I've never been what you would call a 'political activist,' and historically I never spent much time considering political matters. Sure, I'd try to learn about key issues and candidates, and cast my votes accordingly, but that was about it.
One of the reasons for my lack of interest and participation was that I didn't believe that I -- one single individual -- could really make much of a difference, if at all. I'm sure many Americans feel the same way I did.
However, now that I'm...ahem, older...and having just lived through a historic presidential election, I've changed much of my thinking.
This was the first election in which social media was effectively used to reach, draw and harness ordinary people into a collective force. President Obama successfully used the Internet and tools like Twitter and blogs to not only bring people together with common ideals, concerns and objectives, but also to speak as a larger, stronger and unified voice.
I believe that this will serve as a model for future political elections, which is why I'm joining with like-minded individuals next Sunday (March 29, 1-3pm) to offer a free 'Citizen 2.0' Training in my home town of Dublin, California.
The goal of the training is to teach citizens how to use current Web 2.0 and social media tools -- Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, blogs, etc. -- to not only build community and business, but also to engage in and influence local politics.
Joining me in this training are Adriel Hampton, a Gov 2.0 expert and social media enthusiast, and Jonathan Flemming, an accomplished Realtor who is using social media as a core element of his business communications today. We'll cover the culture of collaboration, transparency and immediacy of Web 2.0, and give an overview of blogging and an introduction to and demo of the social media tools.
We'll also help people learn to 'talk the talk' and understand the nuances of the various social media tools -- from hashtags to pokes to Tweets.
This should be a great session, and if it goes well, ideally it could be used as a model for other local communities.
If your interested in attending, you can RSVP on Facebook or email adriel@adrielhampton.com. You can also find event details at Zvents.
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