Ipdi.Person2 Person

Person-to-Person-to-Person
Harnessing tHe Political Power of
online social networks and
U s e r - g e n e r at e d c o n t e n t

T h e G r a d u at e S c h o o l o f P o l i t i c a l M a n a g e m e n t

institUte for Politics, deMocracY & tHe internet

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Person-to-Person-to-Person: Harnessing the Political Power of Social Networks and User-Generated Content is a
publication of GW’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI).
Julie Barko Germany, deputy director of IPDI, is the principal editor of this publication. Riki Parikh (research-
er) assisted with research, editing, and writing. Ed Trelinski (event manager), Chris Brooks (financial manager),
and Ryan Sullivan (assistant event manager) provided invaluable assistance and helped with the editing. Carol
Darr, director of the Institute, provided additional editing. Ian Koski of On Deck Communication Studio de-
signed and paginated the publication.
This project benefited greatly from the advice and assistance of many individuals. We especially thank all
of our authors: Eric Alterman (KickApps), Colin Delany (epolitics.com), Chuck DeFeo (Townhall.com), Brad Fay
(Keller Fay Group), Joe Green (Essembly.com), William Greene, (RightMarch.com), John Hlinko (Grassroots
Enterprise), Heather Holdridge (Care2), Valdis Krebs (InFlow), Mike Krempasky (Edelman and RedState.com),
Chris MacDonald (Liberated Syndication), Nicco Mele (EchoDitto), Justin Perkins (Care2), Zach Rosen (Civic-
Space Foundation), Alan J. Rosenblatt, (Internet Advocacy Center), Gideon Rosenblatt (ONE/Northwest), Carl
Rosendorf (Gather.com), Phil Sheldon (Diener Consultants, Inc.), Michael Silberman (EchoDitto), Ravi Singh
(ElectionMall.com), and Mara Veraar (Democracyinaction.org). Their opinions, however, as interesting and
provocative as they are, do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute.
IPDI is the premier research and advocacy center for the study and promotion of online politics in a manner
that encourages citizen participation and is consistent with democratic principles. IPDI is non-partisan and
non-profit and is a part of the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University.
F. Christopher Arterton is dean of the school. For more information about the Graduate School of Political Man-
agement, visit www.gwu.edu/~gspm.
For more information about the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet, visit http:/ /www.ipdi.org.

© GW’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet. The editor is Julie Barko Germany.
The date of publication is September 15, 2006.

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Page vi | PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 3
By Julie Barko Germany

Chapter 1 – Social Media: Promising Tool, Double-Edged Sword .................................................. 7
By Colin Delany

Chapter 2 – Don’t Let Go Yet! What You Need to Know about
User-Generated Media and Politics before You Take the Plunge ...................................................13
By Julie Barko Germany

Chapter 3 – Reaching the Under 30 Demographic:
Social Networking in the 2006 Campaigns........................................................................................ 19
By Riki Parikh

Chapter 4 – How Howard Dean Turned Online Social
Networks into an Offline Phenomenon .............................................................................................. 23
By Michael Silberman

Chapter 5 – Call in Now! How Townhall.com Turned Talk Radio
into a Community of Bloggers ............................................................................................................... 29
By Chuck DeFeo

Chapter 6 – Building Networks of Informed Online Adults ........................................................... 33
By Carl Rosendorf

Chapter 7 – The Social Context .............................................................................................................37
By Eric D. Alterman

Chapter 8 – The Emerging Podcast Swing Vote .................................................................................41
By Chris MacDonald

Chapter 9 – Building a Blog Network .................................................................................................. 45
By Michael Krempasky

Chapter 10 – Go with the Flow . . . But Not Just Any Flow ..............................................................49
By Valdis Krebs

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Chapter 11 – Identity Formation in Online Social Networking Web Sites................................... 53
By Mara Johanna Veraar

Chapter 12 – Take Action, Get Action: Using the Power of Love to Drive Activism ............... 59
By John Hlinko

Chapter 13 – How an E-mail Campaign Can Tap into Social Networks ...................................... 61
By William Greene

Chapter 14 – Take It Offline: How One Person Can Reach One Thousand .............................. 63
By Brad Fay

Chapter 15 – Moving Ideas: A Higher Order Social Network ....................................................... 67
By Alan Rosenblatt

Chapter 16 – Building a Network of Political Allies: How the
Environmental Movement Is Learning to Leverage Its Network of Allies ................................... 69
By Gideon Rosenblatt

Chapter 17 – Essembly ............................................................................................................................ 75
By Joe Green

Chapter 18 – Think like a Rock Band: How to Use Social
Networking Sites for Political Campaigns .......................................................................................... 79
By Justin Perkins and Heather Holdridge

Chapter 19 – Video Games Are Political Tools ................................................................................. 83
By Nicco Mele and David K. Cohen

Chapter 20 – Creating an Online Voter Space ................................................................................. 87
By Ravi Singh

Chapter 21 – Political Organizing through Social
Networking Sites: the Fred Gooltz Story ............................................................................................ 89
By Zack Rosen

Chapter 22 – Is the Hot Factor Worth the Trip?
Why Some Groups Are Forgoing the MySpace Experience .......................................................... 93
By Phil Sheldon

Author Biographies ................................................................................................................................ 97

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INTRODUCTION
by Julie Barko Germany
Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet

“Social software is political science in executable form.”
- Clay Shirky, Social Software and the Politics of Groups

In July 2006, a Web site called MySpace.com, So what’s a campaign, non-profit, or advocacy
originally used as a way for bands and music lovers group to do when the public wants individualized,
to connect online, became the most popular Web interactive, on-demand content thisveryminute?
site in the United States. Bigger than Google. Big- The good news is that the tools for building active
ger than MSN or Yahoo. Bigger than Amazon. So- social networks already exist. They are surprisingly
cial networking officially arrived for most of main- affordable, and they seem to work well for both na-
stream America. tional movements and small, local campaigns.
Its reign as King of the Web, however, lasted just
a few weeks. YouTube, a site that allows users to
post, share, and discuss videos soon emerged as
the new most popular site on the Web, serving up “Every time someone interacts with
more than one million videos a day. another person, there is the poten-
Is the hype of MySpace in particular and social tial to exchange information about
networks in general justified? In the grand sweep people they both know. The struc-
of social networks – both online and offline – In- ture of everyone’s links to everyone
ternet giant MySpace is considered to be a “low
trust” social network because of its size, the pro-
else is a network that acts as a chan-
liferation of fake profiles, and its devalued concept nel through which news, job tips,
of what constitutes a friend.1 Further, some would possible romantic partners, and
argue that sites like YouTube contain so many dif- contagious diseases travel.”
ferent videos that the only way for political groups – Howard Rheingold, Smart Mobs
to break through the clutter is to create extreme,
even offensive content – a move that some groups
and campaigns may be unwilling to make. On the
other hand, the promises that Web 2.0 will engage, Nodes and Ties
rejuvenate, and activate the public in new ways
have led many organizations to leverage social net- If you’re looking for a tome on social network
works in relatively simple ways and with successful analysis, then you’ve picked up the wrong hand-
results. book. Person-to-Person-to-Person does not delve
into social network analysis, a cross-disciplinary
study that maps and measures relationships within
1 Cindy Gallop, “Monetize My Social Network? How One a network. You won’t find scatter diagrams in this
can Answer the $580 Million Question,” Adotas, August 10, publication (except on the cover). On the other
2006.

