though.

1. Public Transportation
2. Sedans
3. Hacks
4. Personal Transportation

Public Transportation

MTA Maryland

Public transportation in Baltimore can be very affordable. The current fares are listed below. Although our public transportation system is not the best, it is very possible to get almost anywhere you need to go in the city and county using it.

One-way pass: $1.60
Day pass: $3.50
Weekly pass: $16.50
Monthly pass: $64.00

Sedans

Some sedan drivers are independent operators and differ from cab drivers in that they cannot pick up impromptu fares. Other sedan companies are very similar to limousine services. These sedans often offer a higher quality of service. The drivers are salary based and therefore there is more incentive to provide the customer with excellent service. Prices for this service varies, but according to Freedom Services (a local sedan service) “the professional, reliable, and safe transportation services” make it worth the cost.

Hacks

If you are not from Baltimore, chances are you have never heard of a hack. Hack drivers are usually drivers that use their personal mode of transportation to transport others around. There are no meters and no zones. The price is negotiated between the driver and the passenger. The problem with these hacks is that they are often very dangerous and illegal.

Personal Transportation

My Jetta

My Geico

I choose this option. Although gas prices are rising, I have not been able to find a feasible alternative to my car. The price of owning a car is expensive (nearly $700 a month for me,) but I feel comfortable with that. And for those of you who are griping about inconsistency in fare in DC, just think about how lucky you were up until this point!

Wikipedia Article

I have finally joined the conversation on Wikipedia. Check me out here.

 

Wikiscanner: Christianity

I am currently taking a course for my master’s degree, and I was tasked with examining a Wikiscanner for a particular Wikipedia entry. While searching for an interesting topic, I thought of various subjects. I decided to choose a topic that is heavily controversial (figuring that many different organizations would have something to say.)

 

Religion is and always will be a controversial subject. It is a subject that many people want to weigh in on and have strong convictions about. While completing my undergraduate degree, I took a course in religion in hopes of gaining greater incite in the topic. The course, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, covered the origins of these religions and the doctrine that supported them. I remember very heated discussions about the contradictions and discrepancies in all of the religions, but none of them registered the same as Christianity.

 

The Findings

 

There were 3796 edits for the Wikipedia page “Christianity.” The top five are listed below:

 

Top Five Organizations Editing the “Christianity” Wikipedia page

 

Organization Name	Number of Edits
Hsuan Chuang University	143
Api Digital Communications Group Llc	112
State University Of New York At Buffalo	64
Rcn Corporation	63
Chunghwa Telecom Data Communication Business Group	58

 

I am not surprised that of the top five contributing organizations, two of them are universities. Intellectuals and academia professionals tend to have very strong interests in topics related to religion. I am, however, surprised that the remaining three organizations are of communications backgrounds. I have never seen the link between communications and religion. Evidently, I am the one who is missing something.

 

Hot Button Topics

 

Amongst the top five organizations that edited the “Christianity” Wikipedia page, the following topics are very popular:

 

• “Timeline”
• “Christianity and persecution”
• “History and Origins”
• “Beliefs”
• “Practices”

 

I have found that these topics were always the aspects of Christianity that I found most confusing. With all the different denominations of Christianity, it is often hard to find a consensus about the facts.

 

Surprisingly Not That Many Edits

 

While scanning the topic of various edits, I was surprised to see that the following topics were not edited very often.

 

• “Jesus”
• “Judaism”

 

I constantly question Christianity and its relationship to Judaism through Jesus. I never understood why Christians did not follow more closely to Judaism. I guess not that many people have the same questions.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Wikipedia is an ever-changing tool. The beauty of the site lies within its framework. Considering that virtually anyone can change it, the pages are always up for discussion. There will never be a concrete page, and therefore Wikipedia adapts with changes in technology and facts. Christianity is a topic that will always be debated, and therefore more changes will be forthcoming.

Connecting and Fundraising…What Obama Does Well

This summer, I decided to take a course in digital political campaigns for my graduate studies at Georgetown. I will be the first to admit that I have not chosen who I will vote for. I still remain generally uninterested in both candidates, however, this class has given me incite into the differences, at least concerning technology, between McCain and Obama.

 

Obama Gets It…Or at Least His Team Does

 

Obama is EVERYWHERE on the Internet.  He is creating connections with people and going where his audience is. He is embracing a key concept in public relations. Using various touchpoints, Obama is able to create tailored messaging to suite his various publics.

