VISIONS OF AMERICA

ON A recent lazy Sunday morning, while channel surfing, I came across a C-SPAN TV show entitled "Booknotes." The particular episode I fortuitously discovered was about Joseph Sohm, a former history teacher, who has spent over 30 years photographing people, places and events in America. His photos have been published over 50,000 times in publications such as National Geographic, Time, The New York Times and the Washington Post.

Mr. Sohm has a new book out entitled, "Visions of America: Photographing Democracy. The book is the result of photos taken over 30 years from all fifty states that depict different aspects of American democracy. The author recently spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, DC about his life as a photographer, his body of work and his new book. His remarks captivated me but then I am a patriot and a photographer.

Watch the video of Mr. Sohm's talk here.

Read more about Mr. Sohm's new book here.

Visit the "Visions of America" website here. (Be sure to check out the "photo gallery" here).

NOT QUITE A FUSION OF TWITTER AND BING BUT INTERESTING

MICROSOFT LAUNCHED its own Twitter search engine today. BingTweets mashes up real-time Twitter search with results from Bing, the increasingly popular search engine. According to the NY Times, "the results is an interesting hybrid product that puts Bing's search results at the center of the experience, while the real-time Twitter feed appears in a sidebar on the left."

Bingtweets looks like an interesting project, but while its tagline is "Fusing Twitter Trends with Bing Insights," the reality is that it displays a Twitter feed next to Bing's search results and there is no real fusion between the two."

The Times continued, "We do like, however, that Microsoft stressed overall trends on Twitter and allows users to quickly get a grasp on what a trending topic is about. After all, Bing's results often display information about current news events like the earthquake in New Zealand today, for example. Breaking these trends down by popular terms, people, places, and products is also quite nice, and we are not aware of any other Twitter search engine that currently does this. We also like the ability to share results directly on Twitter through an oversized form at the top of the page."

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PRESIDENT OBAMA USES SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE AFRICA

AFRICANS ARE gathering at different capital cities Saturday to listen and watch a live video stream of U.S. President Barrack Obama's historic speech to Ghana's Parliament.

People are watching his speech at U.S. embassies in the region, while others participate online via Twitter, Facebook, and the White House blog. The visit is historic because it is the first time it will involve social media and because Obama is visiting Ghana rather than Nigeria, the western African powerhouse; and Kenya, his father's birthplace.

Using campaign-style techniques, Obama's message during his first venture into sub-Saharan Africa consists of the so-called "watch parties" at embassies, broadcasts in "public spaces" and streaming live content on social-networking sites. In Kenya, the U.S. embassy has organized a watch party at the Intercontinental hotel.

The U.S. government has set up a site where users can register to receive SMS (Short Message Service) updates about Obama's visit and send messages and comments. The visit organizers invited users to pre-send SMS messages via MXit, a South African SMS service with 14 million users worldwide.

"We are very proud to have been asked to be part of a campaign to better understand and engage with African youth," said Herman Heunis, MXits founder and CEO.

Obama's visit has generated a lot of debate, because he is insisting on visiting countries that show good examples of democracy and good governance, sending stern messages to countries like Zimbabwe and Kenya.

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SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOU OR HURT YOU

I HAPPEN to be attending the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers (IACREOT-I know it's a mouthful) conference in Spokane, Washington. Tonight I had a choice of going on a dinner cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene or taking a walking "ghost" tour of the The Davenport Hotel (where I am staying). Not having a lot of energy after a long day of seminars, I decided to return to my room, do some work and maybe get some dinner delivered by room service.

I sat down at a fine wooden desk to check my email and saw that a colleague had sent me a link to one of the sessions from the Buzz 2009: Social Media for Associations event. The session was called from "Brainstorm to Firestorm: Creating an Environment for Viral Marketing Success." The title peaked my curiosity, but not only did it sound interesting, the discussion was led by one of my favorite guys - Guy Kawaski and the panelists included Andy Sernovitz, Brendan Hart, Stacey Kane and Stephanie Miller.

