This morning, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Holmes Report’s ThinkTank Live event here in Washington, DC where I discussed the evolving media landscape and the role of social media in shaping politics and public policy. In preparation, I got to thinking about how social media was impacting the election process this early in the race. Between the Romney-Perry video battles and the buzz around Herman Cain’s “smoking” ad featuring his chief of staff Mark Block, it was a perfect week to perform a little deeper analysis.

So, I decided to take a look at how some of the top presidential contenders were using various social media platforms. Specifically, I set out to aggregate data to include the number Facebook likes, Twitter followers, YouTube views, Foursquare fans, Flickr photos, LinkedIn friends and Google+ circles. Of course, when measuring ultimate campaign success, it’s not just about numbers but I do think that they can be an indication as to whether a candidate is building support or if specific messages are resonating (i.e. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan).

While researching, I looked for the official 2012 campaign accounts even though there might be other user accounts related to the same candidate. For example, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN-6th) has an official Twitter account (@MicheleBachmann) with over 108k followers that her Congressional office maintains which is different than the account (@TeamBachmann) that her presidential campaign uses.

Sometimes it was easy to differentiate between several accounts because most of the official campaign websites provide links and/or widgets to their social media properties so I didn’t have to rely on search to find the best account. In other cases, it was difficult to locate the proper accounts because they were lost among parody and/or “unofficial” pages likely set-up by supporters.

Below is the complete list of accounts that I was able to locate. Click on the icon that runs horizontally across from the candidate’s name to view the related campaign social media property or group.

	Facebook	Twitter	YouTube	Foursquare	Flickr	LinkedIn	Google+
Obama							X
Romney							X
Perry
Paul				X
Bachmann				X		X	X
Cain
Huntsman*				X	X	X
Gingrich					X

The final issue was to determine the order of how I should list each of the candidates. My first instinct was to do so in alphabetical order by last name in the spirit of fairness. Then I considered doing it based on early poll performances, however, I ultimately decided to list them based on what really matters at this point in the race… money in the bank. I used the “Total Money Raised” data provided by Roaring Republican, which posted the latest Third Quarter 2011 Fundraising Numbers as of October 18, 2011.

Key Takeaways

• Clearly, the power of incumbency is a huge advantage for President Obama. Picking up where he left off after Campaign 2008, the Obama camp now boasts over 23.7M Facebook likes and 10.8M Twitter followers. In fact, the president is the first politician to crack 10M followers and the only non-entertainer in the Twitter Top 10). Basically, he overpowers everyone in the GOP field in almost every category with only two exceptions: 1) President Obama himself did not have a profile on Google+ and 2) the Obama campaign didn’t have a presence on Foursquare. However, the White House does have a branded Foursquare page so I included that in the grid.

  Earlier this week, the Obama 2012 campaign broke new ground when they launched a new page on the popular micro-blogging platform Tumblr which will serve as an ideal host to various forms of digital content and social media sharing.

• On the other side of the aisle, it’s a pretty crowded Republican field but former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney seems to be emerging as the one to beat as we near primary season — but it’s still early. Romney finishes way ahead of his GOP counterparts on Facebook with 1.1M likes with Ron Paul at a distant second with 565k. Romney has the third most Twitter followers but is second to last on YouTube with only 1.8M total upload views of his 57 videos.

• Earlier today, it was reported that Godfather’s Pizza CEO and political newcomer Herman Cain is performing surprisingly well in initial primary state polling placing second behind Romney in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. He’s holding his own in social media, though some of that may be misleading since the most recent “smoking” video attained about 1M views since it was posted on October 19th due to some criticism and scrutiny as to the message behind it. Again, the numbers are impressive but one could argue that it’s not helping the campaign. In addition, he has only raised about $5M so the question remains as to whether he can sustain his poll numbers, continue to build more support, increase his financial position and pose a serious challenge for the nomination.

• Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry still enjoys broad support and has a decent amount of cash on hand but his decision to skip some of the upcoming debates, likely after perceived poor performances in the past, has many wondering whether he’s up to the task. Governor Perry and Herman Cain are the only two candidates in the top tier who have a social media presence on all seven of the social media outlets evaluated, though admittedly there’s some confusion on a couple of the accounts as to whether some of Perry’s content was generated due to his role as Governor of Texas or whether it was officially posted as part of the presidential campaign. For example, 13k photos on Flickr seem to be a mix of both — and that’s a ton of photos but nowhere close to the 56k that President Obama has posted, in addiiton to the 52 sets of photos on the official White House Flickr photostream.

• Texas Congressman Ron Paul enjoys very strong support online and much of that dates back to Campaign 2008. There are still digital remnants from the race four years ago and it appears that he’s continued to use the “/ronpaul” username consistently across all accounts for quite some time which will certainly skew the numbers a bit. In other words, it’s unclear how many joined his current cause as opposed to 2008, but in some ways it doesn’t matter. Those who supported him in the last cycle may still be loyal this time around and probably explains why he has been able to build up a relatively healthy campaign war chest.

• The Team Bachmann approach is interesting and makes it clear that there’s a distinction between Rep. Michele Bachmann‘s presidential bid and her role in the U.S. Congress. Of course, there are limitations when posting official tweets vs. campaign updates (i.e. requests for donations) so it’s good to see that they have drawn a line firmly between the two. Almost 460k people like Rep. Bachmann on Facebook and it seems that is her strongest social media outlet with Twitter and YouTube close behind.

