You can link to Ed and I's presentation and connect with Bill White's social network outreach here: www.schipul.com/billwhite. We'll be updating that page as his campaign progresses - we really think the world of him and wish him the VERY best in his campaign efforts.
The 2008 election was a powerful experience, so what better way to start a new presidency, live blogging, with mimsoas and with some of my favorite gals:
6:30am Inauguration party people stumble bleary-eyed to Chookoolonk's coffee maker. Delicious caffeine wake-up juice.
7:20am Just finished our first live feed with Karen at the mic with Fox news and awesome anchorman John. Coffee conversation have ranged from explosive diarrhea to the 'dark side' of Texas history to... oh yeah, Obama.
8:46am Jodi rocks the follow up interview with John on the religion and the election.
8:56am Laura Mayes shows up with champagne. Mimosas and couch-side discussions begin on more Texas state history DIRTY ROTTEN LIES, children that bite and champagne. And the Quaker Oats guy on a stick. Anchorman pretty-boy facade drops and hip hop and college dorm stories ensue.
9:03am Quaker Oats caterer guy shows up with oatmeal. But we've already moved on to champagne. They mix right? Jose, the very cute catering guy just announced that this election was his very first vote since he became an American - much cheering ensues. And glass refilling.
9:48am Oh!!! There he is!! Obama and Bush hit the road in the limo. Laura explains the symbolism of church, coffee and limo riding together. Peaceful transfer of power time.
10:01am First lady-to-be outfit discussions happening - a little bling in the daytime. We are impressed.
10:08am Oatmeal is served (thanks Jose!), the Gores and Bushes make their appearance. A very brief discussion on hot octogenarians. Unrelated.
10:27am Laura and Lynn on their way out -- Laura says: 'Hey everybody'. Gotta' love those Texan ladies :) Kind of wondering why they've got the mics on folks as they walk out onto the stage (lots of 'holy crap it's cold comments').
10:29am Things got quiet. Absolutely amazed at the sheer numbers of people ready to witness this event. Consensus in the room (beyond the fact that the Obama girls are ridiculously precious and lovely) is a cliche feeling of HOPE.
10:31am George and Michelle make their way out -- the phrase 'peaceful transfer of power' has been repeated at least 10 times in the last 2 minutes. Repetition hopefully will work...
Dick Cheney makes his way out in a wheelchair, Bush is doing the hand shakes and yup, there goes the Hail to the Chief (enter selected lyrics here). Mrs. Obama has the Lincoln Bible in her hands. No pressure there. Hasn't been used since 1861, when Lincoln was inaugurated. Wow.
10:39am Obama appears. Alone. What is he thinking right now? Chookooloonks thinks he might have had a hit of something to get up on that stage -- WOULDN'T YOU NEED IT TOO!?!? :)
10:42am Obama enters for real this time. Lots of 'second coming' references, squealing, clapping, cheering. Yah, this is a totally a chick inauguration party. How is Obama looking so calm and collected? This is almost un-human. WOW!
10:45am Senator Dianne Feinstein: "We come here every 4 years to bestow the power of presidency on our democratically elected leader."
"They will look back and remember that this was the moment that the dream that once echoed across history... finally reached the walls of the White House.... we not only inaugurate a new administration, but pledge ourselves... to a new call to greatness by our 44th president Barack Obama."
10:48am Rick Warren: "History is your story. Hero is real. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one... We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of the first African American president of the United States."
10:51am "May we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions and civility in our attitudes even when we differ. Help us to share, serve and seek the common good of all... we now commit our new president and his wife MIchelle and his daughter Malia and Sasha to your loving care."
10:53am Aretha is ON with "My Country 'Tis of Thee'. And a really bow-tastic hat. She's fabulous. I'm seeing tears here on our end.
10:58am Joe Biden takes his oath of office. The peanut gallery says: "Looks kinda' like a boxer saying the pledge of allegiance."
10:59am Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman present a lovely interlude.
11:00am!!!!!!!!!!!! President Obama is officially PRESIDENT Obama. Noon has struck. Our world has changed.
11:05am Obama: '... less measurable, but no less profound is the sagging confidence across our nation... today, I say to you that hte challenges we face are real. They will not be met easily or in a short amount of time... but know this America, they WILL be met. We gather b/c we have chosen HOPE over fear. Unity of puprose over... discord."