I clicked on the link the colleague had sent my way and I watched the 1 hour 37 minute session. The topic attracted me because my organization has experimented with Twitter and other social media sites as a way to connect with voters. The panel discussion centered on how companies could create buzz using social media and some of the ideas opened my eyes - and all of them could be applied to the public sector. I highly recommend listening to the session if you are interested in viral marketing and how social media can help your company, government agency and/or association - you can watch the video here.

After the program ended I was reenergized about our social media efforts.

Shortly afterwords, I happened on a LA Times news story that was related to creating a "firestorm" but in a different way. The story was about a fellow who flew on United Airlines from Nova Scotia to Nebraska and the baggage handlers evidently broke his $3,500 guitar and to make matters worse, the company subsequently refused to take responsibility for the damage.

The long and short of it is that the fellow (Dave Carroll) wrote a song about the incident and posted it on YouTube. The music video has now been seen by 795,657 folks and United Airlines has apparently apologized and wants to use the video in its training classes.



While the panel discussion from Buzz2009 centered on how organizations could create a buzz using social media, the same thing is true for consumers, constituents, customers and individuals. Imagine for just a moment if the damaged guitar story was about a constituent who had received horrible treatment at the hands of some bureaucratic government agency.

How would the government agency have responded to a similar video posted on YouTube? How would you have responded if you were that agency's unfortunate manager?

The bottom line here is that social media and the Internet are changing the rules for the way in which the government and constituents interact. The government has "new" resources to reach the people it ostensibly serves but it is also true that constituents have new power - gone are the days of the painfully slow "letter writing campaigns" - today, thousands of people can hear a complaint (or compliment) with just a few keystrokes on a computer.

My suggestion - invest some time and energy and learn more about how social media tools might help you better serve people in your area.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Enjoy the holiday, the fireworks and all the history than has gone before us.

MAJORITY PICK NON-TRADITIONAL REGISTRATION

A MAJORITY of U.S. voters registered by mail, fax, e-mail or through a motor vehicle agency from 2006 through 2008, a U.S. agency reported Wednesday.

The federal Election Assistance Commission issued its report in accordance with the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, the agency said in a release. The report presents information provided by the states on the number of registered voters, the registration process and voter registration list maintenance, and is available at www.eac.gov.

During the two-year time period, a plurality of voters, 30.1 percent, applied for registration at motor vehicle agencies, and 28.8 percent by mail, fax or e-mail, the report said. Still, 14.9 percent applied the old-fashioned way in person at elections offices.

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BRING VOTER SYSTEMS INTO 21ST CENTURY

TOO OFTEN, attention to problems with the nation’s electoral process rises and falls with the coming and going of election seasons.

Occasionally it happens that events force the issue back onto the agenda, such as the upheaval in Florida during the 2000 presidential election and the Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore.

A new discussion began this week when the Supreme Court declined to rule on the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act; Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion ensures that the constitutional question will continue to be raised.

But there is a persistent threat to ballot access from election to election, and it is implicated in all reform debates: the voter registration system.

Unlike on many issues in election law and administration, there is a surprising amount of agreement on both sides of the aisle about how to modernize the registration system, for example, by eliminating arcane inefficiencies that waste resources, disenfranchise voters, frustrate election officials and complicate campaigns.

For two years, we were on opposite sides of a historic election, serving as general counsels to the Obama and McCain presidential campaigns. As adversaries, we disagreed passionately about many issues.

Our roles in the campaign, however, were often similar; each of us was responsible for guiding our candidates and campaigns through the overly complex gantlet of election administration. Those experiences led us to an inescapable conclusion: Bringing our voter registration system into the 21st century must be the priority for improving the election process.

It is fortunate that many now recognize this pressing need. Election officials, voting experts, candidates, campaign operatives, policy-makers from both parties and —- most important —- voters are frustrated by the current registration system and the resources it wastes, the fact that millions of eligible Americans are prevented from casting ballots and the insufficiency of the current protections against registration fraud.

These problems are rooted in the system’s near-exclusive reliance on paper voter registration forms.

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THE WHITE HOUSE ONLINE TOWN HALL MEETING RETURNS TODAY

THE POPULAR White House online town hall meeting makes its return today on the Internet at 10:15 PDT. The topic is healthcare reform.

