Thanks Emi!

Family Friendly Blogging

In my Women in Leadership class tonight we discussed how the future of the internet, specifically blogs, will help to motivate more women to stay involved in Politics. For those of you who are unaware, female participation in our political system is on the decline because of our system's lack of support for family friendly policy.

Blogging, and its decentralizing ability to change communication from a top down to a more parallel structure, has the power to greatly effect future political relations. As blogs and other forms of internet discussion become more prominent within communities, I think we will have the ability help decentralize some of the inherently masculine institutions in our society. Hence, we will have a greater ability to change to the status quo and increase feminine participation in our political systems.

NOTES TO PONDER: How else can the internet be utilized to advance family friendly policy?

Disability Friendly

Our class discussion on internet access and usability for people with disabilities really struck a cord for me, so-to-speak. My mother is a hypotherapist, meaning that she gives horse back riding lessons to people with disabilities as a form of therapy. Growing up in her non-profit program, I volunteered for hours on end. Though at the time I did not understand the value of working with people who have disabilities, those experiences have helped me to understand disabilities on a greater level then most Americans.

In general, people with disabilities, if they need help, will ask for it. All too often, people just assume they want it. The goal of a disability friendly web site should be to enable the viewer to use the web site without much trouble. However, a web site that aims to be as disability friendly as possible should also devote space and time to developing venues for feed back, testing, and immediate help response.

NOTE TO PONDER: Why are web sites not more disability friendly? Are companies and campaign liable if their web sites are not disability friendly?

What the hell does Paris Hilton know about politics?

In our last class, we talk in length with Carol Darr about influentials. During this discussion we centered mostly on political influentials. However, it was made clear that these influentials are not just political, but social as well.

When it comes to influentials outside the Beltway I cannot help but think about people like Paris Hilton and other individuals that set the trends for the rest of us. Many of the social influentials, however, have little if any political experience. It was at this point in my thinking that I began to realize that influentials do not go through a screening process. In effect, these are people who are opinionated and share those opinions with others. But just because they are opinionated does not mean that their opinions are accurate or even justified.

NOTES TO PONDER: Do most influentials have political experience? Do they need it? Should we be weary of wrongly informed influentials?

Influentials as the Mediums

Influentials are crucial to any campaign, whether it be for political office or an issue oriented campaign. They are the mediums for delivering a campaigns message. They are the people who start and spread word-of-mouth strategies. They are the individuals often responsible for many grassroots efforts.

However, over zealous influentials can be a danger to a campaign as well. These individuals are not only probably involved in PACs and interest groups, but can also have their own messages that may get mixed up or unintentionally coupled with the campaign message.

NOTES TO PONDER: What is the most effective way to manage influentials? How can a campaign give them enough freedom to spread the campaign message the way the campaign wants to?

Online Invidious Distinction

In our class readings, Jacob Nielsen talks about how almost half of Americans have low literacy rate. Because of this, a website must cater to people with low literacy if they intend to have a large, public-in-general type of audience. I contend that though this is true, the diction chosen for a website can target a particular audience as well as or in addition to an effective marketing strategy.

Thorstein Veblen is a famous institutional economist who formalized the idea of invidious distinction. What this means is that there are certain ways that the upper class demarcates itself from the lower classes. It upper class does this on purpose in order to show their status and their superiority.

The word choice on a website can create an invidious distinction. If you want your user to feel as if they are part of an elite group or chose individuals, then catering to the low literacy rate in America is contrary to your interests. A good website may have separate appeals to both classes or simply a strong appeal to one.

NOTES TO PONDER: Are their other reflections of invidious distinction in online strategy? Are website better served as targeted as possible or to a public-in-general type of audience?

The Marxian Cell Phone

The Economist article, as highlighted by many of my classmates, focuses on the Digital Divide as simply part of the overall problem of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. In fact, many economists say that the growing unequal income distribution gap is THE major problem facing the world.

It is important to note that the conflict between the haves and have nots has existed for centuries, if not longer. Perhaps highlighted best by Karl Marx, these class conflicts (which are now global conflicts instead of just national conflicts) stem from individuals who own the modes of production and individuals who actually do the producing.

Though I do have some qualms with the Economist suggestions about the power of cell phones, I'm glad they could come up with an answer that wasn't Marx's "bloody revolution."

NOTES TO PONDER: Can there be a cell phone revolution that will help to equalize income distribution? Does Marx's emphasis on ownership of the mode of production explain some of the digital divide?

The Domestic Digital Divide

Some of my classmates have discussed the international Digital Divide. One important thing to discuss, however, is the national Digital Divide. As someone who works with the internet and politics on a daily basis, I can tell you that internet audiences are almost exclusively upper and upper middle class citizens (including younger generations). One thing to always remember is who your internet audience is.

Myself and four other young politicos put together a campaign plan for the Mississippi gubernatorial race in 2003 between Barbour and Musgrove. Because Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the Nation and is almost one third black, our most targeted voters were citizens who rarely accessed the internet. Therefore, our campaign plan included and website that targeted our national audience instead of our targeted voters.

This campaign experience demonstrates the digital divide in national politics. In this particular campaign, the internet was tertiary to other methods of voter outreach. The digital divide is as much a domestic issue as it is an international issue.

NOTES TO PONDER: Will the digital divide only make it harder to reach lower and lower middle class voters? Will these voters only be further excluded from the political process?