Check out this funny and clever video from the NRCC's online team.
Short, sweet and to the point.
While it's only been viewed 304 times to date, I think this video is a prime example of the kind of outside-of-the-box thinking this party needs when it comes to online video.
I encourage all political campaigns to create videos like this. You never know just what will stick and go viral.
Olympia Snowe's Health Plan Vote Sparks Outrage on Twitter
One of today’s big political stories is Senator Olympia Snowe going against her party and casting the lone Republican vote that enabled the Senate Finance Committee to pass a $829 billion health care bill.
The news sparked an instantaneous reaction on the social web, where tweets about the bill and Snowe dominated Twitter’s trending topics earlier this afternoon. On one end, people were happy that the bill is starting to make progress, on the other, Republicans were furious that Snowe deserted her party.
Putting Congress in Your Pocket
Want to find a congressional office phone number or a Hill aide's e-mail address? Review a bill or peek at a member's Twitter feed? There's an app for that. Several, actually. One of the most popular appears to be "Congress in Your Pocket," which ranges from 99 cents to $99.99 depending on the version, National Journal magazine reports. The software, which has more than 20,000 iPhone and BlackBerry users, will soon feature note-taking and sharing capabilities, as well as Cook Political Report rankings, according to its creators at the Cohen Research Group. Fox News Channel has also hinted at a partnership for the 2010 midterm elections. "It's quick, easy, and essential," says Morgan Reed, a lobbyist for the high-tech sector. He says he loves the app for what it's not: "another spiral-bound facebook to be lost, stolen, or obsoleted every time a member or staff person leaves."
and @mattklewis reports:
TPM has a feed up for liberals who want to monitor conservatives on Twitter. Actually, a pretty smart idea ..
Are you on the list?
Apple Rejects iSinglePayer iPhone App For Being 'Politically Charged'
Apple might be talking a big game about how it's revising the App Store approval process with an oversight board and trotting out Phil Schiller to do damage control at opportune moments, but the process itself is still generating inconsistent and maddening results -- like today's rejection of an app advocating for healthcare reform called iSinglePayer, which was rejected for being "politically charged." Yeah, that's insane, especially since the app just consists of healthcare spending information and a GPS-driven lookup tool for local Congress members and how much money they've received in health-sector donations. Say what you want about the political motivations of the app, but that's a fairly benign set of functions, and it's one that's been echoed by political apps on both sides of the aisle since the launch of the App Store. So why this rejection, and why now, when apps with names like "Conservative Talking Points" have been approved?
A Start-Up's Tale, Tweet by Tweet
When Sean Callahan sent a "tweet" on March 19 announcing plans to launch TweetPhoto Inc., a photo-sharing service for Twitter, he didn't have a company to speak of—just a bare-bones Web page and a plan to best TwitPic Inc., a well-established rival.
The Journal ReportMr. Callahan worried that the longer he waited, the harder it would be to unseat TwitPic. So while he was wrapping up a business degree in London, Mr. Callahan plunged into designing his photo-sharing platform. He also started using Twitter, a micro-blogging site that enables users to tell the world what they are doing via short messages known as tweets, to connect with potential customers—and erect the company itself.
Study: 80% of Twitter Users are All About Me
Rutgers University Professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase set out to analyze the content and characteristics of social media activity. They dubbed communications systems like Facebook and Twitter, “social awareness streams,” and then took to examining user behavior.
After dissecting over 3,000 tweets from more than 350 Twitter users’ status updates the professors concluded that 80% of users are “meformers,” or “Me Now” status updaters.
Winning Online in 2010: Tools, Time and Resources
Online politics may look new, but most of what a campaign does over the internet is really just a reincarnation of some classic political act. For instance, think of a website as the electronic version of a storefront office, while the process of working with bloggers is a lot like old-school print or broadcast media relations.
But compared with traditional political tools, the internet truly excels at maintaining relationships with many people at once. Channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and in particular email connect campaigns directly with their donors and volunteers, providing a means to distribute news, messaging points, event invitations and appeals for time and money. With planning and effort, the connection can go both ways, letting a campaign actively tap the social connections and even the creativity of its supporters.