President Obama will answer questions from an on-site audience at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va., as well as queries from the Internet. His senior advisor Valerie Jarrett will moderate the event. Unlike Obama's March town hall, which pulled questions about job creation and the economy from a user-generated list on the White House Web site, this time the administration has reached out to social networking site Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

You can watch, discuss, and engage through a Facebook live-stream chat application and viewers can send comments at WhiteHouse.gov/live or take part in a conversation on Twitter using hashtag #WHHCQ.

USING VIRTUAL REALITY FOR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT: A ONE DAY MINI-CONFERENCE ON SECOND LIFE

IF YOU work in the public sector you have stakeholders. Did you ever wonder how to use Web 2.0 technologies to better educate those folks?

If so, you might want to give the "Using Virtual Reality for Stakeholder Engagement" mini-conference some thought. The event is presented by PublicDecisions and will be held on Thursday, July 16 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (Eastern).

Conducted entirely in the virtual world Second Life, this one-day conference will provide you with the opportunity to experience and learn about the possibilities of hosting stakeholder learning events using virtual reality. You'll participate in presentations (including a virtual deliberation held in Second Life), discussions . . . even "field trips" that demonstrate how virtual reality is being used for stakeholder learning today.

What You'll Learn:

• The benefits and drawbacks of working with stakeholders in Second Life, including when it's appropriate, efficient and effective—and when it's not

• How Second Life differs from other technologies used for stakeholder engagement

• How Second Life can be used for a range of subject areas, including—but not limited to—environmental management

• Tips for using Second Life effectively, including how to access existing "islands" or spaces within Second Life's virtual world and how to create your own space
  

No experience is needed in order to attend the conference. You will, however, need to create a Second Life account (it's free) in order to participate. An orientation for registrants new to Second Life (and those who want a refresher) will be provided prior to the conference.

Learn more here >

GRAND JURY URGES VOTE BY MAIL ELECTIONS FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY

SACRAMENTO'S GRAND jury is calling for officials to take steps to allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail, a process that could save the county $1 million in each election.

The recommendation is contained in the final report of the 2008-2009 grand jury, which was released today and is available online at www.sacgrandjury.org

Elections officials endorsed the recommendation, saying that voting by mail not only saves the county money but promises to increase voter participation.

"We find that when people have the option of voting by mail, they do, they return their ballots," county elections spokesman Brad Buyse said. "It's cheaper, so we don't have to have 600 to 700 polling places and up to five precinct officers at each polling facility."

More people in Sacramento County already are voting by mail than going to polling places, Buyse said.

In the May 19 special election, 63.7 percent of the votes cast were by mail, and in last June's primary election 60 percent of the votes were by mail. In the November general election, however, polling places still received more ballots, with 55.8 percent of votes being cast there.

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BIG DISAGREEMENTS SURFACE IN CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION EFFORT

CITING POLITICAL pressures, the business group pushing the idea of a constitutional convention for the state has begun efforts to hand off that effort to an independent committee.

The Bay Area Council has been championing the idea since last August. More recently, they have found themselves embroiled in a contentious debate over whether a convention should be allowed to consider the property tax limits in 1978’s Proposition 13. This question culminated in an early June conference call with anti-tax groups who threatened to derail the effort.

“We don’t want to get electrocuted on one of third rails of California politics,” said John Grubb, a spokesman for the Council. “We want a neutral process to determine what will be in the constitutional convention.”

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CALIFORNIA V2.0: THE CONTINUING CONVERSATION ON THE IDEA OF A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION IN CALIFORNIA

FACED WITH a deepening budget crisis and a paralyzed political system, a growing number of Californians have concluded that their government needs a complete overhaul. The New America Foundation sponsored an event, "California v2.0: The Road to Fundamental Reform," to bring together the leaders of the reform movement and citizens to explore different paths to fundamental change, and to discuss some ideas for creating “California v 2.0,” an upgraded political system that meets the challenges of the 21st century.

According to Steven Hill, Director, Political Reform Program of the New America Foundation, "The room was overflowing, with 200 people, plus about a hundred more watched it live through our live webcast. There was a crackling sense of excitement in the room as people begin to contemplate what a constitutional convention could mean for California, as well as the historical sense of responsibility for creating a new future – California 2.0."



Also, you can read Steven Hill's oped piece on the subject of a convention by clicking here.