• Perhaps what is most interesting is that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is dead last in Facebook likes at 157k but wins decisively in every other social media platform with 1.3M followers on Twitter, almost 5M total upload views of 184 videos, 2,800 Foursquare followers and has been added in over 16k circles on Google+. Oddly, no Flickr page for the Speaker but there are over 270 photos posted to Facebook. Yet, despite these impressive numbers, strong name ID and regular media appearances over the years, Newt has only managed to raise $2.6M which is at rock bottom on this list and poses a real threat to the future of his campaign.

Bottom Line

Speaker Gingrich wins hands down when it comes to his digital share of voice but finishes dead last in fundraising. Governor Romney has a strong online presence, as well, and his support seems to be growing the most rapidly both online and off. Herman Cain is making a strong run in the polls but the ability to sustain and raise money will determine how long he remains in the race through the primary season.

It will be interesting to see how these numbers and donations change over the next several months and I’ll plan to post an update as the race matures. In the meantime, would love to hear your thoughts, as well.

As stated at the outset of this post — we are about a year away from the ultimate poll, Election Day 2012. On that day, the only friends and followers that matter to candidates are those that cast their votes!

Here’s a short video that the Holmes Report asked me to post to help promote today’s event. In it, I briefly discuss the importance of social media in the political process.

UPDATE 10/28/11*
Former Utah Governor and GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman gained some steam via YouTube when his daughters posted their parody “smoking” video in response to the Cain ad. However, the popular video was posted on a separate account instead of the official Jon2012HQ YouTube channel with 69 videos and over 269k total views. Incidentally, the campaign also has a Jon2012 Vimeo account linked directly from their website. I didn’t include the Huntsman campaign in the original tally, but after the video was released I decided to go back and take another look. Links to the Jon 2012 social media accounts have been added to the chart above. On Twitter, the @Jon2012girls have almost 8k followers which is impressive, especially considering that their father’s campaign account nears 46k. About half as many people support Huntsman on Facebook with almost 22k likes.

UPDATE 11/4/11
For those wondering if the current sexual harrasment allegations leveled at Herman Cain from his time at the National Restaurant Association are hurting his campaign, the answer is that it may be too early to tell. His poll numbers seem to be holding strong and both his Facebook and Twitter support increased with 329,515 likes and 153,506 followers respectively since 10/27/11. However, the real measurement will be whether funds will continue to pour in. If his presidential bid is to survive, there’s no question that this Wednesday’s CNBC GOP debate will be an important night for Cain to demostrate resilience and strength in the face of controversy.

Citizen Engagement in the Digital Age

When Barack Obama was sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States in January 2009, much was written about his campaign’s effective use of digital and social media tools to build support, reach new audiences and engage younger voters. Many credit those efforts as being critical to his successful bid for the White House.

Once in office, it was largely expected that the Obama Administration would utilize similar digital strategies for government application. They set out to build on the foundation laid by their predecessors by seeking to leverage emerging digital outlets to better serve and connect with Americans while simultaneously adapting to a rapidly evolving media landscape. The same was true for Capitol Hill.

Growing, Growing, Gone?

The 2010 Capital Staffers Index demonstrates significant increases in digital media including four-times the usage of Facebook compared to three years ago, nearly double for text messaging, almost three-times for blogs and over five-times worth of growth for Twitter. During key policy debates on issues such as the economy, jobs, healthcare, national security, energy and immigration, constituents flocked to the Internet to make their voices heard.

Members of Congress and Hill staffers quickly learned how to navigate in these new channels through direct constituent engagement and the creation of content best suited for social media and networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. In many cases, such content was embedded on official House and Senate “dot gov” sites to augment message reach, optimize digital footprints and increase the opportunity for sharing across various social platforms.

In May 2010, the House Republican leadership even created their own unique digital channel with the launch of “America Speaking Out.” The site was built to serve as an online clearinghouse for crowd-sourced policy ideas with the best rising to the top based on community votes. However, sites like this aren’t designed with the intent of completely replacing traditional methods of contacting Congress such as in-person meetings, phone calls, letters and e-mail which are all still effective in many ways. Rather, they simply open up new avenues to connect.

Similarly, though the rise in social media and digital engagement is remarkable, let’s be careful not to write obituaries for mainstream media outlets just yet. Newsrooms may be shrinking but according to the survey results, their influence on Capitol Hill sure isn’t. For staffers, online news sites remain valuable and consistently rank far above social networks, blogs and social media with the highest usage (64%) occurring from 9 AM to 10 AM and the lowest (42%) from 5 PM to 6 PM.

The Key To Surfing Is… Timing

One of the most interesting findings in the 2010 Capital Staffers Index is how online activity trends throughout the day. Heavy traffic for online news sites early in the morning are likely due to staff who are preparing for briefings, conducting research or just getting caught up on the news of the day.

For the most part, social networks run a distant second in usage percentage when to compared online news sites with two exceptions where they experience significant spikes both during the lunch hour (31% from 12 PM to 1 PM) and at the end of a typical work day (tied with online news at 46% after 6 PM). This would seem to suggest that Hill staffers utilize social networking sites all day for both personal and professional purposes, with an emphasis on the personal during perceived down time.

The Next Wave

Two short years after President Obama’s historic victory, the political tide seems to be turning once again. Perhaps the November 2010 midterm election will most certainly be remembered for the GOP’s sweeping wins, especially in the House of Representatives where Republicans netted over 60 seats, the biggest gain since 1938 when the Democrats lost 71.

