From Moldova to Motrin Moms, Twitter has become the arena of coordinated, widespread revolution several times over the last year. Still, when we look back on how the microblogging platform has evolved into a low-barrier tool for grassroots organizing, these will only be footnotes to the events of the last few days in Tehran. As protestors took to the streets of Iran to voice their discontent with the 2009 presidential election results, people from around the world were attentively watching updates from the ground on Twitter, long before hearing reports from any major news outlets.
The collection of status updates on Twitter provided the world an inside look on the dire situation within Iran from firsthand accounts, each message deeply personal and compelling to a worldwide audience. But when the masses turned to their favorite cable news network for more information, they were met with Mike Huckabee talking about credit cards or other irrelevant programming. With no recognizable coverage in mainstream media as events unfolded, it led users to cry foul on the news networks, demanding more information than 140 characters could deliver.
Among the many Twitter-fueled stories from the event, the one that impacts media coverage the most may be how this backchannel removed the mainstream filter to display an amalgamated concept of the news. It gave the masses – first inside Tehran and then across the world – a crude and easy way to drive the issues that concerned them to the top of the marketplace of ideas.
The crowd felt a sense of entitlement for news they wanted covered, and it left the media world playing defense to users who had turned the trending topics sidebar on Twitter’s home page into their own headlines; a user-generated “above the fold” that reflected the group’s dissatisfaction through leads like #CNNFail. Twitter became the instant ombudsman for the media establishment, holding media accountable for what they were – or were not – broadcasting.
The members of the news desk, as well as PR professionals with a vested interest in its agenda, must face the fact that the pulse is beating within a crowd that has tools at their fingertips to easily express their thirst for a certain story. Whether a global issue like the Iranian elections or a local story, communicators must now adapt to provide insights that will smooth the edges and shine the news called for by the crowd.
David Almacy (@almacy) is an SVP and Dave Levy (@levydr) is an AE, both with the digital public affairs team at Edelman in Washington, DC. This post is also available on Dave Levy’s blog Most Likely to Die Alone. Original Source: PRWeek (subscription required)
10:57 PM Rep. Mark Udall (D) has defeated former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R) in the Colorado Senate race, AP reports.
11:00 PM Barack Obama has won Florida, AP reports.
11:00 PM Twitter via @almacy: @FoxNews is now officially projecting Sen. Obama as the next President of the U.S.
11:01 PM Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States of America, AP reports. CNN also projects that Sen. Barack Obama has won election as the next president of the United States.
11:04 PM Twitter via @almacy: Obama is leaving Hyatt around 11:35 PM and is expected to speak at 12 AM. McCain to speak shortly.
11:06 PM Twitter via @almacy: Campaign official says that McCain called Obama to concede.
11:09 PM Beverly Perdue (D) has defeated Pat McCrory (R) and will become North Carolina’s first female governor, AP reports.
11:13 PM Twitter via @almacy: How ironic that this my 1600th tweet on the night that we elect a new US President – as in Pennsylvania Ave. Congrats, Sen. Obama.
11:18 PM Twitter via @almacy: Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin taking the stage.
11:22 PM Twitter via @almacy: Sen. McCain officially concedes, congratulates Sen. Obama on winning an historic election.
11:24 PM Politico: John McCain concedes, says “this is an historic election… I pledge to [Obama] tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.” CNN: John McCain congratulates Barack Obama on his “historic” election as president of “the greatest nation on Earth.”
11:32 PM Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) has defeated John Kennedy (R) in the Louisiana Senate race, AP reports.
11:33 PM Sen. Roger Wicker (R) has defeated former governor Ronnie Musgrove (D) in the Mississippi Senate race, AP reports.
11:47 AM Twitter via @almacy: Top Twitter themes: President OBAMA, President-Elect, United States, Congratulations http://election.twitter.com/
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
12:00 AM President-elect Barack Obama expected to speak in Chicago.
12:01 AM Twitter via @almacy: Obama takes the stage in Chicago. Quite an impressive scene.
12:02 AM Barack Obama declares victory, says, “If there is anyone out there who still… questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
12:08 AM Twitter via @almacy: Just flipped through channels, Obama speech being aired on 21 of them. M*A*S*H, Frazier & Tyra fans rest assured, programming uninterrupted.
12:13 AM Barack Obama, in victory speech, tells supporters that his election as president shows that “change has come to America.”
12:16 AM Kathy Dahlkemper (D) has defeated Phil English (R) in Pennsylvania’s Third District, AP reports.
12:26 AM Twitter via @almacy: @FoxNews Shepard Smith, “If you’re conservative and angry, get over yourself. We gotta move past this.” FOX 5 newsroom erupts w/ laughter.
12:32 AM “Good job, people!” overheard in FOX 5 Newsroom, received by thunderous applause. That’s a wrap!
