VasGk | Κοινωνικό Νερό

Just wanted to squeeze another Blog post just before the new year. And yes, I will be more active in my Blogging in 2010, it is one of my many 2010, and new decade, resolutions... Maybe because I use twitter a lot, maybe because I was working hard on two political campaigns, I didn't have the time or the drive to keep up with my Blog, however, the next year is going to be a banner year in many aspects. I am really looking forward working on corporate new media communications, you may also find some of my Blog posts to be on business and new media, while still keeping up to date with online political communications and the use of social media. Let me also get myself on record here saying that I will pursue my academic goals in doing some research on new communications and marketing policies, whether that being in politics, corporate B2B, or freelance business. I believe that Direct-to-consumer advertising is going to be re-shaped and utilized more personally, given the fusion that ...

I really like this tool from " Organizing for America ". It is a great method to lobby the House of Representatives and the Senate while utilizing grassroots support for healthcare reform. What I really appreciate is the openness of the tool, in asking people to call their representatives, record their answers and report back. It is these tools, simple, straightforward , and clear, that have the capacity to make the difference.

Yesterday the townhall: "Ask The Chairman: A Virtual Town Hall" ended. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen received 16 video questions . Have a look at the teaser: And just when the pentagon virtual town-hall ended, another defense and security online event began! It's President Obama now, with the "Troop Town Hall". Were these two events coordinated? It doesn't seem so. Why flood the online town-halls with defense and security issues now? If people already directed their questions to Admiral Mullen, does the Whitehouse expect them to direct more (and different) questions to President Obama? I must say that this might be a communications overkill on the outreach to enlisted personnel and their families.

It was awesome to take part in the DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Mr. Price Floyd , Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, talking about the launch of the new defense.gov website and the new social media strategy of the DoD . You can listen to the whole roundtable discussion on defenselink.mil . It was an excellent opportunity for people interested in the new media strategy of the DoD to ask questions, give feedback and propose ideas for implementation. I did manage to ask two questions on: 1. DoD new media strategy for Global audiences. 2. Twitter messages for DoD policy communications - engaging with people online. All the other Bloggers were excellent in their remarks; Mr. Price Floyd responded on military families and the Internet, technical stuff on webpage management and Social media strategies to connect and engage with people online. I was the only blogger from overseas (currently in Vienna, Austria) and I believe that there is a Inte...

From preliminary results 40% to 50% of 15 million registered voters in Afghanistan actually turned up to vote . The total population of Afghanistan is 33.6 million, only 7 million people actually voted, and these people must have been from low or medium risk areas: see the electoral security map on BBC . Citizens that live in areas of Taliban control were probably denied their right to go to the polls. Are these election results accurate under these circumstances? Are these results even statistical valid given the population spread, and war operations in the country? The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan thinks so and the Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission claims to received a total of 433 complaints during the last two months. I am still not convinced. There are also international observers that monitored the elections and will comment on the results, see the UNDP Elect and the UNAMA . I also came across the " International Security Assistance Force ...

The U.S. government has embraced social media on a number of new federal website projects. The new DoD website is a great example of utilization of new media, on a rather sensitive issue of Defense and Security. It may come as a surprise that organizations as such are engaging through social media. Read the DoD Special Report: Social Media @ DoD . The new public affairs chief, Price Floyd, has revolutionized the way the Department of Defense is communicating with the public but also with people in the military, Floyd said he plans to expand efforts already under way at the Defense Department to tap into social media outlets to reach audiences not reachable through other, more traditional, means . The DoD launched into twitter , facebook , YouTube , flickr , Ustream , Blog , Podcasts , and created a number of Widgets . Even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen has a twitter account . It is this openness in communications that gives the opportunity to everyone t...

I came across Rand Paul's campaign for the US Senate , the son of Congressman Ron Paul after watching him on the Glenn Beck show yesterday. He seems to follow the republican values of his father, while showcasing a clear view of his own beliefs and the actions that he will take while on the US Senate . The Ron Paul campaign has been remarkable is gaining attention online and continuing the "Revolution" well beyond the Presidential campaign. The Ron Paul revolution is an ongoing campaign that has steered off the " Extended Campaign Syndrome " of President Obama, as Karl Rove explains in a recent article on the Wall Street Journal. I consider this as truly "grassroots politics", a term that has been misused on a number of political movements. Ron Paul is supporting an online fundraising campaign " The Rand Paul for Senate Money Bomb – August 20th, 2009 ", which is a dedicated website that has a target to raise Rand Paul $1,000,000 in one day ...