In preparation for the start of the 112th Congress, freshman members will endure orientations, elect party leadership, set legislative agendas, learn shortcuts from their new offices to committee rooms, attend briefings and of course, hire various key staff. Many likely campaigned heavily online – but now politicians and staffers alike find themselves in positions of power with great responsibility where they must learn to govern online, as well.

For those who are either unable to accept or unwilling to embrace these new communications realities, perhaps these words from American philosopher, writer and 1983 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Eric Hoffer will serve as encouragement, “In times of change, learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

Whether in news, entertainment, sports or politics, just about everyone launched a Twitter account this year. At the time of this post, Ashton Kutcher topped the list with 4.2 million followers with Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, John Mayer, CNN, Twitter, Ryan Seacrest and Kim Kardashian rounding out the Top 10 Twitter users.

Facebook, with 350 million users, was the top search term in 2009 and hit #1 for the first time as the most visited site in the U.S. on Christmas and Christmas Eve.

Every minute, 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube and in 2009 the site served an estimated 75 billion video streams to 375 million unique visitors. According to the New York Times, “the average YouTube user watched 83 clips in October, compared with 53 a year earlier.” Also, with over 3.8 billion search queries on YouTube in 2009, it became the 2nd largest search engine behind Google, beating out Bing and Yahoo!.

On these sites, and countless others, users commented, shared, posted and even reported on their own in real time. Many news stories started online before making their way into the “mainstream media” and some merely took on lives of their own as the Web augmented coverage and reach.

In discussing some of the most memorable over the past 12 months with friends and colleagues, I decided to compile them in an end of the year list. So, here we go. Below is my Top 20 Social Media News Stories of 2009 (in chronological order).

1. Sully Lands on the Hudson
1/15/09 – A couple weeks into the new year, it seemed that there was apparently another tragic accident involving airline travel. Yet this time, it was an epic and heroic tale about Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, a skilled former USAF fighter pilot who landed US Airways #1549 on the Hudson River in New York after birds flew into the plane’s engines causing them to stall. Sully managed to successfully guide the plane in a textbook water landing (assuming there is such a thing), avoided Manhattan, saved the lives of everyone on board, then assisted the crew in evacuating more than 150 people to safety. Many first learned of the story from Twitter. The first photo after the incident emerged via TwitPic from Janis Krums who witnessed it and tweeted while aboard the ferry that was on its way to retrieve the passengers and the crew. An amazing story indeed.

2. Walking in Memphis
1/15/09 – Ironically, on the same day that Sully landed in the Hudson, former Ketchum VP James Andrews caught quite a bit of online heat when he disparagingly tweeted about Memphis after meeting with clients from FedEx — which is headquartered there. In an apology he later posted after FedEx voiced their displeasure, Andrews explained that he posted the comment after an interaction with an “intolerant” person and claimed that his sentiment was not aimed at the entire city. Either way, a good lesson that what you say, even in 140 characters or less, could certainly cause quite a stir.

3. Christian Goes Bale-istic
2/2/09 – While filming “T4: Terminator Salvation” at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, actor Christian Bale totally lost it after the director of photography accidentally walked onto the set, allegedly “ruining the shot.” Though the flare up actually occurred in July 2008, audio of the incident surfaced in February 2009 and spread quickly online. Warning: Strong language. Not appropriate for kids — or rational human beings who choose to respect each other regardless of one’s lot in life.

4. Susan Boyle’s Dream
4/11/09 – An unlikely star was born on “Britain’s Got Talent” when Susan Boyle, a Scottish woman, stepped to the microphone to perform. Given her plain appearance and shy demeanor, several snickered as she spoke with the judges about why she chose to appear on the British talent show. However, jeers turned to cheers just moments after she started. Boyle wowed the audience with her booming voice as she sang her version of “I Dreamed a Dream.” Several versions of her performance quickly made their way to YouTube and one post alone currently has more than 35 million views. According to Wikipedia, “Boyle’s first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009, and has become Amazon’s best-selling album in pre-sales.” Billboard also reported that “The arrival of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ … marks the best opening week for a female artist’s debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.”

5. Dom-Oh Nos!
4/13/09 – Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant knows that there are strict laws that govern food preparation and safety procedures in an effort to protect the health of the patrons. Most of us understand that despite the best of intentions, health codes aren’t always followed to the letter 100% of the time. However, Kristy Hammonds and Michael Setzer, two employees from a Domino’s franchise in Conover, NC took that to a new level when they videotaped themselves deliberately performing unsanitary acts with food items and cleaning supplies in the store’s kitchen, then uploaded the clips to YouTube. Though the two claimed it was a “prank” and that they never actually delivered the food, they were still fired and faced felony charges for their actions. Once the video gained attention through Twitter and YouTube, it began to also dominate the search engines and Domino’s Pizza was immediately confronted with a public relations crisis that threatened the reputation of their 50 year-old brand. Domino’s spokesman Tim McIntyre aptly summed it up when he commented, “We got blindsided by two idiots with a video camera and an awful idea.” Patrick Doyle, President of Domino’s USA issued a video response and the company set up a Twitter account @DPZinfo to field inquiries though it looks like they have since moved over to @dominos. In December 2009, Domino’s launched a new marketing campaign in celebration of their 50th year called “The Pizza Turnaround” where they claim they’ve reinvented their pizza recipe (and possibly their tarnished image) from the crust up.

