Saturday's first TechRepublican Google Digital Bootcamp at #CPAC10 is a signal that right-of-center activists are charging ahead online.

We were able to compile this feature video for those who didn't make it. Apologies to Erick Erickson, our keynote speaker, who is not included in this video, but we were able to capture tons of great pictures of his motivating speech below.

TechRepublican is particularly honored that Google joined forces with our team to help power this event that hosted well over 100 #CPAC10 attendees. Without Google, this event would not have been possible. At the event, Peter Greenberger at Google, offered a very detailed presentation and an insider's look at the importance of investing in an online presence in the 2010 cycle and beyond.

Peter noted that the 2009 McDonnell campaign in Virginia "shattered the norm" by investing 7.5% of its advertising budget, online -- a feat only topped by Scott Brown's team in Massachusetts who spent a whopping 10% on online ads.

Google's Greenberger charged charged every campaign and organization to commit to spending 10 in 2010. He says smart campaigns will understand that the Internet is where most people can be reached, and where you can reach them in a more targeted and direct way.

Our event didn't stop there.

Over the course of two hours, a standing room only crowd heard from 8 experts on everything from social media integration, online advertising, and raising the bar when it comes to best practices on the Internet. Speakers included: Rory Cooper (Heritage Foundation), Todd Herman (RNC), Peter Greenberger (Google), Saul Anuzis (Coast to Coast Strategies), David All (David All Group), Jeff Vreeland (VM Technologies), and Wesley Donehue (JUMP! New Media).

Rory Cooper of the Heritage Foundation emphasized the importance of 360 degree social media integration and the importance of incorporating online strategy into everything that an organization or campaign does.

"In everything we do, we think of the online component."

He also noted the importance of rapid response during a time when information is available immediately to voters online, on Google.

Rory, with the help of the David All Group, was able to integrate social media tools by incorporating Act.iv.ist into its latest site, NoEnergyTax.com. With the help of Act.iv.ist, thousands of supporters were able to share the liberty and pro-freedom message with their friends and peers, and get rewarded for their efforts. Currently, the Heritage Foundation engages over 124,000 Facebook fans - an unprecendented achievement due largely to their smart online involvement.

Jeff Vreeland of VM Technologies and Wesley Donehue also shared two new technologies with the group.  Vreeland launched a new tool called Roots of Liberty at CPAC, a social mobilization tool for conservative activists. Donehue talked about his phone from home tool, Voter Fetch, which allows non-traditional volunteers to contribute to a campaign from their very own homes, on the go.  Wesley emphasized that, "the Internet is not a strategy, it's a tool and a tactic."

Todd Herman, of the RNC, turned the focus on YOU by stating:

"We are in a state of message co-creation. Thanks to YOU and the user, we are much better off [as a party]"

And here's a closing thought from David All...

"The primary goal is to make a difference for the issues or the cause that you care about."

The Internet empowers people to make that difference and techRepublican is happy to have shared that message with over 100 activists at #CPAC10.

To wrap up the event, Erick Erickson, founder of RedState.com, gave a keynote speech on the state of the conservative movement online and where he thinks we're headed.

Thanks again to Google and to everyone who helped make our first event a success. We look forward to hosting more of these discussions in the future.

See you at #CPAC11.

Blogging, Tweeting and other Funny Words that Grow the Movement

PAC held two Internet specific panel discussions today, “Saving Freedom Through Technology” and “Blogging, Tweeting and Other Funny Words That Grow The Movement.”  The later included Megan Barth of redcounty.com, David All of David All Group, Matthias Shapiro of politicalmathblog.com, and Michelle Oddis of Human Events.

Oddis discussed the difficult process of transitioning from traditional media to new media.  She offered two tips for companies trying to make the change.  The first step is accepting that these tools are vital to future success.  Traditional media is on the decline and companies that don’t adapt will go out of business.  Second, hire workers who understand new media and the enormous opportunities it affords.   If you try to fake it, you will fail.

David All offered the acronym REAL to remember when dealing with direct media (that’s what he is calling new/social media).  R stands for reach.  Direct media allows you to reach huge audiences.  E stands for Engage.  Once you have reached these people you must engage through data visualization.  A stands for activate.  Your message must have a clear call for action and those tasks must be simple and meaningful or they will never get done.  L stands for listen.  You must listen to your followers if you want to sustain and grow your following.

