Britney's Weblog

Random Blog On Joseph I. Lieberman – Extra Blog

britney09 — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:59:05 +0000

For starters, I would like to make a disclaimer that none of what I will mention tonight is intended to be controversial. My plan is to simply offer up my thoughts for consideration purposes only. Tonight, I would like to discuss my opinions and ideas concerning the approach of the United States Senator Joseph I. Lieberman . So consider this food for thought. The American society lives for clear and concise answers. When considering directions, you either go left or right. The answer is either yes or no. I say this to say, the in-between answer is never our first choice. Senator Lieberman is just that…the “in-between candidate”. Lieberman describes himself as being “genuinely an Independent,” saying “I agree more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy . I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy.” Though this could cause confusion, Lieberman is able to gain the best of both worlds for three reasons:

He is able to pick and choose what he supports from each political party.
He can gain additional support/votes based upon his stance. He’s not too far left nor is he too far right.
He has a bigger impact in Congress because he can “blur the party lines”.

We may vote either Republican or Democrat, but who’s to say we agree with ever standpoint our particular candidate or party supports? Lieberman’s advantage in politics is that he is able to pick and choose what he supports from each party developing his own personalized platform. Though he may not agree with the Republican’s stance on domestic policy, he may support their opposition of allowing violence to be displayed on video games and television. And though he remained a member of Democratic Senate Majority , he endorsed Republican Senator John McCain for President in 2008. In addition, Lieberman often seems to be striking a balance between conservative and liberal instincts. On the liberal side, he has voted for abortion rights, gun control, tax increases, welfare reforms, consumer protections and civil rights legislation. On the conservative side, he has been far more enthusiastic than most Democrats concerning military spending. Lieberman is quoted saying, “I’m going to do what I think is right on every issue, and not feel obliged to vote a particular way because it’s the party line or because people expect me to.”

In conjunction to the fact that Senator Lieberman is able to pick and choose what he does and does not support within the Democratic and Republican parties, he also has the advantage of gaining those votes that are not one-party directed. In all actuality, he’s not too far left…nor is he too far right. Standing in the middle with his nonpartisan shoes, Lieberman again has an advantage in the political realm. Dissecting this information will push you to conclude that voting for an independent candidate also gives voters the opportunity to have the best of both worlds. Voters are able to lean towards some Democratic issues while supporting the Republican stance as well (and vice versa).

Imagine being independent in this current US Senate Election . Does Marker Warner offer views that you support? Does Lindsey Graham offer views that you support? So how is it you gain the in-between? Easy. Lieberman would answer. Gaining those votes that are not one-party directed could be a positive aspect in being an Independent candidate – as it will not make voters feel as if they are supporting a particular party.

Lastly, Lieberman has the advantage of blurring the party lines when it comes to making decisions within Congress. Say a law is to be passed that Spanish

should be implemented in every school system. The vote is split half and half. Though the pressure of having all eyes on you is a bit disturbing, as Independent you can support whichever side of the argument without being hassled or labeled a “switch-out” (if you will). Lieberman would have the opportunity to break a tie or even make the final decision as an Independent – if everyone is assumed to vote as their party voted. Picture how irritating your colleagues would be if you were Democratic and voted Republican within Congress — this is an issue the Lieberman can avoid as Independent.

All in all, Lieberman has the advantage of both worlds because he is able to pick his stance on our country’s issues, he is not too far left nor too far right and he can blur the party lines. I personally believe that his approach is good in that he is not forced to “go along with the crowd”. He has become his own person making decisions based on what he feels right and not the opinions of outsiders. Though some may find this tactic controversial, politics should always be seen as a strategy – and voting independent or supporting an Independent Party is just that…a strategy.

