Obama Online – More than Social Media

With the launch of Change.gov, commentary on Obama’s social media strategy and success have been made here, here and here. Yup, here too. Some are even calling Obama and the government integration of new media tools through Change.gov the Digital New Deal while others wonder about the extension of the Obama brand and community – post election.

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Social media is awesome. Grand. Influential. Amazing. In my professional role working with government agencies, I must admit that my first reaction to Change.gov was, “Sweet, I can’t wait for this priority on social media to trickle down among other government agencies. Man, that would make our job so much easier.” Or, would it?

Because now, instead of talking about why to do it, the opportunity to implement may [hopefully] increase, meaning we must show results. And, Obama set the bar high.

Granted, Obama’s campaign is an amazing case study that aided in achieving an important end objective – getting Obama elected. However, Obama’s online success is due to more than social media.

• Obama’s campaign was newsworthy as according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism. This encourage the public to be interested and engaged. The study found that:

“Overall, the presidential campaign filled 54% of the newshole as measured by PEJ’s News Coverage Index from Oct. 27-Nov. 2. That represents a slight uptick from the previous two weeks when the election was at 52% (Oct. 20-26) and 51% (Oct. 13-19). The race for the White House was the dominant story in all five media sectors, most notably in cable, where it accounted for 84% of the airtime studied, and on the radio airwaves, at 65%.”

• Obama created the Obama-brand. If you work in government, you may understand some of the government’s sensitivity to the word brand. And from the outside, how the public might react to the government branding or marketing itself. (Hence, the whole debate back when to transition from health communications to health marketing.) However, the Obama-brand has become widely accepted and adapted while maintaining a consistent message to diverse audiences across a range of platforms.

• The number of resources available. Obama’s fundraising numbers were out of the roof. Not every project is as fortunate. This is why highlighting and emphasizing ROI is important and critical.

• Obama was the first, and it was sexy. Being the first is always advantageous. In the government 2.0 sector, Obama led the way in showing how to leverage a comprehensive social media plan to create an online presence that connected with the overall program’s mission. Not only did he do it, but he made it sexy by implementing creative elements that encouraged not only online users, but also online ambassadors.

• Obama and his team understood the essence of social media online and off line. This is the biggest one I think. Obama’s message tapped into the cornerstone of social media – help me, help you, help me, empower America. Did you get lost in that? Web 2.0 is about the conversation and Obama is encouraging conversation with him and among each other. The Change.gov Web site communicates it best:

“Share your vision for what America can be, where President-Elect Obama should lead this country. Where should we start together?”

He took the essence of social media tools and made it his mantra. He is change, but he needs you to help create that change. You want change, but you need him to lead that change. Brilliant.

In your opinion, what other factors outside of social media helped mold Obama’s online success?

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Internet Addiction: Self-Test to Balance Work, Life and the Internet

Having a professional job in online marketing, as well as an online hobby, this blog, I am constantly working to keep my internet usage/exposure at check. Today, I thought maybe others could relate…especially when I overheard a couple teens talking on the metro on my way home about this very issue. Thus, I did a little search (is it ironic?) on the internet.

I came across the Center for Internet Addiction Recorvery, which has been treating internet addiction since 1995. The Center offers numerous downloads, resources and materials for groups broken down into therapists, lawyers, business, and then parents and schools. The Center recently launched it’s new blog, which is full of interesting information. From a brief glance, I read:

• A debate about if internet addiction is really….real
• that Korea is becoming the most addicted to the internet
• about a case where a man died from playing Stargate for 50 straight hours
• how the internet can cause marital problems of neglect (let alone affairs/adult content issues)

The most interesting part of this site, were the self-tests the Center offers. The most interesting is the IAT, Internet Addiction Test which is the supposed first validated and reliable test to measure internet addiction.

Go for it. Take the test and let us know what me know what you think. The questions alone helped me figure new ways to gauge my own internet dosage.

And, it got me thinking…if internet addiction is real, as it is currently being considered to be a new clinical disorder, I think that possibly, it goes beyond the individual’s responsibility to possibly us as whole. As a social media marketer…this definitely makes me think more about the services we are creating, that we are creating purposeful content.

New Blogger Neighbor Andre Blackman @ Pulse and Signal, both online….and off!

Well, you can! Andre and others will be attending HealthCamp MD in Owings, Maryland on Saturday, June 14, 2008. HealthCamp MD is being hosted by Mark Scrimshire at EKIVE. To learn more about the event, check out its wiki here. Sign up now while delegate and sponsorship spots are still available.

I recently got the opportunity to meet Andre through a Social Marketing Meetup he planned in Washington D.C. with Nedra Weinreich of the blog Spare Change. Thus, I nominated him for this week’s Blogger Neighborhood, as he too values both online and offline exchange. Enjoy!

photo credit: the woodstove

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Blog Name: Pulse and Signal

Blog Topics: Health Communication, Health Education, Social Media, Personal Technology, Consumer Behavior

About the Author: Andre Blackman graduated with a degree in Public and Community Health in 2005 but has had a passion for science/technology ever since he could remember. He loves to meet new, interesting people and think about ways to make the world just a little better. He is a firm believer in the power of people coming together for a common good and is interested in using social technologies to improve the health of others through better health communications. I use Twitter a lot (follow me @mindofandre).

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

Changemaker Lane, I want to live on a street that continually reminds me of what I should have done that day as I leave and as I come home.

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

I have a few but at the moment, Tiger Woods. He is focused, a family man and he runs an awesome foundation that I hope to emulate.

What first prompted you to blog?

After nearly 2 years of reading blogs and thinking about both health and technology, I decided to take the leap and start writing those thoughts down. Not too long into the blogging, I started making great friends through online communication tools and that continued to fuel my excitement for blogging!

