There just isn’t such a thing of being off record. The age of camera phones and YouTube have managed to make everything public.
See this video here featuring President Bush amongst “friends” as they share a candid moment:
Or what about the moment when you discover that maybe the President really know that much about anything:
But what if the President says something that contradicts everything he stood for:
I cannot say that I support any Presidential candidate. I haven’t been following more than I have to for this class, but I must say that McCain doesn’t look so good. According to Techrepublican.com, McCain isn’t giving up on the youth vote. His team went on to say
“it will focus on his legacy as a war hero, plus appearances on late night television shows — including Saturday Night Live — and town hall meetings around the country.”
Who is he trying to persuade? Obviously not me! I haven’t watched Saturday Night Live since shortly after Eddie Murphy left and I haven’t attended a town hall meeting in ages. I think McCain is totally missing the mark.
Youth Live on the Internet!
This is how we interact with friends and family. We congregate online and form opinions from news we gather for ourselves. Whether he chooses to engage or not, we are having various conversations online and they are probably not in his favor. We need a President who can adapt to change and who is a fast learner. Heaven forbid having to explain to McCain that 8-track is no longer the musical media of choice.
According to Pew Internet and American Life Project, 46% of Americans have used the Internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, share their views and mobilize others. Furthermore, two-thirds of Internet users under the age of 30 have a social networking profile, and half of these use social networking sites to get or share information about politics or the campaigns.
Still think you can rely on Saturday Night Live and your illustrious war career? Get wired McCain!
In response to Does Bob Barr Twitter for Himself? on TechPresident
Why does a President need to engage in social media? Is it alright that a President’s staff represent the President in the social arena. What does that mean? I have some ideas about this issue.
Social media is about being genuine. I understand that the President is very busy and he might not be able to spend hours a day updating his Myspace page or accepting friend requests on Facebook. It is important, however, that he does take the time to write some material himself. An outlet like a blog is someplace where the President can start. No speech writers or publicists, just pure thoughts. It is okay for someone to give the President some ideas, but the words should be his. We (supposedly) chose this person because of his charisma and charm not to mention his whit and knowledge base. We should let him flaunt it sometimes.
The President Should be Aware
In the instance that it is not possible for the President to update and be active on each and every social media site, potential issues and sensitive subjects should be brought to the President’s attention. Social media sites are a source of media. A publicist wouldn’t dare neglect to tell the President of crisis that occurred in traditional media. Social media should be taken just as seriously. The potential reach and damage of a digital crisis can be greater than traditional media.
The President Should Acknowledge
At the very least, a President should acknowledge that social media and the Internet exists. These terms do not represent the far future of communications, they represent the NOW. It is important that the President at least understand how to communicate with his public.
Is it me or does it seem like the Republican Party is acting more Democratic? I mean that in the sense that they have begun to embrace social media more. TechPresident reported that the Republican National Committee downloadable toolbar.
Innovative and proactive tools seem to be more of a Democratic thing. Republicans tend to be more reserved and rely heavily on more traditional media and tools. In the past couple of months, Republicans have engaged in various Web 2.0 tools:
These tools allow communities to form and a two-conversation to occur. But it just doesn’t seem the same to me. I think I know why. I think it is because many individual candidates do not engage or even understand what social media is. Take John McCain for instance. Through John McCain Nation, you can engage on the following levels:
Why doesn’t it seem genuine? Not just because John McCain doesn’t personally engage. It is because he is clueless to social media. Oh, I shouldn’t say clueless, he is starting to use the “Internets.”
waved, coiled or kinky
not natively long, shiny and silky
cornrowed or interlocked
blown out and knotted by night.
Brainwashed to think me ugly,
so you attempt to eradicate me
fryed, dyed, layed to the syde,
burned the scalp because you lyed.
damaged, singed, plus split ends
wrapped ’round, secured with pins
bleached at times shaved off completely
in order to disguise my true identity
yanked and brushed
to force cooperation
spritz then gel
helped build foundation
three months have lapsed
I finally recognize me
no matter how you flip the script
I’m still lurking in between
Sheens and pomades
put up a masquerade
change my texture
temporarily.
Yet no chemical process
will convert me
to yaki from nappy
permanently.
Finding an appropriate voice and tone for a blog takes time. I have been struggling with this fact the entire length of my summer class. It is often difficult and time consuming to find material to blog about and furthermore material that interests the audience. The topics covered rarely stimulate a dialogue. And quite frankly, most CEO’s cannot devote the time it takes to make a good blog.
What’s wrong with posting once a month? There is a lot wrong with that. The audience will lose interest. Imagine if your favorite store only added new merchandise once a month. How often would you go? The digital world has greatly shortened everyone’s attention span. People yearn for instant gratification. If material is not constantly changing, most people would tune out.
If people wanted to read a business journal, they would do just that. People do not search for a purely fact based article. The blog is not the place for that. There needs to be personality and style. Not to mention, wide topics of interest for the audience. The blog is not the place for a sales pitch, it is a place for a conversation to happen. Most CEO’s don’t recognize this.
