VasGk | Κοινωνικό Νερό

I came across an OSCE update on facebook asking: "Can social media help us prepare for peace?" In the new Report " Preparing for peace Communications in conflict resolution " the OSCE explains the role of Social Media in conflict resolution, detailing challenges and opportunities. OSCE/Curtis Budden Definitely recommending reading this OSCE publication. It is great that an Organization such as the OSCE is keeping active in Social Media, and at the same time "Mapping the blogosphere, reporting on negotiations, using social media to overcome divides" . Credit to the OSCE PPIS, Ireland’s 2012 OSCE Chairmanship, the US Mission to the OSCE and the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the OSCE.  Having worked for the OSCE in 2009 , I launched the official OSCE presence on facebook and twitter , along with Issuu . It was an excellent start, and I am happy to see that the team in PPIS are keeping up with the OSCE presence in Social Media and are launc...

The 2012 campaigns for President have been very interesting in terms of Internent communications and voter outreach. In this article I have collected all of my comments during the past months and years leading up to election day. These are my unbiased honest opinions as an observer, not as a voter.  I have Blogged on numerous issues, mostly focusing on Internet Political Communications, Political Marketing and Political Issues that I felt passionate about. You can browse though my articles here:   The problem with political emails asking for money: TV Ads  I do not oppose online fundraising, I understand that both campaigns are tapping into their hardcore supporters; The problem is that for the most part both campaigns are asking contributions in order to outspend the opponent on TV air time! Barack Obama Vlogs on YouTube   During the past few days I enjoyed the videos coming from the Obama campaign on YouTube. #debate politi...

Credit: OSCE/Igor Schimbator In a recent article on NPR  by Michele Kelemen, one can read how Social Media have affected Public Diplomacy. The Arab spring has been used as a bedrock for people arguing about the role of the Internet in regime change and public diplomacy. It is not just Social Media, but the Internet as a whole. Some people consider Social Media to be websites such as Facebook, twitter, YouTube, flickr, Blogs and more. That is not the case. These tools are just Internet applications. The Internet as a whole is a Social Medium! Today if somebody is lying about you in the media ... we now have the tools to get the real facts out there. - Alec Ross , State Department social media adviser Alec Ross is right. However with the correct use of Social Media, one should not only get the word out, or set the record strait; but actually listen to citizens and social groups, engage with the public and create a two-way communications stream between the diplomat...

Email newsletters can be considered to be the first direct to citizen tool of online political communications, before social media or other engaging technologies.  The Obama 2012 campaign is using a style of email communication that started in the 2008 campaign. People in our days are so overwhelmed by email, because everyone is getting so many newsletters that clutter their inbox with advertisements, offers, promotional messages and, in this case, emails from the 2012 campaigns. So, how can you make your political campaign email stand out? What the Obama campaign understands is that you don't need fancy graphics, banner ads, or digital signatures. The above email was "sent out" by the President with "(no subject)" in the title of the email. It has no banners, no photos, no videos embedded. Just like an email you would receive from a friend. Simple, Short, Single-Issued. (SSS) (Hey! I created an acronym...) You would except that each and every email that c...

After some days since my last Blog post, I wanted to write something today since there is yet another media strike in Greece. I remembered writing " A country with no Mass Media Communications (for 4 days) " just over a month ago. Well today is happening again but this time just for one day. Again most people that want to get informed are turning to twitter Blogs and News Portals that don't participate in the strike. The News are not on strike, just some journalists that report or comment on them. People that want to get informed are keeping informed. Mass media communications have given way to social interactions (New Media).

According to Bill Maher the logo of the Mitt Romney campaign for 2012 looks like a toothpaste ad; and yes funny enough it does. My assessment on the logo is different. When you look at it, it clearly represents the number 2. Most noticeably the middle white number 2, but also the left red and the right blue. Isn't it obvious? Any respectable logo designer or copywriter will tell you so! Now, you don't put the number 2 on the logo of someone aiming for the office of the President of the United States.  Is it just a bad logo design? Here you can watch the Mitt Romney "Believe in America" Video:

First of all, I want you to look at the print-screen below. It's when Gaddafi delivered his first speech after the clashes started in Libya. At the same time, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, made a statement and the BBC carried the two pictures side by side. Can you see the differences? Clearly there is a stark difference! the man on the left is wearing a suit and making a point; while the man on the right is wearing a brown robe with a turban; plus he is reading a green book. Now, to any person that has watched cartoons is fairly simple to decide who he/she is going to trust. You can clearly identify the bad person in the picture. But is it really so simple? Obviously not. In the video below you can watch Gaddafi in a recent interview with the BBC. Watch how he smirks when the interpreter finishes his question. A BBC report on the ground finds people that support Gaddafi and are loyal to the regime. Gaddafi is known for his outlandish statements and ch...

