New Term: Astrotweeting

Here's a good one from the PoliticalDictionary.com -- the definition of "AstroTweeting":

Astrotweeting

The creation of fake Twitter profiles to show support for a political candidate.

Bill White described the practice in an Texas Monthly interview about his 2010 race against Texas Gov. Rick Perry:

“There were also some silly things that happened that are still hard to believe. One consulting firm of his created artificial people to tweet. [The campaign] wanted to question my support in the African American community, but they couldn’t recruit an African American person to do it, so on Twitter they used a stock photo of a black person. One of the people who supported my campaign clicked on the image and found out it was a singer from Atlanta. The Twitter address was registered at the same location as one of Mr. Perry’s political consultants.”

Derived by Rick Hasen, with inspiration from Ben Smith, from the term Astroturfing.

Re-Tweets on Twitter - Give Yourself Some Space!

If' you're using Twitter for your advocacy efforts, it's likely that you're re-tweeting messages from your supporters and friends.  I'm sure you often find the limit of 140 characters frustrating - especially in a RT situation.  Here's a few tips:


1.     Use a "." (period) to begin "@ replies" so your message shows up in the feed of your friends.  When your Tweet begins with the "@", only the recipient can view it, so your friends are not exposed to your conversation - which may be useful to your efforts.  This is a useful alternative to the "RT".


2.     Increase your chance of being retweeted by limiting your message to 125 characters.  Then, when someone retweets in the old style, they will have room to add their own comment and handle.


3.     Shorten the retweet and preface it with "MT" or Modified Tweet.  Don't change the intent of the message, but alert your followers to the updated nature of the comment.

4.     Ask for a Retweet.  Shameless self-promotion often truly works.  Give your followers a call to action, make your tweet interesting and retweetable, and end it with "Plz RT!"

Good luck!

The Twitter Townhall - New Tool Available Now!

Earlier this week, the White House held an online townhall meeting via Twitter using the hashtag #AskObama and linking via their official feed @WhiteHouse connected with Twitter's new @Townhall service.

Find more here -- watch the video, check out the feed and learn more about how they did it.

This is a natural progression for politicians and Twitter.  Some have tried it in the past without the special Twitter assistance with mixed results - I predict we'll see much more of this in the future as politicians and advocates use Twitter for instant crowd-sourcing.  Watch this really mature in the 2012 election season!

Here's Pres. Obama Tweeting during the event:




Find the full Twitter Q & A online at WhiteHouse.gov

Twitter Lists - Track Lawmakers and Policy Influencers

Twitter lists are now used for tracking friends, foes, politicians, media and any other group in which you might be interested.  Check out the official "How to Use Twitter Lists" and make one of your own to track potential advocates, legislative targets, and the other side.

You can create your own list or simply follow a list already created by someone else. 

For an interesting twist on the list, take a look at  He, She, They Said .  This is an ingenious use of the list feature to sort out influentials in Michigan politics.  Created by Resch Strategies in Lansing, Michigan, this portal nicely frames lists including Michigan politicians, media and opinion leaders on Twitter.  If you're not comfortable with Twitter but still want to follow the action, this is a great resource.

If Members of Congress are your target, it's pretty handy to just follow @TweetCongress and their lists:

@tweetcongress/floxee-tweetcongress
@tweetcongress/house-committee
@tweetcongress/congressional-caucuses
@tweetcongress/senate
@tweetcongress/democrats
@tweetcongress/republican
@tweetcongress/congress

List are a great source for quick monitoring of various groups in your lobbying world.

Better Real Time Election Coverage from Twitter

I recently wrote this article for Dome Magazine about my experience on primary election night, August 2, 2010.  I received quicker information about primary election results through a combination of old and new media.  When television and radio news didn't have the most up-to-date results, I turned to Twitter.

Here's the beginning of the article:

Better Real-Time Election Coverage on Twitter

Guest Column
by Sarah Hubbard
August 13, 2010
Supporters of social media have been putting traditional print reporting to shame for a few years now. The first picture of the plane that landed on the Hudson came from a bystander who posted it to Twitter. Twitter’s founders realized its potential to break news early on during a major earthquake in 2007 in Mexico. Last year, the messaging service beat mainstream news organizations to report earthquakes in the UK and China.

