The Importance of Viral Influencers

One item on my To Do list this week is to update my media database, something anyone who works with the media and/or brand reputation management should do at least quarterly, if not monthly. Besides traditional media, I have a column for blogs, blog authors, Twitter accounts for national, West Virginia, and tri-state media… but this time I’ve decided to add a new column per media market: Influencers.

Ever since Klout has come about, I feel it’s critical for any business, political campaign, etc… to identify those people on social networks whose opinions/tweets/Facebook posts engage and influence others.

Haven’t heard of Klout? It measures one individual’s influence across the online social-sphere. According to CrunchBase, “Klout allows users to track the impact of their opinions, links and recommendations across your social graph. Data is collected about the content users create, how people interact with that content and the size and composition of their networks. Klout identifies influencers and provides tools for influencers to monitor their influence.”

What kind of influencer am I? According to Klout, I’m a Broadcaster, which means “You broadcast great content that spreads like wildfire. You are an essential information source in your industry. You have a large and diverse audience that values your content.” (Thanks for the ego-boost this morning, Klout!)

Why is this important? Viral is the number one source of message dissemination, be it negative or positive, in today’s media ecosystem. And where does viral start? Social networking sites. Where can viral turn into a frenzy and spin out of control? Social networking sites. Therefore it’s extremely important to identify influencers in each media market. Depending on what content a business, campaign, or individual puts out, an influencer might take the information and put out contrasting content. If that business does not respond, they become less reputable over a short period of time. Even more alarming, if the message is not controlled, a brand, business, candidate, etc… can be discredited almost completely.

And just in case you were wondering… how influential is Klout? See for yourself.

WV PoliTweeps: Constituent Connections

With the West Virginia Legislature going into session next week, I thought it only appropriate to post the Twitter names for several of West Virginia’s elected officials:

US Senate: Jay Rockefeller

Joe Manchin: @JoeManchinWV

@JoeManchinNews

US House: Shelley Moore Capito: @Rep Shelley

Nick Joe Rahall: @Rahall2010

David McKinley: @mckinley4cong

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin:

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant: @NatalieTennant

Attorney General Darrell McGraw: @AGWestV

WV Legislature: @wvlegislature

WV Senate: @wvsenate

Jeff Kessler: @JeffKessler4Gov

Brooks McCabe: @BrooksMcCabeWV

Truman Chafin: @Senator_Chafin

Erik Wells: @Erik_Wells

Mike Green: @SenatorGreen

Bob Beach: @WVsenatorelect

WV House: @wvhouse

Rick Thompson @RT4WV

Tim Miley: @timothymiley

Meshea Poore: @MesheaforHouse

Doug Skaff: @dougskaff

Josh Stowers: @Josh_Stowers

Tom Azinger: @TomAzinger

Ryan Ferns: @RyanFernsWV

Doug Reynolds: @dougreynolds16

Troy Andes: @TroyAndes

Nancy Guthrie: @guthrien4me

Kelli Sobonya: @KelliSobonya

Amanda Pason: @Pasdon4WVHouse

Randy Swartzmiller: @WV_Delegate

John Ellem: @DelegateEllem

Media:

Lawrence Messina (AP): @lmessina

Charleston Gazette: @wvgazette

Allison Knezevich: @aliknez

Phil Kabler:

Ken Ward: @Kenwardjr

Charleston Daily Mail: @charleywest

Ry Rivard: @ryrivard

Jared Hunt: @jaredwv

WV Watchdog: @WVWatchdog

Steven Adams: @stevenadamswv

WV’s First Political Twitter Discussion: @Kenwardjr @DelegateJMiller @bitmapped

Late this morning, Charleston Gazette (@wvgazette) Reporter Ken Ward (@Kenwardjr) and House of Delegates member Jonathan Miller (@DelegateJMiller) had a discussion on Twitter over cap and trade, carbon capture, and carbon dioxide. Brian Powell (@bitmapped) also joined the conversation.(Too bad it didn’t have a hashtag associated with it.)

