It was different this time.
It’s always informative at Google’s Tech Agenda speaker series. Their recent panelist events met that reputation yet the climate differed from past events. Something else framed the program: the dynamic of political contest (which was a thrill to observe). All panelists were cordial & professionally driven. Yet there were topics debated and eluded to about different campaign tactics & the resources to execute. It’s not my mission to overly focus on this; there are topics I want to feature that could better be of use to small business and certainly traditional campaigners. But I wanted to share that briefly for the simple reason it’s why I love this town!
The players
Some of the top campaign strategists from 2008′s presidential race met recently at Google’s Washington, DC office. And the first panel discussed citizen participation and practicing openness with social tech – with lessons from the campaign trail. It was a great conversation with the archived the Tech Agenda video a worthwhile watch.
Panelists included Jeff Eller, President & CEO of Public Strategies and former White House Director of Media Affairs; Sam Graham-Felsen, Obama for America’s official blogger on the New Media Team and writer for the Nation;
Cyrus Krohn, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee and Yahoo!’s former director of election strategy (and the once publisher of Slate Magazine); and Western Regional Field Director Buffy Wicks, on Obama’s Campaign. And
Steve Grove, YouTube’s news & political director, moderated the event.
Internet and primary source
Rumor has it … that Obama’s administration will govern a digital America (an understatement … or over estimate?!). Even when this can seem an overly discussed subject, it’s less so when considering what online technologies were like pre 2008′s campaign. For starters, Web 2.0 has garnered more credibility as a resource. And panelists mentioned in this last presidential campaign, 40% of online American readers wanted to access primary source information from the Internet i.e. policy papers, video, etc.
On failure & retrospect: if only social media existed “in my day”
I liked the “what if” perspective on what possibly could’ve happened with certain initiatives if social tech existed during President Clinton’s administration. But back then, the Internet environment was more Web 0.5 vs today’s user-generated content and community-centric 2.0. Regarding healthcare reform attempts in 1993, Eller remarked modern social media tools could’ve facilitated hunger for change on healthcare issues. Providing details on the proposed healthcare plan on broader levels would’ve been key.
…and what that said to me about small business: word of mouth
So to consider Eller’s comment: he wished he had the social tech ability in ’93 to share the healthcare plan on ‘broader levels’. He wanted to communicate with more citizen ‘markets’. But markets can be viewed as conversations — regular folks convening over ideas (as the Cluetrain Manifesto lays out). So what would’ve been useful in his day was to not just ‘mass share’ Clinton’s healthcare plan but to enable people to talk on its tenets.
Think of all the online forums, debates, formed groups (plus Twitter hashtags), potential video chats on a range of platforms, and live streams that would’ve allowed citizens to learn, talk about, and give feedback for that plan. I’m horrifically oversimplifying what Eller encountered back then I’m sure. But with social media’s inherent agility for word of mouth connection and feedback, response to 1993′s healthcare plan could’ve resulted more favorably.
So a question (…after all my theorizing)
How do you give your customers a chance to connect and respond to your business?
Mainstream media willl soon be inoperable the way it is now.
-Cyrus Krohn, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee
Mainstream media and debating its future
Panelists differed on the relevance of mainstream media in its current form. Some believed it still has a piece at the communications table. Some contended people want to look at information in an unfiltered way i.e. social media but still want analytical suggestions from traditionally trained journalists. Yet others disagreed, saying such an argument has a short shelf life since TV’s will soon have web access.
The relevance of training teams (online and offline), online calling tools & community, plus more were covered. The Google series continues to be robust while appealing to different industries beyond politics.
One more question…and a few more
What events do you find most useful for networking?
-for social media learning?
-or for basic interest in the social media and tech sectors?
I want to be your event ambassador! So anytime 24/7, the team and I welcome your ideas in the comments section.
photo by Grufnik, Creative Commons 2.0
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