6. Dude, Where Are Your Followers?
4/17/09 – Besides being married to actress Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher is probably best known for his role as Michael on “That 70′s Show,” his prank TV show “Punk’d” and movies such as “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and this past summer’s release “Spread.” Kutcher gained early popularity on Twitter and in April, took on the Cable News Network (CNN) in a race to be the first Twitter account to reach 1 million followers. Who would’ve thought that @aplusk would be able to top the cable giant (and everyone else in the Twitterverse) but alas, he did. And, as mentioned above, he still sits atop the Twitter throne as the most followed at 4.2 million. CNN is ranked #7 with 2.8 million.

7. Iranian Election
6/12/09 – Perhaps the most compelling and meaningful global use of social media in 2009 occurred when Iranians took to the streets in protest after the 2009 presidential election results in Iran. Mainstream media was slow to provide coverage and the government run media operation in Iran was obviously not going to profile any form of dissent for the world to witness. So, the protestors turned to the Internet to tell their stories. Dave Levy and I co-authored a piece that ran in PRWeek called “Twitter Revolt Against Mainstream Media” where we wrote, “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 impact online was massive. Twitter delayed their scheduled site maintenance because of the important communications role it was playing. Twitter users changed their profile photo green to demonstrate their support and updated their “Location” to Tehran in an effort to confuse Iranian authorities searching for dissidents. Obviously, the future of the Iranian people still hangs in the balance, yet many Americans are better informed about their plight under a controversial dictator and stand in solidarity with them in their quest for peace and freedom.

8. Saying Goodbye to the King of Pop
6/25/09 – Clearly, the death of Michael Jackson would have been a worldwide story even without the Internet. However, TMZ was the first to break the news that the pop singer had died of cardiac arrest at the age of 50. The Web traffic surrounding his death was massive as millions flocked to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs to share, comment and learn more. Facebook slowed but held its own. Twitter traffic caused the site to temporarily fall — even the Fail Whale ceased to make an appearance — but the “Michael Jackson” related tweets would top Twitter trends for weeks to come.

9. United Breaks Guitars
7/6/09 – While traveling on a United Airlines flight in 2008 with his band “Sons of Maxwell”, musician Dave Carroll overheard fellow passengers commenting that United baggage handlers were throwing guitars around the tarmac. Attempts to alert the flight attendants were met with indifference. Upon landing, he learned that his $3,500 Taylor guitar had been broken during the trip. After nine months of back and forth communication and failed attempts to obtain a satisfactory resolution, United finally refused to take responsibility or provide any form of reimbursement. So, Carroll wrote a song called “United Breaks Guitars” and produced a video and, of course, posted it to YouTube. It was an instant hit and stirred up additional ire among airline travelers.

10. Erin Andrews Stalked
7/16/09 – ESPN reporter Erin Andrews went public after video of her naked in her hotel room surfaced on the Internet. The video was secretly shot without her knowledge from a video camera set-up to record her through a peephole. In December, Illinois businessman Michael David Barrett pleaded guilty to interstate stalking. He admitted that he followed Andrews and stayed in hotel rooms next door on three occasions. He shot two videos of her while she was nude and was accused of posting them online, as well as attempting to sell them to TMZ.

11. Dancing Down the Aisle
7/19/09 – After the popularity of the December 2007 “Baby Got Back” wedding reception choreography video, it was only a matter of time before others would follow suit. This past summer, Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz treated their wedding guests to a real show when the entire wedding party — seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers — danced down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever” during their ceremony in St. Paul, Minnesota. The “JK Wedding Entrance Dance” even served as inspiration for Jim and Pam’s long awaited wedding on NBC’s “The Office.” In December, another wedding video was posted to YouTube featuring Dana Hanna, a groom who paused during his the middle of his wedding ceremony to update his Facebook marital status and tweet out from the altar.

12. Healthcare Town Hall Protests & SEIU “Thugs”
8/2/09 – In the wake of the conservative Tea Party movement, President Obama and the Democrats continued to try and sell their proposed healthcare program this summer. Several Members of Congress hosted town hall meetings back in their districts alongside Obama Administration officials to answer specific questions and solicit feedback from constituents. Perhaps unexpectedly, many turned out and the discussions were quite heated — and posted on YouTube. U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were booed in Philadelphia at one such meeting after their comments about the bill’s length and the need to move fast. In the Tampa Bay area, approximately 1,500 showed up for a “pep rally” co-hosted by the SEIU and attended by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. One of the attendees, Barry Osteen, was pushed and slapped by Obama supporter Karen Miracle after debating her husband, Garry. “We have the best health care system in the world and I’m completely happy with what we have,” Osteen said. The violence escalated further when Kenneth Gladney, a self-described black conservative, was physically beaten by SEIU members after U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. The video of Gladney’s attack generated almost instant online outrage that prompted some select mainstream outlets to cover the story.

13. Fired on Facebook
8/14/09 – In my opinion, one of the cardinal rules in social media is to avoid publishing anything online that you wouldn’t say in person. A British woman learned this the hard way after she posted comments about her “pervvy wanker” boss — perhaps forgetting that they were “friends” on Facebook. Of course, he saw the post and responded to her rant via the public Facebook thread. He hit back pretty hard, got a little personal and eventually fired her. And yes, he’s serious.

