In an ever competitive university market, our Director of The Public Relations Program and current PR student Julia Parmley write that understanding new media and online interactivity are vital to new student recruitment. This, along with other insights appear in their recent article published in the PRSA Journal entitled "Tools of engagement: Universities reaching to the private sector for new perspective and best practices."
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, one of a few Hispanic women in congress, and the first member to have a sister in congress at the same time. She was an amazingly energetic person with a unique story. Talking with her gave have me a view into a person who takes on very serious issues at work, but somehow manages to be down to earth and is always able to connect with other people. A good mix to have as a member of congress. Enjoy!
Running for congress at the age of 27 is pretty remarkable. There are many hurdles as a young candidate, but there are also a few advantages. One is an ability to connect to young people through social media. When we interviewed Krystal Ball, candidate for Virginia's First Congressional District, currently held by Rob Whittman, I asked her about her notorious Facebook ads. (For those of you who don't live in Northern VA, her Facebook ads pop up if you have anything political in your profile and you live near Northern Virginia). She told us that they are a great way to build an early coalition and connect with young people. Additionally, they allow the user to micro-target very specific audiences. And she not only employs ads, but also recognizes that after someone clicks the ad, they need to be taken to a well populated facebook page. This is where the conversations happen and relationships are built. A recent article in PoliticsMagazine entitled "Why you should start your online GOTV early" discusses the use of new media for early GOTV. The plan is to use new media early to develop a highly targeted base of supporters that can be called upon later in the campaign. It is a cheap and easy way to build a base without having to expend too much. Many campaigns wait until their operation is in full swing to really engage online communities, but it may be wiser to engage these "net roots" early on. It's obviously not the #1 focus of many campaigns, but if you follow this model and focus on relationship building through the web early, it can be a great advantage when it comes to the last weeks of the campaign. (This article is in no way an endorsement of the candidate)
The attempts to focus on McDonnell's "anti-feminist" graduate thesis by the Deed's campaign seem to have fallen short of victorious. In fact, Democratic women seem to be crossing lines to express their support for McDonnell instead. Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET, has strayed from her typical endorsement of Democratic candidates to support Bob McDonnell in this year's governor's race. She even completed an ad for him this week in an attempt to undercut Democratic support of Creigh Deeds.
McDonnell is not only leading in the polls, but his fundraising is putting Deed's to shame. As the campaign stampeded into the month of October, McDonnell is leading Deeds by $1.8 million.
What immediately caught my attention was the GOP claim of a great and noble legacy of suffrage, abolition, and civil rights with a roster of freedom activist including Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln. Steele and company point out that these were Republican causes and Republican greats; albeit it was another Republican Party over 100 years ago. The new web site attempts to piggy-back the lost greatness of the 1800's by invoking great names of people and principles currently abandoned by the GOP. To assert that today's Republican Party is that of Lincoln is completely disingenuous at best and a lie at worse. Today's GOP is the antithesis of Lincoln's party. Today the GOP owes its allegiance to corporate money not to yesterday's principles. Indeed, Steele's web site is a measure of how low the Grand Old Party has sunk - it is a sad comparison of where they once were to where they are today.
We had the opportunity to interview Michael Steele at the Young Republican's National Convention in Indianapolis. We asked him, "What do you say to those young people who love politics, but don't see how they can make a career of it, and actually pay the bills?" His message was heartfelt and amongst other things, we loved his comment that as a young person in politics the most common meal is probably "cold chicken and pizza." But on a serious note, we think his message of sacrifice is an important one. (Image credit here)
A few weeks ago, we sat down with Dave Wenhold, the President of The American League of Lobbyists. In this longer clip, he talks about what a day in the life of a lobbyist looks like, what he looks for when hiring interns, and how a young person can get involved in lobbying.
In an effort to support young people, the GSPM is partnering up with Mobilize.org for an amazing event in Chicago on "Exploring the Millennial Generation's Return on Investment," to take place on November 17th through the 20th.This will be a summit of ideas and a grant competition. Details are below and anyone is welcome to attend!
Running for congress at the age of 27 is pretty remarkable. There are many hurdles as a young candidate, but there are also a few advantages. One is an ability to connect to young people through social media. When we interviewed 
A recent article in 