 

Although he is recognizes that many older Americans are not as active on the Internet as younger people are, he also understands that the largest generation in America, the Millennials, has never lived without computers. His initial position as an underdog allowed for him to take an unprecedented approach which is heavily Internet focused.

 

So…What Does This Have to Do With Money?

 

I figured you would ask that. According to Deloitte, the Millennials are very tech savvy, connected to computers/technology 24/7 and community oriented. They are likely to support a cause with which they feel a connection to. From his web site to all of the social media he participates in, Obama makes that connection. Not only does he make the connection, but he makes it easy to give to his campaign by accepting small dollar donations through various sites. Every social media site, every email and every text refers supporters to a call to action. He has truly integrated his campaign to create a synergistic fundraising plan.

 

The Beauty of Social Media

Social media, along with advent of cheap production mediums, has created directors and journalists out of all of us. Armed with a Macbook and a couple questions, anyone can produce a video that can have the potential to be viewed by millions of people. This reach extends further than that of traditional media outlets. Social media has made journalism accessible outside of a huge media organization.

Enter Emergency Cheese…

In class this week, we will discuss how social media, namely YouTube, has, and will continue to, shape politicians’ image on line. EmergencyCheese, a.k.a. James Kotecki, already began analyzing this topic. He has posted almost 200 YouTube videos discussing various candidates use of YouTube as a political strategy. He has been able to harness the power of social media and solidified his expertise on the subject.

Is Emergency Cheese a Journalist?

Of course he is. He, along with millions of other people, is a citizen journalist. Before his position at Politico, from the comfort of his dorm room, James asked the questions that he, along with thousands of other people, wanted to know about the candidates. He even garnered enough attention on line to warrant several of the candidates to come to his dorm room for an interview. WOW! Social media has truly leveled the playing field.

EmergencyCheese vs. Chris Matthews of Hardball

At the core, there is little difference between the commentary of EmergencyCheese and Chris Matthews. Both men represent views that people want to hear. Both men are considered experts in their respective fields. Both men are journalists. Both men have the respect of their peers. The difference lies mostly in the production. The issue is independent production versus corporate production. The reality is that both have their place in the political realm.

The Meetup Lesson

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Silberman. Mr. Silberman was the National Meetup Director for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign run in 2004. During the lecture, Michael explained his role in the campaign and what other candidates could learn from Dean’s approach.

Meetup.com is a web site that connects people of like interests. The web site was never intended to create a connection amongst people with similar political interests, but it happened naturally. Dean’s campaign team embraced the efforts of his supporters and incorporated the web site into its grassroots plans.

The Power of One…Chapter or Supporter

Although Howard Dean eventually lost the presidential candidacy, both McCain and Obama could learn from Dean Meetup strategy.

In Mousepads, Shoe Leather and Hope, Silberman describes managing “1000 different local chapters of active Dean supporters.” The team guided each chapter by providing each organizer with every thing they would need for the meeting. Smart move! Silberman claims this was done to reduce the burnout for the volunteers. Considering that I think of everything in terms of public relations and marketing, I think its good branding. Very consistent messaging (the DVD message from Howard Dean) and consistent materials (sample letters, stamps and envelopes) help to create a consistent product.

Sealing the Deal…From On line to Off line

Obama does a superb job of organizing his supporters on line. Using social networks, he has been able to garner support from millions of people, which has translated into millions of small dollar donations. The questions then becomes: what happens next?

Howard Dean’s team understood the importance of the convergence of on line and offline worlds, and utilized Meetup.com as a means to organize and systematize the efforts of his supporters.

I believe that both McCain and Obama are missing this in person call to action. Although the Internet has forever changed the way politicians and their supporters interact, it will never take the place of face-to-face meetings.

Second Life = The Sims + Web 2.0

 

The Sims

 

 

 

Second Life

When I was growing up, I always thought the Sims was the weirdest computer game ever. I mean, who would really want to live a life on the computer in addition to living in the real world. I never thought the concept would catch on, but now that the Sims is celebrating 100 million copies sold and over ten versions; I guess it is safe to say that the concept has become very popular.

Let’s fast-forward to 2003. It was in this year that an alternative life online emerged. This life resembles that of The Sims in that you can live a life on your computer, but this new platform allows you to do just about any and everything that you can do in real life.

This life…is Second Life. I first learned of Second Life (actually a fictional simulation) in an episode of Law and Order. I found it fascinating that people spent hours and millions in alternate realities on the Internet. Last week in class, my professor brought up MMOG’s in class and told me not to knock it before I tried it. So I did…and to be honest I can see how you someone could become addicted. But I still ask myself some of the time, what is the point?