11:11am "It has been the risk takers, the doers, the makers of things... that have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us they toiled in sweat shops and settled in the West. For us they fought and died. Time and again, these men and women worked and sacrificed until their hands were raw, so that we could have a better life. This is the journey we continue today... we being the work of re-making America. Everywhere we look, there is work to be done. We will act, not only to create new jobs, but lay a foundation for growth.... We will harness the wind, the sun and the soil... All this we can do. All this we will do."
11:14am "The stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply. It's not whether our govt is too big or too small, but whether it works."
11:16am We will not give our ideals up for expediency sake. To all other people and government who are watching today... know that America is friend of each nation and ever man, woman and child with a dream for success.
11:18am Our power grows through its prudent use. The tempering qualities of humility and strength. We are the keepers of this legacy... We will not apologize for our way of life... our spirit is strong and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us and we will defeat you. For we know, that our patchwork heritage is a strength - not a weakness... we are shaped by every language and culture... and since we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds will someday pass.
11:20am TO the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward based on mutual interests and mutual respect... know that your people will judge you on what you can build - not what you destroy. To those who claim to power through corruption and decieit... know that you are on the wrong side of history and will extend a hand if you will unclench your fist.
11:21am The world has changed and we must change with it... it is ultimiately the faith and determination of the American people upon which our success lies. Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet htem may be new - but those values upon which our success depends... these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What's demanded then is a return to these truths... a new era of responsibility. Duties we do not begrudgingly accept, but take willingly. This is the price and promise of citizenship.
11:24am "Let it be told to future world, that in the depth of winter where nothing but hope and virtue could survive... America, in the face of our common dangers, in thi swinter of OUR hardship - let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave these icy currents and brave what storms are to come... With eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried that great gift of freedom that we carried safely with us."
11:27am Elizabeth Alexander (poet): "Praise song for the day - Each day we go about our business walking past each other catching each other's eyes - or not - about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din. Each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire... repairing the things in need of repair. Someone is trying to make music somewhere..."
So... yeah, I don't really get oatmeal connection either. But by jove, we will watch the inauguration in good company and with a belly full of much substance. More info on the nationwide event (found on MOMocrats):
...guests will breakfast on hot oatmeal with delicious
toppings (including BACON), all for a very worthy cause. Now
through February 28, you can visit Start with Substance
to enter the UPC (barcode) from any variety of Quaker hot cereal.
For
every UPC entered, Quaker will donate a bowl of nutritious oatmeal to Share Our Strength,
an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger, up to 1 million
bowls of oatmeal. (You must be a member of Facebook in order to enter
UPCs.) But get this: even if you can’t be bothered to track down your
UPC and enter it, or you are not a fan of oatmeal, you can still help.
All you have to do is enter 030000013809 as a valid UPC.
Voting day has come and gone -- and I sincerely hope you were in the poll lines making your voice heard. Some thoughts on the election:
Your citizenship doesn't end here, you did a great duty by casting your vote - but this is only the first step in the ongoing Democratic process.
Whether you are thrilled or bummed about last night's 2008 election outcome, you still must push forward in ensuring that our elected officials (both national and local) keep their word. You voted for them because you want them to DO something, so make sure they do it. Here's how:
Maplight - follow special interest groups and how their relationships shape the political landscape
Follow the Money - learn how political donations are shaping your State's public policy
Congresspedia - do your research and add your knowledge
Open Secrets - watch issues that matter the most to you
Project Vote-Smart - a voter's self defense system (for the next time around)
Consider what we have learned from Obama's successful campaign strategy (and check out this amazing AdAge article on it) - who's messaging can be broken down into: Simplicity / Consistency / Relevance.
Tactically, both Ms. Clinton and Mr. McCain focused their messages on "I can do change better than my opponent can do change." "Better" never works in marketing. The only thing that works in marketing is "different." When you're different, you can pre-empt the concept in consumers' minds so your competitors can never take it away from you.
How can you shift your own personal or corporate battlefields? What new and positive changes are you focusing your efforts and creativity on? It doesn't matter how much you love or hate Obama, from this point forward what you do, embrace and fight for is in your own hands - quit your bitching and DO something.
I know I already said this, but quit your bitching. Quit your hand wringing. Quit your trash talking. Do something. Be informed (= turn off Fox news and actually find real, reliable and unbiased sources) and DO SOMETHING.