This is the second major instance in West Virginia social media history that a reporter has opened a discussion with a politician through a social media vehicle. The first occurred with Mannix Porterfield asked House of Delegates (@wvhouse) Speaker Thompson (@RT4WV) a question on his Facebook Fan Page.

Conversations and debates, like the one between Ward and Miller, via new media vehicles allow for open discussion and promote interest in government because everyone can be involved. This increases governmental transparency and let’s voters actually discuss issues with those running for office.

A scary thought for all elected officials, or anyone who refuses to answer reporter or constituent questions? If you don’t respond, you could always get tweet-bombed. Although you would have to actually check your twitter account, which one politician in this state doesn’t seem to do.

Calling All Politicians: Stop Being Anti-Social! Be Social By Design!

What does the term “PC” mean to you? Politically correct? Wrong! “PC” means POLITICALLY CONNECTED! How connected are you to your constituents? The number one way to get real feedback and converse with the folks who elected you is through SOCIAL MEDIA!

The number one fail in political social media right now, and I don’t mean to be harsh, is @JoeManchinWV. The man who made me fall in love with politics isn’t following a soul on Twitter. I spoke with Senator Oliverio (Mike_Oliverio) last night, a future U.S. House of Reps member, and mentioned he might want to change his Facebook picture. Delegate Doug Skaff (dougskaff) asked me how much he should tweet.

With the youngest and sexiest United States Senator in office right now, West Virginia politicians need to know how to better utilize social media (or new media, whichever), to communicate with their constituents. Goodwin doesn’t even have a Twitter account.

The most recent political social media development in West Virginia, in my opinion, has been Speaker Thompson (@RT4WV) using his Facebook page to post statements regarding his views about what’s going on at the Legislature (@wvlegislature). Mannix Porterfield, a reporter, even asked the Speaker a question on his page and Thompson replied! He’s effectively using social media to communicate with both the media and constituents.

So all you politicians in the great state of West Virginia and across the United States, when you’re ready for my class on political social media, give me a call, 304.993.8464.

Digital, Youth and Politics: The Week's Hottest Moves : By Lauren DeLisa Coleman

The times, they are a changin'. Voices previously a bit off the radar are gaining more and more visibility thanks to digital platforms. If you missed the MSNBC segment on the announcement of a new series on Hip Hop and politics, definitely check it out on line. NBC's The Grio and allhiphop.com have come together to create what seems to be one of the most extensive and cool looks at hip hop culture's influence on politics, almost since the culture's beginning. Entitled Hip Hop & Politics: From the Beat to the Ballot, the on-line series sizzles with info that any and all policy makers looking to connect better with influential constituents (who also happen to be those who out-index across digital media usage) should watch. Viewing this web series could only help politicians to become more savvy when interfacing with consultants they should be bringing on to specifically target this demo and convey messages to them across on-line and mobile phone platforms.

And in the spirit of further converging politics with digital platforms and youth culture, this writer is joining forces with political consultant Cartney McCracken to create a new Follow Friday series on Twitter. Beginning June 18, 2010 follow either @mediaempress or @CartneyWV to jump onto the #FFRed, #FFBlue, #FFWhite series. The first two will obviously offer Twitter handles of policy makers who correspond to their party color. #FFWhite will feature the Twitter handles of Independents as well those related to the political scene from consultants to journalists and more.

"I feel social media has eclipsed traditional media when it comes to connecting with our government. And connecting is the key world. We started #FFwhite, #FFblue, and #FFred to connect tweeps across the nation, and across the world, with elected officials and with those who are in the political arena. We're not just creating a list for people to follow, we're leveraging the influence of constituents on their government. We're proactively championing more collaboration between the public and it's government," explains Cartney.

Watch for an interesting mash-up of people.

There you have it, two unexpected yet welcome moves as we watch politics further converge with pop culture and digital tech.

Enjoy!

Website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-coleman/digital-youth-and-politic_b_616553.html