Creating That Social Media Plan!

britney09 — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:32:50 +0000

When building a social media plan , your goal is to increase awareness of your particular candidate. You should be excited in creating new ideas that have not already been used as well…In order for achievement, you must understand social media and digital campaigning in its entirety. We must consider our opponents as well as our opponents’ successes. What have they used that we haven’t? It is also best to research other candidates to find the digital techniques they’ve used within their campaign that you have not (i.e. Facebook Applications). We should also pair with our “social friends”. After doing much research, you will find many websites that support your candidate, but in the same breath you’ll find those that do not. In the plan, we should continuously provide our friends and allies with updated information so they may blog on new and updated issues. Let’s find those websites and people who stand-by our concerns. For example you may find that your candidate and another may have the same stance on creating a new energy policy. We should also consider the mistakes made in the past within digital campaigning. What lessons can we learn from ideas presented before us? Will we take routes in bashing our opponent, or will we be sure to uplift our candidate instead? Mediums to consider are: Facebook, YouTube, podcasts etc. We can only gain awareness if we take all types of routes. We want to use social networking as its will serve as a means for solid connections with our country’s voters…we should use viral videos to obtain laughs that seldom come in politics – and the list goes on. All in all we can increase support, online fundraising and standpoint awareness if we take routes outside the ordinary. Let’s be creative and consider the methods not yet used. And overall – HAVE FUN!

Meet Barrack Obama

britney09 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:53:19 +0000

I definitely enjoyed the guest speaker we had last week in our Digital Campaigns class. The speaker expressed ideas and methods to ensure a successful campaign technique via the web. He opened my eyes to consider different ways to present a supported candidate and ideas that will generate additional voters. Though this true, I did not however agree with the fact that your candidate’s opponent should be exploited in order for your particular candidate to gain outside interest. For example, the website he showed that supposedly uplifted McCain did more to bash Barrack Obama than it did in expressing why we should vote John McCain. In my opinion, this technique shows that they’d rather spend more of their time researching Obama than they would their own candidate. I question, why waste the time and the money? There is a difference between providing your perspective on why a particular candidate’s method is out of sync…but to dedicate an entire negative website in my opinion doesn’t necessarily get the right point across. Though this is true, he did make a great point when he said that people should be smarter when researching their domain name – this in the end could be used against you and your campaign. He went on to explain that “Meet Barrack Obama” is on Obama’s official page, but there were no attempts to buy this domain name for approximately $9.00. So guess what happened…Meet Barrack Obama is now meetbarrackobama.com and is everything but positive concerning the Democratic candidate. The guest speaker then went on to mention that his site offered areas for people to join as well as blog on certain issues. This is another positive aspect of his created website. This gives voters the opportunity to hear and discuss issues that are continuously ongoing in our country – and I felt this would be beneficial.

Microtargeting – Dr. Pepper or Pepsi?

britney09 — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:37:17 +0000

Microtargeting clearly reminds me of marketing and how consumers are cross examined in order to determine their purchasing patterns. Based upon the music you like or even the clothes you wear people can decide what products and/or services interest you. It’s always best to know that a marketing strategy is only as solid as the data it’s built on – and microtargeting does just that!

Of the four fundamental marcom decisions, targeting is most essential. It’s always best to know what type of people make what kind of decisions. “Microtargeting is a process that answers the questions that are fundamental to the strategy of any campaign. Which voters support your candidate? Which voters are undecided? Which voters care about a particular issue? Which voters will vote at all? Most important of all, which voters will respond if you reach them?” Finding target markets not only help save time, but it also yields results that can only be found through data collection.

To fully understand and analyze people you have to understand what drives their purchasing decisions… and in this case votes. “Yes, the car you drive and the coffee you drink may have something to do with how you vote, but what if that SUV you drive is hybrid? What if the driver is a married man living in Sioux Falls? What if that Starbucks drinker is sipping in an evangelical coffee house? What if this bible-reader also belongs to Greenpeace? How does the aggregate effect of each data point increase or decrease the likelihood a voter will support your side?”

It’s amazing how creative people become in politics – relating what you eat to how you vote is more than interesting. Chick-fil-A vs. Popeyes being one of the determining factors between Republicans and Democrats is too funny – because I love Popeyes chicken! And Dr. Pepper vs. Pepsi is creative as well. So far I’ve matched my ”party ID”. Making politics fun is very imperative as it involves the issues that change the country in which we live.