In a recent speech to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Athens, the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou referenced Social and New Media and their role in Government. You can watch what Papandreou said here: Some excellent points there. I also recommend watching the speech in its entirety; a starting point in understanding Greece in current affairs. P.S. I write this post, having Blogged on " The Internet and Social Media in #Egypt, how It really matters ". There is so many information, great examples and ideas that I want to share, on how Social and New Media can play a role in not only public communications, but innovative governance and public diplomacy; I promise to write an extensive post in the near future.

Sarah Palin released a video today on Vimeo (First time she utilized this video service) in response to the shootings in Tucson AZ. According to THEBLAZE.com (a site managed by Glenn Beck ) Sarah Palin has officially broken her silence and indirectly responded to criticism that she is somehow connected to the shootings in Tucson. According to CNN , the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner has been anecdotally regarded as very troubled and perhaps mentally unbalanced because of his ramblings spotted on the internet and the way he has been described by acquaintances. There have also been widespread rumours that Loughners' actions mirrored the Tea Party or the rise of right-wing activists in America. Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin were named by some as the moral perpetrators to these despicable acts. Glenn Beck, from his TV and Radio shows, has defended himself, the Tea Party and Sarah Palin, he also wrote a letter to Sarah Palin, to whitch she replied. Although they both need to go on t...

I thought to look back and read my last 2009 post . I remembered that I set some goals for 2010. So how did I do so far? Well: I did write more Blog Posts (this is my 50th for 2010 , in comparison to 32 for 2009 ), a trend that I want to continue in 2011. I also did a bit of academic work, researching and presenting to the 6th International Political Marketing conference on the topic of "Blogger Outreach Strategies" You can read: " Blogs & political campaigns, what do bloggers want? " & " Political Marketing - Managing Negative Blog Posts ". I also worked on a number of social media campaigns for brands and corporations, let me say one thing here: do it In-House! There are so many bad examples of social media relations that forget the fact that corporate social media should be personal, honest and real. Which brings me to my 2009 P.S.... I didn't publish my second book in 2010, and I will not try to excuse myself on this. I should have ...

President Obama paid a surprise visit to the troops in Afghanistan . I am intreaged to contrast and compare with President G.W. Bush surprise visit to Al Asad Airbase in Iraq back in September 3rd, 2007. As you can see there are strark defferences. I wouldn't go as far as this video , but you can understand that Obama is on a campaign mode, speaking to military personel in Afganistan like rallying troops and military families in America. Now that the mid-term campaigns are over, the 2012 Presidential election is getting closer. President Obama is now also Presidential contender Obama. Although Obama has always been on a campaign mode, even as president, switching to a election mode may proven to be tricky. Ceteris paribus the economy will be the main election theme in 2012. But the war strategy, the military families in America, and the outcome of defeating terrorists in Afghanistan and elsewhere can/ will play a crucial role in, not only gaining votes, but providing result...

The US mid-term elections were held about the same time that the Greek Mayoral elections, and unfortunately I was preoccupied in keeping up with the local campaigns. But, I did manage to follow some of the news and catch up on US politics online. John Boehner was elected Speaker-designate by House Republicans and when the full House votes in January, Boehner will become the 61st Speaker of the House. When you visit the official speaker.gov website it's all about Nancy Pelosi And if you want to connect with the Speaker of the House you are directed to Nancy Pelosi branded social media. Twitter» http://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi Facebook» http://www.facebook.com/SpeakerNancyPelosi YouTube» http://www.youtube.com/SpeakerPelosi Flickr» http://www.flickr.com/SpeakerPelosi I would have expected for the Speaker of the House, whoever that might be, to have an independent presence on social media platforms, and not be centred around people that occupy the positi...