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In a social network, the term “nodes” is
hand, if you’re seeking guidance on how to incor- another word for individuals. The term
porate the existing technology into the strategy of “ties” refers to the relationships between
your campaign or organization, then you’re in the actors. A “scatter diagram” is used in
right place. The authors in this publication offer social network analysis to show poten-
step-by-step guidance and a wealth of expert tips tial relationships between individuals in a
to help you figure it out. network.
Person-to-Person-to-Person includes the advice,
strategies, analysis, and predictions of leading the-
orists and practitioners who work for political can-
didates, advocacy groups, non-profits, and busi-
Some of our authors take a more philosophical
nesses. Almost all of the authors in this publication
approach to using social networks. Others discuss
highlight the importance of blended networking,
incorporating social networks and user-generated
which incorporates both online and offline network-
content into strategy. Still others present case stud-
ing. They use MySpace profiles to drive volunteers
ies that outline their successes and failures. Some
to campaign headquarters, and talk radio shows to
of them talk about the past; others look toward the
herd people onto blogging communities. They en-
future. A few of them discuss large, national cam-
courage their supporters to talk online and publish
paigns, while others illustrate the best tools for lo-
content, such as blog entries or Web videos, and
cal campaigns and non-profit organizations. One
they invite them to attend offline events, volunteer
or two question the power of large social network-
as door-to-door canvassers, and evangelize in their
ing sites.
communities and offices. All of them use technol-
ogy to engage individuals in a community and ask The purpose of this publication is to introduce
them to take some kind of action – whether online you to their ideas, provoke questions within your or-
or offline. ganization, and give you some concrete techniques.
This publication isn’t designed to sit on your shelf.
Every chapter includes tactics, best practices, and
suggestions for creating a social political space –
ideas that you can begin to implement immediate-
ly, once you understand the underlying concepts.
Further Reading Social networking involves a lot more than sim-
ply creating a MySpace profile and asking people to
Mark Buchanan. Nexus: Small list you as their buddy. The idea is to use technol-
Worlds and the Groundbreaking ogy, like the Internet, to develop an active network
Science of Networks (New York: W. W. of supporters around your issue, organization, or
Norton, 2002). candidate. It involves creatively altering your com-
munications strategy to give supporters a voice,
Peter J. Carrington, John Scott and Stan- engage them in the work of your campaign, and
ley Wasserman. Models and Methods empower them to reach people offline.
in Social Network Analysis (New York: This isn’t new. But it is the new business of
Cambridge University Press, 2005). politics. In his 1997 book Interface Culture, Steven
Steven Johnson. Interface Culture: The Johnson writes, “There’s a funny thing about the fu-
Way We Create and Communicate (New sion of technology and culture. It has been a part of
York: Basic Books, 1997). human experience since the first cave painter, but
we’ve had a hard time seeing it until now.”2 Person-
Martin Kilduff and Wenpin Tsai. Social to-Person-to-Person takes what you already know
Networks and Organizations (Thousand about human nature – for example, that people like
Oaks, California: Sage Publications, to be treated as individuals and are more willing
2003). to buy into something when they feel they have a
voice in it – and incorporates the concepts in an af-
Apophenia (http://www.zephoria.org/ fordable, tangible way into strategy.
thoughts/).
Network Centric Advocacy Top Ten Tactics:
(http://www.network-centricadvocacy. Throughout Person-to-Person-to-Person, our au-
net/). thors offer some of their best tips, techniques, and
Network Weaving
(http://www.networkweaving.com/ 2 Steven Johnson, Interface Culture (New York: Basic Books,
blog/). 1997), 2.

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advice. We’ve summarized some of their best ad-
vice below. “There’s a funny thing about the fu-
sion of technology and culture. It
1. Make Participation Simple. has been a part of human experience
If it isn’t intuitive, people won’t use it – particu- since the first cave painter, but we’ve
larly people who don’t log on to the Internet every- had a hard time seeing it until now.”
day for work or school. Think about how easy it is - Steven Johnson, Interface Culture
to send a YouTube video or post a photo on Flckr.
Long registration processes and pages of text are
time-consuming, and many people find them to be 3. Build Trust.
prohibitively encumbering. One of the main rea-
Justin Perkins and Heather Holdridge call trust
sons YouTube has become so overwhelming popu-
the “currency” of success in social networking.
lar has do to the ease of use. Writer John C. Dvorak
That trust is a two-way street. Mara Veraar writes
summarized this best in a piece for MarketWatch
of the challenge that advocacy groups face when
earlier this year: “It’s brain dead simple,” he wrote.3
they attempt to build trust with their supporters
Both Chuck DeFeo and Ravi Singh advise politi- online. When conversation moves onto the Inter-
cal groups to make it easy for people to communi- net, identity verification becomes difficult. Help
cate with each other – and with your organization. your supporters get to know you because, in the
As you will read later, DeFeo’s site, Townhall.com, words of Valdis Krebs, strangers don’t make good
created a blogging network of over 1,000 members messengers.
in just a few weeks by providing blog templates for
At the same time, many of our authors write
its users. Similarly, Singh suggests using simple, in-
that political organizations must learn to trust their
expensive software to connect supporters through
supporters. If you can’t trust them, how can you ex-
Web video networks. Technical and financial barri-
pect them to carry your message to others? Mike
ers of entry should not come between you and your
Krempasky suggests leading by example and giving
supporters.
your supporters a sense of ownership and freedom
to make the site their own. Still, Phil Sheldon rec-
2. Encourage Conversation. ommends establishing standards for community
Zack Rosen calls a good social networking site conduct – and sticking to them.
“a living and growing organism.” Feed it by bring-
ing people together and encouraging them to talk 3.5 Trust but Verify.
to each other as often as possible. Conversation
Remember the adages about birds of a feather
will build a stronger, more active community, as
flocking together and being known by the company
people grow more comfortable working with each
you keep. Colin Delany offers a cautionary note
other – and with you.
about letting anybody and everybody link to you.
Carl Rosendorf recommends jump-starting “I’ve already seen news coverage of a candidate’s
conversation by posting comments at least twice a MySpace site that mentioned some of his more
week. Chuck DeFeo suggests programming inter- noteworthy, (i.e., risqué) friends,” he says. “My
activity into every page of your social networking approach so far has been to approve all friend re-
site. Give people the ability to post comments or quests, figuring that a blanket policy is the safest
forward information from every page on your site. course.”
In the words of Joe Green, conversation becomes
What could be even worse is the creation of a
the “gut-level appeal” that gets people to return to
fake profile. “Fakester Politicians” has happened to
your site.
other candidates and it could happen to you. If you,
Michael Silberman and Brad Fay suggest taking your candidate, or your organization has been in
this one step further by creating a two-way con- the public eye for anything longer than a split sec-
versation with your supporters. Invest personal ond, you could be a victim of unauthorized profiles.
time with supporters who are active in your online People may have logged onto a site and created a
community. Make it easy for them to contact you, profile without either your knowledge or your per-
treat their inquiries with respect, personalize your mission. It’s not a rare occurrence. In August 2005,
response, and respond to them in a timely manner. the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reported that
at least 14 governors had fake profiles.4

3 John C. Dvorak, “Missing the point about YouTube,” Mar- 4 Brady Averill, “Fake MySpace profiles pose a dilemma for poli-
ketWatch (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/ ticians,” StarTribune.com (http://www.startribune.com/587/
kx41F17ZJwXRG8Lm0R8nK9), August 10, 2006. story/612223.html), August 14, 2006.