Social Media Now More Popular on Mobile than Desktop

A recent study from Ruder Finn revealed that Americans are spending nearly three hours per day on their mobile phones. And what are they doing there? Educating themselves, conducting business, managing finances, instant messaging, emailing? All of the above, as it turns out, and then some. But perhaps the most interesting finding from the new data is the fact that more people are using the mobile web to socialize (91%) compared to the 79% of desktop users who do the same. It appears that the mobile phone is actually a better platform for social networking than the PC.

Social Media Integration Big Theme for 2010

Social media integration is becoming a big buzzword this year.  As social media marketing matures and starts playing a bigger role within marketing campaigns, businesses are beginning to see that social media can be integrated into many channels.

Here are two current studies that show how the integration of social media marketing is changing the way marketers connect and engage with their audiences—online and offline. 

7 Reasons Not to Put all your Eggs in the Twitter Basket

Are you too Twitter-obsessed in your social media approach?

Twitter’s role as a Magic 8 Ball for our shared culture is unrivaled, and it has almost single-handedly ushered in the era of real-time search and social customer relationship management.

I'm excited to announce that TechRepublican and the David All Group are hosting the 1st annual TechRepublican Digital Bootcamp at CPAC -

Saturday, February 20th from 10am - 12noon in the Wilson Room at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. The event is free to registered CPAC attendees -

The Bootcamp will consist of two tactical panels, discussion sessions, and a keynote speech from Red State founder, Erick Erickson.

I've gathered together what we think are the best of the best when it comes to 2009 online campaigns and several of our very own TechRepublican contributors.

Here's a look at the program and we hope to see you there.

The Right's Digital Grassroots: Best Practices.

• Rory Cooper, Heritage Foundation
• Todd Herman, Republican National Committee
• David All, David All Group

Grassroots Technology Spotlight: The year's most innovative political technologies.

• Ethan Eilon, David All Group - Act.iv.ist
• Jeff Vreeland, Techrepublican Contributor - Roots of Liberty
• Wesley Donehue, Techrepublican Contributor - Voter Fetch

Keynote: How grassroots activists can uproot the establishment and rise up online candidates and causes.

• Erick Erickson, Red State Founder 

Stay tuned for updates.

Fun Fact of the Day:

Did you know, 20 of the top 21 most viewed @BarackObama YouTube videos were not TV ads? (Via @PatrickRuffini)

HOW TO: Manage Successful Social Media Promotions

With holiday shopping in full swing, social shopping is already making a big impact. Data from Hitwise shows that downstream traffic to the Retail 500 coming from both Facebook (Facebook) and Twitter (Twitter) increased 36% and 15% respectively on Thanksgiving from the previous day. Downstream traffic to retailers grew again on Black Friday and Cyber Monday as many retailers promoted sales through fan pages and tweets.

This data is very encouraging for marketers, but a social media campaign must still be managed correctly for maximum ROI. Here are some tips on how brands can best engage their customers by offering what everyone now looks to social media for – a bargain.

Are you in the know?

The *first ever* FREE daily email of must-see Tweets from Capitol Hill is about to go out to those who signed up at TweetWatchReport.com (Via @DavidAll)

In Case You Missed It -

In case you missed it, Jordan Raynor followed up with TechRepublican's own David All to discuss Joe Wilson's impressive online fundraising game after writing this post:

How to Turn "You Lie" into $2 Million Online

Immediately following Congressman Joe Wilson's now famous "You lie" moment, Wilson turned to David All, President of the David All Group, to defend himself from attacks from the left online.  What transpired was a campaign which utilized YouTube video responses, Twitter and online advertising to raise more than $2 million online in less than 2 weeks.  On Tuesday, December 8 at 11:00 a.m. I will conduct a live twinterview with @DavidAll to ask just how his team pulled off this massive rapid-response campaign.  Find out what your campaign needs to implement online today to be prepared for your own 'You lie' moment.

You can catch the full-length Twinterview here.

Can a Professional Twitterer Save Rep. Joe Wilson's Rep?

