Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’
Zuma Dogg for California Attorney General?
Did the crowded field to replace Jerry Brown as California’s Attorney General just pick up yet another candidate? Venice Beach’s own Zuma Dogg – who garnered over 9,000 votes against Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa – is hinting at a run for the state’s “top cop” position in recent tweets.
The Attorney General race on the Democratic Party side is already ridiculously crowded. Six candidates from across the state have already announced their intention to run and are amassing cash and endorsements:
- Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris
- Assembly Members Ted Lieu, Pedro Nava and Alberto Torrico
- Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly
So, does Zuma Dogg mean it? Is he really considering a statewide run to follow on his surprisingly successful local campaign?
UPDATE: Apparently this is the shortest campaign ever. Zuma Dogg is ineligible for an Attorney General run:
Beth Krom for Congress – Mothers Day 2009 Message
A special Mothers Day 2009 message from former Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and her mother, Elaine Weinstein.
Learn more about Beth’s term as Mayor and her campaign to represent California’s 48th Congressional District at:
http://www.BethKrom.com
Or follower her campaign at http://twitter.com/Krom4Congress or http://www.facebook.com/people/Beth-K…
(And stay tuned at the end for some words from Beth’s three kids; Hershel, Noah and Abby!)
SF Chronicle: For Brown and Newsom, Age Is Just a Number (of Facebook friends)
A line of differentiation is appearing in the California Gubernatorial Primary.
It’s a generational line.
Emboldened by the hip young cat who brushed off claims of inexperience and won the White House, the exploratory campaign of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (Born: 1967) is making no bones about casting their main opponent – Attorney General Jerry Brown (Born: Before the Earth cooled) – as old…
“This will no doubt be the first governor’s race in California history – if not nationally – where one candidate sat on the other candidate’s lap as a little kid,” crows Newsom political consultant Garry South…Â (San Francisco Chronicle)
…or out of touch:
“The question that I think Californians will have to come to grips with is, does California need the same governor in 2011 that it had in 1975?” said Newsom strategist Garry South. (Los Angeles Times)
Oh, that Garry South. Such a trouble maker.
Who knows if this line of attack works? We’re not talking about John McCain here. This is Jerry Brown – a very different opponent to label as old or out of touch.
That didn’t stop the Chronicle from looking for age spots on Brown’s campaign techniques:
Example: the dramatic disparity between Brown and Newsom on the social networking site, Facebook, a spectacularly successful fundraising and networking tool for President Obama’s campaign.
Newsom has launched an effort to raise “30,000 supporters in 30 days,” already amassing more than 25,000 contacts on his Facebook site, with 300-400 more signing up daily. Brown, son of the late Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, has less than 700 Facebook contacts.
The San Francisco mayor has used Facebook, Twitter, his Web site and blogs (on Daily Kos and Huffington Post) – all tools that appeal to younger voters – to attract hundreds of people around the state to town hall meetings in the past month. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Here are a few bones I have to pick with this analysis…
First, recent Pew findings deflate the “internet is for young folks” myth:
Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the “Net Generation,” internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email (although teens might point out that this is proof that email is for old people). (Pew Internet and American Life Project)
Next, all of the candidates; Newsom, Brown, Garamendi and Villaraigosa are on Facebook. You can also find Antonio, John, Jerry and Gavin on Twitter. I’ve seen several of them as authors on prominent blogs, and all are tapping their respective email lists.
Finally, victory isn’t as simple as merely using the tools, or amassing high friend-counts on the SocNets. It’s about establishing bi-directional communication, speaking in the language of the web (which changes daily), and showing something authentic to the online community’s magnificently well-honed bullshit detector.
Take the Facebook numbers cited in the Chronicle…
When his campaign launched this friendraiser, Newsom already had about 23,000 supporters banked. In the two weeks since – with active outreach on Facebook and multiple blasts to their email lists – they’ve climbed to just over 27,000. Growth of 4,000 (about 17%) over two weeks. Not too shabby.
On the other hand, Jerry Brown had only 400 friends and change when he dropped his 25 Random Things list at the end of last week. In the week since, Jerry has shot up to over 1,500 friends (over 350% growth) with little extra effort. His novelty and authenticity also earned several earned media hits in meatspace.
The raw numbers are still very much on Newsom’s side, but Brown’s tapping of the meme-of-the-moment had a dramatic effect on the reach of his online community. For that instant, it was Brown who was more fluent in the language of the web.