14. Undercover at ACORN
9/9/09 – Wikipedia describes the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as a liberal collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocate for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues. In recent years, the organization has come under fire under allegations of voter registration fraud and embezzlement. In an attempt to expose ACORN’s possible unethical and illegal practices, filmmakers James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles teamed up in an undercover sting operation and blogged about it on Andrew Breitbart’s site BigGovernment. While secretly videotaping a meeting with ACORN staff members in Baltimore, Giles posed as a prostitute seeking counsel on how to manipulate the tax code to hide her profession. O’Keefe passed himself off as a pimp looking to funnel proceeds from a brothel full of underage, illegal immigrant sex workers into a potential political campaign. In both cases, two ACORN staff members were complicit in their efforts to assist O’Keefe and Giles in supporting their illegal activity and subverting the law. Though the story initially gained little attention in the mainstream media, the first two videos rapidly gained steam on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. As news of the scandal grew, the U.S. Census Bureau and the IRS both severed ties with ACORN and eventually both the U.S. House and Senate voted to cut 2009 taxpayer funding of the embattled organization.

15. Best Award Show Interruption of ALL TIME!
9/15/09 – No one quite knew what Kayne West was thinking when he jumped up on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards to interrupt Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video. He grabbed the microphone out of her hand and exclaimed, “Yo, Taylor! I’m really happy for you. I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Everyone was stunned, including Beyoncé. Swift’s confused reaction was short, but classy. Meme sites soon popped up such as this Kanyegate Tumblr feed and ImaLetYouFinish where users can upload their own Kanye-isms. There was also this Kanye-Obama-Wilson mash-up remix which was quite clever. Regardless of one’s opinions on the quality of the music videos, just about everyone was appalled at West’s behavior – including President Obama who off-handedly called the rapper a “jackass” after the incident. Since the remark was caught on tape during an off-the-record portion of a CNBC interview, ABC reporter Terry Moran prematurely tweeted but later deleted begging the question as to whether anything is really off-the-record these days.

16. Meghan McCain TwitPic
10/15/09 – Can’t the daughter of a former presidential candidate and current U.S. Senator lay around her home in a low-cut tanktop, read a little about Andy Warhol over takeout, snap a picture of it and upload it to TwitPic without being called horrible names? Evidently not if you’re last name is McCain.

17. College Sock-Her
11/5/09 – Elizabeth Lambert, a junior defender on the women’s soccer team at the University of New Mexico was captured on video being physically abusive on the playing field vs. BYU in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament. Lambert (#15) was caught tripping, elbowing and even pulling one player to the ground by her hair. Two BYU forwards/midfielders, freshman Carlee Payne (#7) and junior Kassidy Shumway (#21) seemed to be the primary targets of her attacks. Video of the unsportsmanlike behavior was posted to YouTube by the Associated Press and earned Lambert an indefinite suspension. According to Lambert’s player bio on UNM’s GoLobos athletic site, she is “is majoring in University Studies with a focus on Occupational Therapy.” Ironic, considering her opponents will probably require physical therapy! The best response, however, came from Payne: Scoreboard! BYU won the match 1-0.

18. Vetting Crashers
11/24/09 – The saga of Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the White House party crashers, seems to get more bizarre as time goes on and we may never know all the answers. Apparently, bluffing their way into the White House State Dinner without an official invitation is just the tip of the iceberg. A video of the Salahi wedding (with 1,836 guests) sets the stage quite nicely. Then there were stories of unpaid bills around town, followed by accusations of fraudulent charities via polo matches to save a family owned winery, lies about Michaele’s past (aka Missy Holt, if that is her real name) as a former Redskins cheerleader — all leading up to their quest to appear on the reality show “The Real Housewives of DC.” Sadly, it appears that the only thing real about these two is how much trouble they got themselves into after posting photos of their White House breach on Facebook which provided plenty of fodder in feeding the media frenzy surrounding the details of this still-developing story.

19. Tiger Woods
11/27/09 – Yet again, it was TMZ, the Los Angeles based celebrity gossip site that beat out all the other outlets by reporting that Tiger’s injuries were not caused by a car accident while behind the wheel of his SUV but rather “were inflicted by his wife, Elin Nordegren.” According to reports, she and Tiger were arguing after she had learned about his extramarital affair with Rachel Uchitel (as well as others, we’d learn about later) and an altercation ensued. In the absence of actual B-roll footage to visually support the story, a Taiwanese news station used animation to dramatically reenact the event during their broadcast. Though it’s in Chinese, the images seem quite realistic and probably not too far off from what actually happened that night.

20. DC Snowball Fight
12/19/09 – In late December, the Washington, DC area was hit by a major snowstorm that made its way across the east coast. Total snow accumulation varied between 12 and 22 inches in some areas when it was all said and done. Hashtags such as #snOMG, #thundersnow, #blizzard and #snopocalypse dominated social media sites across the region. Then, someone came up with the idea of organizing a good, old-fashioned neighborhood snowball fight at 14th & U Streets. Word traveled quickly online and about 150 DC residents gathered for the epic showdown. Though the battle was intense (in a lighthearted way), people did take timeouts for passing cars and to help bail vehicles out of multiple snowbound predicaments. Police officers soon arrived on the scene to monitor the activity. A red Hummer H2 pulled up and the driver was none too pleased when snowballs descended upon him and his vehicle as he stepped out. Turns out that he was an off-duty DC detective and one point, drew his sidearm which prompted chants of “You don’t bring a gun to a snowball fight!” and “Fenty killed Christmas!” directed at the Capital City’s current mayor. The situation was eventually resolved by the authorities and much of the event ultimatlely played out on YouTube before making national news the following morning.

I’m sure there are other stories, so feel free to comment and provide links below. Happy 2010!

For those who haven’t given in to peer pressure to join the site yet, Twitter is a “microblog” that enables users to share thoughts, activities and news via 140 character text updates.

Twitter’s founders had a pretty basic, yet novel idea. They wanted to create a platform where users could connect with each other online to answer one simple question, “What are you doing?”

