Archive for the 'Political advocacy' Category
I read a really interesting idea in an article on digital diplomacy in The New York Times magazine section one week ago. The article was about Jared Cohen and Alec Ross, two State department employees who are taking digital to new horizons. The former is the youngest member of the State Department’s policy planning staff and the latter is the first senior adivser for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Twitter is a mainstay of their assault on diplomacy red tape and I was surprised by the remarkable amount of freedom they have to change public affairs through social networking. Kudos to Hillary Clinton for letting their digital diplomacy flow. They are truly advocates for the next generation of politics.
The article mentioned their “techdels” which are technology delegations that they lead in various countries. As the article points out, they invite software engineers, entrepreneurs and tech CEOs to come together and think of innovative ways to support democracy and spread the word about freedom. One example they give is figuring out how to crowd source an end to human trafficking in Russia.
The article mentioned one idea that came up in a meeting with billionnaire Carlos Slim. The techdel was musing about how people in Mexico City all have cell phones and text all the time, no matter how poor they are. Someone suggested the idea of having a short text code to report a crime. The SMS would strip out all personal information but the reported crime would show up in a database that the police could monitor and the public could see mapped online. The idea is that these advocate crime reporters would be anonymous but crime around the world would be more transparent and possibly stoppable. As an advocacy idea, this is a good one. Thought it was worth mentioning here.
Tags: advocates online, Mexico City, state department, techdel
We just completed a survey on civility in America. The survey was conducted with Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate and KRC Research. We decided to dig deep into the tone and level of discourse in this country and surveyed 1,000 Americans online. I’d like to share with you some of the findings which point to an erosion in how people communicate with each other and with our public institutions. Since being informed is so fundamental to our democracy, our research might make people think twice before cancelling out other people’s opinions online and offline. You might also want to take a look at how Politico framed our research and underscored our point even further. As advocates for strong public discourse and hearing both sides of an issue, here are a few select findings: [For more information, please go to this link for the press release and here for the executive summary.]
- Two-out-of-three Americans consider a general lack of civility to be a major problem for the nation and 72 percent think that poor behavior has gotten worse in recent years.While the American people believe their friends, family and places of worship are bucking the trend toward incivility, a majority of the public sees uncivil behavior throughout society – especially in politics and high schools; on talk radio and our nation’s highways; in Hollywood and professional sports.
- Seventy-two percent of Americans view the political world and government as uncivil – the highest percentage recorded in the poll – and the absence of civility appears to be having an impact on participation and interest in the political process among broad swaths of the public.
- Nearly half the American people (49%) are tuning out government and politics, and almost two-thirds of those people (63%) cite the general tone and level of civility as a major factor in their decision. Forty-six percent of the people are tuning out opinion pieces and editorials in the media, and 45 percent cite incivility as a major factor. Thirty-eight percent are tuning out news coverage and reporting and half of them (50%) attribute their actions to the lack of civility.
- Each major political party gives the other low marks on civility. Seventy-one percent of Democrats view Republicans as uncivil, and 74 percent of Republicans view Democrats as uncivil. Political independents regard Congressional Republicans more uncivil than Congressional Democrats, although they rate both parties more uncivil than civil (58 and 50 percent, respectively).“Our research provides hard evidence that constituents and consumers alike are fed up with the polarization of our political system and the uncivil tone of our country as a whole,” said Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick. “As a result, Americans are tuning out and turning away from news, information and informed opinions that make up the very foundation of American democracy.”
Tags: advocates, civility, discourse, government, KRC Research, politics, Powell Tate, Weber Shandwick
Have you heard of the Giving Pledge? I had not heard of it and there is good reason–I am not wealthy. The Giving Pledge is a new organization whereby wealthy (uber-wealthy) Americans pledge to donate 50% or more of their fortune to philantrophy. Warren Buffet just signed his pledge to donate his wealth and others are being encouraged to join this noteworthy movement of advocates for philanthrocates (a new word I just made up). There will even be a “Great Givers” annual meeting where the wealthy will gather to discuss how to best make use of their wealth giving. A very worthwhile cause to aid the world solve some of the most intractable problems and help people in greater need. Thank goodness there are people with a head on their shoulders. Here is how it is explained on the website.
The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice either during their lifetime or after their death.
Each person who chooses to pledge will make this statement publicly, along with a letter explaining their decision to pledge. At an annual event, those who take the pledge will come together to share ideas and learn from each other.
The Pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations.
While the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from efforts in the past and at present that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds. We are inspired by the example set by millions of Americans who give generously (and often at great personal sacrifice) to make the world a better place.
