Internet Advocacy Roundtable - Measuring and Impacting the Online Debate
Thursday, December 18, 2008, 3:00pm—5:00pm
The rapid growth of social media has increased the fragmentation of the channels of public discourse. With tens of thousands of blogs and social networking discussions promoting and opposing virtually every public policy issue, advocacy campaigns are faced with a host of new challenges including:
- Which of these online discussions are influencing the larger public debate on an issue and which of these are reinforcing the beliefs of those that already agrees with them?
- How do you identify the best messages, messengers and points of influence to either move specific audiences or to transcend a single audience and shift the entire debate on an issue?
- Are your opponent's messages about to become viral? Are yours?
Join us on December 18, 2008 for a Roundtable that will explore how organizations can best address these challenges using social network analysis. While the focus of the discussion will be on the relationships and influence of the English language blogosphere, the interrelationships between other forms of social media and blogs will also be explored.
Featured Speakers:
Marty Kearns, Executive Director, Green Media Toolshed and Founder/President Netcentric Campaigns
Marty Kearns has been Co-Founder and Executive Director of Green Media Toolshed (GMT) since May of 2000 and writes one of the leading blogs on network-centric advocacy. GMT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the environmental movement communicate more effectively by offering a professional suite of communication tools, trainings and services. GMT offers the technology groups need along with the training and support to develop strategies that leverage those tools for the benefit of member organizations and coalitions.
John Kelly, Founder and Lead Scientist, Morningside Analytics
John Kelly is the founder and lead scientist of Morningside Analytics. His research blends Social Network Analysis, content analysis, and statistics to solve the problem of making complex online networks visible and understandable. John has an M.Phil. from Columbia University (Ph.D. pending), and has studied communications at Stanford and at Oxford's Internet Institute. He is an Affiliate at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.
Moderated by:
Alan Rosenblatt, Associate Director for Online Advocacy
Location
Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Map & Directions
Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center