I’ll admit that when I first joined (@almacy), I just didn’t get it. Besides a few close family members and friends, I remember thinking, “Who really cares what I’m doing?” In fact, my first tweet isn’t exactly going to assist in solving global strife.

Regardless, I pressed on and started to “follow” a few folks that I was interested in hearing from including those engaged in politics, public relations, press, social media and technology. Pretty soon, I started to build a bit of a community. I soon realized that I was learning a lot from them and hoped others found value in my contributions, as well.

As far as what I tweet, I try to strike a 30/30/30/10 balanced philosophy for tweets, retweets (RT) and tweet buzz (HT, via):

• 30% Politics: White House, Congress, government, E-Gov, campaigns, issues, advocacy
• 30% Communications: Internet, media, social networks, public relations, marketing, advertising, technology, tips, tricks, trends, insights
• 30% Personal: life, family, work, travel, hobbies, blog
• 10% Miscellaneous: Whatever doesn’t fall in the categories above i.e. humor, wit, thoughts, randomness, etc.

However, I often wonder whether any of it makes a bit of difference. So, I gave TweetLevel a try and scored 61. Not too bad.

TweetLevel then provided some uselful insights on how to improve my score which is based on four primary “result metrics” including influence, popularity, engagement and trust. The site also offers some sound advice regarding Twitter best practices and influence tips.

That’s why I really like this tool. Unlike previous attempts by other sites to measure a user’s level of influence based on pure number of followers or amount of tweets, Edelman developed a complex evaluation formula for TweetLevel in order to arrive at a more thoughtful conclusion:

Twitter itself is also rapidly evolving with the addition of periodic new features and functionality – and who knows where all this is going.

According to a recent Pew study in October 2009, Twitter’s future looks bright. Though the median user age is currently 31, the site’s popularity continues to grow, especially among younger audiences.

In addition to learning new things and meeting new people via Twitter, it can be fulfilling to know that the information you are “putting out there” has the potential to positively affect someone else.

Whether for an individual, company, brand, product or issue, TweetLevel results could be quite helpful in gaining a better understanding of one’s effectiveness in leveraging the Twitter platform and, thus… increasing influence.

Full disclosure: Edelman is my employer, but opinions expressed are my own.

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)

THE QUESTIONS

1. How long have you been working in public relations? What attracted you to it?

I officially entered the public relations industry when I joined Waggener Edstrom Worldwide in May 2007. However, I have been working in the communications arena for the past 15 years including the Republican National Committee, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Washington Business Journal, C-SPAN, GovTech Solutions, U.S. Department of Education and most recently, the White House. I have always been fascinated by the power of communications, meaning the ability to effectively disseminate and consume information through valuable channels of influence. Whether it’s by word of mouth, print, radio, television, the Internet, or a convergence combo of all the above, methods are quickly evolving to keep pace with societal needs for 24-7 news and information. It is as exciting to watch as it is to participate.

2. In your opinion, what elements are essential to a good digital PR campaign?

All good PR campaigns begin with defining the business challenge first. Then, identifying target audiences and establishing monitoring processes and success measures assist in determining the best strategies and tactics that map to those objectives. The Internet should simply be part of that overall plan, woven through accordingly to augment message and reach. Basic elements should include SEO/SEM (keywords & tagging), cross platform sharing, blogger outreach, multimedia (audio, video, photos), online community building and social media engagement.

3. Whose blog do you read the most?

I read almost too many to mention but here are some of my favorite PR & social media thought leaders: Frank Shaw, Chris Brogan, Andy Beal and Avinash Kaushik.

4. How do you communicate the importance of new media strategies to your clients?

I usually begin by making the point that the Internet isn’t a panacea, but rather a tool that can assist in augmenting message, monitoring conversations and connecting key influencers and audiences in new ways. Some may be wary of the Web because it’s new, percieved as unproven, or pushes them outside their comfort level. The best way to allay their concerns is to provide real concrete examples, mapped to business objectives, that have produced successful results.

5. President-elect Obama’s social media campaign was credited for being the first of its kind. What’s your take on the role of new media and the blogosphere in Obama’s success?

Certainly, the Obama campaign understood the power of building online community. They used the Internet as an effective communications tool and, of course, to raise money. They also put the proper resources behind it with 95 Web staffers and almost $12M spent in two years for online efforts alone. That’s huge! Leveraging social media sites like Facebook (co-founder Chris Hughes joined the campaign) and Twitter helped connect his supporters but ultimately his election, in my opinion, was more a reflection of the promise of his candidacy rather than just his Web presence.

6. Please describe the biggest challenge you face in your current job.

Clearly, trends on the Internet move at a very rapid pace. It is very difficult to stay on top of the latest site or tool that pops up. Often, there’s a temptation to be wowed by a new site because it is “bright & shiny” but over time, it’s utlization will determine it’s value and market staying power. I think Twitter is a good example of that. When I first joined, I admit that I just didn’t get it – and many that I have spoken with about Twitter agree that they also initally felt the same way. Once I started to really use it, however, it has consistently demonstrated value to me in countless ways and although others have tried (Jaiku, Plurk, Pownce, Yammer), I keep coming home to tweet!

7. Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in working as a communications consultant in DC?

First, one must understand that even though Washington is a powerful world city, in many ways it’s also a small town community. So, I recommend getting out there, attend some Capitol Hill events, find others with like interests, join DC Facebook groups, follow DC folks on Twitter and explore all opportunities no matter how big or small they may seem. If just getting started, seek an internship at a PR agency or media outlet to get a foot in the door. To demonstrate knowledge of the digital space and it’s importance, start a blog and use it as way to connect with the DC set online.