Microtargeting has undoubtedly changed the face of political campaigning and regardless of its critics, it is here to stay. Indeed, independent validation studies of its predictive power have only confirmed its accuracy.

Opposition to My Previous Michelle Obama Blog – Extra Blog

britney09 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:06:58 +0000

Previously, I blogged on how I felt Michelle Obama was campaigning in her own little way. Though some articles present her to be the “girl next door”, other articles presented an opposition. While most people follow the presidential candidate, I have a habit of following the potential first lady. I always like to know what is her role? Who is she? How is she assisting in the campaign? And how is she viewed in the eyes of many? While I wrote saying “Michelle Obama is relating to women all over the country in her own little way…her persona definitely is relatable to the average American woman” – some do not feel the same way I do. While I went on to blog and boast about Michelle Obama and her appearance in the media, I neglected to see if there were any negative images of her.

The article found states, “the public hasn’t taken to Michelle Obama yet, especially whites. And it’s got a question about Cindy McCain: Who is she? People are divided over whether they like Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, with 30 percent seeing her favorably and 35 percent unfavorably, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! They tilt positively toward Cindy McCain, spouse of Republican hopeful John McCain, by 27 percent to 17 percent. In other words: While the two women are about equally liked, Obama is twice as disliked as McCain. An interesting fact found is that “Michelle Obama does better with unmarried people and college graduates but is viewed poorly by people age 65 and up. McCain is seen more favorably by older people, married couples and the more affluent, but is less well received by singles”. I strongly believe this is why I swayed to like Michelle Obama – simply because I am single and young. I would really like to know what my peers think about this issue. There are so many blogs and articles asking Michelle or Cindy?

Positve Feedback:

“Cindy seems like she’s laid back and not trying to run her husband,” said Linda Kaiser, 60, a Republican and church secretary from Clairton, Pa. “It’s nice to have a brain, but they should let their husband be president.”

“She’s African American, she’s highly articulate, she’s young and she seems highly devoted to her husband and her family,” said Edythe Friley, 61, a retired teacher from Detroit. “She serves as a role model. There’s not a parent on planet Earth who wouldn’t want a daughter like this.”

YouTube Success!

britney09 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:16:55 +0000

James Kotecki (22), is known on YouTube for EmergencyCheese. He is a young political video blogger and host of The Politico’s Playbook TV, based in Washington, DC. His most recent videos focus on the 2008 presidential election, and how he believes YouTube could impact it. He believes that YouTube can change the way campaigns are run by allowing a “two-way” conversation between politicians and active voters. This is an amazing medium that not only allows politicians to respond to the comments and suggestions of America, but this technique can also be utilized in order for active voters to respond to one another concerning issues that are affecting our nation. Just check out how many videos are posted in response to Kotecki – crazy right?

It’s amazing how YouTube has become so successful. In fact, five presidential candidates have responded to Kotecki online (and via telephone): Dennis Kucinich, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, John Edwards and John McCain – just to name a few. Kotecki was even visited by two Presidential candidates: Ron Paul in late April, which Kotecki called “the first-ever interview with a Presidential candidate held in a college dorm room,” and Mike Gravel in mid-May. If a presidential candidate is willing to come to your dorm room for an interview, there must be something about your technique that is drawing them in. Obviously, they feel that YouTube is a growing success and can be used to generate additional votes towards their campaigns.

Who would have thought randomly sitting in your living room and voicing your opinions through a webcam would be successful? Proof that the world is changing! What Mr. Kotecki does on YouTube as well as the interviews he conducts are no different than what Chris Matthews does on Hardball. He is getting the same amount of attention if not more. In fact, I believe his way of doing things may consist of more pros…Not only has he been contacted by presidential candidates wanting to respond to his video blogs, but he draws the attention of the media (voters) allowing them to respond. Television does not provide this opportunity – “what you see is what you get”.

