VasGk | Κοινωνικό Νερό

I've been reading on how social media has ignited the social developments in Egypt, and also how this argument is silly, since most people in Egypt do not have access to facebook and twitter so as to organize and utilize these new media. I do not want to say that the truth is somewhere in the middle, but there is a point to be made. During the past few days I've been watching live on  Al Jazeera  and reading on Blogs and twitter in trying to keep informed, I also read a very interesting article by Eric Schwartzman on " Thoughts on Social Media and Revolutions ". He references Steve Coll in the  New Yorker in writing: …youthful populations, high unemployment, grotesque inequality, abusive police, reviled leaders and authoritarian systems” are to blame. So let’s give credit where credit’s due. It’s bad government that led to the situation at hand. Social media just made it impossible to ignore. Well, it's not really easy to disagree with the above stateme...

I have been paying close attention to the communications & multimedia campaign from the White House and I really enjoy the West Wing Week , a video diary that is produced by the White House communications staff. The series aims to be " your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. " You can watch the latest episode of West Wing Week (1/21/11 or "A Rather Large Painting") here: Browsing YouTube, I came across the CNN White House week in review. Which is basically the exact same weekly diary, but produced by professional journalists. You can watch the CNN piece here: I believe that the White House production is far more better, covers more issues, has access to the President that mainstream media journalists do not, and offers a view that was not previously offered from mainstream media. The White House West Wing Week came out yesterday, the 20th of January, and the CNN White House week in review, came out today, the 21st of Januar...

Joe, (VP Joe Biden) emailed Organising for America supporters yesterday, regarding the " Promises Kept Report ". As he states in the email:  Friend -- Telling the story of the past two years will be critical to the fights ahead. And it's not just the story of this president or this White House -- it's your story. And it is literally proof that the organizing you do on the ground -- the conversations you have with your friends and neighbors -- is working. I understand that emailing OFA supporters with the outcomes of the first 2 years in office is a strait-forward move. Nothing new here, and probably, something that is expected from OFA, which is on a campaign mode all the time.  I want to focus on the donation aspect of OFA. When you visit the "Promises Kept Report" website , you can download a pdf of the document, or you can donate $10 dollars or more, to receive 5 print copies. In the donate page it states that: Your donation will cover the c...

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...

Ok, I know this is silly, but the above photo is a print-screen of the official YouTube account of the President (as of 30/12/2010). Notice that right next to his profile picture there is the series of subscribers, most of them beautiful girls, also including a user called "NaughtyVideosForYou"! You might say that Barack Obama is not responsible for the accounts that are subscribed to his YouTube channel, and yes I will agree, however, it shows as a really weird presence of the President of the United States on YouTube. The people that run the account can either block some users that might be spammers, or deactivate the subscribers from showing in the main channel page. I just think that it is really funny, and can definitely be picked up from a mainstream media reporter as a fun story.

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...