8. If you could rank for any keyword phrase you don’t currently rank for, what would it be?

Hmmm, you mean besides “Nine-time Olympic Gold Medal Champion?” OK, seriously, let’s go with digital strategy expert. I personally think that it’s a little presumptious for anyone to call themselves an expert, but I certainly don’t mind if Google does it!

9. Assuming you had never gone into public relations, what would you be doing now professionally?

As a child, I dreamed of one day becoming either a dentist or a fireman. However, a couple cavities later and a fear of heights quickly dashed those hopes. Other than that, I probably would have become a stand-up comic or an international star of stage and screen. Ha!

10. Do you follow the Washington Nationals? Do you root for Teddy during the Presidents Races?

Believe it or not, I have never been to a Nationals game – I know, I know! I’m originally from Maryland and grew up during the height of Cal Ripken’s career, so naturally the Baltimore Orioles have always been my team. Go O’s! Plus, the Ripken family is from Aberdeen, Md. which is where my mom is from so I have always felt a little vicarious hometown connection. However, since I currently live very close to Mount Vernon, I have to root for the original George W!

Well that’s it! I hope you enjoyed reading this. A big thanks to @MelaniePhung for sending the questions for all to answer.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Please check out their sites and follow them on Twitter.

@almacy a Digital Strategy Expert
@melaniephung a DC SEO Strategist
@martinbowling a lover of Zima
@utahseopro a Utah SEO Consultant
@fairminder who offers Boston Website Design and SEO services
@cyandle a Google Adwords Professional
@melanienathan an Edmonton SEO specialist
@jackleblond a VP of Internet Strategy
@djpaisley a Digital Communications Strategist
@vinceblackham a Utah SEO specialist
@researchgoddess a Staffing Social Media Specialist
@monicawright a Maine SEO professional

Basically, their campaign is centered around the premise that “wearing babies” (carrying i.e. BabyBjörn style) can be, well, a pain – in the neck, shoulders, lower back, etc.

Angry moms flocked to sound off via social media, including:

• Facebook: Babywearing isn’t painful. Boycott Motrin for saying it is. (Group is 487 and growing.)
• Twitter: #MotrinMoms
• Flickr: Baby-wearers Unite! Dear Motrin, you’re doing it wrong.
• YouTube: Anti Motrin Reply Re: Motrin Babywearing Ad #motrinmoms
• And, of course, the blogs.

The negative response has been overwhelming. An organized protest effort has emerged urging Motrin to take the ads off their website and put a stop to the print campaign. Many indicated that they went to Motrin’s website to email their thoughts and feedback. According to one blogger, a Motrin marketing VP (McNeil Consumer Healthcare) responded via email. I attempted to visit it, as well, but http://www.motrin.com wasn’t loading. Either they pulled the whole site down or massive traffic crashed their servers.

Now, before one jumps to the incorrect conclusion that the Internet is to blame for this backlash, let’s take a step back and not condemn the medium. Fundamentally, Motrin just missed the mark here and instead of phone calls and letter writing, consumers simply chose to voice their concerns online. Hopefully, Motrin will learn some valuable lessons from this and attempt to engage their critics in the same venue. There is an opportunity to remedy the situation by reaching out to key influencers in the “MomBlog” universe, build relationships, form focus groups and solicit their ideas to avoid future missteps.

In the meantime, I imagine that Motrin executives will require extra doses of their own product for the next few weeks.

Originally posted on WE’s Studio D blog, “Thinkers & Doers.”

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of making another trip to the “Live Music Capital of the World” (as well as a side visit to Dallas) for work and to visit WE’s Austin office.  On Saturday afternoon, Social Media Club Austin and Waggener Edstrom kindly hosted an event at Scholz Garten to welcome me to their town.  I met some terrific folks, including David J. Neff, who then introduced me to … his house.  

You see, David’s day job is with the American Cancer Society as Director of Web, Film and Interactive Strategy.  So, when it came time to sell his house, of course, he turned to the Internet.  Makes total sense, especially considering the challenges of the current market – why not use social media to help make a sale?  He’s still using a professional realtor to assist with negotiations, mortgage advice and legal paperwork, but he has been quite innovative in his approach thus far. 

First step was to launch a section on his blog to track his progress: Selling My House the Social Media Way. Next, he solicited feedback from friends via LinkedIn then got to work. Now, one can become a fan of his house on Facebook, and “Rate His Space” at HGTV and on Zillow.com. If you leave a question, he promises to answer it or you can just ping him via Twitter: @daveiam.

Also, while in Austin, I had the opportunity to speak at the RightOnline conference hosted by Americans for Prosperity and the Leadership Institute.  At the same time, the DailyKos crowd gathered just across town to hear Speaker Pelosi, Al Gore, Howard Dean and other “progressives” speak at Netroots Nation - even the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus was on hand to cover some of the events. 

I participated in the opening panel at RightOnline along with David All and Matt Sheffield, moderated by Robert Bluey. I discussed some of the Web 2.0 advances that have occurred in the “DotGov” world during my time as White House Internet director – and since. Here’s the video, courtesy of Danny Glover at Eyeblast.tv, and my PowerPoint for those who would like follow along: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Govern

Later that afternoon, I presented during another session entitled Social Networking: Getting Tapped In where I walked through some of the more common social media sites – with an eye toward what may be coming down the road next.