“The YouTube story is indeed a fascinating one. I’m still getting my head around it, but it does certainly go to show how many great ideas, relatively simple in concept, are still waiting to be actualized on the web – and the fact there are many more millionaires yet to be made.” Kotecki took the first steps toward doing so. What is admired about his character is that he didn’t mind being different while stepping out and trying something new. His success within itself speaks a lot of YouTube proving that it’s not just a pointless site with random skateboard videos. “People just get on YouTube to scratch themselves, and talk about their day, and people watch it… I’m better than that, so I did one. I talked about politics because that’s what I liked. And then I did some mainstream videos, and I started noticing that politicians had YouTube channels” – his optimism allows us to know everything is possible.

Just to comment on the idea of whether Mr. Kotecki was a journalist prior to him joining Politico most would say yes…but he was confused on how he truly felt. On Veracifier he is quoted saying, “There was a big controversy on this on MediaBistro. Is James Kotecki a real journalist? In a sense, I resisted this for awhile… the closest thing you can compare me to is a journalist, but I’m not a journalist. Then overtime I realized I am a journalist”. At such a young age Jame Kotecki is definitely a role model for our upcoming generation making a statement that “it’s never too early to start!” – overall great approach!

McCain and Computers…YIKES!

britney09 — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:20:38 +0000

I find it more than hilarious how the media has compared Barrack Obama’s technical abilities to John McCain’s internet/computer understanding. Living in a technical world I feel it’s more than important to at least know the general skills necessary in order to operate a computer, as well as to understand how computers make ordinary jobs that much easier. There are just so many opinions concerning the issue of whether our country’s president should be computer literate – and I for one definitely think it’s a positive attribute to possess. CNN Reporting has displayed Obama walking the streets with his eyes glued to his Blackberry, while McCain is simply passed a telephone to hold a phone call (one he probably wouldn’t know how to dial if told to). CNN has even gone as far as interviewing an old frail woman who says “I taught myself!”

One blogger of Intent Blog, goes on to say that “computers are here to stay…they are not just a fad”. Through his opinionated blog you can definitely determine his viewpoints on whether an elected president should understand the importance of computer literacy. If you notice in some media clips John McCain has even been compared to present Bush who somehow thinks that going to a particular website involves “dial[ing] it up” – we’re not talking about telephones here!

In the generation we live in, being computer savvy is very imperative. Most jobs won’t even hire you if you do not possess computer skills to some high extent…If you cannot be a teacher without computer skills, what makes you think a computer illiterate candidate is fit for president? PROOF!!!! Come on McCain don’t say you rely on your wife!!!! Why not learn the skill? Obama on the other side smashes McCain in this area…Even going as far as appearing on a Google show laughing about Computer Science. Can we agree that McCain has a lot of catching up to do? Or is there a reader out there who thinks this isn’t a big deal?

Old Habits? – Extra Blog

britney09 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:47:24 +0000

When you think about the 2008 Election, you cannot help but to hear the word change. With the election starting off with a woman and an African-American nominee, change is exactly what’s viewed through the lens of the United States. Coming across an article on the Washington Post entitled Candidates Falling on Old Habits, you can determine the author’s personal feelings as well as the conclusions drawn by others involved. I personally feel that the race of the candidate does not constitute change…but yet the candidates’ actions are what do so. And guess what? There will be no change if candidates are supporting the conditions in which our country currently exists.

“McCain has given a series of policy speeches and Obama is beginning to do the same…In the hands of Obama’s advisers, McCain is nothing more than the third coming of President Bush. To McCain’s staff, Obama is merely a liberal, naive, arrogant extension of what Democrats have been offering for years.” This quote found in the article is so strong & direct it’s almost scary to apply personal opinions to it. For those reading, how do you feel about the possible presidential candidates pursuing that top spot? Are they a repeat of the past? Will history only repeat itself?

