My friends at Democracy for New Mexico and New Mexico FBIHOP are fundraising again: they’ve started an ActBlue page for all of the Democratic candidates for federal office in New Mexico. They inlcude: Sen. Barack Obama, Rep. Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, Harry Teague, and Ben Ray Lujan.

The netroots is playing a big role in elections this year, and I give some serious props to Matt and Barb for stepping up and getting this effort going. I think it’s a testament to their hard work, and a recognition of the role they’re playing, that each of the New Mexican candidates are posting guest blogs this week (you can see Heinrich’s posts here and here).

Matt has a great post introducing the project, highlighting the unique situation in New Mexico this cycle:

In 2008, New Mexicans have a chance for a true change — a golden opportunity to make a True Blue New Mexico.  There are more Democrats than Republicans registered in the state, and Democrats control both the state Senate and House.  Yet in federal offices, Republicans hold a 3-2 advantage, including a 2-1 advantage in the House. This year, that can change — and change dramatically.

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve thought that some additional attention in southern New Mexico from groups like the DCCC could help push the district closer toward the “Democratic” column, and with the right candidate Rep. Steve Pearce might have had a fight on his hands. With changing demographics, who knows what would have happened? Read the rest

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So, Thursday day I blogged about Brian Reich’s thoughts on using technology to connect with your audience – with a foundation of clear, defined goals and a strategic vision of what you want to accomplish. Today I’m expanding a bit on those thoughts, with an emphasis on the user as content creator.

Off the Bus director Amanda Michel penned a piece Friday morning on the role of citizen journalists in today’s political/media environment. The post focused on Mayhill Fowler, an Off the Bus volunteer who wrote broke two of the biggest stories of the Democratic presidential campaign: Obama’s “bitter” comments and former Pres. Bill Clinton’s “scumbag” remarks.

Fowler defines herself as a citizen-journalist: an ordinary American armed with paper, pen, and a working Internet connection. Sometimes these people are armed with cameras and tape recorders, but that only makes them more effective: the reporting is backed up by audio or video. Michel argued that one form of journalism isn’t superior to another, but maintains that citizen journalists should be respected and taken seriously:

So, if the media, and the citizen media, actually show up and Bill starts talking, there’s no debate. Any journalist who overheard Clinton answer Mayhill’s question could have posted this news item. Anyone else could have trained his/her recorder, videocamera, or cellphone on him for those two minutes. And why shouldn’t they? It was a public event hosted by a former president and, for all practical purposes, EVERYTHING was on the record.

Michel’s piece reminded me of the old photographer’s rule: unless a person has a “reasonable” expectation of privacy, you have every “right” to photograph them. Based on this simple assumption, people walking on the streets, inside stadiums, or otherwise in a public place are fair game for photographers.

I think applying that standard to politicians and others “in the news” would almost work perfectly. Today, there’s no guarantee that what you’re saying in a public space won’t be broadcast on YouTube an hour later or repeated in a blog the next morning. If you’re out in public, your words and actions are not protected from publication.

What does this have to do with reaching your audience? Well, it’s hardly news that we’re moving beyond the realm of content creation being controlled by a few well-connected or entrenched individuals or companies. Blogs, Facebook and Twitter have changed the name of the game: social interaction online is where the future lies. New technology is going to make that even easier: Qik lets users live-stream video straight to the Web from their cell phones, while the new iPhone will have support for blogging applications like MovableType and Wordpress.

We’ve already seen serious interaction occur on Twitter: two congressmen Thursday debated drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, all via Twitter. They traded jabs and tried to sway each other, but also answered direct questions from other users: not necessarily their constituents directly, but Americans who would be impacted by the legislation nonetheless.

Also this week, Matt Stoller shared his experiences discussing political organizing with high school students. According to Matt, the students don’t really use e-mail anymore: they communicate almost exclusively via Facebook or SMS.

This is a profound change in the way Americans communicate (something I alluded to in my review of Nixonland). If, in the future, the primary means of reaching young voters (or consumers, etc.) online is via a site designed around social networking, traditional media is doomed.

As reinforced by Clay Shirky’s “looking for the mouse” story, communication conducted solely through a social networking portal is a sign that newspapers and television have to fundamentally shift their content delivery if they’re going to stay alive. Being on the receiving end is no longer enough for these new media consumers.

So, what’s the key to reaching your audience in the digital age? Aside from the guidelines Reich outlines in his book, finding you audience where they are is imperative: two congressman on Twitter is hardly a milestone, and their constituents might not be there (yet), but these guys are still making news and debating public policy in an open forum, and they’ll be recognized for it.

And that’s the other angle: regardless of their motives, these congressman accepted and realized their debate would connect them with people who would spread the word. Embracing citizen journalism (whether on blogs, Facebook or Twitter) is going to be a huge boon for those who actually master it. Traditional media is not going to disappear immediately (though some argue it’s going to be soon), but it won’t be a place where younger people will find any of their information: not because it isn’t good information, but because they can’t respond or add to the discussion.

