DISQUS

Brian · 1 year ago

The diagrams got my attention. Your analysis got me subscribed.

Josh Bernoff · 1 year ago

Josh here (coauthor of the book you just bought).

I found your diagrams interesting. I use one that looks a lot like your "Talking 2.0" to speak with corporate clients. Your diagram misses the social aspects of talking -- that is, that once the messages are delivered to the "masses" they are supposed to talk to each other about those messages. So I include conversations among the people.

But you are exactly on target that while candidates talk to people, and people talk to each other, the people rarely get to talk to the candidates. If Starbucks can take ideas from its customers (see MyStarbucksIdea site) why can't Barack Obama?

That would be incredible. But remember, in-credible means not able to be believed.

baratunde · 1 year ago

thanks for coming through Josh! Your book is high on the list. Trying to finish Zittrain's "Future of the Internet."

I just skimmed the MyStarbucksIdea site, and I see a great potential for this in political/government conversation. Can't wait to see what you're written about it.

If a government can foster this sort of idea generation among its citizens (especially at the local level) and act on even a few of them, people would feel respected. It's the small things that give us a sense of belonging and worth. If I find that an idea I submitted or voted on is under review or actually gets acted upon, I'm just likely to care more about my community.

I hope the Obama campaign/presidency looks seriously at tools like this soon. Thanks again.

Josh Bernoff everybody!!

Marianne Richmond · 1 year ago

First of all, found your post thru your tweet and now will add your blog to my Google Reader. Love your stick visuals!

Call me cynical but I don't believe that the current candidates are really participating in social media themselves, i.e. like you and Teresa said, reading your posts on Twitter. Its a means to get elected...to "reach" the fish where the fish are.

The value of social media in the campaign is that people can talk to each other....twittering the Obama/Clinton debates live comes to mind. And Obama has indeed fostered this on mybarackobama.com.
But whether this is a very smart "use" of the new media ala JFK being credited with being the first to understand how to "use" TV will remain to be seen.

I will go read Obama's technology plan. I have not read it. Thanks for the kick and the link.

But I wonder if any of the candidates see on line "listening" as anything more than a campaign tool....the next generation focus groups. Like Josh, it seems incredible to me that any of the candidates will take ideas like Starbucks says they are going to; to better serve their customers.

However, the good news is that as people talk to each other as described in the Groundswell (It's an awesome book!), power will return to the people and government like marketers will have to listen and participate because the groundswell will be ubiquitous.

baratunde · 1 year ago

hey marianne, thanks for the contribution. Conversations among one another is definitely the more achievable measure of social media political success. It's already happening.

As for campaigns/governments harnessing the ideas of the governed, I have faith that that CAN happen. Whether it will is more up to us than the candidates and politicians.

For it to really work, people have to feel that their contributions are being taken seriously, even if they don't get used. The fact that Obama's offering a comment period on legislation is a heartening start, but I want to see us take it further and more local.

Perhaps people get points or rewards of some sort (as in games) to contribute and for ideas that generate the most agreement or conversation (because even conversation without agreement is valuable. citizens talking to each other).

I also wonder if part of the reason Gore's reinventing Gov initiative didn't go as far as it could was because it came before its time. He had a set group of people looking for opportunities to increase operational efficiency and save money. That doesn't scale with some small committee.

If you employed the citizenry in this task, you'd get a wider range of concepts.

thanks again for coming through. this excites the hell out of me. it's non-partisan and non-ideological as well, so left, right and center should feel open to participating if the system is established well.

Parallel Import Cars · 1 year ago

The truth is that the Democrats won because of Web 2.0. Largely because Obama had the assistance of FaceBook's Founder and Co-Founder. Without them, Obama would not have won the election and activated millions of volunteers and supporters.

Let's hope Obama is not one of the Illuminatis or their puppets. I worry that he will get the JFK treatment if he doesn't comply. It's a dangerous time for the people of America and the World.

Web Design · 10 months ago

This is hilarious. I think media can and have played a very important rule in this election. I have seen such a big campaign. even on the virtual world games I have seen billboards "vote for Obama". I guess this really can have the potential to turn the tables, but still doesn't have greater potential than the policy difference between these two parties, democrats and republican

Daniel_Honigman · 7 months ago

So you know, I stole the photo of whiteboard diagram #3 for a <a href="http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/09/CommunityChicago"presentation I'm doing with the American Press Institute. (The picture of me is cheesy as hell. Cropped from one in the Huffington Post.)

Yoink.

Thanks, man.

baratunde · 7 months ago

i encourage plagiarism of my ideas! way to go dan

Spider Veins · 5 months ago

I think we can thank and blame technology for Obama's win. He has won the election but has not delivered the goods yet. I will still give him time to prove himself.

marco's inflatable dildo · 5 months ago

Patience is a virtue my friend. After all, its not easy and quick to make order out of chaos.

hankjmatt · 4 months ago

If a government can foster this sort of idea generation among its citizens (especially at the local level) and act on even a few of them, people would feel respected. It's the small things that give us a sense of belonging and worth. If I find that an idea I submitted or voted on is under review or actually gets acted upon, I'm just likely to care more about my community.
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