We Move Issues

Social media will play a role in shaping the health care debate

As President Obama wrangles with congressional lawmakers over health care reform, social media is once again asserting its foothold in the policy arena. Hosting a town-hall meeting on health care tomorrow in Virginia, Obama will answer questions submitted on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Since taking office six months ago, the Obama administration has embraced social media as a legitimate public policy tool. And why not? Sites like Facebook and Twitter serve as a direct conduit of public opinion, sidestepping representatives who sometimes fail to properly translate public sentiment. President Obama is quickly discovering that social media is not only an invaluable tool for winning elections in the 21^st century, but for governing a nation in the 21^st century as well.

British media acknowledges social media's influence on American politics

It’s one thing for the American media to acknowledge the increased influence of social media in the country’s legislative process, but you really must be dong something right when even the foreign media recognizes its prominent role. In an essay titled “Lessons on Social Media from America,” Micah L. Sifry, a British journalist, identifies the starring role that social media is playing in reshaping the political discourse in America, chronicling the early days of the Obama administration, when it ushered in a new era of government transparency by setting up a series of message boards and blogs for the American public to contribute to the policymaking process. Despite acknowledging social media’s powerful role, Sifry criticizes the Obama administration for dragging its feet on other social media initiatives. Nevertheless, social media continues to assert its influence in the political arena and demonstrate its long-term staying-power.

Wash Post Twitters Obama press conference

Even the ailing newspaper industry is learning to adapt to the latest technological trends, as The Washington Post twittered Obama’s latest press conference today. With the press conference beginning around 12:30 pm, The Post’s Chris Cillizza reported and analyzed Obama’s remarks live, as the President delivered them. Recognizing the long-term durability of social media, coupled with the simultaneous decline of traditional media, many newspapers and television networks are begging to support, or at least tolerate, the new mantra: embrace social media or perish. Of the major news networks, CNN boasts the most visible and robust presence of social media. Every day, CNN anchors such as Don Lemon to Rick Sanchez monitor their Twitter page and report what Tweeters are saying about the day’s top headlines. From The Washington Post to CNN, the traditional news media are increasingly incorporating social media into their news coverage.

Fierce primary challenge forces Governor Perry to employ social media

Texas Governor Rick Perry, facing a hotly-contested Republican primary, is turning to social media to give him an edge in the upcoming election. The presumed challenger, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, is putting intense pressure on the incumbent Governor, forcing him to adapt his campaign tactics. On Saturday, the campaign hosted the Volunteer Leadership Summit to discuss ways to attract younger voters by incorporating social media. Updating his Facebook and Twitter pages on a regular basis, Perry has acquired over 7,500 fans on Facebook and over 10,600 fans on Twitter. One campaign staffer even said social media sites have influenced Perry’s governing decisions: he recently vetoed a child abuse bill in part because of negative user comments on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Businesses Looking Towards Twitter

As President Obama popularized during his presidential campaign, social media has become a very effective tool for communicating a message, or even advertising a business. Companies have become very aware and attracted to the potential a social networking site, such as Twitter, possesses. Businesses are able to communicate directly consumers to build loyal support and locate unique markets to gear operations towards. The simplicity and benefits of social media has allowed anyone to utilize it.

Building Grassroots Support

Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have catalyzed a change in political campaigns to include a new and fundamental component, social media. Campaigns all across the country have incorporated the most efficient way to communicate with constituents and display the latest information.  A free and quick way to instantly connect with thousands of people is too good to pass up, and essential in order to stay up-to-date.

China blocks Twitter and other social media

Political censorship in China is as old as the Ming dynasty, but China's decision to block Twitter just days before the anniversary of Tiananmen Square is a new development. In light of the recent protests that played out on Twitter over the Iran election, China's preemptive action to avert a similar uprising over Tiananmen Square is not surprising. In addition to Twitter, other social media such as Flickr, Hotmail, and Microsoft's live.com were also blocked. China also censored several prominent blogs that host Chinese users, including blogspot.com and wordpress.com. And a few weeks ago, China blocked every video on You Tube.

Obama Utilizes Social Media

President Obama has employed the use of Facebook, emails and other sources of social media, as he did in his presidential campaign, as a tool in reforming the health-care industry. Obama has again turned to grassroots in order to garner support in hopes that key legislators and stakeholders will take notice. Unlike the efficiency and effectiveness of the campaign, the President has been receiving mixed results.  Time will tell if the President will be able to reform what others before him have not been able to achieve.

Twitter influences coverage of Iran election

While the major news networks were focusing their attention on other stories, droves of disgruntled Tweeters were focusing their attention on the major news networks. Upset that the networks, CNN in particular, were not giving the watershed election in Tehran sufficient coverage, the masses took to their keyboards in protest on Saturday, devising a hashtag "CNNfail" to express their disapproval. By Sunday, CNN had dramatically beefed up its coverage of the election with regular reports by Christiane Amanpour and several hours of live footage. While the media's initial coverage puzzled many Tweeters, what cannot be disputed is the role Twitter played in influencing the media's coverage of the election. Never before the advent of social media has the public been able to critique news coverage and demand change with such speed and force.

CPA Unlocking Stimulus Funds

Lobbyists have become actively involved in unlocking stimulus funds for private firms and local municipalities. Funds allocated for transportation and infrastructure projects have become the center of the action. "Capital Public Affairs, Inc. in Princeton is heavily focused on stimulus allocations for municipalities and higher education institutions" as stated by CPA President Steven Some in a recent NJ Biz article.

CPA is actively involved in working towards a green technology construction project for a college. In addition to engineering firms and municipalities looking to improve their infrastructure.