Florence GOP's "Tech Summit"
On Saturday afternoon, yours truly had a chance to speak to Florence area Republicans at a "Tech Summit" which was convened by the new party leadership. Over thirty Pee Dee Republicans were in attendance, where they spent the day discussing specific IT tools, as well as getting a general overview of new media and politics, as well as discussion of strategic applications. Those who attended learned both the practical hands-on aspect of new media and internet communication, as well as broader tactical and strategic implications.Even if you don't Twitter, have a Facebook page, or blog, understanding the growing influence of these and other emerging technologies, as well as voters who heavily rely upon them, is crucial in being able to keep up with the rapidly-evolving political environment.
My lecture, which was the closing presentation, was a look at the proverbial forest, discussing this stuff from a broader perspective. Throwing out terms like "gatekeepers" and "agenda setting", as well as the examining the rapid evolution of new media may have served to entertain the audience, but it put my daughter, who was sitting in the back, sound asleep in minutes. Mike Reino has more discussion of this on his blog - SC6.
This lecture - "Contemporary Political Communication and New Media" - has been presented in college classrooms and to GOP organizations in both Carolinas over the last couple of years. This lecture is one of the building blocks for a full-fledged course that I should be rolling out at CofC next January.
The tech summit was very cutting edge for a GOP organization in this state and certainly very timely. It's a great testament to the forward-thinking mindsets of the new Florence GOP leadership.
I've already spoken with other GOP leaders who like this concept and are looking at doing this in their own areas. If this is something you want to do in your own backyard, then you'll want to give Ron McGill, Jamie Rogers, Dana Moody Shriver and Celia Urquhart with the Florence GOP a call or email soon!
Remember, KISS and we'll be alright.
Ron McGill
P.S. I can't remember my password. I'll get the corrected later.
Dana Shriver
This WAS done early in the Obama campaign and its tendancy to bog things down is the reason for all the media tizzy about his Blackberry during the transition. An extension of the idea of "the listening tour", the I got a call back from candidate X will tie bog down a candidate, while staffers IM'ing or texting back answers can create that appearance. I suspect that works best for a candidate running for an open seat or against an incumbent that one would like to paint as out of touch.
OTOH, real low tech, high touch practice of John Graham was to go to the grocery store for a half gallon of milk and walk the aisles and be approachable. Not far off of then Congressman Sanford holding "office hours" courtesy of Buzzy Newton at a number of Piggly Wigglys in the first district. Sometimes too many encumberances to enter the security zone of an imperial, er federal office building.