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why?

URWRLD – in this day and age more than ever people have the opportunities to fulfill their dreams and achieve their personal goals…it’s your world.

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift?

A REAL list of best places to eat and attractions in the town/city to visit. You know the corporate ones lie sometimes!

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

It would probably be when I wrote “The Importance of Sleep in the Wired Generation.” This was one of the first posts I wrote that got decent attention and even the Sleep Foundation chimed in on the comments section. It was important to me because of what I saw happening to a couple people I knew (including myself!) when trying to keep up with all the social media buzz and Web events. You barely get sleep! And lack of sleep has some detrimental effects.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

The importance of interacting with others – the more you comment and make genuine relationships with others, the more you get back, probably even more so.

Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

• Osocio @ Osocio, nominated by SocialButterfly
• Beth Kanter @ Beth’s Blog, nominated by SocialButterfly
• Beth Dunn @ Small Dots, nominated by Beth Kanter
• Len Edgerly @ LenEdgerly.com, nominated by Beth Dunn
• Stacey Monk @ Epic Change, nominated by the Twitter-verse
• Jason Dick @ A Small Change, nominated by Stacey Monk
• Roger Carr @ Everyday Giving, nominated by Jason Dick
• …and now Andre Blackman, nominated by SocialButterfly

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

Is Everything Going 2.0?

Is everything going 2.0?

Health, Science, Museum, Birding, Philanthropy, Reputation, Enterprise, Food and more! Feel free to add to the list.

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• Museum 2.0 is a blog itself by Nina Simon that talks about how Web 2.0 can be applied in museum design. Nina paints her vision for the revitlization for museums and future possibilities here, and in her video.

• Health 2.0: SocialButterfly’s own post sparked by recently released research studies, regarding the developments in the growing Health 2.0 field, offering numerous examples and resources.
  

• Science 2.0: SocialButterfly’s own post on Science 2.0, including a mini-case study on the OpenWetWare project, voicing both concerns and future possibilities.
  

• Birding 2.0: Michelle Riggen-Ransom as Social Media for Social Change wrote a great piece on Birding 2.0, about how Science 2.0 and technological developments are advancing great hobbies such as bird watching in the bird watching community.

• Phianthropy 2.0: New Voices on Philanthropy shares a quick observation while live blogging at a Philanthropy 2.0 event sponsored by the Case Foundation, EPIP and 3rd Wave.

• Reputation 2.0: Jeff McCord looks at the importance of one’s online reputation when entering the trenches of the job search in his post titled, Reputation 2.0.

• Enterprise 2.0: Business Technology Leadership looked at Enterprise 2.0 – What Good is it? the other day by offering a 12-step guide on how to get the most out of web 2.0 tools.

• Food 2.0: The LA Times posted an online book review on Charlie Ayers’ book Food 2.0, Secrets From the Chef Who Fed Google.

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Other topics I Googled with a ‘2.0’ added that found results include Love 2.0, Crafts 2.0, Education 2.0, Music 2.0, Church 2.0 …What others can you find?

A Look At Science 2.0, including OpenWetWare Case Study

Last week, I published a post on Health 2.0, based on a couple research studies that were recently released.

Also last week, another report was published by the Scientific American Magazine that looked at the concept of Science 2.0, titled “Is Open-Access Science the future?”

About

Before this article was published, the author put the draft version of the article in a wiki, and encouraged readers’ comments and edits…to help formulate the articles final version.

In this article, the author looks at the increasing use of social media within marketing, journalism, and politics – and how it can spread to the field of science, as more researchers increase their use of web 2.0 tools within their research. Some critics think that this new process to scientific discovery curbs the traditional institutional lines and poses danger. Advocates see Science 2.0 as a way to increase openness and collaboration across studies – furthering progress

Science 2.0

Science 2.0 refers to the growing movement of integrating social media into the scientific process and its promotion. Science 2.0 is a component of the broader Open Science movement according to the author of the article, M. Mitchell Waldrop. This Open Science Movement includes other topics such as open-access scientific publishing and open-data practices.

Case Study

The article points to a success project named OpenWetWare at MIT, which:

“OpenWetWare is an effort to promote the sharing of information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology & biological engineering. OWW provides a place for labs, individuals, and groups to organize their own information and collaborate with others easily and efficiently.”

OpenWetWare now hosts more than 15 labs, 6100 web pages and is edited by 3000 registered users. To learn more, gain access, or get involved, you can contact the project at admin@openwetware.org or join here.

Concerns

Due to the content of this budding use of technology, in that it is labeled ‘science’ brings many concerns to critics minds. These include:

• Privacy Concerns
• Authorship and Copyright
• Looking ‘unprofessional’
• Undermining the field of ‘science’
• Trust-worthiness of information and hackers

Future

Despite concerns, advocates see Science 2.0 as still in its launching point. Future ideas for implementing Science 2.0 include:

• Collaborate for scientific articles and ideas
• online lab journals
• Developing internet-friendly lab equipment
• Virtual scientific conferences
• Virtual Labs
• Updated Lab ‘feeds’
• Data-Sharing
• Truth-Based Social Marketing
• For more information regarding these ideas and more visit here.

More

• Duncan Hull wrote up an insightful blog post about science 2.0 by interviewing scientist and researcher Dave DeRoure. DeRoure mapped out what he thinks is a widening gap between scientists and the web infrastruture. You can read the post here.
• For those who like reading how trends relate, the Columbia Journalism Review wrote up a great article about web 2.0 and its evolution to Journalism 2.0 and Science 2.0, and how the two concepts relate. The author demonstrates how concerns towards the two fields are similar and the implications this has for science journalism 2.0.

What are your thoughts on Science 2.0?? A ‘yay’ or a ‘nay’ …share with us your thoughts