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4. Don’t Forget What You Already Know. Rosendorf and Phil Sheldon, and create a group ex-
Joe Green reminds political professionals to ap- perience that enables your supporters to help you
ply what they already know about offline grassroots meet those goals.
organizing to the Internet. Cultivate your early sup-
porters online and empower them to spread your 8. Find the Leaders.
message. Both Ravi Singh and Michael Krempasky
Many of our authors recommend targeting in-
recommend building action tools directly into your
fluencers – the portion of the online and offline
site. But don’t stop there. Brad Fay, Zack Rosen,
population who function as opinion leaders and
and Michael Silberman all recommend combining
share advice with a large network of colleagues
online and offline organizing tools to encourage
and neighbors. Several of our authors offer differ-
activity. As Valdis Krebs writes, “don’t get enam-
ent ways to capture that collection of influential
ored of technology and forget everything you know
activists. Carl Rosendorf recommends finding the
about human behavior. Mix them together.”
people who lead the dialogue in your community
Provide online resources that they can use in the and engaging them more deeply in your organiza-
offline world, such as event planning guides, volun- tion. Michael Silberman also suggests pinpointing
teer registration, customizable newsletters, and your super-activists.
printable talking points.
The point is to target people who are especially
active and who are willing to act on your behalf.
5. Mind Your Content. You’re looking for people who do more than just
Don’t forget to post content regularly. Why? participate once in while. Once you find them, give
Because it provokes conversation, keeps people them more responsibility and reward them for their
engaged in what you are doing, and gives people extra effort. Zack Rosen writes that you might con-
information to share with their personal networks. sider giving them a little message training and let-
Content equals activity. Both Zack Rosen and Carl ting them create their own messages and respond
Rosendorf recommend posting no less frequently to online queries.
than every few days. William Greene suggests re-
sponding quickly to news and current events within 9. Join a Hub.
your community.
No one has the money or the staff to solve all the
Follow Chuck DeFeo’s advice and ensure that world’s problems. If you’re a smaller organization
you give people correct information. This includes or non-profit, considering joining forces with other
getting your facts straight the first time and giving organizations to accomplish major goals. A hub of
people geographically-relevant content, such as networks, such as the progressive-leaning Moving
the names and contact information for local media Ideas Network, help organizations work together
and elected officials. by increasing coordination, collaboration, and so-
cial capitol. Alan Rosenblatt, Zack Rosen, and Phil
6. Cross Promote. Sheldon recommend creating and driving people to
a hubsite – a place where people can sign petitions,
Not everyone can find you on his or her own.
write letters, recruit more activists, and learn about
For example, Chuck DeFeo writes that talk radio
boycotts. As Gideon Rosenblatt writes, “By work-
helps push visitors onto his Townhall.com site. Carl
ing in harmony, a network raises the effectiveness
Rosendorf recommends maximizing your media
of each individual while raising the collective effec-
strategy by using each component to promote the
tiveness and value of the entire network.”
others. Use events to promote your Web site, and
your Web site to promote your events. That way,
you reach a wider audience. 10. Be Yourself.
All of us feel a special bond with people and
7. Manage Expectations. organizations that depict themselves genuinely.
Don’t try to conceal your identity, or your human-
Technology does not win elections. However,
ity. Be up front about who you are and what you
using technology effectively can encourage a com-
are trying to accomplish. Often, all it takes is a little
munity to grow around your candidate, organiza-
Internet research to uncover misrepresentations.
tion, or issue. A strong, active community can help
Allow your personality to shine through. As Chris
you meet your goals – from raising money to win-
MacDonald writes, “If you come off like a press re-
ning a campaign. But don’t depend on your net-
lease, you’re dead to the listener.”
work for everything. Set realistic goals, say Carl

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SOCIAL MEDIA
Promising Tool, Double-Edged Sword
by Colin Delany
e.politics

Many political campaigns are experimenting Social Networking Sites
with online social networking sites and social media Social networking sites can be a good way to
as ways to reach supporters and motivate volun- reach a new audience, though for most campaigns
teers. What should issue-advocacy and candidate they’ll supplement rather than substitute for an
campaigns keep in mind as they dip their toes into actual Web site. Let’s begin at the beginning – just
this new medium? What’s working? What might what IS a social networking site?
just blow up in your face?
Social networking Web sites are designed to al-
Let’s look at three basic ways to use the con- low people and organizations to set up profile pages
cept. First, your campaign can work with existing and link to other profile pages. It’s that simple. They
social networking sites such MySpace or Friendster work on a “circle of friends” model – presumably
to reach a new audience. Second, you can build
social networking tools into your campaign’s own
Web site to motivate your existing supporters. And
finally, you can take advantage of the broader world
of user-created content to help turn casual sup-
porters into passionate activists. MySpace isn’t the only kid
on the block.
Trying to reach a particular demographic?
Try some of the following sites:
• Gather.com
• AsianAvenue.com
The e.politics (www.epolitics.com/) blog • MomsRising.com
discusses online advocacy and online
politics, including a how-to folder on us- • MiGente.com
ing social networking sites. • BlackPlanet.com
• Eons.com

