Brad Rourke

Brad Rourke’s Blog

  • Helping Nonprofit Managers To Overcome Fear Of Social Networks

    All over, I see middle management being urged to “get on the social media bandwagon” because they may get left in the dust.  But, often the senior management of the organization is skeptical or downright hostile to the idea. By understanding the fears that are driving this hostility, you might be able to break through.…

  • Community Builder? Read This

    One of my entrepreneur and social web heroes, Seesmic founder Loic Le Meur, is among the most open and accessible members of the digerati. He is constantly sharing and praising others. He recently was at a conference where Internet star Chris Pirillo was speaking and the subject turned toward community and community building. Chris had…

  • Thirteen Intermediate Twitter Tips

    Here are some Twitter tips for folks who have been using it for a while. They are not definitive, more my expression of personal style. Chances are, if you are reading this and are yourself a Twitter user, you have an opinion on some of these, so please push back in the comments! If you’re…

  • More Political Independents Than Ever

    The share of people who say they are “independent” — that is, they don’t affiliate with a political party — has climbed to its highest point in 70 years, according to a new survey by the Pew Center for People And The Press. Thirty-nine percent of respondents self-identified as independents, compared with 33 percent who…

  • Hawaii Votes By Internet

    Last week, Honolulu completed what appears to be the first Internet-only election. In the past, I have taken a very dim view of many election “reforms.” The fundamental idea — that we need to make it easier to vote because people are not taking the time to cast their ballots — seems flawed. People will…

  • Staying Neutral

    I was talking to a friend the other day about a family event he had to attend. For him, such events are not positive. His family is filled with bickering, infighting, recriminations. At group events, he dreads the point that always comes, when one family members starts talking trash about another one, and demands some…

  • Why Social Media Is Like The Telephone Circa 1915

    I have been riveted by a book called America Calling: A Social History Of The Telephone To 1940 by Claude S. Fischer, a sociologist at my alma mater, UC Berkeley. The book is just what you think – a study of social responses to the rise of the telephone as it went from a new…