The document discusses how internet advocacy is changing from being organized around geographical locations or organizations to more fluid alignments based on weak ties. It outlines the agenda for a meeting on this topic, including framing the issue, a guest speaker discussing the leadership role of nonprofits, and how weak ties provide access to information beyond one's close social circle. The document also describes assigning small group discussions and readings for next week's work.

1. Digital Advocacy 28 October 2008 Kathy E. Gill COM597

2. Tonight’s Goal Gain a perspective on how Internet advocacy (non-profits, parties, etc.) is changing from a geographical base or organizational base to a more fluid alignment of weak ties Discuss the net effect on control, polarization

3. Agenda Housekeeping Framing tonight’s topic Beth Kanter, guest speaker Discussion Leaders Small group discussion Next week’s assignment Technology tutorial

4. First … What Is “Advocacy”? Anybody?

5. What Is Advocacy? Advocacy is the act of arguing on behalf of a particular issue, idea or person Organized activism or lobbying related to a particular set of issues The deliberate process of influencing those who make policy decisions

6. What is “Special Interests”? An interest group (special interests, advocates, advocacy group) is an organized group of people who seek to influence political decisions In the U.S., organizing is often a role of nonprofit organizations Sierra Club National Rifle Association But all NFPs aren’t large!

7. Guest Speaker Beth Kanter Trainer, blogger, and consultant to nonprofits and individuals in effective use of social media. Discuss her leadership role with nonprofits and take questions (audio only)

8. Weak Ties “ Within a social network, weak ties are more powerful than strong ties. They are indispensable to individuals’ opportunities and to their incorporation into communities while strong ties breed local cohesion.” (Mark Granovetter, 1973)

9. Strength of Weak Ties The stronger the tie between two people, the more similar they are, in various ways (Mark Granovetter, 1973) Weak ties = “friends of friends” Weak ties provide a bridge between social circles, access to information and resources beyond my “tight” social circle

10. What Makes Them Different? Strong ties = emotional connection Weak ties = information sharing

11. Discussion Leaders Alvin Garrett Keiichi YenChing

12. Small Groups Essays Readings Next Week’s Work

13. Thinking About Our Essays Think about a report that you have recently read or written for work. What characteristics made the report useful? What characteristics interfered with its utility? We’ll brainstorm a list of best practices.

14. Reading Discussion (1/2) “The Internet is a medium in which low-resource groups are profoundly more competitive.” “Political organizing is all about finding those people who think like you do and drawing them into your organization any way that gets them involved… while at the same time trying to get your message out to the people who haven’t decided yet.”

15. Reading Discussion (2/2) Why does Trippi call eBay a community instead of an ecommerce site? Do you agree or disagree, and why? Would the Bush attack ad on Dukasis be as effective today as it was then? Why or why not?

16. Next Week’s Assignment We will not be meeting together on election evening (Tu 4 Nov). What do you suggest as appropriate alternative assignments that would require approximately four hours to complete? We’ll decide next week. Please post ideas as a comment on this blog post in the interim.

17. Tech Workshop: Wordpress Genre Conformance Categories & tags Customization Kill SnapPreview! Suggested Sidebar: pages, categories, archives, “meta”