facebook politicians
TRANSCRIPT
Facebook Native Politicians:
Friending for Office,then Engaging Online
Steven Clift, E-Democracy.org - @democracy Slides: e-democracy.org/learn
● Webcast, Google Slides ● Event Notice,
Eventbrite/Attendees● Twitter Storify
● Blog posts about:o Involveo Dan Jellinek
FYI - London Presentation Notes
1. Introduction and Context
1. Facebook Natives Get Elected -Minneapolis Case Study
1. Challenges
Outline
IntroductionGoing to the digital parade
Government by day, Citizen by night ...
BeNeighbors.org -Inclusive Outreach
Open Gov Facebook Group● Secret
strategy: One click to link wired councillors to #opengov
● 2200 members, 100+ countries
● Wired State● Minnesota E-Democracy, 1994● Minneapolis Issues Forum, 1998● “Internet” Mayor RT Rybak,
2001 - 2013● City has extra decade of local
“e” participation experience
Context
City Hall
In-person
ConversationsShared on
Your
Networks
Local
Media
Y
o
u
Local Biz
Nei
gh
bo
r #
1
Mpls
Issues
Forum +
Neighborh
oods
Join Group
Online public spaces in city 1998 - today
RT Rybak● Announced mayoral
candidacy online first in 2001 on MIF
● Online engagement: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
● Then came Facebook, Twitter ...
● Statso Maxed at 5,000 Facebook Friends,
Facebook “Followers”: 10,117o Twitter: 43,300 Followers
For the first time ...“... I could define who I was and what I was talking about … and not a reporter”
You are in the center
“networked individualism”
You
Friends
Family
Communities
Prof. Peers
Public
“Entities”
● Facebook: Engage YOUR local constituents, community activists, supporters … “friends”
● Twitter: Message media, be visible political player, soapbox to engage most wired
(Tool base varies by community …)
3. Facebook v. Twitter IMHO
Minneapolis Facebook Natives
Get ElectedHome of the 24x7 Facebook
City Council - Case Study
Minneapolis Wired Councillors● 13 Wards,
Single-District● $82K Full-time● 2 staff each● Weak Mayor
System● 4 year terms
● Decade+ Wired:o Gov Web Pages
o E-Newsletter using GovDelivery
o May “blog” on city time
o Neighborhood online forums
Election 2013● 4 open seats,
including mayor
● Some weak incumbents
● Result: 7 of 13 new council members
Map: MinnPost
Generational Shift ● First council elected:
o Somali-American
o Asian-American
o Mexican-American
o IT professional● New ave age: 41, was 52● Newcomers: 33 v. 50 returnedChart: TCDailyPlanet
Abdi Warsame
● Campaign “Group” -2K+
● Page - 1.7K● Personal
Friends - 5K● MN Somalis
Wired
Jacob Frey● Used Facebook
Ads heavily in campaign
● Tip: “Frustrated about something? Wait 24 hours before posting. Think it through :)”
Blong Yang ● Heartfelt commentary and big questions
● Not a campaign “friender.”
● “I was a nobody with little over 100 friends and now it’s over 1000. I like substance over style with some humor.”
Andrew Johnson ● 3x more engagement via PERSONAL profile than PAGE
● First IT professional, Open Data Leader
● Elected at 29
● 10 years old when E-Democracy.org launched :-)
Mayor Betsy Hodges
● Despite polls showing close race, handily beat candidate running more traditional campaign
● Daily posts and pics on profile
Alondra Cano
● Asks questions
● Streets● In-depth
next
In-Depth -Community Crime Forum and Police
Chief
1. Councillor uses Facebook Event to promote
community forum with police and communities of
color in particular
2. Police chief cites threats of “direct action” on
social media as source to pull-out hours before
event - Media reports pull-out extensively 1, 2
3. Reaction by Councillor with comment to
Facebook Event (35 comments, 28 likes) and her
Page (6 comments, 8 likes)
4. Live photos by Councillor during event
5. Mass signed community letter circulated by
African-American law professor, in newspaper,
mayor responds via blog, shares on Facebook,
community leader tags Mayor’s personal
Facebook profile with thanks
In-depth 6. Mayor and Police Chief reach out via media 1, 2,
3 … announce new series of public gathers,
Police appears in media, Mayor posts on
personal Facebook profile here and here
7. Posts via official police and city Facebook Pages
receive very few Likes … demonstrating that
Pages are now “destinations” and have little
“broadcast” reach compared to personal profiles
8. Filter Bubble - people’s exposure to related
content shows them only glimpses of the whole.
Month after event I found event from the group
cited by police chief for pulling out. I also found
friends-only (i’m one) profile post from Police
Chief about pulling out with 188 Likes and praise
for her safety-first decision from Facebook
friends (far more and the opposite of
likes/comments elsewhere)
9. Notable: Four main actors are all women,
women use Facebook more than men
#pointergateA month after this presentation, the case study actors unite online against media sensationalism … and generate global attention.
Detailed coverage.Even made the Daily Show.
What could go wrong?
1. Archiving, Public Records2. Open Meeting Laws3. Blurred - Personal vs. Campaign
vs. Governance4.Those Not on Facebook 5. Beyond Community Activists?
Connecting New Voices
Challenges
Need “Get Friendly”
Campaign
Over 50K Income
2x more likely
Open Gov Facebook Group● Secret
strategy: One click to link wired councillors to #opengov
● 2200 members, 100+ countries