thomascwaters.com

Twitter is understood by many as a tool to spread information, but we generally think of that as a positive thing- more information is always a good thing, right? What about when the message isn’t really a positive thing at all?

It isn’t news that in the Health Care Reform arena, conservatives have gone out of their way, to pass fear-based messages  in an attempt to subdue the American public’s interest in reform. From the idea that the reform would kill old people, to the lie that reform would be used to deny coverage to Republicans, the stories have been fairly absurd, but have garnered some following with the less-than-aware.

Now, some are using Twitter hashtags to spread these types of messages out into specific communities in the hopes of splintering democratic support. Take the message below, which was sent out on Twitter with the hashtag of #lgbt, meaning that it should be of interest to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities The post linked to an opinion piece in The Hill which is anything but of interest to LGBT americans. It is so full of baloney… but then, so were all of the earlier claims.

When I messaged the poster about it, he asked me if I had read the article, as if reading it would illustrate this built-in discrimination against gays. Maybe this type of targeting messages isn’t new at all, but it is the first time I’ve seen it used this way.

My favorite bit of BS in it:

The left’s demand for government-run healthcare, the so-called “public option,” will leave gay and lesbian families completely and totally out. Gays, who currently are able to secure health insurance that provides for domestic partner benefits for their families, will find no such options when it comes to government-run healthcare. Worst, low-income gay and lesbian families, who can’t afford private insurance and will be forced by federal mandate into government-run healthcare, will be hit the hardest.

The left’s demand for government-run healthcare, the so-called “public option,” will leave gay and lesbian families completely and totally out. Gays, who currently are able to secure health insurance that provides for domestic partner benefits for their families, will find no such options when it comes to government-run healthcare. Worst, low-income gay and lesbian families, who can’t afford private insurance and will be forced by federal mandate into government-run healthcare, will be hit the hardest.

Gay and lesbian families are already totally left out in most places, or where they are able to cover their partners and families, the methods for that vary. For example, my partner is covered on my employer provided insurance, except that unlike my coverage, where my employer pays a part, I pay the entire amount for my partner. “Low-income gay and lesbian families” are less likely to be accepted as a family by local, state or the federal level under out current health care and assorted government systems. It isn’t like the health care reform will take away something that they already have.

All of the so-called discrimination is because of DOMA:

The Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and signed by a Democratic president — Bill Clinton — prohibits the extension of domestic partner healthcare benefits and denies recognition of any same-sex relationship.  Indeed, even the Obama administration admitted that this legislation would bar the extension of domestic partner healthcare benefits.

But the editorial failed to mention that legislation has been introduced to repeal DOMA, and Obama’s comments were not about Health Care reform (and how DOMA would impact that) but about providing domestic Partner benefits to federal employees in general. Fear mongering, does this stuff really work?

Maybe on the general public, but within the LGBT community? I doubt it. Most are so used to being discriminated against, that to have someone  from “The Hill” a space (either the physical space or the paper) which rarely if ever cared about LGBT issues or needs, suggest that we should worry is laughable at best, and pathetic.

Expanding government-run health insurance means expanding discrimination against gays – TheHill.com.

My friend, and master activist/organizer, Jake Kaskey wrote recently about the issue of progressives vs conservatives and organizing in the Social Media realm. The post is linked below and it is a good read, but it also accentuates for me some questions that have been on my mind for some time now. Six weeks or so ago, I was just a happy blogger/activist turning out y thoughts and ideas , and a friend even commented that I had really found my voice. And then the Health Care debate )or debacle depending upon your perspective) exploded, and I haven’t been the same since. I remember the experience of the day after the Bush/Kerry election of feeling utterly and completely abandoned and let down by MoveOn, Kerry, and the whole of the democratic process, and I’m close to having sunk to that level of “political despair.” And now, I’ve been seeing estimates that democrats are likely to lose big in the 2010 midterm elections, and I wonder what the @#%! are we doing all of this for? So today, I want to ask, what is the point of organizing- or how do we measure the success of organizing- when it doesn’t lead to any real change? OK, so that is no small question to put out there, but there it is.

Jake comments:

However, I tend to see a difference between blogs and social media-  although there’s much overlap, there’s thousands upon thousands of people engaging on social media that may not be involved with or writing for blogs at the same level of engagement.