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most networks of connected “friends” have some
preexisting basis in the real world, though they usu- Pay close attention to your profile design. Many
ally quickly grow beyond that initial nucleus. MySpace sites are garish and assault readers with
Users can follow links from one profile to an- sound and flashing graphics: they often look like a
other out of curiosity or to look for friends, dates, flashback to late-90s Tripod and Geocities sites,
customers, and supporters. Usually, they can also but are even more annoying. Some are so gooped-
search by keyword and leave comments on profiles. up that they’re almost impossible to read. You’ll
Getting friends is as easy as going to a profile and probably want to use pictures or other graphics to
requesting a connection. Really aggressive users illustrate your links and dramatize your issues, but
amass thousands of friends, most of whom they’ve use sparingly – having a “clean” site can actually
never met in person. Social networking sites can help you stand out.
function as mass communications tools when us- Like so many other pieces of the online organiz-
ers send messages to their friends all at once. ing puzzle, your results from social networking sites
MySpace and Friendster are the best-known generally depend on how much effort you expend:
social networking sites, with MySpace (originally if you simply post a profile and wait for people to
a place to promote bands) being by far the more come, you’re likely to be awfully lonely. What can
popular. By some measures, it became the most- you do to boost results?
visited site on the Web in the summer of 2006.
Because of its dominance, in this chapter I’ll often
• Be aggressive! – Successful MySpace-
refer to MySpace when I’m speaking of social net-
based campaigns really work at getting
working sites in general, but the same basic rules
supporters. For starters, go to profiles
apply regardless of which site you’re using.
devoted to similar issues and ask to be
Since setting up a MySpace page or a Friend- friends, and also try to develop direct
ster profile is quick and easy and the sites reach relationships with that profile’s friends.
such broad audiences, many advocacy organiza- It never hurts to ask – the worst some-
tions and corporations are experimenting with the one can do is say “no.” The more pro-
new medium. Social networking site users tend to files your link appears on, the more po-
be younger, so the sites are particularly good tools tential supporters can stumble over you
for campaigns trying to reach high school/college and fall in love.
students and recent graduates (e.g., that drive to
• Use MySpace to promote your nor-
save Social Security might not be quite as good a
mal campaign action alerts. – Send a
match).
mass message out to all of your friends
MySpace pages also automatically include a and also post a notice of it on your site.
blog function, so they can be an easy way to get Readers are more likely to move beyond
into blogging if you’re not ready to set up a stand- MySpace and sign up for your main ac-
alone site. Technorati, the main blog search engine, tivist list if you present them with a spe-
now indexes MySpace blogs, so they’re fully con- cific action to take.
nected to the broader online conversation.
• Ask your friends to post your alert on
Often, your MySpace page will be simple “bro- their sites. – If they really care about
chureware” – little more than an online business your issue, they’re often eager to help
card and a chance to get your name in front of po- out. Plus, it gives THEM some interest-
tential supporters. To get more out of it, try adding ing (you hope) content for their site.
links to your individual campaigns (if you’re an ad-
• Send information to your friends of-
vocacy group) or to more information about each
ten. – MySpace readers are constantly
of your issues. Always include a link to join your e-
bombarded with messages, so you don’t
mail list, and a donate button wouldn’t hurt, either.
have to worry so much about wearing
them out. List exhaustion doesn’t seem
to be as much of a problem with social
networking sites as it is with e-mail ad-
Try adding links to your individual vocacy, so keep in touch and make sure
campaigns (if you’re an advocacy that they don’t forget about you.
group) or to more information about
each of your issues. Always include
A few other things to keep in mind:
a link to join your e-mail list, and a
donate button wouldn’t hurt, either.
• MySpace and Friendster users are a di-
verse bunch, and many people use the

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sites for dating and self-promotion. You
may end up with some “friends” with
an exhibitionist streak, so decide in ad-
vance how to handle friend requests Don’t just assign some random intern
from less-conventional parts of your or junior staffer to create and run
audience. This consideration is prob- a social networking profile because
ably more important for a candidate’s “they’re young and know about these
campaign than for an advocacy cam- things.” A MySpace site is just as much
paign – just imagine how your opposi- a part of your campaign’s public front
tion might use that “friend” of yours
who loves her bikini shots. I’ve already as your main Web site is, and it must
seen news coverage of a candidate’s be on message.
MySpace site that mentioned some
of his more noteworthy, (i.e., risqué)
friends. My approach so far has been to
approve all friend requests, figuring that Putting Social Networking Tools to Work
a blanket policy is the safest course, but for Your Campaign
I’m also working with issue advocacy
Another way to employ social networking tools
campaigns rather than for a politician.
is to integrate them directly into your own cam-
• Friend lists tend to build exponentially – paign by allowing your supporters to create profile
the more people who see you, the more pages on your site. The obvious benefit lies in help-
people who are going to link to you – so ing to wed your backers to your issue or candidate
try to build a healthy list right away. If emotionally: if they have pages on your site and
you have an e-mail list or newsletter, visit them regularly, they’re more likely to identify
mention your MySpace page to your with your campaign and become seriously involved
readers when you launch it and invite with it. With prompting, they’re also likely to ag-
them to become friends. The stron- gressively reach out to friends and family and draw
ger your initial base, the faster your them in as well. Also, social networking tools can
growth. help your supporters self-organize and work with
• As with every other Web site, don’t let each other to promote your campaign.
your content slip out of date. If you’re The potential downside? Just as with campaign
afraid that you’re not going to have time blogs, all of these people will be putting content
to keep your profile updated, stick with on your site, and you’ll be limited in the amount of
evergreen content. One trick I’ve found control you’ll have over it. As we’ll discuss in the
is to use your main campaign’s RSS feed section on social media below, communications
to keep your MySpace content current professionals are used to being able to control a
(you do have an RSS feed, don’t you?). campaign’s message, and it can be very difficult for
MySpace blocks JavaScript, which is them to drop the reins and let the horses run free.
the usual tool to display a feed on a re- And for good reason – if you thought that having
mote site, but several people have built an exhibitionist “friend” on MySpace was bad, think
free applications that convert your feed about what happens when that same person can
headlines into an automatically updat- post content with your URL on the address line.
ing image, which you can then link to
A second problem derives from the smaller
a news or headlines page. Just go to
scale of most campaigns. MySpace and Friendster
Google and search for ways to display
depend on a “network effect”: the sites get more
RSS feeds on MySpace and you should
useful as more people sign up. A good analogy is a
find what you’re looking for.
fax machine: one fax machine is useless (it has no
• Finally, don’t just assign some random one to communicate with), but two can have a con-
intern or junior staffer to create and versation, and a million can become an essential
run a social networking profile because business tool. Similarly, social networking applica-
“they’re young and know about these tions work only if they have a critical mass of users,
things.” A MySpace site is just as much but most campaigns simply aren’t big enough to
a part of your campaign’s public front create one. Think of all the empty message boards
as your main Web site is, and it must be that sit lonely on low-traffic Web sites and you’ll
on message. Make sure that it meshes realize how painfully and publicly your social net-
with your overall communications strat- working application will fail if you can’t get enough
egy. supporters to sign up.

