the social web's impact on politics and public policy
DESCRIPTION
A presentation about the impact of social media advocacy & activism on politics & public policy, by Jonathan Kopp, Chief Interactive Strategist & Managing Director, The Glover Park Group [ gloverparkgroup.com ], at the Washington, DC office of McKenna Long & Aldridge on 03 June 2014.TRANSCRIPT
The Social Web’s Impact on Public Policy Jonathan Kopp Managing Director / Chief Interac5ve Strategist The Glover Park Group
03 June 2014
@jonathankopp
A Decade of Social Media in Poli<cs
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Register Donate Volunteer Vote Share
2004 2008 2014
The New Horserace: Electeds’ Likes & Talking About
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Source: “Congressional Republicans have more Facebook fans, but Democrats are more energized,” Washington Post, 4/28/14
Ex-‐US: Social Web Fuels Popular Uprisings
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Take It From/To the Top.
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• 100K signatures in 30 days for response (up from 5K when launched in 2011).
• Post-‐Newtown gun control pe55on (12/12/12), neZed 100K sigs. in 1 day.
• 10 MM users & 15 MM signatures. • WH has responded to 200+ pe55ons.
Construc5ve Engagement
Social Web Advocacy Has Reached Maturity.
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Everyone a Clicktavist
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ü MoveOn.org ü Avaaz.org ü Change.org ü Care2.org ü Act.ly
Add Accelerant: Thunderclap
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As Social Standardizes, Staffer Skep<cism Surges.
53% of Hill staffers strongly/agree (25% are “not sure”) that iden<cal form communica<ons are sent without cons<tuents’ knowledge or approval.
Only 22% believe that messages actually reflect cons<tuent communica<on. [Source: Congressional Management Founda5on's 2011 Communica)ng with Congress report]
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When have signals from the social web influenced public policy and/or ac<on? What can we learn from them?
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18 January 2012 -‐ Day of Protest • 162 million people saw Wikipedia’s blacked-‐out message, “Imagine a world without free knowledge.”
• 70,000 smaller websites, including those of companies, advocacy groups & individuals, “went dark” or posted support messages.
• 4.5 million people signed Google’s pe55on. • 2.4 million tweets in one day. • Hundreds of thousands of emails & calls to Congress.
• 100K+ signatures on a WeThePeople site. • 70,000 people added an5-‐SOPA/PIPA badges to their TwiZer, Facebook & Google+ avatars.
SOPA/PIPA: Legisla<on Swigly Killed The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was opposed by Google, Microsog, Facebook, Twijer, Reddit, Wikipedia, Cheezburger Network, WordPress, Mozilla, among others.
SOPA/PIPA Difference Makers
• Big corporate funders • Populist issue • Clear message • Technology leaders with most trafficked websites • Highly coordinated, integrated tac5cal ac5vity • Innova5ve approach • Call to ac5on
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Results: ü President Obama cited ASCE Report Card at Miami port event. ü Congress enacted Water Resources Reform & Dev. Act for 1st <me in 7 years. ü Forward mo5on on the highway bill.
ASCE: America’s Infrastructure Report Card
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ASCE Difference Makers
• Rela5vely obscure driver, but… • Large membership organiza5on… • With assets in every state & county in the country • Enabled localized & spot market targe5ng • Clear message: from important to urgent • Data based integrated campaign • Tried & true tac5c (report card) with innova5ve twist (app) & crea5vity (infographics)
• Endorsement from top influencers (White House, Colbert, etc.) 14
Student Ac<vism to White House Ac<on
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“Perhaps most important, we need to keep saying to anyone out there who has ever been assaulted: you are not alone. We have your back. I’ve got your back.” – President Barack Obama, 22 January 2014
C A U S E
E F F E C T
SAFER: Difference Makers
• Student grassroots ac5vists tapped social media to share campus assault news, data & reports.
• Programma5c approach, coordinated with like-‐minded organiza5ons. • Evidence-‐based: • Na5onal study in early 2013 about an5-‐rape ac5vists, accompanied by a series of blog posts and promo5on across the social web.
• 2nd na5onal study 5med to start of 2013-‐2014 school year analyzed 300 school sexual assault policies; promoted across the social web.
• Influen5al champions: Sen. Gillibrand, VP Biden & President Obama.
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Hashtag Deployment
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“We’re being tweeted into combat,” a military official told NBC News.
#BringBackOurGirls
Clicktavism: 1 million signatures on Change.org. 1 million tweets featuring #BringBackOurGirls in early May, including Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton & scores of celebs. Results to date: State Dept., FBI, DoD commit resources, equipment, personnel & poli5cal pressure. President Obama ready to appropriate $5 billion at the request of Congress.
#BringBackOurGirls: Difference Makers
• Urgency • Brazen criminal act against sympathe5c vic5ms • Authen5c outrage & concern among grassroots • Size & speed of popular response • Influen5al voices championing the cause
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Gun Reform, Round One: #Newtown
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Though social has helped fuel the gun debate, it has yet to produce many tangible policy change results. • Funding: More than $18 MM raised to date from more than 218,000 contribu5ons, with more than half of it coming from people dona5ng online in amounts of less than $200.
• Analy<cs: iden5fying the people who are the most outspoken and targe5ng them specifically, and iden5fying that unlikely groups of people such as veterans are pro-‐gun control.
• Communica<on: organiza5ons can quick and easy to talk to cons5tuencies at mass.
#Newtown: Lessons Learned
• Passionate base can make more noise than change; alienate opposi5on and moveable middle
• Fragmented coali5on • Lack of clear, agreed upon goals • Spokesperson maZers • No quick or easy wins against entrenched, funded opposi5on
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Re-‐load: #NotOneMore
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NRA: Outgunned From Both Sides?
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NRA Statement, 30 May 2014: …. If we exercise poor judgment, our decisions will have consequences …such as turning an undecided voter into an an<gun voter because of causing that person fear or offense. Recently, demonstrators have been showing up in various public places, including coffee shops and fast food restaurants, openly to5ng a variety of tac5cal long guns…. …. while unlicensed open carry of long guns is also typically legal in most places, it is a rare sight to see someone sidle up next to you in line for lunch with a 7.62 rifle slung across his chest, much less a whole gaggle of folks descending on the same public venue with similar arms. Let's not mince words, not only is it rare, it's downright weird and certainly not a prac5cal way to go normally about your business while being prepared to defend yourself. To those who are not acquainted with the dubious prac<ce of using public displays of firearms as a means to draw aZen5on to oneself or one's cause, it can be downright scary. It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-‐minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and ques<on the mo<ves of pro-‐gun advocates.
Open Carry Texas, Gun Rights Across America, Come & Take It
NIMBY: Single-‐Family Rental Homes
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YIMBY: Na<onal Rental Home Council
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Social media can drive government ac<on, but specific condi<ons are typically required.
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PUBLIC INFLUENCERS
Bojom-‐up: Grassroots groundswell
Top-‐down: Engaged celebri5es from
poli5cs, entertainment & sports
Tipping Point
CHANGE
Social Media Is Key Ingredient, Not a Silver Bullet
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Fundamentals of effec<ve communica<ons:
Analy<cs & Insight
Strategy
Message
Content
Targe<ng
STRATEGIC APPROACH
Paid
Owned
Earned
INTEGRATED TACTICS (online and off) +
The Social Web’s Impact on Public Policy Jonathan Kopp Managing Director / Chief Interac5ve Strategist The Glover Park Group
03 June 2014
@jonathankopp