I attended a brown bag lunch yesterday hosted by the Institute for Policy, Democracy and the Internet and featuring Brian Reich (of EchoDitto), one of the co-authors of Media Rules. He was leading a discussion about the role of technology in connecting with your audience, and non-profit staffers (like myself) were joined by consultants, media types, government employees, etc.

Reich said, as a consultant, he grew so tired of trying to explain to organizations why they should truly embrace a technology strategy, he decided to write a book about it. From an original idea of 15 chapters centered on the same number of “rules” came the final text, which he says is more about strategy and organizational management.

The discussion was intriguing, and the book is definitely going on my “To Buy” list. One of the first things he stressed was that “the audience” - be it consumers, voters, residents, etc. - today have the ability to truly demonstrate what they want and expect. Underestimating your audience (whether it’s how much work they’re willing to do or how readily they’ll digest the information you’re providing) is a no-no, Reich says. Marketers, political organizations and others are still trying to convince people “We’re right,” rather than actually listening to what people want. Whether through their spending decisions or through blogs, voting, etc., the new world of communication is no longer a one-way street. I know - this isn’t groundbreaking in itself. For the good stuff, you’ll have to click through… Read the rest

From Kung Fu Monkey, on voting for Not-McCain:

If a three-legged dog were to somehow be nominated for the Democratic candidacy and chose as his running mate a gopher with a penchant for monocles and Victoriana, I would wear my “Tripod/Lord Whiskerkins ‘08″ button with pride and pull the lever with cheerful alacrity.

The rest of the post is 1 part venting, 1 part great writing on the end of Clinton’s candidacy.

After almost a month, I finally finished reading Nixonland last Thursday. It’s truly a remarkable book.

For starters, I never learned about this stuff in school — not in American history or civics during high school, or during any of the political science courses I took during college (granted, the WNMU courses weren’t geared that way, but still). Yeah, the major stuff was covered: it’s kind of hard to skip the Kennedy and King assasinations, Vietnam, McCarthyism, and Watergate. However, while I’ve picked up a lot of the themes over the years, never before have I had such an excellent resource on the era. Rick Perlstein lays it all out in meticulous detail, but in a narrative so lively you don’t want to stop reading.

The book is 748 pages long, and aside from some time on the beach I read it exclusively during my 45-minute commute: first on the bus, then on the blue-line train. Often, I just kept it out for the 7-block walk to the office, reading while avoiding pedestrians and traffic. It was that good.

Nixon is the plot device Perlstein uses to explore the radicalization of the left and the backlash of the right; the lies used to sell an unpopular war; and the racial tensions that led to riots and the rise of the Southern Strategy. The story is about so much more than Nixon, but he’s inexorably the focus: he played such a role in shaping the debates of that time (and today) that you can’t tell the story but through the Nixon lens.

The parallels between that generation and my own are stark yet unsurprising: the political forces have remained unchanged, while the players may have changed. Still, familiar names (especially on the GOP side) like Pat Buchanan, Karl Rove, and George Bush are spread throughout the tome.

Though I kept reading about the origins of todays political debates, I finished the book thinking the next generation will have moved past them. So many of my personal and professional relationships are completely online: I’ve never met these friends and colleagues, and yet my “collected life” is but a foreshadowing of those being built by teenagers across the country. Perhaps I’m being naive, but I think things like race will play less of a role in the future as more people interact over new media.

I might have more on this later, but for now, take my word on it: read Nixonland. You’ll come away from it with a better understanding of our history, and why today’s political conversations are framed the way they are.

Germans, recently privy to news that Europe’s biggest telecommunications firm was illegally wiretapping phone calls, are recalling what life was like when East Germany’s secret police were still around:

Experts say sophisticated modern methods — involving digital data, computers and mobile phones — are a far cry from the days of the Stasi who used steaming devices to open envelopes as well as magnetic microphones and typewriters.

“But there are similarities. There is the same lack of scruples over looking into peoples’ lives — the possibility of obtaining and using the information on people,” said Staadt.

The Stasi ran a notoriously effective network of domestic and foreign agents to quash dissent and guard the Berlin Wall against would-be escapees.

Remember, Sen. John McCain wants to make sure telecom companies here in America are protected from lawsuits regarding their illegal eavesdropping - and he’s ready to keep spying if he’s elected president.

Reuters story via Laura Rozen.

We’re starting a new feature at New Mexico FBIHOP: morning updates from yours truly. I posted the first “From the D.C. Bureau” update this morning:

So, welcome to the first installment of Morning Edition from the D.C. Bureau. The basic premise is to provide a quick update on what’s happening in the world and perhaps highlight a couple of overlooked stories or others that I just find interesting. Sundays will feature an expanded edition (since, you know, it’s Sunday).

