Brad A Schenck

Advanced Twitter

2011-11-20T22:45:00.001-06:00

Working through how to present Twitter in an advanced way is never easy. I recently pulled together a blog on storify with apps and tips I find helpful.

You can see it in full here: http://storify.com/bradaschenck/advanced-twitter

The blog is used as a presentation aid to work through each topic.

Question of new Social Networks

2011-10-30T17:16:00.001-05:00

This week I was posed this question:

"Hi Brad...I'm going to be getting started on my Dad's campaign for State Rep in ~~(removed)~~ and am planning on using Google+ for some different things. Just wondering why there hasn't been greater engagement from Politicians. Any insights?"

It is a great question. It's one that has two answers and one is about the network itself and two is about social networks in general. Let's tackle Google+ itself.

Google+ and campaigning.

Instead of giving some blanket guidance I would rather prompt you to ask a few questions.

At this time organizational pages aren't available. Are you ready to gamble to be there and accept features that aren't fully developed?
Does the dedication of resources make sense?

Have you fully developed other social networks?
Is there an audience there?
Are you creating something that is unique to this network?

What is your strategy?

Are you just going to be there? Is that enough?
Have you thought about the features you'll use?
How does this get you to victory on election day?

These are important questions. You should be very careful in answering these questions. When making your way through these questions consider it in this way.

Social Network exploration and campaigning.

There will certainly be new social networks that either appear or develop during any election cycle for the foreseeable future. People often get crazy about each shiny new thing that appears on the digital scene.

Here is how I would consider the questions above.

Does the dedication of resources make sense?

Whether you think calculate it as staff time or volunteers hours regardless you have limited resources. Does pulling development or focus from one to another network or task make sense.

Have you fully developed other social networks?

Have you reached your full potential on Facebook and Twitter? If you answered yes, I'd be baffled. I would love to sit down with you and understand how you were able to get every voting age person you needed to reach in your electorate on that network connected to you. Please let's have dinner on me. I may know a few people that want to hire you.

Is there an audience there?

Really do you have any clue if this new network has an audience you are trying to reach? If you can't answer this yet, stay away.

Are you creating something that is unique to this network?

What is your strategy?

You should have a clear initial plan with bench marks. You should be driving to somewhere. You can always revisit but you should always be refining.

Are you just going to be there? Is that enough?

Some people believe making an account on a network is enough. I say no way. Do it or don't. Don't be that campaign that tweets once a week. Don't be that campaign that links their Facebook and Twitter. Don't be that campaign that turns over the keys to a random intern.

Have you thought about the features you'll use?

What does this network offer that others don't? What will you do with them. If you can't figure out what they are you should probably stop and reconsider expending energy on them.

How does this get you to victory on election day?

If you can't answer this, again stop. Just stop. Don't answer this in the abstract. Answer in a very real way saying, "it will do these 3 things if we execute." If you can't, don't.

Post Hiatus, Dream and Promise

2011-10-25T02:34:00.000-05:00

After a long hiatus and an infrequent schedule before, I'll make a new promise for weekly insights on what I'm seeing in the world of digital strategy and grassroots organizing.

Starting next week expect a little something each week on thoughts on the intersection of online and offline, and what is now organizing.

Until then, I'm going to take this moment to share what I think is a stumbling block of group discussion and technology. Our personal computing devices are amazing. We have smartphones, tablets with streaming 2 way video and multi monitor laptops. What we don't have are as many group smart devices. I know they exist with smart boards and a few other screen based applications.

I don't think smart boards alone will be the key or at least not as they exist now. The next step is out there with projectable touch screens. "Screens," in plural are the key. Humans often think in layers and dimensions to problems. We don't think flat. We think with depth. Once we are able to project with depth well be able to take a leap forward in how we communicate complex ideas in groups.

You have probably witnessed a complex brainstorm around an idea and realized that the idea could be better represented by adding a layer. But with a one dimensional board there can be no real layering. So we draw parking lots, thought bubbles and ideas to represent space. To the brain now, it's like wanting to scream but speaking softly, it bottles something up which ultimately closes off.

What we should ask for and expect next are clear carbon fiber screens that are projectable, flexible and light. Yes, it's all possible. We should expect to view with depth. To touch and move objects and ideas through a space or at least layers of a space. To frame problems in visible steps.

Here's to the brainstorms and training of the future.

You want to be a Social Media Consulting Guru to campaigns.