I've read that the science of the near future is statistics. The above video is really an insight of where marketing, advertising and micro targeting is going. Interesting to develop different applications for different markets or products.  Definitely something to watch for!

Rogue candidates are gaining publicity for single-issue campaigns. Do take the time to watch these videos, it is impressive, and at the same time very positive, that people are turning towards real and straightforward messages. Rent Is Too Damn High If it's real, it's simple. Definitely something to watch in future elections!

Last week I took part at the 6th International Political Marketing Conference, you can read the full abstract of my presentation: Blogger Outreach strategies and New Media Engagement . It was great to talk with fellow political marketers, and academics, and learn a lot from interesting presentations on the topics of political science and marketing. I presented on how political campaigns need to engage with bloggers in creating and running blogger outreach programs to communicate with influential people online. As people in new media understand, the argument of Blogger Vs Journalist was raised. My take is that Bloggers should not be treated as main stream media journalists or reporters. Political campaigns need to target them with new media tools and technologies that have proven to be effective in creating personal links, and valuable in gaining trust from online communities. The campaign should be able to provide bloggers with relevant insightful and bundled information, in order ...

I know... I have not posted anything for a while know, but here I go again. I was really impressed by this recent interview of Robert Gibbs on Fox News. My comment on the liberal viewer facebook page was: she was actually right... anyway, gibbs fouled on asking a question to the presenter, he should have expected that answer, he was obviously intimidated. And Yes, she was aggressive, but what else would you expect? soft ball responses? I have to say that I enjoyed the exchange.

Writing about the Greek News Blogs in my last post, I started thinking about how the blogosphere interacts with the news and the mainstream media. I came across this very interesting clip from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. There are certain Blogs that just gossip around news shows, and are read mostly by people in the media: journalists, reporters and producers. Having these sort of Blog posts helps in recycling the news and recapping certain media highlights, but it becomes repetitive reading, that is only interesting to certain people, while loosing popular interest. Most of these media obsessed Blogs are written by people in the industry that just want to tease a reaction, or capitalize on the celebrity status or fame of a TV presenter or journalist, just to get some hits and get their Blog noticed. The Blogs Must Be Crazy The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c The Blogs Must Be Crazy www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humo...

The Bush Institute, the policy research arm of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, has launched a new website . The Institute transforms ideas into action and produces results that can be tested, proven, and deployed in the real world. Along with the launch of the new website, there is a new show that will broadcast on PBS and on the Internet called " Ideas in Action " which premieres February 4. The show is hosted by Jim Glassman, executive director of the Bush Institute and former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Each edition of the new series, hosted by veteran journalist, scholar and diplomat Jim Glassman, will present a discussion of trends, conditions, and ideas at the heart of the important issues of the day. Viewers engage with a diverse group of economists, historians, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, and social philosophers, as well as authorities from many other disciplines. Just another great example of...

In a recent event at the  Progressive Book Club ,  David Plouffe explains that campaigns matter. It is very interesting to hear that "voter anger" is such a powerful thing to tap into when running a political campaign.  I beleive that this will be a crucial theme with  Tea Parties  gaining more and more momentum and the upcoming Mid-Term election at the end of 2010. It is always good to hear a senior Barack Obama advisor talking politics, and giving insights into the political arguments that the Democrats will use, if healthcare legislation is passed... David Plouffe's new book: The Audacity to Win , is a must read for any person interested in political communications and campaign politics. Watch the Q&A discussion hosted by the GWU Graduate School of Political Management.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is a great initiative by the 2 former U.S. Presidents, to come together and help the people of Haiti. Until now the Fund has received more than 90,000 contributions for relief and recovery efforts. There is also information on survivors, other ways to help and information about the Earthquake and Relief efforts. You can also connect on facebook and twitter . Good to see George W. Bush on the scene again! I am sure that both Presidents with this new fund, but also through the Clinton Foundation and the George W. Bush Center , will lead in helping raise money for the people of Haiti. Watch the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund PSA While I was reading about the catastrophic news about Haiti on twitter , I saw an update from a friend of mine saying that American Airlines is flying doctors and nurses to Haiti for free. At first I was really amazed that an airline will follow up on this catastrophe so quickly, but when I did search for this issue, it t...