I recommend reading Influencer - a book focused on helping tenacious minds make change happen. Even audacious, pie-in-the-sky, 'there is no way this will ever freaking happen' kind of change. Among many great points, Influencer recommends those wanting to influence on a large scale:
Diagnose before your prescribe - you might hate something (a policy, a social issue) so terribly that you never even get to the root of the problem. Your emotions get in the way of your brain - and there's no way to incur real change or improvement if all you do is shout, seethe and whine about it.
You are intelligent and have phenomenal problem solving capabilities. Know exactly why the things you despise or fight against are happening. Then work from there.
Make change inevitable - determine vital behaviors that drive big change (and recovery behaviors when things don't work out immediately), try every single influence strategy you can and set mini-goals to help you keep the pace up. When something works, know exactly how and why it worked and apply it to your next relevant problem.
Promote and amplify positive deviance - I adore the 'Well behaved women seldom make history' quote (by Laura Ulrich I believe?). Find like-minded people who have the courage to Just Do It, even if it means acting against the norm. Little changes matter and grow into big, life-altering, society-saving change (like the now eradicated Guinea Worm Disease).
The point behind 'positive deviance' is NOT to just act against social norms because you want to go against the grain or be a rebel. That's called high school and very few people want to go back there. The point is to MINDFULLY and TACTICALLY identify what the majority could be doing better to reach certain objectives and then lead them there through your action, education and promotion - no matter how small or 'unusual' you might feel at the time.
If you missed it, here is Obama's acceptance speech (which was streamed live online via cell phone on Ustream):
Continuing on the power of Qik motif (see Congressman Culberson's live video activity here), Noel Hidalgo (aka: @noneck) has been off changing the world again, this time stirring up trouble (in all the best ways) in China during the Olympics.
AMY GOODMAN: And when did the authorities catch you, deport you? Or did they stop you each time, at each protest?
NOEL HIDALGO: I was not stopped. I was actually—I was
harassed by local Chinese every single time. I was told that I was a
demon, I was a devil, for showing China in this particular light,
because they saw me capturing this footage. On the third protest, where
the students unfurled their banner at the ticket office where John and
I were both detained, I just happened to have a high-definition
consumer camera, and I was thrown up against the wall, my arm was
twisted behind my back, and I was subsequently detained for being a
Westerner who was capturing this footage. I wanted to show the rest of
the world what exactly was going on in China.
Like a bajillion other people ('bajillion = a highly technical count of users, incidentally), I use YouTube for brilliant video finds like GalagaGal's 'Waiting for a bus' and Mr. Show videos. But lately YouTube has been making me look/feel so much smarter by smashing really great political content into my ordinarily chuckle-induced online video world. This makes me really happy.
It's all still a fascinating experiment at this point, political stuffed shirts relying on their young, hip campaign team members to lead them to virtual campaigning ecstasy. And why not? It's a different world, with new technologies and new ideas on how to communicate, share and spam each other.
“It’s really a new day,” Carol Darr, director of the Institute for
Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University
said of YouTube’s role. And, she added, it’s smart marketing -
especially for organizers of an early debate - to seek out an audience,
and online political activism is especially hot this election cycle.
“You go fishing where the fish are,” she said.
To be honest, I don't know that they are really going to get the kind of catch that they are intending. Previous efforts to move young voters have fallen flat on their faces - apathy is so much cooler than standing in line to make a difference, I guess. Ironically that same demographic has no problems standing in line for 12 hours to buy Xboxes, audition for American Idol or get the coolest new sneakers. What gives?????
This YouTube sponsorship is still significant though - in all sorts of crazy ways. It symbolizes potential partnerships between the old skool MSM suits and the new skool social media crazies. Perhaps most importantly, it means that my YouTube favorites won't look quite so cracked out (or depending on the candidates, maybe 10 times more so).
Some terrible news via the Bangkok Metblog on a new Cyberbill:
Thailand's National Legislative Assembly approved a controversial
law this week which could seriously effect how Thailand's internet
users use the web. The main effect of the bill is to outlaw any attempt
at bypassing government censors to access any of the thousands of sites
that have been censored due to their moral or political purposes.
This single law could put Thailand in the same category as China and
Burma with regards to censorship and the lack of a democratic right for
free speech.
As always, I'm loving the ways that technology is helping people organize and communicate on important issues. 