2011-03-06T23:43:00.001-06:00

I hear it a lot. It’s on the Twitters and on Facebook. It’s someone who has an “interest” in new or social media and politics. Now they want to be a political campaign social media tech guru. They read Plouffe’s book and added digital strategist to their linked in.

Here are a few things I’ve noticed and my advices to follow.

Many of these people are not reading content from thought leaders.
Most of them do not understand how broad and diverse the term new media is.
Many of them have never made a phone call for a political campaign.
Most of them have never knocked on a door for a political campaign.
Many of them throw around meaningless jargon.
Most of them have not worked in either the tech or craft side of new media (are you a developer, writer or videographer?)

If you are someone that wants to be a new media expert that works on campaigns I suggest starting here:

Go phone bank. (If you don’t know what this means you are in worse a place than you knew.)
Go Canvass. If you don’t understand these basic principles of a campaign you will fail to understand the complexities and nuances of communication. I’m not saying canvass once. I’m saying go out every weekend for a month or cycle.

Start reading blogs of new media thought leaders. Here are few that come highly recommended-
Chris Brogan
Ragan’s PR Daily
Loic
Wrap your head around what in new media you want to do. Decide what skills you need to hone. Will you work writing emails, developing sites or selling online ads? Should you go back to school or adjust your major if you are in school? Should you consider interning with a company or organization?

Most importantly drop the jargon you sound like a tool.

An extra note: Yes the terms are changing. Digital and digital strategy will be everywhere. If you haven't worked in the field before do not add digital strategist to your title. Once you have strategized for a business or campaign feel free to. Until then stick to just digital or new media, do not sound like a tool.

How to create a vanity url, tiny url or custom short link.

2011-01-24T20:35:00.000-06:00

They go by a lot of names. Vanity url, tiny url, custom short link or in homage to one of the best known bit.lys. The other thing they all have in common when I wanted to create one I struggled to find a vendor that offered the service or step by step instructions of how to create one.

Here's my advice in a few short steps.

Step 1: Search for the URL you want.

I'm a big fan of and they offer around 50 top level domain choices.

Another website that is reputable and lets you search through all extensions from .ac to .co.zw is 101 Domain. They not only let your search but also understand the complications that can com from buying international domains. Domains like .org, .us, .com, .net and others are open to anyone but others have restrictions. Such as

Due to the governing law of the UAE: Israeli entities and individuals are not eligible for .ae domain names.
Restricted to natural individuals or legal entities within The Principality of Andorra, or those who have been residents for at least 20 years. The domain name must be identical to the name registered at the Andorran Commerce Register or the Andorran trademark.

Step 2: Register your name.
Once you've found the name you want register it. That simple.

Step 3: How to make shortcuts.
If you have a design background you could build your own. I don't so I shopped around. Both www.bit.ly and www.hootsuite.com offer great service but are certainly priced for a corporate use.

I would suggest www.shortswitch.com. They are affordably priced. Based in America and offer great customer service. A live human called me back. They offer step by step instructions on redirecting your new vanity url.

It is really that easy.

Facebook EdgeRank: Getting your post on News Feeds, and keeping it there.

2010-12-18T17:47:00.000-06:00

Tech Crunch explains how items appear and stay in a News Feed on Facebook. Below are best practices to get and keep content in News Feed.

You may not realize it, but News Feed only displays a subset of the stories generated by your friends — if it displayed everything, there’s a good chance you’d be overwhelmed. Developers are always trying to make sure their sites and apps are publishing stories that make the cut, which has led to the concept of “News Feed Optimization”, and their success is dictated by EdgeRank.

At a high level, the EdgeRank formula is fairly straightforward. But first, some definitions: every item that shows up in your News Feed is considered an Object. If you have an Object in the News Feed (say, a status update), whenever another user interacts with that Object they’re creating what Facebook calls an Edge, which includes actions like tags and comments.

Each Edge has three components important to Facebook’s algorithm:

First, there’s an affinity score between the viewing user and the item’s creator — if you send your friend a lot of Facebook messages and check their profile often, then you’ll have a higher affinity score for that user than you would, say, an old acquaintance you haven’t spoken to in years.
Second, there’s a weight given to each type of Edge. A comment probably has more importance than a Like, for example.
And finally there’s the most obvious factor — time. The older an Edge is, the less important it becomes.

Full Article on TechCrunch: HERE

Here is what this means for organizational posting and what to consider in order of pieces of the algorithm.

Affinity:

Does your staff click “Like” on everything? Part of how they count affinity is how much similar people in a group like something. The more people that “Like” content are connected, the more likely it is to show up in other connection’s feeds.