Stay tuned over at NMFBIHOP. Also, some site stuff: I’ve updated the MAPLight.org widgets in the sidebar to reflect the primary winners, so those should carry us through the November election. If you want to find out more about the winners, head over to the New Mexico portal page on Congresspedia.

Finally, I’ve installed PicLens support: if you’ve installed the Firefox extension, knock yourself out. Otherwise, there’s a link on each photo post now to start a slideshow. I really do love browsing images using PicLens, so I recommend it.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Via NewMexiKen.

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I thought I’d use my time-zone advantage to get the news out for LP at NM FBIHOP: it looks like Rep. Steve Pearce defeated Rep. Heather Wilson for the GOP Senate nomination. He’ll go on to face Rep. Tom Udall in the November general election.

The Associated Press called the race at 2 a.m., though the Secretary of State’s Web site still only lists results for 31 of 33 counties on its Web site. According to KOB’s Web site, with 99% of precincts reporting, Pearce won by more than 3,000 (which, for New Mexico, seems like a huge margin).

Read the rest

This is the third in a three-part series on my Memorial Day 2008 camping trip to Assateague Island National Seashore. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Sorry for the delay, but here are the photos from our third day at Assateague. The wind was pretty crazy on Monday, so I didn’t really want to risk using the camera that day, so this is my last post for these photos.

Sunday was basically the day where everything really came together. Saturday’s partly cloudy skies gave way to an amazing blanket of clear blue - one of the most perfect days I’ve ever seen. The day began with a beautiful sunrise as the last wisps of cloud started toward the Atlantic. I spent some more time searching for shells and taking pictures along the shore, before making my way back to camp for breakfast.

Relaxation was the name of the game Sunday: we ate lunch, sure, but otherwise we were hanging out on our towels an blankets with our books, until we stopped to throw the frisbee around or play soome horseshoes. Aislinn and I actually jumped in the water for a swim at one point - I’ll just state for the record that the Atlantic is cold in late May, at least this far up the coast.

I finally saw some crabs on Sunday - something I’d been looking forward to all weekend. As we left the beach that evening to prepare dinner, I spotted a couple of little ones shuffling and scurrying about. Nature’s pretty amazing: if they hadn’t been moving (and I hadn’t been actively looking for something to photograph) I’m not sure I would have seen them.

That night, a crab wandered straight into our bonfire on the beach. We have no idea what the little fella was thinking - he walked straight into the flames and coals, and he lost a couple of legs before we were able to get him out and take him near the water. I hope he was OK.

We saw a few more crabs that evening, larger ones, using our headlamps and walking around the beach. We finished off our marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers, and I didn’t bother waking up early the next morning to see the sunrise. After we packed up camp we spent another few hours on the beach, as members of our party trickled away. Finally, the four of us who arrived first were the only ones left, and after a sandy lunch of sausages and hot dogs (the wind was intense) we loaded up the car and hit the road.

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This is the second in a three-part series on my Memorial Day 2008 camping trip to Assateague Island National Seashore. You can find Part 1 here.

I didn’t really plan on waking up this early: checking my watch, it was only 5:40, an ungodly hour that I try to avoid at all costs. I had thought it would be worthwhile to see the sunrise, and that I did bring my camera along for a reason, but those thoughts were wrapped in a Yeungling-blanket 12 hours earlier.

Still, I was awake, and I could tell daybreak was on its way. I scurried back into some clothes and shoes, grabbed my camera bag, and made for the dunes.

The first thing I saw was this pale peach glow punctuated by the fence’s silhouette. And the gull hanging out. And I knew I had made the right decision.

I spend some time snapping off some sunrise photos: the water, the sun, the surf, shells on the beach, etc. I wandered up the coast for an hour or so, then wandered down it for another. I met fishermen and a few people walking their dogs, and spent a lot of time sitting and taking the experience in. There’s a lot to be said for the peaceful crash and boom of waves hitting the beach, interrupted by the raucous gulls’ cries or the chirps of the sandpipers. I collected some shells for a possible project, and watched a guy haul a two-foot long shark out of the water. “We catch em all the time,” he told me.

I finally made my way back to camp, and found my three companions just lately stirring - it was about 9:30, the lazy bums. We ate a breakfast of granola bars, muffins and fruits, and then made for the beach. It was cold at first, lying out on our blankets, but the chill gave way to bright sunshine and a partly cloudy sky. We grilled up some lunch, threw the frisbee, played some cards, and welcomed the arrival of four other guests: Danielle, Kristin, Monica and Rebeca. It was back to the beach for some more fun in the sun before we fired up the propane for dinner, and then we were off on a sunset stroll around the area. Finally, it was time for a bonfire and smores: this time with a different bundle of wood.

So, more photos below, and part three of our adventures awaits you tomorrow!

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