If you don’t know, the last day to vote for your a South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Panel it tomorrow. To that extent, I browsed through the panels and picked out panels that dealt with local politics government and had the potential to be both informative and interesting. I’ve listed them below along with the presenter and the description that was offered. Look at them, and if you like them, head over the panel picker and vote for them.
Learning from Obama: Politician as (Online) Rockstar by Colin Delany
What can the rest of us learn from the Man with 70 Million Fans (er, voters)? A lot – online marketers of all stripes, from brand managers to band managers to nonprofit advocacy groups, can pick up powerful lessons from the Obama campaign’s successful recruitment and organization of millions of online supporters.
Local Change Movements in the Obama Age by Martin Matheny
The Obama campaign transformed the face of American politics. But, how can we create local change movements for candidates and causes with far more limited human and financial resources? This panel will explore how to scale the concepts and lessons from Obama for America and other 2008 campaigns for local action.
Not Just for Obama: New Media Gets Local by Julie Blitzer
Local political campaigns have adopted many of the tools of national campaigns but with varied success. This panel will examine the tools now being used in local races and by local activists (Facebook, WordPress, Drupal, Twitter, SMS, etc) and give specific examples of success and failures.
Building Your Local Open Government Tribe By Hillary Hartley
2010 = the year of “civic hacktivism.” Now that everyone (not just Dean and Obama) is using the Internet as a political organizing tool, the era of the e-government mashup is upon us. Learn how groups across the U.S. are catalyzing their governments to be open, transparent, and participatory.
Getting E-Gov Out There in San Francisco by Tom Hughe-Croucher
Using the San Francisco Open Data initiative as an example this panel will explore what is required to help local or regional governments open up their data to their citizens. This project used the power of Open Source, citizen volunteers and collaboration to generate successes.
Adventures in Local Open Government by Noel Hidalgo
There’s been a lot of attention to Open Government, especially at the Federal level. This panel provides some practical examples of effective initiatives from people inside and outside state and municipal government. Includes discussion of specific formats and technologies as well as advice on how to “sell” open government concepts to decision makers.
Next Generation Politics: Where Will We Go Next? by Sarah Granger
In 2000, candidates used e-mail and websites to transmit their messages online. 2004 introduced political blogs and in 2008, social media played a major role in the election. As the 2010 election approaches and we look to 2012, what’s next? A panel of national experts will predict.
Strengthening Local Communities with Social Media by Micki Krimmel
Social networking tools are all around. Local communities are applying this technology to connect people in the real world. Whether with 140-character TweetUps, MyBarackObama.com mobilizing millions of Americans or location-aware mobile phones connecting neighborhoods in unimaginable ways. How can you use technology to live a more connected and neighborly life?
The Internet Never Sleeps: Managing Social Media Campaigns by Bonnie Shaw
The Internet never sleeps, so why should you? When they work, social media campaigns become unruly beasts that require constant feeding and project wrangling. How can we support these projects while meeting budgets and surpassing expectations (without breaking our inboxes or going insane)?
Bonus round:
Yes Mr. Lessig, We Can Change Politics by Julie Germany
Last year at SXSWi, Larry Lessig introduced Change Congress, a movement to clean up corruption in Congress. But that’s only the beginning. All elected offices (local, state, and yes even Congress) need more techies, scientists, and engineers. Now! Why techies should run for office — and how they can win.
Digitally Rebranding the Republican Party by Todd Herman
No brand was under attack in 2008 more than the Republican Party, and the GOP entered 2009 with one goal — rebrand and relaunch. Get a behind-the-brand look at how and why the GOP created and launched its new digital look and the digital strategy driving the brand’s future success.