Tags: philantrophy, the Giving Pledge, Warren Buffet
Interesting idea regarding what Advocates could accomplish. And the idea comes from Kenya. A well known Kenyan professional returned to her homeland and because of death threats, she went elsewhere. In her blog, she mentioned how great it would be if there was an online tool to let people anonymously report violence and bad behavior. Some tech savvy Advocates saw her post and built something from her idea for her….Ushahidi. The site today uses cell phone reports of violence, riots, rapes, death threats and plots them on a map. Ushahidi is Swahili for “testimony.” Ushahidi has taken off and was most recently used when the Haitian earthquake struck and people were using SMS to report on individuals unable to get out of damaged buildings.
In this New York Times article where I first found this information, the idea surfaced about using this type of reporting to gather information on where Osama bin Laden might be hiding. Wouldn’t that be amazing. Ushahidi could be the foundation for building a crisis map of the world manned by global volunteer advocates. “With every new application, Ushahidi is quietly transforming the notion of bearing witness in tragedy. “
Tags: advocates, crisis, Kenya, Ushahidi
Are we making too many generalizations about digital natives, those people born between 1980 and 2000, who we consider digital advocates as well. An article in The Economist reasons that there is as much variation among digital natives as among generations. Of course, not every one, has access to technology as we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking. But what caught my eye in the article was a reference to a Pew Research Center study that found that the younger 18-24 year olds that we assume are online activists are the least likely age cohort to e-mail a public official or donate money to a political cause online. That surprised me after living through the Obama presidential campaign where young people were out in force online pitching for the democratic nominee. Instead, these digital natives in this age group are more likely to share political news and join political causes on social media sites. “Rather than genuinely being more politically engaged, they may simply wish to broadcast their activism to their peers.” High intensity advocates, as we at Weber Shandwick call them, walk the talk and take action in support of their causes. These findings would suggest that 18-24 year olds are more likley to be passive advocates or are more inclined to spread word of mouth than engage outside their networks more proactively. Very revealing finding.
Tags: Advocacy, digital natives, Economist, high intensity advocates, Pew Research Center, Weber Shandwick
One of the more interesting facts about advocates is that they are likely to wear their cause on their sleeve….or should I say on their Tshirts, wrists or bodies somewhere. We asked this question in our research and although there were so many compelling learnings about what advocates do and say, the wearing of clothes to telegraph one’s advocacy is more compelling than ever as we watch the events in Iran unfold. Citzens of Iran wear green wristbands to show their support for opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. They wear green headbands and scarfs. Advocacy carries deeper meaning as we watch people in Iran rise up and protest their rights.
Tags: Advocacy, advocates, green, wristbands
The Obama stimulus plan is looking for advocates. An email was sent to hosts of stimulus plan parties seeking support and info on explaining the bill. New DNC chairman Tim Kaine is videoed urging support and instructions on how to achieve that: “Don’t forget to gather stories and questions from your guests — they will be featured on BarackObama.com to tell the story of the economic crisis, and our recovery.” Advocacy is all about telling stories and sharing them– much like Obama has done. Kaine also answers questions from ordinary people in his 13 minutes on video. I received a 4 minute video from President Obama this morning asking me to advocate the plan and explaining why he needs my support. [Where does he find the time? Does he sleep?]As soon as the plan is passed, www.recovery.gov goes live and we can see how our money is being spent and is meeting its objectives. Advocacy has never been so viral, so social and so immediate.
Tags: Advocacy, advocates, Kaine, Obama, Stimulus plan
Advocacy networks are alive and well as the new American President-Elect gets close to Inauguration day. I just visited www.FixThisBarack.com and www.WhiteHouse2.org. These are not Obama-sponsored sites but sites where crowd sourcing thrive. At WhiteHouse2.org, you can endorse or oppose a suggestion for change. Very similar to our thinking about advocating or badvocating for a cause, government policy or legislation. Enthusiasts, fans and other advocates can also visit www.change.gov which is an Obama-endorsed site and join a discussion on policy direction. Today when I visited the site, nearly 500 comments were in response to “What social causes and service organizations are you a part of that make a difference in your community?” It is extraordinary to witness participatory government and advocacy at its best. Two people discussed a group called Invisible Children that provides aid for children in Africa who are taken by soldiers and living in this war-torn area. One explained the mission and another described the Facebook page on the charity. It was heartwrenching when I visited the site but a good example of how advocacy can spread from visit to visit.
It will be interesting to see how the political sites progress as Obama’s first 100 days (in office) ends and politics-as-usual heats up. Will people still believe that someone is listening?