Earlier this week we mentioned the impact Representative Joe Wilson’s outburst had on the Twitter zeitgeist following President Obama’s health care speech; 13% of all the related tweets mentioned the South Carolina Congressman’s “You Lie!” accusation during the address.

It appears that Wilson’s chosen defense strategy involves heavy usage of social media, including the reported hiring of a professional Twitterer. Along with reformed burglar, professional Twitterer is probably one of the more coveted jobs out there.

Forget Gen Y: Gen X is Making Real Change

Sometimes even the best researchers forget that the answer you get depends entirely on who you ask. A new Forrester survey of 2,000 information workers has revealed that despite the hype, it's not Gen Y that's getting business to adopt collaborative technology. Gen X, those who are 30-43, are the ones leading the charge for social computing.

Forrester's analysis is that despite their different view of technology, Gen Y, Millennials, or whatever you want to call those 29 and under, don't yet have the clout within organizations to make real change. The same Gen X employees who are the fastest growing demographic in Facebook are the ones getting management to accept new technology as more than a fad.

Why You Build Ahead of Time:  Wilson's Outburts Turns ActBlue Tap on for Miller

Rob Miller is a man who can spot a moment he sees one, it seems. South Carolina Democrat Miller -- also a man lucky enough to be set up as the main challenger to the guy who happened to shout "You lie!" at Barack Obama during Wednesday health address to the assembled House and Senate, has redirected his official campaign site -- RobMillerforCongress.com, so that it now jumps directly to the fundraising hub ActBlue.

David All, founder of TechRepublican is speaking to a packed room at the RightOnline Conference.

His expertise? The art of engaging users on Social Neworking sites and facilitating online conversations. According to David:

The notion of surfing the web isn't accurate. People spend their time in unique online watering holes.

"Watering Holes" like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, etc...

Why Care? -- The sum of all Facebook users is larger than the entire population of Indonesia. In fact, Facebook is the 4th largest "country" in the world.

In fact, tools like Twitter are having amazing impact on the unfolding of global history.

-"Twitter is a player in Iran's Drama" - http://twitpic.com/7hzlk

-The first picture of the Hudson plane crash was broke via a twitpic

In politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter is a phenomenon. Over 5,000 people use the #tcot hashtag. And all of those people have friends who follow what they have to say.

Liberals have nothing like it.

Another example of conservative success is the conversation taking place on Twitter about government run healthcare.

The #handsoff hashtag has become what David likes to call a "Twitter Bomb" that sends a hard hitting message to @WhiteHouse.

Now more than ever, people are passively paying attention to things and
are in tune with what their friends are saying - otherwise known as "Ambient Awareness"- largely due to sites like Twitter.

It's important to  be a part of that conversation. And to LISTEN and RESPOND to what people have to say.

The power of Twitter in the ability to communicate with people you know.

Our own David All was just named a Rising Star by Campaigns & Elections' Politics.

Congratulations are in order! And perhaps a bowl of porridge?

When David All started working in the office of Rep. Jack Kingston at age 24, he hadn't even made his first YouTube video yet. Now he is leading the Grand Old Party into the new Internet era. "I started realizing in late 2005, there were all these bloggers out there that absolutely no one was talking to," All says. He started engaging the online community and helped earn Kingston the moniker "King of the Blogosphere." All spearheaded a workshop for other staffers, and blogs started popping up all over the Hill. "It was like explaining water to people who had only lived in the desert," Kingston says. In early 2007, All founded Slatecard PAC, the GOP's answer to ActBlue, the Democrats' online fundraising vehicle. In less than a year, Slatecard has raised more than $350,000 for Republicans.

Robert Bluey, Patrick Ruffini and Mike Bober are among 25 others have also won the prestigious honor. Congrats to all.

Today's National Journal has a series of articles out that examines "New Washington," David's profiled in the series along with Justin Hamilton.

At first glance, David All and Justin Hamilton are an unlikely duo. During a recent interview, All sported jeans and a camel blazer atop a blue button-down shirt. The GOP communications strategist looks like an older, more laid-back version of Alex P. Keaton, the poster child for Young Republicans portrayed by Michael J. Fox on the 1980s sitcom Family Ties. All even hails from Columbus, Ohio, Keaton's fictional hometown.

...