From my perspective, I see this in several ways. There has been a natural progression from using the blog as a method for dialogue, to the use of the microblog as a primary vehicle for that dialogue. Four or five years ago, bloggers sought to build their own community of readers and comments by providing a space for a network of people to grow. This notion of individual communities made sense, and individuals could aggregate their various communities together in Google Reader to some degree, but they remained in a very real way, separate communities. Platforms like FriendFeed, Facebook, and especially Twitter provided the community and invited people to do their sharing, but in smaller chunks that full blog posts, sot hat today, The Facebook Wall and Twitter are the types of spaces where people comment upon each other’s ideas and share a dialogue. Unlike an old fashioned blog “community” that may grow slowly over time, networks of friends (or followers in Twitter) can expand rapidly. Individuals who may never have crossed paths end up doing so because of the ways these platforms allow the sharing of ideas. But, is this organizing? Is it adding to the discourse?? Or are we merely counting  (and recounting) the folks that are already on one side of an issue or another? In other words, as Jake watches the #p2 hashtag explode, what does that really mean? Jakes asks the same thing in a way:

Is Tweetprogress a step in this direction? Perhaps.  As of this writing over 3200 people have joined the network.  Has anything come from it?  Not that I can tell.  Will something come from it?  Maybe.  Is this another example of herd mentality– joining up as you see your friends and follwers doing the same (as I did)— or is this really a meaningful way to organize ourselves in one centralized place to affect change?

I tend to think is is just herd mentality. I don’t doubt that for the individuals, involved (all 3200) of them, it means something personally, but does it happen so that people can feel connected or so that through that connectedness, real change can be made possible?

Surrounding the Iranian election, there were several movements on Twitter that many participated in such as changing your locale to Tehran, or coloring your profile picture green. The first was intended to make it difficult for the Iranian authorities to find the real Iranian Twitterers, and to upset  the crackdown on the information leak out of Iran. The second was to demonstrate solidarity, and it is possible today, months after, to still find folks who are clearly American, listed as residing in Tehran or using green-tinted images. I took my green pic down when a new fad hit: the addition of a small rainbow in the bottom right corner of your pic. Reminds me of the scene in WALL-E where everyone’s outfits change from blue to red (or is it red to blue?). Was this a political reference I didn’t grasp when I first saw the film?

But to what end, do we do these things? What do we expect the outcomes to be, and how do we measure how successful we are being? Which brings me back to the Health Care fiasco, and the organizing that led to Obama’s successful win. And what appears to be pushing us towards the return of conservative control in the 2010 and 2012 elections. I am not suggesting that a measurable outcome is required before any action, and I realize that sometimes we organize and hope for the best and need to settle for however much we achieve. But are we organizing to be organized and feel as if we are doing our part, or is our goal to actively create change that improves things for everyone?

I am of the mind that one-on-one dialogues are a critical aspect of creating change. When I talk to my neighbor, the grocery store clerk, a coworker, a a friend’s friend in a Facebook thread, these are the spaces where changed ideas and attitudes spark changes in actions. Over the past few days, I’ve been involved with just such a discussion on Facebook with two friends of a friend of mine about Health Care reform. At least one of these individuals is pretty conservative (as an aside, I have come to realize just how isolated I am among like-minded people. I can only name one person I would call a friend who is a conservative. I’d like to believe that I am a person who celebrates diversity, but among my friends, there is not much diversity in political or social views) and I had commented that it was impossible to know how the American people really feel about Health Care reform because there have been so many lies and misinformation spread, it isn’t possible to determine how much these have impacted the discourse. To which the conservative guy commented, that he had no idea what I meant by lies and misinformation. That will pretty much bring that dialogue to an end, because how can we really have a conversation when we aren’t living in the same reality? Death Panels, Death books, and health care as a plot to kill Republicans: when these are treated as real discourse, there is no where for a conversation to go, at least not towards an end point where two people leave that exchange with a better understanding of the other’s viewpoint and some sense of a changed attitude.

Maybe I’m talking in circles and I am actually going nuts, but I’m beginning to wonder if social media hinders our inability to affect real change by adding only to the noise out there, rather than affect the real content of the dialogue. Do we generate activity and exchange that parades as useful, but in reality has little or no impact?

The Herd Mentality- or Actual Organizing on the Left? « JakeKaskey.com – Activism, Advocacy and Social Media.

Podcamp Pittsburgh asked, and so here is my reply:

What does social Media mean to you? Check out Podcamp Pittsburgh!