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter one | Page 9


Despite the potential pitfalls, campaigns and seeing the light of day). To keep from angering
corporations alike are experimenting with their own the creators, you’ll need to approve or disapprove
social networking applications. One of the most items quickly – people will get frustrated if their la-
interesting I’ve heard of is planned for the Wash- bor of love takes forever to appear. And if you block
ingtonPost.com. The site is already implementing a piece of content, be sure to contact the person
reader comments on all news stories, starting with who made it and explain why. This can help keep
less controversial topics and expanding to political feathers from being ruffled.
coverage after the editors are sure that the content
filtering mechanisms work. Next, the site will en-
courage readers to create profile pages that gather
all of their comments in a central place. Absolute If a campaign is going to use social
genius – every reader becomes an author! Not media, good gatekeeping is essential:
only will this tie them more strongly to the site, but content must be approved before the
they’ll also have every incentive to spread the word public can view it.
about their own creations and draw more people to
read the original articles. Turning a chunk of read-
ers into both passionate fans and aggressive mar-
keters is hard to beat. That said, allowing your members or readers to
generate content has some real strengths as a tac-
Social Media tic. For one thing, it allows you to capture the brain-
power of far more people than you could reasonably
Let’s expand our view and look at the wider hire – you can leverage the collective intelligence of
world of social media. First, what are we talking a chunk of the Internet. Some of the content will be
about? Social media is a broader concept than so- junk, of course, but the occasional gems that rise
cial networking: it refers generally to content cre- to the surface might just blow you away. And of
ated by site users rather than by a central person or course, it’s potentially a terrific tool for community
group. YouTube and Wikipedia are great examples, building, for all the reasons discussed above.
as are blogs that allow comments. Besides the obvi-
ous example of blogs, how can political campaigns
use social media?
Carefully, as MoveOn.org discovered during the Some of the user-generated content
2004 presidential campaign. If you recall, early in will be junk, of course, but the oc-
2004 the group encouraged its members to create casional gems that rise to the surface
anti-Bush ads that it would then evaluate for ac- might just blow you away.
tual use on television. Hundreds of ads were sub-
mitted and placed online, but one used historical
footage to associate the Bush administration with As an example of both aspects, in the summer
Hitler and the Nazi party. Oops – that one ad gave of 2006 the Ned Lamont campaign for Senate in
MoveOn.org’s enemies fodder for days of attacks Connecticut made great use of user-created video.
on the organization. An ad that never ran got plenty For instance, Lamont supporters shot clips of oppo-
of media coverage and took attention away from nent Joe Lieberman’s campaign appearances and
the issues on which the group wanted to focus vot- uploaded them to the Lamont site. Minor gaffes
ers. that would have passed unnoticed in the past could
Anytime you open the floodgates to user-gener- thus be preserved for all to enjoy (all except the
ated content, you take the same risk. Many cam- Lieberman folks, of course), and those behind the
paign professionals will have a very hard time ac- cameras could feel that they really were an essen-
cepting the concept – too many campaigns have tial part of the campaign. Lamont supporters also
been burned in the past by a candidate or staffer’s amused themselves and their comrades endlessly
loose lips, and political operatives are accustomed by cleverly editing Lieberman footage into their
to going to great lengths to make sure that informa- own online ads and “documentary” clips.
tion that goes to the press and the public has been Ah, but that sword can have two sharp edges:
carefully vetted. for the Lamont campaign, social media bit back as
If a campaign is going to use social media, good well, when a supportive blogger posted a photo of
gatekeeping is essential: content must be approved Lieberman doctored into wearing blackface. She
before the public can view it (be sure to keep those intended the piece as a satire of the incumbent’s at-
goose-stepping video clips and nudie shots from

Page 10 | cHaPter one | PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON


tempts to reach out to black voters, but it backfired:
Lieberman’s campaign pounced and forced the
challenger to publicly disavow the piece. Lamont
won the election, but responding to media coverage
of the dust-up was not how he wanted to spend a
day on which he was campaigning with Jesse Jack-
son and Al Sharpton.

Summing It Up
As we’ve seen, social networking and social me-
dia can be both a blessing and a curse. Use them
wisely and they can help your campaign turn casual
supporters into passionate partisans. But use them
less wisely and you might just find yourself being
spanked in public by the opposition. You have been
warned!

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter one | Page 11


Page 12 | PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON


DON’T LET GO YET!
What You Need Know About User-Generated Media and
Politics Before You Take the Plunge
by Julie Barko Germany

Yahoo! is doing it. News Corp is definitely doing ers), the duo managed to earn $30,000.5
it. Sony, Mentos, and Toyota are doing it, too. This is called user-generated media (UGM), and
They’re loosening the reigns, letting go, and giv- it will change marketing. As Jay Rosen writes in
ing customers control of their message in an effort The People Formerly Known as the Audience, “There’s
to move beyond the same old 30-second advertis- a new balance of power between you and us.” It’s
ing spots. Many of them think they have the answer not about passivity. It’s about interaction and par-
in something called user-generated media. Instead ticipation.
of serving up a helping of the same-old, been-there- The people become the producers, which allows
done-that TV and print advertising spots, many them to engage with a brand or product line more
companies are investing in marketing campaigns than when they remained a passive audience. It’s
produced by consumers. cheaper than hiring an ad agency and paying enor-
Consider this summer’s unusual pairing of Diet mous production costs. And, according to writer
Coke and Mentos in a viral Web video that became Ulises Mejias, it has the ability to translate ideas
a marketing phenomenon. In June 2006, a lawyer into action.6 Instead of just thinking about a prod-
and a professional juggler (Stephen Voltz and Fritz uct, consumers do something with the product.
Globe) created a three-minute Web video of Diet Participation appears to translate into growth.
Coke bottles fizzing up like volcanoes when they In August 2006, Nielson/ /NetRatings reported
tossed Mentos candies into them. They posted their that five out of the top 10 fastest-growing Web
$300 video on the Web, and within two months, it brands focused on user-generated media, such as
attracted millions of viewers and generated tens of photo-sharing, video-sharing, and blogging.7 It is a
millions of dollars in free, prime-time media. Voltz growing trend, but is it right for politics?
and Globe became celebrities, and, by posting their
video on Revver (a site that shares the revenue it
generates by placing ads before each video with us- Can Political Groups Take a Leap of Faith?
Political groups and campaigns already engage
in a sometimes difficult balancing act. We worry
about how to say what we really feel without un-
necessarily alienating some voters who may dis-
User-generated content and user-gen-
erated media refer to interactive, often 5 Michael Geist, “Video and the Internet: An Explosive Mix,”
multi-media material that members, us- BBC, July 17, 2006.
ers, supporters, fans, and consumers pro- 6 Ulises Mejias, “Social Media and the Networked Public Space,”
E-Business Blog (http://www.line56.com), July 24, 2006.
duce and post online. Many marketers 7 “User-Generated Content Drives Half of U.S. Top 10 Fast-
view user-generated content as a way to est Growing Web Brands, According to Nielsen/ /NetRat-
build loyalty for a brand – or, for the sake ings,” Interest! Alert (http://interestalert.com/story/siteia.
shtml?Story=st/sn/08100000aaa00045.prn&Sys=siteia&F
of this publication, an issue, advocacy id=ADVERTIS&Type=News&Filter=Advertising), August 10,
group, political party, or candidate. 2006.