Beyond accidents and natural disasters, people are also using Twitter to get quicker information. The first results of many primary elections last week were posted on Twitter.

They’re also more interesting, because many of the political posts on Twitter are opinion driven. Advocacy groups such as the Detroit Regional Chamber use social media to drive public opinion of issues and to rally interested individuals to contact legislators in support of preferred policies. If you’re like me, you live a significant portion of your life, both work and play, online. Using the Internet is a daily occurrence.

Many of my friends traveled the state to attend last week’s election night celebrations, but I covered the event from my couch with the TV on, live Detroit radio streaming on my computer, making frequent checks of the Secretary of State and other websites covering returns. And, of course, my Twitter account was fully engaged.

Read the entire piece here .

Twitter to the Rescue of Congressman Joe Wilson

Last week during President Obama's speech to the nation regarding his health care insurance proposal, Congressman Joe Wilson (R - South Carolina ) blurted out during a quiet time "You lie!".  This action was heard clearly by other Members of Congress in the room and the entire viewing public.  A camera focused on Congressman Wilson at the time quickly published the video and it spread throughout news outlets and the web immediately.

Before the outburst, Congressman Wilson had basically no opponent for the 2010 election, but literally overnight an opponent reportedly raised $400,000 online.

Wilson subsequently hired a profesional PR person to take to Twitter in his defense.  David All, a consultant and former capitol hill staffer has taken to the airwaves with pro-Wilson tweets.

Follow Wilson on Twitter @CongJoeWilson
Follow All on Twitter @DavidAll

Following are several Tweets from @DavidAll in defense of Wilson from September 10 to September 13.  Follow them both to watch this play out.

RT @wesleydonehue: RT @mashable Joe Wilson’s Payments Provider Reports DDoS Attack http://bit.ly/1FZjV

Fox News: "Hackers imperil Wilson campaign web site" http://bit.ly/mTaIO #TechGOP

@taxplaya Just for the record, that BlackBerry @CongJoeWilson uses is his campaign BlackBerry and not official.

After Fox News Sunday, @CongJoeWilson drops a Tweet http://twitpic.com/hl4mc

RT @mattklewis: "I am not going to apologize again." - Rep. Joe Wilson on Fox News Sunday. #tcot

Tune in or TiVo: @CongJoeWilson live on Fox News with Chris Wallace at 9AM EST. Please RT

@mattklewis great job on Fox News today. Hope you have a swell Birthday tonight.

National Review Online: "[@CongJoeWilson] is telling the truth, and President Obama is not." http://bit.ly/Oolb3

Hey @jaketapper CBS disagrees with your take: "Does Joe Wilson Have A Case On Health Care, Illegal Aliens?" http://bit.ly/FVsIR

Politico: @CongJoeWilson "I will not be muzzled" http://bit.ly/oW7pz #tcot

Hey @JakeTapper "Obamacare won't cover illegal immigrants? Yes it will, says Congressional Research Service" http://bit.ly/zIWEQ

RT @CongJoeWilson: Over 8,500 Americans are standing with me against the liberal attacks. Join them at http://bit.ly/3Euh28

@jaketapper I'll ask Congressman Wilson for a response. DM me your email address to send response.

AUDIO: @CongJoeWilson Speaks Softly with @RedCounty http://bit.ly/Br7de


I'm a fan of both Andrew Breitbart and Mike Flynn so yeah, I'm digging http://biggovernment.com #TechGOP

Stand with Congressman Joe Wilson - donate today at http://slatecard.com/

[fixed link] Support Congressman Joe Wilson with a donation http://bit.ly/37F838 (plz RT and take action

Get more analysis at Mashable.

What is This Follow Friday Thing?

Twitter users love to be recommended by others as worthy of a "follow."  Every Friday, thousands of people on Twitter highlight friends and favorites in the Twitterverse to other to follow.  It's like a stamp of quality - a reference from others.

Use the culture of Follow Friday to recommend key public officials and allies that should know more about your issue or following you for future public policy actions.  The public officials will appreciate your vote of confidence and will be more likely to follow you back. 

Use the hashtag #FollowFriday or #FF to let others know why you're listing groups of names.  Be sure to put the "@" symbol before each friends name so others can click straight through to add their name as a follower to your suggested friend.