Online Organizing is not unlike Field Organizing; The Grind does matter. But catching that imaginative spark – riding that wave of the internet zeitgeist – can supercharge you in bursts.
Staying open to those memes and turning those bursts into your Grind is how you dominate.
25 Random Things About Jerry Brown
Controversial official portrait of once (and future?) Governor Jerry Brown
California Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown is the latest person to succumb to the 25 Random Things craze that’s sweeping across Facebook.
How did I know this? I saw a Tweet on the JerryBrown2010 Twitter profile.
6. My official portrait as Governor was quite controversial and the legislature refused to hang it. My Father said if I didn’t get a new one, I could never run again. It is now hanging and I am still running. (Facebook: Jerry Brown’s 25 Random Things)
Embracing the latest meme sensation and promoting it through the hot new social medium (at least among hack and flack elites) is a defiant response to those critics who wonder “does California need the same governor in 2011 that it had in 1975?” as my old boss Garry South recently put it.
Does tapping new channels to communicate with voters indicate that Brown would not be the same governor he was in the days before many of Facebook’s most fervent users were born?
Does use of young technology demonstrate a young spirit? Does use of a fresh political medium show a mind open to fresh policy ideas?
Now, after two years as state attorney general, this Democrat who first ran for office in the era of Janis Joplin and the Beatles is remaking himself yet again. This time, Brown’s quest is to recapture the job he won 35 years ago: governor of California.
But Brown is already facing a quandary that could bedevil him in this, his 12th campaign: How does a man so closely identified with California’s past show that he is best fit to lead the troubled state into the future? (LA Times)
If the answer to the haters isn’t in the use of such technology, maybe an answer lies within the 25 Random Things. I’ve pulled a few out below:
I’ve seen lists of “25 Random Things About Me†that people are sending around Facebook. I thought I would share my own list with you.
3. In 1958, I took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Later, Pope John XXIII dispensed me from these obligations.
12. I worked with Mother Theresa in India at the Home for the Dying.
14. I sued Richard Nixon’s lawyer for helping the President cheat on his income tax.
18. I knocked my opponent to the canvas in a 3 round boxing match at Senior Fight Night.
Those few items show a leader of restraint and compassion; who respects the rule of law; and who will put on gloves and throw blows. But perhaps the most salient of the 25 Things is number 24:
24. The first time I became Governor, I followed an Actor (Ronald Reagan).
The whole list is absolutely worth checking out. Brown leads a life unlike any officeholder. So head over to Jerry Brown’s Notes on Facebook, and see what he has to say.
Ed. Note – Jerry’s not the only one Twittering. If you want to follow Reelpolitik’s tweets, find them at http://www.Twitter.com/Reelpolitik. Also, I will NOT be doing 25 Random Things.
Antonio Villaraigosa (Re)Launches Campaign Site (Not for Governor)
Next month, voters in Los Angeles will go to the polls and re-elect Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for a second term.
Sorry to burst your bubble, Zuma Dogg.
With all that campaigning left ahead of him, the Mayor has decided to tap these newfangled internets and do some of that online organizing that worked so well for our new President.
The bottom line is this: my site is your site. The slogan of this campaign is “bringing people together, getting things done,” and in the new world of online campaigning a website can provide just the place to make that happen. I hope you’ll join us there and get involved. (from Villaraigosa email blast)
Check out his site: Antonio Villaraigosa for Los Angeles.
The Mayor is also encamped in the usual spots you see politicians these days:
- Antonio Villaraigosa on Facebook
- Antonio Villaraigosa on YouTube
- Antonio Villaraigosa on Flickr
- Antonio Villaraigosa on LinkedIn
- Antonio Villaraigosa on MySpace
- Antonio Villaraigosa on Twitter
Some cynics may question the utility of launching a campaign website so late in your election cycle. Surely, it isn’t related to a certain 2010 race the Mayor is likely to enter. This couldn’t possibly be just a warm up for a bigger campaign, right?
Missed Connections
The Second Pillar: Interactivity
You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking… you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? (Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver)
Yesterday, we talked about the First Pillar – frequency. Shooting a lot of tape gives you the raw footage for a workable program. Posting often and on a regular schedule encourages return visits – so people are watching what you shoot.
