Center for American Progress Action

: The Progressive Revolution Will Be Tweeted
Past Event


The Progressive Revolution Will Be Tweeted

An Internet Advocacy Roundtable Event


12:00 - 2:00 PM EDT

Admission is free.

Watch the Live Stream the Day of the Event

Twitter has quickly become one of the most valuable communications tools available for progressives doing online advocacy and engagement. Not only are their 27 million Americans using Twitter, but its use is widespread among key influentials, including Members of Congress, the press, and progressive organizers.

The recent launch of TweetProgress.us by the progressive community already gathers nearly 4,000 progressive activists and influentials into an online directory. New tools like Act.ly turn Twitter into a powerful advocacy tool, not just for sharing information, but for mobilizing action. And with conservatives also using Twitter to mobilize their base it is essential that progressives take our efforts to the next level.

Join us for the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Internet Advocacy Roundtable, in collaboration with the PCDC, or Progressive Communicators of DC, from noon to 2:00 pm on Thursday, September 24, 2009 for a brown bag lunch (we’ll provide the cookies, you bring your lunch) that will train you to take full advantage of the power of Twitter. You will learn how to use Twitter, what tools are available for managing your program, and hear how two progressive organizations are using Twitter to advance their mission.

Speakers:

Colin Delany, ePolitics.com, @epolitics

Shireen Mitchell, Digital Sisters, @digitalsista

Shaun Dakin, Citizens for Civil Discourse, @IsCool and @EndtheRoboCalls

Alan Rosenblatt, Center for American Progress Action Fund, @CAPAction and @Drdigipol

Peggy Clark-Woods, AAUW, @AAUW and Claudia Richardson, AAUW, @ClaudiaAAUW

Moderator:

Gloria Pan, Turner Strategies, @GloPan

Space is extremely limited. RSVP required.
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Center for American Progress
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

For more information, call (202) 481-8193.

Speaker bios:

Colin Delany is founder and editor of Epolitics.com, a website that focuses on the tools and tactics of Internet politics and online advocacy. Launched in July 2006, Epolitics.com received the Golden Dot Award as "Best Blog—National Politics" at the 2007 Politics Online Conference. The site also features two downloadable e-books, Learning from Obama and Online Politics 101.

Delany started in politics in the early 1990s in the Texas Capitol (where public service is considered a contact sport) and moved into the online political world in 1995. In 1999, during the first Internet boom, he helped to start a targeted search engine for politics and policy, which lasted about as long as such ideas usually do. Since then Delany has worked as a consultant to help dozens of political advocacy campaigns promote themselves in the digital world, and between 2003 and 2007 he was the online communications manager at the National Environmental Trust. He also plays bass in a rock and roll band.

Shireen Mitchell is the founder and executive director of Digital Sisters/Sistas, Inc. a nonprofit organization that helps traditionally underserved women and children become more self sufficient through digital media and technology. She has 20 years of technology, human services, and nonprofit experience, and has combined information and communication technologies with policy, advocacy, and education to support women, seniors, youth, and individuals with disabilities.

Shireen leads the organization in providing community advocacy and education for schools, technology centers, and workforce development programs, as well as other ongoing digital media initiatives. Shireen is also president of the board of directors of Community Technology Centers’ Network, a national affiliation of initiatives and organizations around the country that collectively promote effective technology integration for social, civic, and economic security in the lives of low-income communities.

She promotes equity and access for women as the chair of the Media and Technology Taskforce of the National Council of Women’s Organizations. She is also the vice chair and the youngest executive committee member in the history of the organization. She has served as the Younger Women’s Taskforce Co-Chair and is also a member of the Women’s Coalition for Dignity and Diversity in the Media.

Shaun Dakin is the CEO and founder of the nonprofit Citizens for Civil Discourse or StopPoliticalCalls.org. He is also the founder of Dakin & Associates consulting, which provides strategic counsel to nonprofits, associations, and corporations on a variety of business, public affairs, and social media issues. He is currently working with the Environmental Defense Fund.

During the 2008 election Mr. Dakin was able to drive the national debate around the national tragedy of political robocalls. In less than three months after launching StopPoliticalCalls.org he was invited to work with Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and her staff to craft the language of the Robocall Privacy Act (S.1077). A month later he testified at the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on behalf of the American voter. With very little funding Mr. Dakin utilized both social media and the mainstream media to drive millions of dollars of earned media and become the expert on this issue.

Citizens for Civil Discourse was awarded the 2008 Mashable.com Open Web Award for Non Profits, beating out Kiva.org. CCD was also sited by Mashable as driving one of the top 16 Twitter moments of 2008. David Almacy, past director of the Bush White House website, nominated Mr. Dakin as one of the top 10 most influential Twitterers in DC.

Alan Rosenblatt is the Associate Director for Online Advocacy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and a frequent speaker and author on digital media, advocacy, and politics, including social networking, blogging, grassroots, and mobile advocacy strategies. He is the founder of the Internet Advocacy Center and the Internet Advocacy Roundtable; an adjunct professor at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and American Universities, where he teaches Media and Politics in the Digital Age, Internet Politics, Digital Political Strategies, and Internet Advocacy Communications; a blogger at the Huffington Post, TechPresident.com, and DrDigiPol.com; and a former fellow at George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy, & the Internet.

Alan is also a founding team member of Media Bureau Networks, a pioneer in streaming media services; a contributing editor to PoliticsOnline.com; serves on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals dedicated to the study of the Internet, politics, and government; and is a member of the board of directors for E-Democracy.org. He taught political science at George Mason University for nine years, where, in 1995, he launched the first-ever internet politics course. With MBN, he webcasted live coverage of the 2000 presidential conventions.

In 2001 he served as vice president for the online advocacy services division at Stateside Associates, and from 2003 to 2005 he served as director of training programs at e-advocates.

Rosenblatt has a Ph.D. in political science from American University, an M.A. in political science from Boston College, and a B.A. in political science and philosophy from Tufts University. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Peggy Clark-Woods is AAUW’s Website Manager and responsible for the oversight of the 100,000-member association website. Working for a relatively small organization Peggy gets to try on many hats—blogger, email marketing analyst, social media caretaker, web analyzer, editor, and programmer. Prior to coming to AAUW Peggy worked in the adult distance learning field. She began her professional career in photojournalism and still misses the field-level access to sporting events.

She is a graduate of the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk Jayhawk) and remains a Midwesterner at heart.

Claudia Richardson is a native Washingtonian and has worked for CFS appraisals, Howard University, and AAUW. During her tenure at AAUW she has worked in development, events, and now membership for the last seventeen years. In her current position, as Field Relations Manager, Claudia works in AAUW’s membership department.

Gloria Pan is Vice President of Internet Communications for Turner Strategies. Gloria directed communications at The Media Center where, through the strategic use of Internet marketing and outreach, she helped transform a small, newspaper-industry-specific enterprise into an influential, widely recognized media thought leader.

She was editor of The Media Center’s morph blog and a driving force in its annual We Media conference, a must-attend event for the media vanguard. Before that, she managed communications for the American Press Institute. From 1991 to 2000, she resided in Tokyo, Japan. After completing a masters program in development economics at Sophia University, she became international editor and writer for The Nippon Foundation, the largest philanthropic organization in Japan.

Gloria holds a B.A. in political economy from Barnard College and speaks Mandarin Chinese and some Japanese.