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter two


Did you know? If I let go of your message, will my supporters behave or
What amount of money did media con- will they run amok and destroy my credibility?
sultants spend on network television
The answer to this question mostly depends
advertising for political candidates, par-
upon you and the rules that you set for your com-
ties, and political groups during the 2004
munity. Two of the authors in this publication
campaign? The answer: zero dollars.
– Chuck DeFeo and Michael Krempasky – launched
They placed ads on cable and net-
political blogging communities. When I spoke
work affiliates, but they placed no
with each of them about whether they could trust
national network advertising.
their communities, both men said yes. And they
mentioned that their communities were very good
at policing themselves. Their sites, RedState and
Townhall, both contain brief guidelines of behavior,
agree. We wonder if we can trust ordinary people and individual members hold each other account-
to speak on our behalf. We try to balance a proj- able.
ect’s potential with the time and human resources Sometimes these rules are written and posted
deficit that occurs in the middle of campaign sea- on the site. Sometimes they emerge organically
son. We worry about financial cost. Even though as offensive behavior emerges. One example
we’ve seen some evidence to the contrary, we still comprises a particularly telling chapter in Web
trust television advertising more than the Internet. lore. According to a few users of a creative, edgy
As with many choices in life, the decision to mashup network called YTMND.com, a teenage
embrace user-generated media brings some costs. boy found footage of someone torturing a kitten
The picture isn’t all rosy and warm – even though and combined the footage with music from the
many of us think it’s pretty darn cool. But when game Doom. The YTMND community was so out-
used appropriately, it may have the ability to en- raged that they started a meme of mashups called
gage a core group of supporters, who will share the NEDM (not even Doom music) to humiliate both
messages they create with countless networks and the American teenager and the man who originally
possibly even convince people who may have never posted the footage. Not even Doom music justified
heard your name or cared about your issue to take using the footage in a mashup. The NEDM meme
an action. emerged online as a stand against animal abuse.
Rules don’t necessarily have to ruin the party. In
fact, it may even help create a healthy, vibrant com-
Can you improve civic participation, generate more
munity. Several years ago, Clay Shirky wrote that
volunteer dollars, increase the activism of your sup-
the communities that will thrive online are those
porters, or expand the name recognition of your issue,
that set guidelines:
organization and candidate by allowing normal, every-
day people to create a media campaign for you?
While to our knowledge no one has studied the
potential effects of user-generated content on po-
litical organizations, we do know that interactivity
with your message – whether through a blog post- Can’t find what you’re
ing, a Web video, public discussion boards, mash- looking for on YouTube?
ups, photos, or any other kind of activity – breeds Try one of these other video sites:
intimacy with your organization. People feel closer
to you, and they become less susceptible to being • Revver
seduced by other messages.8 • Google Video
True, politics differ from big business, but the • Machinima
end result of any marketing campaign is similar: • iTunes
you want to get people to take an action. UGM is • PoliticsTV.com
participatory. People are already taking an action
by engaging with you. In the process, they feel as
if they are developing a two-way relationship, and
this may, in fact, lead to higher turnout, volunteer,
and donation rates. Time will tell.

8 Max Kalehoff, “Media Specialists Must Grasp Consumer-
Generated Media,” OnlineSPIN, August 4, 2006.

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Instead of unlimited growth, membership, Am I just using people to do the hard work for me?
and freedom, many of the communities The simple answer is yes. But that doesn’t nec-
that have done well have bounded size or essarily make you the bad guy. Stealing someone
strong limits to growth, non-trivial barriers else’s handiwork online and using it to make an
to joining or becoming a member in good enormous profit might categorize you as a villain
standing, and enforceable community – as well as a criminal. Asking your supporters and
norms that constrain individual freedoms. your super-activists to help you and going out of
Forums that lack any mechanism for eject- your way to thank them (even if it means an extra
ing or controlling hostile users, especially hour or two in the office) is a little different. It’s
those convened around contentious top- asking them to volunteer in a new, creative way.
ics, have often broken down under the
Would you pay a marketing company or an of-
weight of users hostile to the conversa-
fice full of paid staff to do the same thing? If the an-
tion.9 Thoughtful regulations can actually
swer is yes, then consider being particularly grate-
help, not hinder the growth of your com-
ful – perhaps even effusive – with your praise. And
munity.
make sure you individualize your e-mails of thanks.
Nothing goes over as poorly as a seemingly stan-
Whether you decide to post a few rules for your dard, machine-generated response when someone
community (i.e., no profanity) or allow standards of has gone above and beyond. In another chapter,
behavior to emerge as the community grows, the Michael Silberman discusses sending your super-
fact that you allow your community to have a voice activists special thank you presents, such as pins
in the first place will breed trust between both you and bumper stickers, as a sign of thanks.
and them. That element of trust works both ways.
Yes, your supporters will feel like trusted, valuable
members of your community. But there is an add-
ed bonus as you watch what they produce – from a
blog posting to an e-mail to an animation – you will “Different people want to drive their
learn about them and trust them more too. opinions around different topics.
This results in a richer response, and
Will it save me money? it helps you reach people you haven’t
Quite possibly. Production costs and aggrega- already met. The Internet allows us
tion cost next to nothing. And people spread viral to survey a varied audience and let
messages free of charge. them provide responses on topics
they care about in an unfiltered man-
Will my message go viral if someone else produces it?
ner.”
No promises. The viral nature of a message de-
pends on its content and its ability both to appeal to - Richard Counihan, Senior Vice President
Strategic Development, Who’s Calling
emotion and interact with the immediate moment.
If a UGM contains each of those things, then it is
relatively easy for it to spread through networks
and aggregation.
Many of the most successful niche Web vid-
UGM doesn’t feel like advertising. It feels fun eos and animations are textured, nuanced, col-
and catchy, and it has the ability to mesmerize ev- laborative endeavors – much like good Jazz music.
eryone from retirees to office workers to students. Their creators take an image (or several images),
a theme, a famous line, or a news clip and reinter-
“To create word-of-mouth about a pret it in a new way. While portions of Web media
viral ad, you have to do something may in fact impinge upon what we’ve historically
that people love to talk about. That described as rights restrictions, many people know
that when they post media content online, some-
usually means sex, political or social one else will reuse it. However, this does not mean
humor, or evil and violence – or, of that your organization should sweep the Web for
course, gross-out jokes.” cool media content and post it as your own. Give
- Dave Balter and John Butman, Grapevine them credit – a policy that works well with content
that supporters produce on your behalf as well. If
you just “have to have it,” try tracking down its pro-
ducers. You never know: they might be flattered
9 Clay Shirky, “Social Software and the Politics of Groups,” Clay that you reached out to them. In any event, make
Shirky’s Writings About the Internet (http://www.shirky.com/
writings/group_politics.html), March 9, 2003. sure you observe copyright restrictions. For a good

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter two | Page 15


Greg Linden wrote, you may have to work to un-
cover good content: “The experience of the World
Wide Web as a whole should serve as a lesson to
those building the next generation of community-
powered Web sites. At scale, it is no longer about
aggregating knowledge, it is about filtering crap.”11