But…yes, there is a but…the treasure trove of clips also has to be good and doing the right things.
The Second Pillar – interactivity – starts to tackle the discussion of what to do with all of that footage you’re shooting, and what to include in all those finished pieces you are putting up.
Joining the Conversation
Think of it this way…
The internet is a big lunchroom, if you will. There are bunches of tables where people are having different conversations. There are the blogs over here, and the social networking sites over there. You’ve got your listserv and message board tables – nerds! – and the current “cool kids†table, the social video sites…namely YouTube. In this election cycle – at least for right now – YouTube is the big man on campus.
Now, the YouTube lunch table is like any other; a bunch of folks sitting around sharing things. The users talk and listen, and react to what others put up…only with TVs for heads and cameras for eyes.
A little creepy, I know.
Anyone can grab a seat at the tables. When campaigns create a piece, they should poke their computer heads into as many tables as possible. Post it to your site. Put it up at YouTube (and Revver, and Brightcove, and the other hosting sites). Embed it on your MySpace page and your Facebook profile. Put it in diaries at group blogs. Talk about it in comments threads. Email it out to supporters.
Of course, do all of this appropriately. Don’t pimp too hard in the wrong places and come off as the boorish visitor who will be ridiculed and not welcomed back.
Do You Ever Shut Up?
You shouldn’t go into a conversation and just talk in real life, nor should you do it with web videos. Listen too. Use videos to respond to what’s going on out there. Post your videos as responses to those who have questions, or in reaction to criticism.
Candidate video reactions offer a strong rebuttal to criticism, provide “from the horse’s mouth†information on issues, and show that the principals are listening to and caring about what’s being said in the real world.
Plus, imagine how your average YouTuber will feel when a Presidential candidate has not only watched their video, but sent back a reply – in living color, no less! I’d bet good money that the user will post about it on their blog, tell their friends to watch the response, or even embed it somewhere…echoing your message through their own network of readers/viewers.
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Since your videos are now a part of other folks’ conversations; why not strike one up yourself? Ask your viewers questions. Listen to what they say, and reply. Now things are going both ways.
A site from across the pond, Webcameron, has drawn interest for the candidate regularly taking questions from the masses and directly addressing them. This has begun to happen here as well, but isn’t nearly pervasive enough.
For all of the complaints about American journalists only covering the horse race, why aren’t campaigns diving into the meat of their platforms by taking questions from real people – whose queries are often better, tougher, and more relevant than those of their professional counterparts. People don’t amuse themselves talking about who’s up in which poll or which candidate had the stronger first quarter. Let them ask the questions, and they’ll open the door for you to talk about your energy plan, or how you’ll tackle healthcare…and they’ll ask it in a way that drives you to talk to them like human beings.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
The best part is, this doesn’t have to be hard – or too demanding on the time of the candidate. Candidates are busy, they have a lot to do. So devote some good staff work to seeing what’s up at each lunch table. Have staffers look out for questions that will allow you to shine…and if you’re brave, tough ones – which will allow you to shine even more!
Answer questions with footage you already have. Go back to the best clips from stump speeches or policy announcements, and use them as video responses on issues. Just pull out a good line. More people will watch 10 to 30 seconds of a speech as a video response than will watch a minutes-long clip of a static shot from a press conference.
On the really good questions, or to ask one yourself…
It only takes a couple minutes during some down time – be it in the car, or the hold room – to ask or answer a question. Use those few minutes and truly converse. Don’t do multiple takes of a scripted piece in a well-lit “set.†Just grab it and go.
These last two thoughts – to reuse old footage for conversation, and to always be grabbing thoughts from the candidate on the go – actually lead me to the next pillar, so I’ll wrap things up.
These conversations are happening, and it behooves candidates to be a part of them. Take that few minutes to shoot an honest, off the cuff answer to the questions real people care about. It’ll feel much better than having to constantly repeat things like, “We’ll have the resources to be competitive†– which is what you end up saying to a reporter.
Go back to the library for the best lines to address common questions (why not a video FAQ or an “Issues†section made up of video clips?), it’s a much better use than showing a whole speech or making the same sort of event film over and over again. People can see speeches on the news. They don’t need you for that. So, use what’s in the speeches creatively to join the discussion. That’s easy. Devote your energy to give people something they won’t get elsewhere…the Third Pillar: Exclusivity.