Hashtags for Public Policy Advocacy on Twitter

Twitter has emerged as an important communications tool for public policy.  Many of the most popular members of Twitter are either public officials or news commentators who focus on politics.  One of the most important organizational tools on Twitter is the so-called "hashtag." 

The hashtag received its name due to the use of the hash symbol "#" (otherwise known as the pound sign or the number sign) immediately prior to a short word or acronym that categorizes certain topic areas. 

If you are creating a lobbying campaign online and are using Twitter as part of your strategy, be sure to create a short word or acronym by which you and your supporters all tag their tweets.

For a great example of a political movement on Twitter, search for #TCOT (which stands for Top Conservatives on Twitter),

Many events create hashtags so attendees can communicate with each other during the event and those not in attendance can easily find information from the event. 

Search by keywords like "politics", "government", "Congress", and other related terms to find the politically inclined opinion leaders on Twitter and then follow them.  Hopefully they will follow you back and learn about your public policy campaign via Twitter.

What's your hashtag?

Find Your Government on Twitter

Many folks like to encourage and track public policy officials online. One to check out is GovTwit -- the Government Twitter Directory.

According to their blog/website:

GovTwit is the world’s largest directory of all facets of government on Twitter: state and local, federal, contractors, media, academics, non-profits and government outside of the U.S. You’ll find official government Twitter IDs as well as individuals from different agencies in the directory, and I’m confident you’ll also find folks tweeting great content about how to improve the “business of government.”

In addition to visiting the website, you can also join the Facebook fan page or follow GovTwit on Twitter, where directory updates will be tweeted as they are made.

GovTwit was originally launched in the fall of 2008 as a central repository of government contacts on Twitter and has been updated ever since.

Best Practice: Social Media can get you to Hawaii http://www.marriotthawaiitweets.com/

So, this isn't exactly connected to lobbying and the use of social media, but it's a great example of a creative use of Twitter and Facebook that might inspire your use for lobbying.

By giving away something very desirable (a free trip to Hawaii), Marriott is cleverly driving traffic to their website and highlighting their Twitter and Facebook presence.

Hey, I signed up! You can too and try out this fun approach to social media.

http://www.marriotthawaiitweets.com/

Facebook Status = Media Coverage: Real Life Example

I have many Facebook friends and Twitter followers that represent media outlets. Occasionally, my status updates end up as leads for stories in their publications. Below is a real-life example from just last week.

From the Facebook Status Feed of Sarah Hubbard, August 13, 2009 – initially posted at 10:00 a.m. (my friends names have been changed to protect the innocent!)

Sarah Hubbard is wondering if there will be an angry mob at MIS this weekend over the ticket tax?
6 hours ago · Comment

Debbie M. : ticket tax?
6 hours ago · Delete

Sarah Hubbard : Word on the street here in Lansing is that Gov is proposing adding sales tax to entertainment related tickets to raise revenue to help balance the budget.
5 hours ago · Delete

Kurt B. : if not, there should be.
5 hours ago · Delete

Jim M. : just stay away from the phones
5 hours
ago · Delete

Rebecca S. : If she really wanted to raise some funds, she's put a tax on the port-o-johns at MIS.
3 hours ago

One of my Facebook friends is a reporter for a Detroit business publication and was intrigued by my status update about the proposed tax on tickets and used Facebook to send me an instant message and asked if I'd like to discuss the topic in more detail for a story later that day. Of course I obliged and the result is below:

1:19 pm, August 13, 2009

Ticket tax, phase-out of MBT surcharge to be proposed by governor, report says
By Bill Shea, Crain's Detroit Business

The infamous “ticket tax” that Detroit's four professional sports teams jointly and successfully lobbied against in 2007, could rise from the dead.

A report today from Lansing-based Michigan Information & Research Service Inc., a subscription service that provides news on state government, said that Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to offer up a list of budget-balancing proposals that includes extending Michigan's six-percent sales tax to entertainment tickets.

For full story, go here.

My quotes:

Sarah Hubbard, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber, saw the MIRS report this morning: “This is all just sort of rumor and innuendo right now. I'm not surprised they would try to bring that (ticket tax) back. They see it as taxing people that can afford entertainment. We see it as increasing the price of entertainment.

If we're going to go down the road of service taxes, they need to be broad-based and not pick and choose companies. It takes us where we were in 2007.”

