Punching Stupid and Evil in the Face Since 1986!

"We are on strike, we the men of the mind. We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties."-John Galt

Friday, October 2, 2009

Defending the American Dream Summit 2009 Day 1

Gooood morning! It is a beautiful day here in DC. I was up and at 'em at 6 am local time. Got in a few exercises, showered, dressed and came on over next door to the conference hotel. I did forget to eat, so shortly I will be hunting and gathering.

This morning will start with various training tracks for the next 3 hours, then at 11 I will be on a panel talking activism-how I got started and what I have learned thus far. It will be great fun to share my experiences up to this point. If you read my post yesterday, you know why I do it and what it means to me, but there are things I would have done differently and it is an on-going learning experience.

Right Online folks-Internet Activism Training
Web 2.0-All about connecting people
Is blogging just a fad? Definitely not. Blogging is growing exponentially everyday. We are connecting, learning and sharing.
This trend isn't going away.
40-60% of people get their political info off of the Internet.
Most Tea Parties, 9/12 events and recent protests have all been organized on-line.
Why would you blog? Why would you put yourself out there? To connect with people, to influence people, to make connections and make a difference.
To be successful and have a reach in Blogging and Social Media-it takes a firm commitment, and your time, but it is free.
Look at the new media tools and find the one you like best. Not every format is a good fit for every individual.
Write what you're passionate about. That will make your blog good.
Use Social Media to promote yourself
Facebook and Twitter are major players in the Social Media game-use them.

Leadership Institute
She who defines the debate wins the debate. Discussing how to effectively debate another and how to influence with the right language.
To be effective you should show compassion then follow with facts. M=EC3
Your Message=Emotion, Contrast, Connection, Credibility
Emotion is very important because this is what influences people to think. It is what motivates them to act. It gives them a way to connect with you.
Write letters to the editor.
Go to town meetings to influence local policy.
Know your facts and grab peoples attention.
Know your audience. If your advertising, make sure you pick the right venue to get your message out.
Identify short and long term goals. Get message out according to those goals. Some things are appropriate for grassroots, some need media.
Make sure once you get your organization formed you identify the people who are a part of it. You don't want to keep having to find new people when you have effective people.
Always take the high road. Never let others define you or your message. Keep the focus on the message. Everything else is just a distraction.

American Majority Grassroots Training
Slideshare-good tool for sharing PowerPoint
You don't have to be a professional to use the tools available. Just do it!
In history, the people who had the most influence and made the biggest difference were regular people.
No excuse to not get involved. Everyone can find a news story and get it online to influence/inform people you know (-and people you don't).
Anyone can post a link on Facebook to a news story.
Web 2.0-collective intelligence.
If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest country.
Social capitalists-people who value the network they are building.
People idolize people who get involved.
Parts of a well defined organization contain these basic people:
The Bricklayer-does one thing really well and does that thing all the time. Could be any part of the organization.
Socialite-enjoys networking and networks constantly. They build the ties between others.
Pundits-the people who understand new media and use it. Thought leaders and commentators. Pundits get the message to the people.
Moveon.org-Created to get the Democratic Party to "move on" from the old agenda and to influence the new agenda. 3.3 million members. Those people are influencing elections, they are shaping policy. They went to areas that could be influenced and they had an impact. Held house parties, protests.
We want you online. We want you out there influencing opinions. This is how you will make a difference.
Everybody plays a part in the movement. Everyone brings something different to the table.
The left is holding events while we are working. We have to make the time. We have to find ways to contribute. This gets our message and our organizations out there.
The challenge now is to find the most effective way to blend all your networks together. Post one time, push it out to all your networks.
We must become modern day pamphleteers.
Anyone who interacts online is a patriot. You will not be liked. You will draw ire. But you will make a difference.
You might be influencing people you don't even know your impacting.
Influential Blogs:
Hot Air
Red State
Buy your URL. Buy OTHER URL's Buy all of the URL's you can think of and point them to what YOU want to show.
Start a blog. It's an easy way to get information to the people.
Once you get setup:
SET GOALS-what do you want people to get out of it?
Find outside resources-(News 50.com)The sum of the combined efforts is greater than the efforts of individuals separately.
Make News-Interview. Liveblog. Attend Events-then push your content out.
Many people don't even know this information unless you get it to them
Google alerts-Set google alerts to stay informed on your name and subjects that interest you so you can respond to true or false informaiton and begin to frame the arguement immediately.
Get plugged in
Be a real person. Be yourself online-don't create a persona. If you are authentic, people will connect more easily with you.
Ask questions.
Blog OFTEN.
If you can't or don't want to start your own blog, visit others. Comment. Make connections.
YouTube is the second largest search engine-eveyone should have videos on there.

So there you go-some take-aways for Day 1 of the Summit. The break-out sessions were fantastic!

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