Have you discussed clicking “Like” on everything with volunteers? It will increase how much of your content they see. It will also increase the likelihood of people in their network seeing content.

Does your account mention volunteers with the @ function? It builds the affinity between the page and the user.

Do staff and volunteers share the links? It not only builds their affinity but builds the affinity higher in their network. This is also how you see exponential growth in impressions.

Weight:

Anecdotally, you may have noticed people tend to engage the most with videos and pictures. Facebook has weighted this in the way it places items in the News Feed. In order of weight and likeliness to come up in the Newsfeed:

Video- Sharing the Youtube links or going to the next level download and uploading videos will push more content into the Newsfeed.

Photos- There is a reason to take photos at every event. Also, photos do not feel as intrusive as links and videos. If you posted more photos into the updates, you can increase affinity. Tagging people in photos will build their affinity.

Links- Which includes links to blog post, events, articles etc (anything but Youtube links which count as video) have significantly higher weight than a status alone (status alone would be posting just text as status update without a link). Also links with images are more likely to increase interaction. When people share your links, they are also building affinity.

Time:

Naturally, the older an item is, the less likely it is to stay on the Newsfeed this is the Time factor. Be mindful of posting in times when people are already most likely to be online. Also, if you have built a well-trained staff and volunteer base to click “Like” and “Share”, post early in the day, so it will linger longer on people’s personal Newfeed. What fights Time decay (how quickly the post leaves someone’s NewsFeed) are Affinity, Weight and interaction. The number of times people have commented, clicked and shared will help the post fight Time decay.

Other tips to keep information up on the Newsfeed:

Timing:

M-T-W in the evening from 7-9 are statistically the best times of day to post for raw interactions.

You might be able to see now from EdgeRank why you wouldn’t post 2 things back-to-back. If you post two things within an hour of each other, you are likely to split the number of people clicking “Like.” This will result in having a lower EdgeRank, which means appearing on fewer News Feeds and decaying faster.

Hosted Discussion, often a #FAIL?

2010-12-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

Having sat through a great number of “discussions” at trainings, conferences and events that were billed as just that, there is always one clear difference. That difference, did the host plan an agenda and set ground rules? I know for some on the left the idea of the constraint of any rules is abhorrent. But what you have otherwise is often a mob of disrespect and one off ideas that form no conclusive idea or next. After the great and botched discussions I've sat through, here is my advice for two simple things to keep discussion moving and beneficial.

1. Agenda-

Beforehand layout what you intend to cover. Time slots for these topics. Questions that you would you would like to see answered. Share this agenda either at the beginning or even before hand to attendees.

Norms-

During the session itself preset or have the group decide on norms. Is the host going to call on speakers? Is the host going to control this to keep the discussion on topic. Are you going to ask people to mute phones? Are people going to be allotted time to discuss or is it ok to co-opt the discussion as your personal soap-box.

With these two thoughts in mind the value will be greater for everyone and I'll look forward to joining you.

I built it. Why didn't they come?

2010-11-27T20:35:00.000-06:00

Social Media is not the corn field of a Kevin Costner film, you can't just build it and expect hordes of active users. This was one of the tragic pains of the 2010 campaign cycle. A slew of campaigns either turned their social media over to young intern who likes Facebook and knew what Twitter was or paid a firm to develop a great website, Facebook fanpage and Twitter account and that's where it ended.

This left campaigns asking where's the magic? Where are all of our fans?

Trust me, they were there. They were just never connected. Very few campaigns held new media or social media trainings. Spending time online analyzing and later in the field with volunteers, many volunteers didn't know their campaigns Facebook or Twitter handle, but they themselves used these social networks. The disconnect many places went so far that staff for campaigns themselves would be active on these social networks but rarely used it to connect with their volunteers or share the campaign's message.

How to bridge the disconnect? Here are 4 steps that will change a campaign's online presence.

1. Signage-
It may sound simple. But office after office didn't have the campaign's Twitter or Facebook on visible signs. Near entry ways and by computers are certainly good places in the office. Rallies and events are also two great places to use signage to share these networks.

2.Promote at Events-
Many people who use social networks do so from their mobile phone. Every political event I've been to has had some awkward down time. That time could have been filled by asking people to get out their mobile devices and Tweet that they are there or like the candidate on Facebook.