She also predicted interesting conversation in the business community on the fate of the film incentives, which some say are unfair and others credit for turning Michigan into the nation's hotspot for new movies.

“There's been lots of mixed reaction about the film credit,” she said. “The people taking advantage of it want to keep it and believe its building an industry here. Others don't think it's fair. I think you'll see a mixed debate on the future of that tax credit.”

So, if you're wondering what the ROI is for social media, just put a value on the traditional media exposure and add it up!

What to do when Twitter fails?

Today's massive outage of Twitter is prompting friends in the advocacy world to be creative with their time.

Norma Johnson, Vice President of Legislative Affairs at the Lubbock (TX) Chamber of Commerce developed this post today:

Twitter & Facebook Outage: Top Things for Chamber Gov Affairs Tweeps to Do (via the ACCE Policy Clearinghouse blog).

Get updates on the status of Twitter here.

Are you ready with an alternative online advocacy strategy if you're preferred outlet experiences a long-term outage? Social media communication is not just about one or two websites - it's a strategy that employs new types of communication to new stakeholders in meaningful ways.

Social Media for Public Policy Advocacy - Case Study

I spoke to the annual conference of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives about my experience with social media and advocacy. Get a copy of my case study free.

The paper outlines strategies and tactics employed by the Detroit Regional Chamber as it lobbied behind funding for the ailing Detroit automotive industry. As a result of the Chamber's efforts, over 25,000 emails from all over the U.S. were sent to Washington D.C. to amplify the message.

Be Lazy But Look Busy

Tools like TweetLater allow Twitter users to schedule tweets into the future and make them recur with a ever-changing array of subject lines.

Public policy advocates can use this tool to keep their call to action or message in front of followers at regular intervals and make sure they're being heard. It's important to vary the message so followers do not quickly tire of identical comments.

Be lazy but look busy! Automate your tweets.

Bypass the Mainstream Media

Good advocacy depends on quality earned media - free coverage by news outlets - that gives your message credibility.

What if they don't want to cover your message or you can't get it to them? Post your press release on your blog or website and link back from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and any other online medium you can dream up. Reporters often carouse these outlets for sources of news overlooked by news editors.

Additionally, social media sites allow you to beat the traditional media at their own game. Publish after they write their story but before the printed edition hits the street and get a jump on the news.

Websites continue to pop up that offer distribution services. Remember, you get what you pay for, but if you have nothing to pay they're probably worth a shot. Here's one that says "PRLog is a free online press release service. You can submit your press releases at no charge. All of our services are free."

U.S. Congress on Twitter

Is your Member of Congress on Twitter? This is a great new way to access and influence policy makers.

Many sites are beginning to catalogue lawmakers online... Here's a great one for Congress:

http://tweetcongress.org/

My 7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Media

Here's my list of 7 habits that make social media effective for advocacy:

1. Post often - The more you say, the more followers and friends you will gain. One caveat: Your comments must be related to your key topic and not constant trival stuff no-one cares about.

2. Short statements - If you can't say it in 140 characters or less, social media tools aren't right for you.

3. Have an opinion - Be interesting, be provocative and say something that matters. Statements of fact are a good start, but facts coupled with opinion move people to act.

4. Keep it clean - Shouldn't have to mention this, but refrain from swearing, drinking and general debauchery online if you want to be taken seriously.

5. Create a personality - If you don't already have a great personality that can shine through online, create one! Be interesting. Be consistent.

6. Link often - Followers want to trust your judgement and instinct to narrow the whole world of information to what is most important. Link to other credible opinion leaders to amplify your message.

7. Have fun -- Social media can be fun. Activate the masses with interesting fun approaches and techniques. Injection of humor always makes public policy and politics easier to relate to.

Social Media and Chambers of Commerce

I just returned from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) annual summer convention in Raleigh, North Carolina. While there, I spoke to hundreds of chamber of commerce executives from across the country about the use of social media for advocacy.

My basic message: Don't Over-think It!

Chamber's should jump in there and give it a try to better understand the technology. Of course a strategy is needed, but the strategy can't truly be formulated until you understant the technology.

In 2007, our high water mark for e-mails sent to public officials around a single issue was about 3,000. With the addition of social media tools, that number sky-rocketed last fall to 26,000.

This stuff works and can help you effectively communicate your message to public policy officials.