The article suggests that decisions made by both candidates are not new politics, but yet old politics. The two have not yet applied innovative ideas but instead have been playing with words. “Of all the candidates who sought the presidency this year, McCain and Obama seemed the least likely to fall so quickly into old habits. The question is whether the opening weeks are a true reflection of their characters and the kind of campaigns they intended to run or a temporary departure.”

I definitely think everyone who is registered (or planning to) should remain focus on this Election, because I am sure entertaining and interesting ideas will develop throughout the rest of the year.

All Laughs (Voter-generated Content)!

britney09 — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:06:31 +0000

Being that voter-generated content is a new term in my vocabulary, I first had to determine what it actually was. In my mind, I have developed an overall meaning of voter-generated content. It’s how voters utilize objects, pictures, phrases etc. in order to grab the attention of other voters making a clear statement of their particular opinions. It interests me how the term has also been keyed user-generated content – (to me) those who utilize the web to generate ideas and press forward subjects in which they feel others should ponder and consider.

Surfing Zazzle.com you cannot help but laugh at some of the t-shirts you see regardless of how you may vote in the upcoming election. Let’s consider the Obama t-shirt, “Obama is My Homeboy” What is this shirt actually saying? Probably funny to many, you come to accept how urban slang is used in order to voice an opinion – simply, I am supporting the fact that this country could actually have an African American president. Check out this Facebook group I found. What is this group’s purpose? It’s obvious they are using pictures and group member support to prove a specific point – McCain is not the way to go – NOPE. Check out McCain’s facial expression and even the amount of members the group has. One aspect that Facebook supports is the idea that group members can comment and post outside information in which they found in order to support the group. The group goes on to explain “Well, whoever you guys were rooting for in the primaries is now irrelevant, folks, this group is now officially behind Obama. Then again, even if you were against Obama in the primary, the fact that you’re in this group means you wouldn’t have voted against Obama come November anyway. Even if you are voting for third party candidates, the consensus is that Obama is far better than John McCain”

Stumbling across many videos, you tend to notice that much content provided on the internet is presented through comedic approaches…songs, pictures and even imitations…What do you think about this video? Remember WWJD? (what would Jesus do)…this picture definitely reminds me of that. You can’t help but laugh! Remember there’s a message to everything!

Michelle Obama Campaigning in Her Own Little Way – Extra Blog

britney09 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:23:35 +0000

After surfing the web, you cannot help but realize how Michelle Obama is relating to women all over the country in her own little way. Though this campaign in underway, her persona definitely is relatable to the average American woman. Appearing on The View, utilizing fashion for campaigning and also providing her favorite recipe in the Family Circle Magazine, Michelle has definitely played the average American woman role. My question to my readers now is…does Michelle’s outreach to women somehow benefit Barrack Obama in the 2008 Election?

Appearing on The View, Michelle says to the cast, “I have to be greeted properly, fistbump please.” She goes further to explain that this is her new signature bump and that she is not that hip. She learned the fistbump from the younger generation and relates it to the “new high-five”. With the audience laughing, this simple statement or action has led women to assume that she is just one of us. Not acting as if she could possibly be the country’s first African-American First Lady, Michelle’s personality is warming as she appears to be the girl next door.

Bringing forth something new to Family Circle Magazine also enables Michelle to prove her ability to be different not following the crowd. “In the past four presidential elections, readers of the magazine have successfully predicted who would be America’s next first lady by favoring her recipe in the magazine’s competition. Something with chocolate has melted the hearts of readers in the last four elections. So both Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain might be taking a risk by eschewing everyone’s favorite treat. Instead, Michelle Obama has put forward a recipe for shortbread cookies with zest of lemon and orange, and a cheeky kick of almond liqueur Amaretto”. I’m sure supporters are endorsing this treat as they endorse Obama.

I definitely feel that a down-to-earth First Lady can yield votes to Barrack Obama in some weird way. I personally feel that the average American sways toward people who make them comfortable as well as relatable – and Michelle is definitely working that aspect of the campaign.