3. Have Staff Share on Their Networks-
There is a whole sea of reasons why staff might not be doing this. First of all they might not think they are allowed. It happens. I've also witnessed staff just not sharing because they hadn't thought about it. With staff sharing there is a likelihood they are friends with likeminded people and volunteers who would share too. But someone should ask staff to share. Don't be afraid they've given up every other functional part of their life, this isn't that big of an ask.

4.Training Staff and Volunteers-
First make sure you train the staff. Spend some time getting them engaged on Twitter and Facebook. Get them in the habit of sharing content and engaging with volunteers in social networks.

Train volunteers. I would suggest a welcome to Facebook and Twitter Training and then a how to be a digital activist training. Help people understand how to engage.

You've built it, take them there and more will come.

Political Correctness

2010-11-12T17:13:00.001-06:00

Political Correctness- I believe the term overused and vilified should not be considered trifle. It is an important component in moving our society forward. The more you move any notion that is misguided from the public sphere the more likely you are to remove it from society as a whole. Certainly there are always outliers and examples one can try to challenge this. But as a point of broader longer progress, as a whole, it's true.

Family or Staff?

2010-09-26T23:43:00.000-05:00

As the campaign season strides into sleepless nights and hours locked in the same rooms together one thing will be clear. That one thing will be campaigns that embrace each other as family and community and those that see each just as staff.

The family will respect each other for the roles they play. In this kind of community there will still be fierce disagreements and often heated. The key difference is the family bond let's people know they are still moving forward together. That bond also keeps disagreements in the family.

The other profound difference is that family culture will grow spread into the community. Truthfully the staff culture will too but not as far. Campaigns that treat staff as just another staffer, find their staff treating volunteers and supporters as numbers or means to an end. The family model grows deeper. I've watched complete strangers form life long bonds while working on campaigns. It happened because they invited each other in and treated on another like family through the long hard hours of engaging democracy.

While election day might be close, it is not too late to evaluate if where your culture stands.

The question might be what does this have to do with new media?

Everything! Campaigns that take the family road develop a tone that binds people for something bigger than self. It comes through in the asks and actions people are asked to take. The family tone changes how people engage and share the message the campaign needs to spread. It changes peoples investment. Create a family and welcome everyone in.

Yard Sign planter or Activist

2010-09-07T23:11:00.000-05:00

The internet for all of it's marvels makes us feel like we are doing things. Sometimes we are, sometimes we aren't. We've all done it. We've changed our avatar and signed a petition. Then felt good and connected to some great cause. Welcome to the digital Yard Sign. It makes us feel engaged but isn't quite activism.

It's that fine line that changes from digital yard sign planter to activist. Here's a few examples.

Switched your avatar to the symbol for a campaign and ended there = digital yard sign planter.

Switched your avatar and got 5 friends to sign up for a something = activist.

Clicked Like on 30 campaigns you love = planting lots of digital yard signs in your yardville.

Clicked like on one 3 campaigns you love, like, comment and share their links and invite friends to join = activist.

Read your favorite blog everyday and rant to your dog = yep, digital yard sign planter.

Read local blogs, comment and link to offline actions people can take = activist.

The theme is action. Don't stop at the lowest bar of the simple click. Even better use the internet to organize online for offline real human interaction.

Managing the Message

2010-08-13T00:10:00.000-05:00

I recently had the privilege to spend time really watching two sides of one race. So often my time is scattered among a host of states and races. While one can analyze any number of factors and attribute them to wins or loses, I would rather do neither here. What I found really fascinating is how destructive it can be when a group or campaign doesn't manage their message.

What I witnessed was a culture that encouraged people to say and behave however the individual felt best. While we all want to encourage individualism and free thought, this to a movement or campaign can wreak havoc. It encourages a, "they who speaks loudest and most often are right behavior, silences the minority and leads to those who are loudest becoming your messengers.

True every campaign needs vocal and passionate messengers. But what they don't need are people spreading their message in the name of a campaign.

If a campaigns doesn't set and manage it's message they can only expect others to run what ever message they see fit. In this case I watched one side demanded that staff and supporters stay focused on positive messaging and facts. The other allowed a culture of supporters to say what ever they felt and did nothing to contain the spirit or message. The anecdotal feedback I received from those neutral to either campaign was the mixed messages and negative messaging bothered them. While a cluster of loud and angry people can help a movement seem larger than it is and drive media there often comes and inevitable reality. Most people are not loud and angry. Most people are turned off by loud an angry people. More importantly the true meaning and goals of the campaign my be lost in loud rants.

With that, remember stay connected to your movement. Create a culture where people can share their common ideals and dreams, yet funnel them through a unified message.

Thanks,
Brad