“Homogenous groups are great at
Have you visited YouTube lately? For ev-
ery fantastic video there are dozens of doing what they do well, but they
boring clips that someone made by re- become progressively less able to
cording a funny part of last night’s Daily investigate alternatives.”
Show on her mobile phone. - James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds

summary of these laws, see http://www.copyright. Can I get away with passing off professionally-pro-
gov/. duced content, like campaign ads, on our community
site?
Will my message get lost in a swirl of crappy handi- Well, that depends on what you’re trying to
work: videos with poor production quality, humor that accomplish. The standard 30-second, profession-
doesn’t work well, poorly written blog entries, etc.? ally-produced campaign ad often comes across like
“brochure-ware,” and just doesn’t seem to work
Have you visited YouTube lately? For every fan- well online. People tend to like footage that shows
tastic video there are dozens of boring clips that real emotion, unscripted action, interaction, and
someone made by recording a funny part of last humor.
night’s Daily Show on her mobile phone. Have you
seen the Flckr pages of some non-profit organiza- On the other hand, one Washington firm, DCI
tions? Even the most heart-wrenching trip to dig Group, was recently “outed” as having passed off
wells in Africa can be reduced to insignificance as user-generated content a deliberately amateur-
with out-of-focus shots of a latrine or a group hug ish parody they had produced of Al Gore’s movie,
at the airport. As blogger Chris Pirillo wrote during An Inconvenient Truth. The Wall Street Journal called
a fill-in-the-caption contest, “I’m going on the re- it “Propaganda 101.” A useful, cautionary tale for a
cord by stating that user-generated content is often brave new media world.
user-generated CRAP.”10
Some of your supporters may be professional What can I do when other people make fun of me?
designers, videographers, or writers. Others may The short answer: nothing. We live in an era of
produce professional-quality work as a hobby. Val- video phones and easily updatable blogs. The re-
ue them and encourage them. But don’t intention- ality is that many people who create online media
ally leave anyone behind. If you want consumer- – everything from Web videos to mashups to blogs
generated media to be a substantial part of your – feel that any public action, mistake, gaffe, speech,
marketing, fundraising, or political strategy, then or piece of writing is up for grabs.
consider sharing some of your expertise with your The good news is that this environment is
supporters. Teach them how to conduct citizen good at holding public figures accountable. The
journalism, what types of images are most appeal- bad news is that somewhere out there, somebody
ing for a fundraising campaign, and how to simply doesn’t like you, your candidate, or your organiza-
edit and post a video. Ask some of your volunteer tion. He knows how to create really funny mashups
“experts” to share their advice, and create a mini- of you looking foolish. And making a big deal about
community around message training. Equip your it will only fuel more publicity.
supporters to create better content for you.
Finally, consider devoting some of your human
resources to monitoring (and removing) inade-
quate or offensive content and spam. As Blogger
11 Greg Linden, “Community, content, and the lessons of
10 Chris Pirillo, “The Great Political Cartoon Experiment,” Chris. the Web,” Geeking with Greg (http:/ /glinden.blogspot.
Pirillo.com (http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/08/11/the-great- com/2006/07/community-content-and-lessons-of-web.
political-cartoon-experiemnt/), August 11, 2006. html), July 11, 2006.

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Who else is doing it?
Several authors in this publication tackle the
topic of user-generated media, and many more po-
litical practitioners have been incorporating it into
their strategies for a number of years.
Both Michael Krempasky and Chuck DeFeo
discuss community blog networks as a form of
user-generated media and suggest ways to cre-
ate media coverage around an issue or campaign.
DeFeo produced an application that allows users to
create their own e-mail newsletters about current
events, politics, and opinion. Krempasky said that
a community blog, like RedState, sometimes func-
tions better than the professional press. “If written
by enough people,” he writes, a blog “can cover an
issue more intensely and more in-depth than any
single publication.”
Eric Alterman writes that by asking supporters
to create media content, political groups physically
and virtually extend their reach. Each media cre-
ation provides a new entry point into your organiza-
tion – particularly when individuals post their work
on other sites. Eric recommends making sure that
each piece of supporter-made media links to your
site in order to drive people back to you.
Their stories are just a few of the many good ex-
amples. And keep your eyes peeled the next time
you visit YouTube. What you see might inspire
you.

“Letting Go” Isn’t Enough
Incorporating UGM into your political strategy
is not the easy way out. In fact, it may be more
time-consuming than writing your own copy. Us-
ing other people’s content takes time and vigilance,
but more importantly, it requires that you engage
directly with individual supporters. People need a
motivation to create, and they need to feel that you
appreciate their creative contributions.
But the upside is a site that incorporates other
voices and other perspectives. If you want your
supporters to be active participants in your organi-
zation, then make your organization an active par-
ticipant in its supporters.

“Once we’re part of a group, we’re all
susceptible to peer pressure and so-
cial norms and any number of other
kinds of influence that can play a
critical role in sweeping us up in the
beginnings of an epidemic.”
- Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter two | Page 17


REACHING THE UNDER-30
DEMOGRAPHIC
Social Networking in the 2006 Campaigns
by Riki Parikh

“Social networking is probably the next big thing for campaigns
because it’s the next big thing within our culture.”
- Phil Noble, PoliticsOnline

In the 2006 mid-term election, campaigns are What Makes It Work
pulling out the stops to look fresh in the eyes of Using these social networking sites, a campaign
voters who are tired of the status quo. And for the can create a personal profile for its candidate, dis-
more adventurous that includes being hip with the seminating biographical and professional informa-
MySpace Revolution. tion to an entire network and acquainting users with
Social networking has already been used by the candidate. Campaigns can then add media and
commercial marketers to target certain demo- messages to share within their network and create
graphics and decipher their interests and desires. groups for feedback and discussion. In return, so-
As the social networking phenomenon begins to cial networks give campaigns instant information:
permeate politics, some of the more innovative social, geographic, and (in some cases) ideological
campaigns are starting to log-on and create pro- connections. A user’s profile lists a person’s so-
files for their candidates. cial connections (who they are friends with, which
Embracing social networking sites is seen by groups they associate with), regional location, and
many as the next natural step in campaigning be- political leanings.
cause of the sites’ ability to directly inform and en- “Politics is essentially about the sharing of po-
gage the electorate. Just like a political campaign, sitions and values and the ideas that a politician
social networking Web sites allow for the prolifera- wants to implement and gaining support of that
tion of the four Ms: message, momentum, media, through conversation and persuasion,” said Chris
and mobilization: “Social networking can be used Kelly, vice president and chief privacy officer for
in the same way it is for everything: to build an au- Facebook, the online social networking site for col-
dience, to create activists, to raise money, and to lege students. “So, in many ways social networking
create buzz,” said Phil Noble, president of Politic- sites… are a great platform for building support for
sOnline. a candidate or the particular positions of a candi-
date.”
Several candidates running in 2006 are seizing
Social networks give campaigns instant the opportunity to attract and interact with young
information: social, geographic and voters to build that support. They’ve turned to the
social networking sites, particularly MySpace and
(in some cases) ideological connec- Facebook, which are the two most popular commu-
tions. nity-based sites on the Web, to target and engage
with that demographic. “Young people under 30,
who are the social networking constituency, care