Here we are on the night before Campaign 2008 officially comes to a close. I have listened to the pundits, read the blogs, checked in with Twitter and reviewed all the polls. It indeed seems that all signs point to an Obama victory.
Or do they? There are some less traditional ways to predict Presidential elections, as well. Let’s take a look at a couple, as well as some ideas for what to do after you vote.
Unofficial Virginia Yard Sign Poll Speaking of signs, I was driving in to work after dropping off my daughter at school last week and noticed that there were quite a few yard signs in my Alexandria, Virginia neighborhood. So, just for kicks, I decided to actually count them today.
Some yards had more than one sign. Others had signs that were torn (likely vandalized) and patched up with tape. Still others were missing. A wire frame was all that was left of a McCain-Palin sign that I saw in a neighbor’s frontyard on Halloween. According to him, that was the second sign he had placed there because the first had been stolen last week.
Whatever the case, the final tally according to my count was Obama-Biden 21, McCain-Palin 20. Margin of error is +/- 3 since my 5 year-old assisted with the counting and we may have missed some.
Washington Redskins at Home Gotta love Monday Night Football, especially on Election Eve. There was much discussion about how the outcome of tonight’s game might compare with tomorrow’s election results. CBS News reported it this way:
If the Washington Redskins win their last home game before election, it means the incumbent party will get to stay in the White House. Since 1936, except for 2004, the outcome of that game has correctly predicted the winner of the race.
Well, as you can see from the graphic above, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Skins soundly by a score of 23 to 6. More good news for Senator Obama – and my Fantasy Football team which improved to 5-4 thanks to a decent performance from Washington’s defense.
Scholastic Presidential Election Poll
In mid-October, 250,000 students from grades 1-12 voted in a nationwide mock election both via paper ballots and online. Senator Obama defeated Senator McCain 57 percent to 39 percent. Yeah, but what are the odds that they are right? From the article:
Since 1940, the results of the student vote have mirrored the outcome of the general election all but twice: In 1948, kids voted for Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman. In 1960, more students voted for Richard M. Nixon than for John F. Kennedy. In 2000, a majority of student voters chose George W. Bush, mirroring the Electoral College result, but not the result of the popular vote.
7-Election 7-11 convenience stores used their coffee sales this year to help gauge the pulse (most likely rapid given the caffeine rush) of the American voter.
Customers chose different color coffee cups, RED for McCain, BLUE for Obama. The national result is currently sitting at 60% for Obama and 40% for McCain. Similarly, 61% in my swing state of Virginia chose Obama and McCain received 39% of the beans.
Free Coffee and Donuts After You Vote
Growing up, I was never much of a coffee drinker, except for the occasional all nighters studying for college mid-terms and finals. Then, a few years later, along came Starbucks and I was hooked. This year, those who vote get a free cup of Starbucks coffee on November 4th. Their ad originally aired during this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live and if 262,000 views are any indication, there will be long lines at the voting booth and your local coffee shop.
Next, head over to Krispy Kreme with your “I Voted” sticker for Hot Vote Now and get a free star shaped donut with “patriotic” sprinkles. However, if you live in California, you might be out of luck.
The “Potomac Primaries” for Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia are in full swing today as voters head to the polls to select their favorite candidate in the 2008 race for the White House. This morning, I took my four year-old daughter to our local polling location, an elementary school in Virginia.
I expected there to be long lines of anxious commuters angrily elbowing their way to the voting booths but, thankfully, I saw none of that and was simply amazed at the ease of the process.
There were about ten people in line ahead of us, but it moved very quickly. When we got to the front, I presented my driver’s license ID, they checked me off the list, asked me to choose a Republican or Democrat card (Virginia voters participate in an “open primary“) and we were off to vote. I lifted my daughter up onto a chair, pointed to my candidate of choice and she touched the screen to cast and record my vote. That was it!
I was literally in and out of there in less than five minutes which is a credit to both the volunteer poll workers and the technology of electronic voting. I know that some still have concerns about this form of digital democracy, but I haven’t heard one story about potential fraud or voting machine failure so far this year.
So, if you haven’t voted yet, get to the polls before they close (7 PM in VA, 8 PM in DC and MD). It’s so easy, a caveman preschooler can do it!
Events
Emergency Social Data Summit
American Red Cross
Washington, DC
August 12, 2010
VIDEO: Watch via C-SPAN
On Election night, I appeared on FOX 5 News (WTTG) TV and 
Speaking of signs, I was driving in to work after dropping off my daughter at school last week and noticed that there were quite a few yard signs in my Alexandria, Virginia neighborhood. So, just for kicks, I decided to actually count them today. 
Gotta love Monday Night Football, especially on Election Eve. There was much discussion about how the outcome of tonight’s game might compare with tomorrow’s election results. 
