Talking down to constituents???

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That is how Sunny on Pickled Politics describes the old school way of using the web for politics. I actually tend to agree. With the creation of Web 2.0 features, politics online are more than just a website that acts like a virtual brochure. It has become a vehicle for interaction between the campaign and its supporters. She mentions how with Facebook, supporters can give donations and volunteer hours. This has revolutionized the way campaigns communicate with its supporters.

Being a political wonk myself that has worked on many campaigns, I can not agree more about how much social networks / Web 2.0 have changed politics. Much of what I did for the Romney campaign was grassroots mobilization on college campuses nationwide. I once helped set up a nationwide grassroots effort of phonebanking during the day and celebrating with a live webcast with the Governor at night. I was the Regional Director of the Mid-Atlantic and Southern States. Without the ability to communicate with volunteers throughout the nation via facebook, there was no way for me to effective and efficiently perform my job. In the end, the nationwide event was a huge success and our efforts made a huge difference going into the primaries.

Blogs expressing past work experience??

http://www.careerjumpstart.org/images/resume%20cartoon.gif

In "The Blog is the New Resume," Joshua Porter states that 5 reasons why blogs are becoming the new resumes in the 21st century. Even though I think that it can definitely help an employer learn about you, I see it more as a supplement to a Resume. One commenter on his post stated that a blog doesn't provide relevant information to a employer. I absolutely agree with that. It does not include your past work experience or the actual skills you possess. Instead it gives a candid look at who your are and your opinions on different topics.

It allows the employer to learn a little more about your personality rather than your qualifications for a job. I don't want someone to judge me based on what I write in a post. The style of writing I use in blog posts are completely different then my academic writing. The way I act online is completely different than I do in the workplace. I'm definitely opinionated in my blog posts and speak out when I feel necessary but in the work environment I respect the hierarchy and act accordingly.

So to reiterate once again, the blog will never become the Resume of the 21st century but rather a useful supplement to learn more about an individual.

Niche Nation

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"Niche Nation" refers to what Chris Anderson, the author of "The Long Tail" believes is happening to our country as a result of a focus on consumer choice and consumer choice. It is happening in the business world, the political world, and has also infiltrated the media.

The EPIC 2014 documentary predicts that the news will be tailored to the individual reader through algorithms that combine through Google Grid, everything about the consumer. As a result, news will become a collection of trivia, much of it untrue.

Even though I disagree with the conclusion that much of the news will be untrue and trivial, I do believe that large media organizations like the New York Times will go under because they will be unable to compete with Google. Through RSS feeds, readers already are beginning to choose what they read and where they get their information. It becomes very easy for any individual to find their new niche and limit the type of news they read about. However, the idea that everyone is so shallow that all news will become trivia in the future seems absurd. But I do believe that individuals will not be as well rounded in the news they read in the future. Most people read only the stories that they care about the most and thus are never exposed to the full array of issues that affect the world today. But I guess, having individuals rather than Big Media decide whats the most important issues affecting the world is definitely better.

1 is a lonely number?

http://www.imagineeringezine.com/graphics/bstorm.jpg

Doesn't matter if its lonely or not, one person will get more done. What do you mean, you might say? Well, statistics have shown that when brainstorming, individuals working by themselves produce more ideas than groups. On NetAge's Blog post "Brainstorming? Try doing it virtually", they state that real groups have never outperformed individuals who worked by themselves [virtual groups].

This seems to be contrary to everything we have learned as a child. But I completely understand why this occurs. I was in a group last weekend that needed to come up with a mock plan on how to ID voters during a surrogate event for the congressman. We were limited in time so we begin coming up with ideas immediately. What happened was that every time an idea was brought up, there was at least a minute of discussion that sometimes turned into a tangent or brought us back a few steps. It was a form of chaos that ate up alot of our time. I definitely think we could have got alot more done if we broke the project up into 5 sections and each group member took a section and worked on it by themselves

Getting sidetracked or causing group think always occurs in when working with others. When an individual is brainstorming by themselves, everything is more linear without any distractions. So I have to agree with the study since I have experienced the problems with groups many times myself.

The 4 P's to networking

www.fair-pr.com/meet-aae/bunsen2005/index.php

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation, Preparation...

That is what i got from Chris Brogan's blog post "Get more out of Conference and Networking Events." I have done alot of networking myself but never really thought about what I need to do before the event to maximize what i get out of it. Chris says:

"If you find others who are attending via social media sites or by using a service like Technorati or Google Blogsearch, drop them a comment on their blog mentioning that you’re attending as well. It might make for a good early ice-breaker to know others coming to the event."

When I first read this, I thought he was a genius. Who would ever think to begin a conversation before the networking event so that when you get there, you already have an "in." It might sound a little "stalker"ish, but honestly, you do what you need to do to increase your personal brand.

I remember one time at a function I recognized someone from a facebook group that I ran. It was a great way to begin the conversation and helped me broaden my network. In fact, that conversation helped me gain a trustworthy supporter of the Governor in Florida and she became a great help for me in the future.

Know thy self...

Being a political science major and active in the political process, I have learned the importance of personal branding. Mike Myatt wrote in The Power of Personal Branding that

"It is a true win-win scenario in that the executive who knows how to manage his/her brand equity in turn increases the brand equity of the enterprise."

Campaigns are only as successful as the candidate who is running. I have seen so many campaigns that have been ran efficiently and effectively that had a hard time getting off the ground because the candidate himself wasn't able to brand himself appropriately.

Mitt Romney mastered the art of personal branding. He knew from the beginning that with a name ID of less than 5% that it was crucial to brand himself as the conservative candidate in the race amongst moderates like McCain and Giuliani. Once that was established, he was able to add that he was the right guy for the job because of his 25 years in the private sector.

Hate your first life...

Second Life is becoming a necessity in the Integrated Brand Promotion of the 21st century. What began as a second life for people with no lives has become a marketers dream. Duncan Riley on TechCrunch said that Second Life is "a hip and trendy place from which to target brand wary members of Generation Y." Even though I disagree on the hip and trendiness of Second Life, I do believe that it is a great way to microtarget a niche withing Generation Y.

In my advertising class, we spent some time discussing Second Life and it was remarkable how many ways marketers can utilize this interface. From buying hotdog stands to buying your own island, many companies are able to advertise their products without making a huge investment.

When Mercedes-Benz introduced the C-Class, they gave secondlifers the ability to test drive it digitally on the Mercedes Island.


Even though secondlife is pretty nerdy these days, it definitely has the potential to become a necessity in any college students daily internet repertoire.