In fact, it was on Capitol Hill where the two really got religion about using technology to talk with constituents rather than at them -- at the same time raising the profiles of their bosses and respective political parties. All, 28, credits Kingston for giving him a big backyard to run around in. "Jack was willing to be the guinea pig, so that we could learn, make mistakes, and teach other people," he says. All live-blogged from the Rayburn Building in 2006 during a lockdown that was prompted by a report of gunfire (it turned out to be false). ABC News and CNN used Kingston's blog as a source during their reporting. Hamilton, whose background is in foreign policy, says he watched what All and others were doing and decided to jump into the tech pool. "I immersed myself in microtargeting, psychographic data, and data mining." Says All, "I think the politics and technology circle is very, very tiny. At the end of the day, we all want to teach each other how to do this stuff, because it's good." Hamilton agrees. "It's about making it easier for the public to interact with the policy-making process."

It's a great profile on both David and Justin. But I'm left wondering if David really reminds us of Alex P. Keaton.

Thoughts?

Have what it takes to be a contributor to TechRepublican? Email meghannolshefski AT gmail.com if you're interested.

David All is the founder of TechRepublican, a group blog focusing on the intersection of Republican politics + technology. He is the president of the David All Group and the co-founder of Slatecard. He lives is Washington, DC and has a French Bulldog named Jackson.

Meghann Olshefski is the Site Editor for TechRepublican and Director of the Leadership Institute’s Employment Placement Service. As a Director at the Institute, she works to connect talented conservatives with work in conservative public policy using online communication tools and the Leadership Institute's broad conservative network. In November 2007, Meghann worked to revamp the Leadership Institute's Internet Activist Schools, by recruiting top speakers to train hundreds of conservative activists across the country to get ahead online.

Phillip Copley is the Assistant Director of Information Technology for Pennsylvania Legislative Services, where he is in charge of new product development. In his spare time, Phil is a freelance web designer, Mac addict, and Twitter evangelist. In his previous life, he worked as a Victory Director for the Pennsylvania GOP during the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign. Phil can be seen blogging at PCDC or tweeting at @pcopley.  

Ethan Demme is a speaker, blogger and modern media coach. He is a homeschool graduate and the marketing director for Math-U-See. 

Wesley Donehue is an over-caffeinated South Carolina based political operative. He owns two Republican web firms - Under The Power Lines and JUMP! New Media. He heads up political strategy for the SC Senate Republican Caucus and web activity for Senator Jim DeMint, Congressman Joe Wilson, and the SC Republican Party. Catch up with Wesley atwww.wesleydonehue.com or on twitter. 

Vincent Harris Vincent Harris is founder of Harris Media, LLC, an online communications shop specializing in e-politics. He is a frequent guest speaker on a variety of New Media issues and recently served as New Media Director on the Bob McDonnell's successful Virginia gubernatorial campaign. Previously, Vincent worked on the Presidential campaign of Governor Mike Huckabee, and spent two years working for Texas Senator John Cornyn, both in Texas and at the NRSC. In his spare time, he enjoys learning how to blend into his adopted state (which involves a lot of “y’alls”, hunting, barbecue, and Pat Green). 

Jordan Raynor is an opinion leader, blogger and strategist at the intersection of politics, media and technology.  Jordan most recently served as the Executive Editor of Sayfie Media, an online news aggregation service, and an Associate of NetPower Strategy, a Republican online strategy firm. During his tenure at Sayfie Media, Jordan executed cutting edge strategies to increase traffic to SayfieReview.com by more than 25%. His work earned SayfieReview.com the title of Best Florida Political Blog by the Washington Post as well as ITFlorida’s first-ever Excellence in Web 2.0 Award. As an Associate of NetPower Strategy, Jordan planned and executed strategic online campaign plans for Republicans on the state and congressional level as well as a Fortune 500 company.

In 2009, Jordan’s widely renowned piece on "online footprints" led him to launchWhatsMyOnlineFootprint.com. A respected opinion leader on the internet’s impact on politics and media, Jordan also regularly serves as a university guest lecturer.

You can follow Jordan on Twitter @JordanRaynor or find him at his blog, JordanRaynor.com. 

Jeff Vreeland is the President of VM Technologies, a web development and new media consulting company.  He is a father, husband, speaker, and small business owner. He blogs at SocialJeff and tweets at @JVreeland.