Major thanks to SMC-Austin and WE folks who helped set up, host and attend the Scholz event. Also, I really appreciate those from AFP and LI for their hard work to organize the RightOnline conference.

David, good luck with the house – I’m a huge fan!

Related

In Texas, the Right Boots Up to Gain Strength Online (Washington Post)

In Online Politicking, Republicans Play Catch-Up (Wall Street Journal)

Austin hosts dueling conventions on Internet-era politics (Dallas Morning News)

Almacy is RightOnline. Well, we all are. (David All)

Making progress online at RightOnline (Abby Alger, TechRepublican)

Pictures from Americans For Prosperity-RightOnline-Samsphere Conference, Austin, Texas (Dr. Melissa Clouthier)

Kaushik’s blog, Occam’s Razor, is a must read for anyone looking to crack the Web analytics nut. After all, it’s all about metrics, right? In fact, I hear this ALL the time: “Dave, I get the Web, but I can’t seem to sell it to those above me. All they care about is the return on investment (ROI).”

I agree. Some things are fairly quantifiable like traffic referrals, page views, media download numbers, and blog rankings. However, other things aren’t as easily measurable such as specific actions that may result from those who read a blog post, watch a YouTube video or join a Facebook group.

Kaushik is currently traveling and sharing some of his latest thoughts. At a recent stop last week in Columbus, Ohio, Kaushik spoke with roughly 200 including marketing execs from Procter & Gamble, Victoria’s Secret, Coca-Cola and Timberland. Advertising Age covered his remarks and ran this piece, Google’s ‘Analytics Evangelist’ Explains Why Websites ‘Suck’.

(As a side, ironically, the article is no longer available on the AdAge site. A quick search for it yielded several results of those who posted on it such as Joe Marchese, Shel Holtz, and HotelMarketing.com - and they all link back to the original AdAge article page.  So much for analytics here!  Good thing I made a hard copy because I wanted to share it on Tuesday night with the students in my class.  For you younger readers, confused by what a “hard copy” might be, I suggest you check out Wikipedia.)

During his comments, Kaushik explained that the reason why so many Websites “suck” is because of ”Hippos” or the ”Highest Paid Person’s Opinion.”  Hippos may see something they like online or read about the latest Internet trend in the Wall Street Journal and then jump to a “Hey, we need that!” approach without considering site goals or purpose. 

Instead, Kaushik suggests that when developing sites, marketers should get away from the “what” and focus more on the “why.” One way is to engage consumers and assess their needs via brief online surveys.  He recommends asking questions such as:  Who is coming to your website? Why are they there? How are you doing? What do you need to fix?

This is right on. We often ask clients, “What is the business challenge you are trying to solve?” Once that’s determined, we can identify the best digital strategy to employ in an effort to tackle it. When the obstacles are clearly defined, then the solutions are the ultimate measure of success!

One reason, he suggests, is the “news feed” which is a running list of what your friends have been up to since you last checked in.  Agreed, that’s pretty useful.  I value my friends, which means that I value their opinions and am interested in their activities.  So, for me, it’s a passive way to keep up with them in a fast-paced digital world.

For example, in my feed today I saw some terrific photos that friends uploaded from the Papal visit to the White House earlier this week, found out that 20 of my friends and I are all attending the same conference in June, saw a congratulatory note from one friend to another for a job well done, and learned about three new groups that had formed on issues where I have interest.

I recently saw an ad on Facebook asking viewers of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” to sign an online petition to convince the network execs to change their decision to cancel the show.  As a fan, I have FNL listed among my favorites on my profile and assume the ad appeared as a result.  So, I obliged and added my name to the list of supporters. 

In addition to other online efforts to save the show, fans mailed in thousands of plastic footballs to the studio.  The network got the message and shortly thereafter, I was pleased to read about NBC’s agreement with DIRECTV to share production costs thus ensuring the show’s survival for a third season.  From the release…

In response to an evolving media marketplace and the changing needs of its advertisers, NBC Universal has created a more innovative, client-centric approach to its traditional Upfront presentation.

I  never would have known about any of that without Facebook.  Sure, this is a trivial example when compared to much more important global issues and I do agree that there are a lot of meaningless, fun and silly apps on Facebook (SuperPoke, I am looking in your direction).  I have certainly installed and uninstalled more than my share.  Read: Please, no more “Friends for Sale” or “Knighthood” invites!  However, I merely mention it to make the larger point that there is some utility there, as well.

Back to the question, “Is it worth it?”  As for me, the answer is yes.  Honestly though, I think the real answer depends on the user.  Kirkpatrick states the obvious here …

For the News Feed to work properly though, you need to have a fair number of Facebook friends and you need to regularly do things inside Facebook. And it is on that score that many adults fall down.

Of course, in order to benefit from the knowledge of others, one needs to know and engage with “others” (and not in a LOST sorta way!)

Seriously, nothing is useful if you don’t invest some time in it – whether it’s a face-to-face conversation, a phone call, a letter, an email or online in Facebook or Twitter. For anyone looking to connect, one needs to engage, find community and participate.

What he misses here is the movement toward social media aggregators (FriendFeed, Lijit, SocialThing) and OpenID that enables content to be shared between platforms and not limited to one site or the other. In this approach, the connection becomes more about the medium rather than the specific source site.

Kirkpatrick seems to criticize Facebook’s utility throughout the entire article, but concludes that for those looking to stay connected, it’s worth a “dive in.”

Well, it’s not just about diving in, you need to move your arms and legs in order to swim!