I found the point to be money. Premium users on Second Life can exchange goods and services for real money. People can buy real estate, sell creations and attend concerts as if they were in the real world.

My real fascination with Second Life is product placement. Companies have bought their way into this world too. Occupants of Second Life have the opportunity to join communities sponsored by their favorite product. Stores are popping up, billboards and everything else that many people in the real world are becoming immune to.

Product placement in video games has been going on for years, yet most people do not express an aversion to that. I wonder why! Thoughts?

So…what about Google?

Google has been at the forefront of search since I was in middle school. It has become a verb to describe its very function. Since its inception, Google has always done things a little differently. While its competitors have been trying to find ways to charge its users for various levels of service or various products. Google has created over 50 free products and services for its users and always strive to create more.

But how does Google make money? One word: advertising. Google has revolutionized online advertising; matching companies with specific keywords. This process increases the likelihood of Google users to be interested in the products or services advertised on the page.

What makes Google so revolutionary? The value lies within Google’s knowledge when other search engines discarded keyword combinations and search files of their users, Google kept that information. Now Google has more knowledge about human online behavior than any other company or government in the world. Furthermore, we as users of Google, volunteer additional information to receive customized results for our searches.

But what if….What if Google decided to use all its knowledge and information it collects for evil…should we be afraid of Google? I think we should! If someone were to break into our houses, they still would not be able to tap into our thoughts, ideas and desires. This information is stored within Google and is what makes its reach so powerful.

If one day, Google decided to share its wealth of knowledge with the government, would we be comfortable with the government having that kind of incite into out lives? My guess is probably not!

I guess when it comes to Google, we should just pray for the best and prepare for the worst.

Voter-Generated Content

From the outside looking in, voter-generated content seems like another buzzword like “user-generated content” that simply implies that companies/organizations/politicians and their respective publics are more intertwined than ever before. The ramifications on politics, however, go a little deeper. Politicians once had control over just about every message that was released to the public. This allowed their teams to carefully craft the message and the brand of the politician. But with the advent of social networking outlets like MySpace and YouTube and the increase interest in all things personalized, politicians began to see a shift in the way their brand was received and perceived. Voters began to evoke their powerful messages like never before and began to shape public opinion about politicians without being directly involved with the campaigns.

 

Example #1

 

 

Source: YouTube

Title: “I got a crush on Obama”

Creator: Barely Political

 

Hate it or love, this video has created a rage on YouTube. Way before I received this assignment, I stumble upon this funny video. With 8,801,188 viewers, I quickly found out I was not the only one who saw this 3 minute video and song. The video was created by Barely Political, whose web site hosts and creates many political inspired videos including “Hillary Man” and “McCain Mama.” Although these videos boast that they have little to no political merit, the idea is to get the audience talking. I guess the creators figure that if the audience found these videos, they can figure the facts out for themselves.

 

Example #2

 

Source: Zazzle

Title: “Don’t be a Nader Hater”

Creator: mailman 27027

 

In a country where bipartisan views usually overshadow all other viewpoints, supporters of other views and candidates have turned to t-shirts and other customizable items to show their support of the underdog. The concept is simple, yet powerful. And although many people support a candidate that will eventually lose; everyone will know where that person’s loyalty lies.

Zazzle, a web-based company, has created a platform where anyone can express themselves on various customizable items. According to its web site: “Zazzle is the only on-demand retail platform for consumers and major brands, offering billions of retail quality, one-of-a-kind products shipped within 24 hours.”

Example #3

 

 

Source: Facebook

Title: “1,000,000 Strong Against John McCain”

Creator: Dave Williamson of UGA and Eric Sieck of Montclair

 

Do a simple search on Facebook of John McCain and you will find several groups like this one on the first page. This group, although quite short of the 1,000,000 members, has roughly 6,000 contributing members. The group was created by a couple of students in Atlanta who are avidly Democratic. The group posts pictures and articles that show McCain in a not so pleasant light. Is this group objective? No. Does this group have an impact?  Yes! Groups represent public opinion and should be regarded as a viable means of tracking supportive or disgruntled members of society.

 

Example #4

 

 

 

Source: Google Video

Title: “Hillary Clinton Raps: Hard Out Here For A Chick”

Creator: Rachel Drummond

 

This is a not so funny rap done by Rachel Drummond. This video, along with the other videos done by Drummond, have not garnered much buzz on the web, but that doesn’t mean they do not have any impact.