Brad Rourke

Tag: tech-savvy citizenry

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…

May 22, 2009
Join Me At The Democracy Imperative

Today I am giving a presentation for a group convened by the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. But since I’ve already written about them (more than once), I thought I would let you know instead about an exciting conference I will be presenting at later in July. It’s “No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative…

May 14, 2009
What We Can Learn From The White House's Missed Opportunity

By now you’ve heard about the Air Force One flyover in New York City that has turned into a PR train wreck for the White House. Those of us in the nonprofit and philanthropy worlds can learn from it. What Happened Someone wanted to get a money shot of the President’s office-in-the-air near the Statue…

April 28, 2009
Why Be In Social Media?

Any new trend generates jargon. It’s necessary in order for people to talk about the ideas embedded in the trend. Pretty soon, the people who follow the trend use so much jargon it loses its meaning. We’re about at that point with this thing people are calling “social media.” Amber Naslund suggests a good thought…

April 23, 2009
Online Engagement Takes The Same Rules As Offline

Many local organizations are trying hard to engage their publics — whether to become more relevant, to improve a project, or to listen better and so improve overall operations. My good friend and colleague Dave Moore, has written a piece that outlines his “Six steps to Community Engagement and Action.” It’s a great list. As…

April 21, 2009
Ten Tips For Twitter Newbies

So you’ve signed up for Twitter, followed your best friend and your spouse, and posted two updates. (You are in good company if one of your first updates says: “Trying to figure out Twitter.”) So now what? Here are ten tips to get started. Look around and follow a handful of people. Look at who…

April 14, 2009
Real World Social Media Workflow — How Much Time Do I Spend Listening?

Social media maven Beth Kanter has been attending a conference on nonprofit use of technology. One of the speakers was Wendy Harman, who runs social media for the Red Cross. Beth has a great recap of that session here, with these key takeaways: First thing every morning, [Wendy] spends a couple of hours listening –…

March 4, 2009