Words of Advice
Be Yourself…but not too Much
Realize the separation between your business and personal lives. Realize that everything you say will reflect on yourself as well as your company. Realize that once you publish something on the Internet, it stays on the Internet. Think before you type.
Be Consistent
If you do not have enough material to post at the very least once a week, maybe a blog is not for you. Audiences respond when a blog seems like a conversation. Comments need to be addressed promptly and topics need to be refreshed appropriately.
Keep in mind, some CEO’s have done it right. See here.
There has been much debate about the cost effectiveness of social media. I mean…everybody is doing it right. Students, teachers and even politicians have joined the conversation online.
The idea behind it is to engage the customer where there are. And EVERYONE is flocking to the Internet for one reason or another. I read an article entitled “Tech-savvy governments to embrace Web 2.0” which states that:
“Governments are expected to increasingly use social networking and other Web 2.0 innovations as a means of fostering greater participation and dialogue with their citizens, as well as encouraging more effective intragovernment communication.”
Since I began my graduate work at Georgetown, I have been inundated with Web 2.0 and its effects on everyday life. I have even developed a strategic communications plan for a non-profit and suggested that they embrace social media. But at what cost?
Let’s think about this in more concrete terms. Consider hiring someone like myself as the self proclaimed “social media” expert. I can be the expert keeping your company abreast of social media outlets and updating the various sites for as little as $35,000 a year. Seems costly? Think about what the job entails. Let’s just say that your company only uses Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and a blog. Information on Myspace and Facebook has to be checked daily, friend requests need to be accepted (or not,) messages need to be answered and dialogue needs to be encouraged. Then there is Twitter. This powerful microblog needs to be carefully managed, followings need to be authorized and tweets need to be daily if not several times a day. Lastly, but arguably most importantly, there is the blog. It takes me FOREVER to write a blog entry. I have to find the right pictures, embed the video, link to other articles and not to mention write something worth talking about.
But what if you decide not to hire an expert? You and your company have to make sure that everything written in social media remains genuine and consistent with other forms of communication. It may indeed be to much for you and your company to manage.
Just something to think about!
For someone who is opposed to this war in Iraq, I find it hard to read blogs written by people on the front lines. I might very well be the only person who feels this way. For one of my classes, I read several milblogs. The entries I read surprised me. Much of the blogging gave incite about how some soldiers feel about the war.
One blog, Army of Dude, is written by a soldier named Alex. His about me reads:
“Just another buoy in the great sea of milbloggers trying to make it by”
Alex speaks of remembering failing soldiers and completing a tour of duty. One thing I did not expect to read was how many soldiers did not want to return. The government always paints a picture about how soldiers understand the sacrifice for their country and have no problem for dying for patriotism, but this blog claims that many soldiers feel otherwise. I am no soldier, but I cannot imagine being excited to fight a war that began under questionable pretenses. It is amazing to me that any of the entries are actually positive.
Another blog, Blackfive, is written by a former soldier. The tenets of Blackfive are supporting the military, caring for the wounded, remembering the fallen and honoring the sacrifices. What surprised me about this blog is the amount of humor that is interjected. Titles of the entries include “Copy Cats” (featuring a group of Iraqi children mimicking an American soldier) and “Give me a second. I gotta go kill these guys first.” I guess it is easier to include some humor once you have withdrawn from the military.
Target
Over the past couple days; I have been reading article after article about microtargeting and politics. Figuring out who people are voting based on what they eat and what kind of work they do. The art of persuasion then comes in to the picture. Playing on the unsuspecting voters insecurities based around childhood disappointments and so on (you get the picture.) So what about this is novel? Well…nothing. According to Wikipedia, the term, microtargeting, has been around since 1992 in the political realm, but gained national attention in 2004.
This term is also related to the integrated marketing communications term, behaviorgraphics, which targets people based on their previous behavior. Both microtargeting and behaviorgraphics involve predicting behavior of a particular group.
The question is, however, does microtargeting work on me. Let me describe myself first.
I am an African-American female in my mid-twenties. I am nearly finished with my master’s degree from Georgetown University. I drive a mid-sized German car. I have one cat and one Chinese water dragon. I have a MAC, and I use the computer every day. I am fairly well versed in using the Internet. In my refrigerator, you will find 100% fruit juice, Morningstar Veggie Crumbles and Chips Ahoy cookies (don’t judge me.) Did I mention I was vegan? Well I am. Can you guess whom I would vote for?
Microtargeters would say YES! The question is not simply whom would I vote for, but would I vote. I, like many others in the country, remain uninterested in the race for presidency. Just like other forms of advertisement, I choose not to respond or engage. I am not impervious, I just respond to topics of interest to me. This is the advice I would give to the candidates and their respective teams: rather than trying to predict whom everyone would vote for, just encourage them to vote. Give us a little credit, we can’t be judged by what’s in our fridge or what kind of car we drive.
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