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter tHree


passionately about issues and what’s happening cess to a person’s group of friends and an easy and
in society. They just don’t give a damn about poli- effective way to target a certain demographic with a
ticians,” said Noble. “If social networking can be specific campaign or message. “With a traditional
used to structure that commitment to channel it in political site, you’ve got to create your own audi-
a different way, then I think it has a lot of poten- ence and gather your own crowd,” said Noble. “But
tial.” with a social networking site, the crowd is already
By generating interest and enthusiasm among there and they’re already gathered. You’ve just got
the younger demographic, politicians and candi- to attract their attention.”
dates can generate a base for both recruitment
and organizing. By registering on a site as a “vir- Who’s Using It
tual person,” a campaign or issue group can tap
into an online community and gain direct access The candidates who use these sites are more
to a supporter’s connections. They can also boost likely to be challengers, and more often than not
their database by including a user’s demographical seem to be Democrats. Jack Carter, the son of for-
information. This gives them a tool for spreading mer President Jimmy Carter and Democratic candi-
word-of-mouth buzz to the younger generation of date for U.S. Senate in Nevada, created a MySpace
online voters and the potential to mobilize their account after his daughter, who helped run Carter’s
connections to act on their behalf. “It creates the Internet campaign, suggested it. Carter joins can-
crowd that a politician can have access to online. didates such as Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA); Bill
That’s the new big thing. If I can get some 18 year-
old interested, then that works out from there: he’s
already got his people, he already knows where
they are,” said Noble.
The other advantage of social networking Web What’s on Jack’s Profile?
sites is for those candidates who cannot afford Jack Carter’s MySpace profile adapts
traditional media, such as television and print ad- standard MySpace features in a new way.
vertisements. Social networks force everyone on Here’s what Jack includes on his profile:
an open playing field, giving everyone the same ad- • Pictures from the campaign
vantage and opportunity to mobilize a base of sup-
porters from the same pool. These sites can also • Blog entries
be a gauge of a candidate’s popularity and effec- • Campaign ads
tiveness. In the non-political world, the number of • Special message from Jimmy Carter
“friends” a user has on a social networking site acts
• Quote of the day
as a validation for the user. Similarly, the number of
connections a candidate or organization maintains • Biography
also serves as one metric for gauging how well the • List of activities supporters can do on
message is getting out. MySpace
• Links to his bus tour
• A virtual “bumper sticker” that sup-
Social networks force everyone on an porters can put on their own profiles
open playing field, giving everyone
the same advantage and opportunity
to mobilize a base of supporters from
the same pool.

Social networks take advantage of the “social
voter” model of the electorate, which hypothesizes
that “who we know influences what we know and
how we feel about it.” In the offline world, these
include our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers,
co-religionists, and acquaintances. In the online
world, those connections translate to “friends” or
“buddies” on the various social networking sites.
Thus, social networking Web sites offer instant ac-

Page 20 | cHaPter tHree | PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON


Ritter, candidate for governor of Colorado; and Phil alter ego of somebody who has six profiles,” said
Angelides, candidate for California governor. Kelly. “They’re rooted in the community and that
The campaign chose MySpace “as one of sev- allows the political types to get volunteers, dona-
eral innovative ways in which to reach potential tions, and voters.”
voters – many of them young people – who don’t
necessarily connect to mainstream media,” said Jay
Jones, Carter’s press secretary. “This medium is
enabling us to reach out to potential voters who we “When you reach a person on Face-
otherwise might overlook. The interactivity allows book, you’re reaching that person.
people to share their perspectives both with fellow You’re not reaching a profile or some
visitors and campaign leaders.” alter ego of somebody who has six
The MySpace profile is accessible at www. profiles.”
MySpace.com/jackcarter2006. The account is - Chris Kelly, Facebook
registered under the username “Jack Carter for Sen-
ate, 2006.” In the biographical portion of the site,
the campaign lists that Carter is a 59 year-old male
from Las Vegas, Nevada and includes the quote Both Facebook and MySpace are planning to
“I’m a Democrat running for US Senate in Nevada capitalize on their popularity this election cycle
and I sure would appreciate your vote.” (Carter won by offering candidates attractive advertising rates.
his primary bid in August 2006 with 73 percent of Facebook created their own program for candi-
the vote.) dates to use their site for their political gains. They
The Carter campaign can communicate out will begin offering global profiles to candidates so
through their blog and blurbs section, which gives all Facebook users can see their profiles.
the campaign a chance to inform visitors about Also, on the advertising end, they will reserve a
the candidates and keep visitors updated about billion advertising impressions for political purpos-
the campaign. Visitors of the profile also par- es and sell them at the lowest unit rate, much like
ticipate by adding “Jack Carter for Senate, 2006” television commercials. Facebook said they are do-
as a friend, messaging the account, forwarding it ing this out of their own desire to see young people
to friends, and posting comments on the public more engaged in the democratic process. Through
message board. The campaign has even provided that offer, campaigns can micro-target their adver-
source code so users can put a personalized online tising based on location, gender, political views and
bumper sticker in their own profiles. interests.
However, candidates will not be able to get user
The Younger Demographic information on these Web sites, which would be a
There are about 100 million profiles on MySpace, violation of privacy policies. “We don’t share data,”
a fact that accounts for it popularity in reaching the said Kelly. “We will let our users share data if they
college-aged youth vote. Some argue, however, want to with the campaign, but our privacy policy
that Facebook users may be more likely to vote than strictly prohibits taking contact information from a
MySpace users, given its connection to colleges user’s profile…. They (a campaign) can see it, but
and the fact that college-educated Americans are they can’t use it.” Ultimately, of course the key to
more likely to vote than those with less education. a successful social networking campaign is to pro-
Thus, while MySpace will give a candidate visibility, vide a forum that allows users to connect with one
Facebook may be more likely to generate the kinds another and with the campaign itself. That way
of volunteers that campaigns are seeking. “When they can easily distribute the content or message
you reach a person on Facebook, you’re reaching to people outside the group, converting the online
that person. You’re not reaching a profile or some organization into offline action.

Did you know?
In September 2006, Facebook
will open its site to politicians.
Now, political candidates can buy pro-
files and attempt to reach out to the sites
more than 8 million members – many of
them college students or alumni.

PERSON-TO-PERSON-TO-PERSON | cHaPter tHree | Page 21


HOW HOWARD DEAN
TURNED ONLINE SOCIAL
NETWORKS INTO AN
OFFLINE PHENOMENON
by Michael Silberman
EchoDitto

Certain segments of the political world remain skeptical about the power
of online social networks to encourage real-world offline action, such as
voting, donating, or showing up for a rally or protest. Yet, Howard Dean
and Meetup managed to achieve offline success thanks to their
online organizing.

Let’s be clear: The Net is not about technology, it’s
about people – a fact that is obvious to everyone
except to we programmers. The most important
The Internet and new technologies
things we, as humans, need to do – commercially or enabled us to dramatically expand the
socially – is to connect with others. An online com- size, reach, and strength of what oth-
munity is no substitute for real-world interactions. erwise would have been a convention-
In fact, the most successful online communities are al national volunteer program — all
the ones that throw parties, sponsor events, host for a fraction of the time and cost.
get-togethers – help members meet one another
face-to-face in the real world. 12
—Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist

In a matter of months, the Dean campaign
coupled an online event-planning tool with the In- EchoDitto (www.echoditto.com) is an
ternet’s word-of-mouth potential to grow its online Internet strategy firm that specializes in
volunteer network exponentially and build its active interactive community building.
and engaged community of supporters. The Inter-
net and new technologies enabled us to dramati-
cally expand the size, reach, and strength of what
otherwise would have been a conventional national
volunteer program — all for a fraction of the time
and cost.

12 Katharine Mieszkowski, “Are You on Craig’s List?” Fast Com-
pany (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/nc02/026.
html), November 2000.

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