I was scrollog through entries in Google Reader this morning, and came across one that said the Dalai Lama was not on Twitter.  I followed the link, and decided to follow the Dalai Lama.  About noon today, I saw via email, that the Dalai Lama was followig me back!  I thought, WOW, that is cool! 

Turns out it isn’t really the DL’s office, but a fake.  However, it looks like the real deal OHHDL will be getting a twitter account and be on-line! There is definitely interest as the account had 16,000 followers after just 1 weekend.

Updated: His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama [Has Not] Joined Twitter [Yet] – ReadWriteWeb .

I have written about Twitter a few times and it is a pretty important thing  to me.  so, I was glad to come across this Mashable entry. Enjoy!

HOW TO: Live Inside Twitter and Still Stay Productive.

On Saturday, Jan 24, 2009, Keystone Progress sponsored the first ever PA Rootscamp here in Pittsburgh.  

RootsCamps are participant driven events or forums, using the “unconference” or “open space” format that is born from the desire for activists, organizers, leaders and politicians in the progressive sphere to share and learn in a productive, fast-paced, open environment.

I did a session on Blogging, Microblogging and Social Media, and promised the session participants links to all of the stuff we talked about.  I sent that out via email, but thought I would post it here as well.  

Marriage Equality Rally San Francisco

Marriage Equality as a rallying cry within the GLBTQ communities.

A few days ago, I began this series of posts examining, or wishing to prompt examination of the seemingly new push for marriage equality, and equating it in some ways to how AIDS has changed queer culture.  What’s up with that? Just as AIDS activism became a primary rallying cry and identity creator for the GLBTQ community in the late 80’s and 90’s, is Marriage Equality doing the same today?

Join the Impact

Following the passage of Proposition 8 in California, there was a grassroots swell of activism and activity.  The passage, interpreted by most as the defeat of anti-prop 8 took away the right for same sex couples to get married in California.  This was significant, because while there have been other initiatives in other states to keep same sex couples from gaining the right to marry, this was the first instance of having that right removed .  The largest organizing effort that grew out of this was Join the Impact. Join the Impact is in many ways like an up-to-date MoveOn.org, but with a better grasp of social networks, a more limited focus,  and without the “top down” organizing.

I first heard of Join the Impact from Twitter, and news of Impact rallies were on Facebook. I blogged about my experience of the first Impact rally . And another round of events are happening January 10th. But a rebirth of activism isn’t only happening under the “Impact” umbrella.

 San Diego Equality Campaign (SDEC) and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME). Locally, the StoneWall Democrats are acting with renewed vigor. And this trend can be found in cities large and small across the country.

Role of social media as a new organizing strategy

It should come as no surprise that social media is playing a major role as not only a communication mechanism, but as an organizing strategy.  For example, a Facebook group, MILK!, is the location of efforts  to both raise awareness, and promote individual action surrounding the Marriage Equality issue.  Group members are invited to talk to family and friends about the issue, and provided with talking points as well as encouragement. The group has over 1100 members with a primnary focus to capture the energy of reaction and inspiration of the film to make new ground for GLBT liberty.

In November, there was word that Fred Phelps (Godhatesfags.com) was to be in Pittsburgh protesting at a funeral and against a number of things.  My partner decided to create a Facebook group and within a few days, it had 70 members, and the group continues to grow even now. No other work was done except we asked friends to ask their friends to join, and I wrote about it on Twitter.  We had a counter-protest to Phelp’s protest, and even though it was a weekday morning, we had 60-80 people in attendance!

We Need a Cause!

I think that GLBT people often need a cause behind which to rally to get motivated, and organized.  In so many ways we are like other marginalized minorities and groups, but there are ways in which we are not at all like them.  Fro example, African American’s as a minority- there is no real hiding they are black.  Same for Women- there is little hiding that which identifies them, their gender. GLBT people hide all the time!  For the most part, we can easily just blend in to culture at large.  We can work and be productive citizens, and never have to let anyone know our identity as GLBT people.  This ability to pass can provide some with an excuse to just go with the status quo instead of demanding equality.

AIDS provided such a cause to us, and in that case it was our lives and the lives of our loved ones that we were fighting for, as we fought against homophobia, predudice and bigotry.

Marriage Equality seems today, to be functioning similarly as a point of focus.  This right may not seem as dramatic as life itself, but it is possibly the ultimate level of cultural acceptance.  It is the aknowledgement  by the greater culture that our family building- our ties of commitment are as meaningful as heterosexual ones.

California and  MILK

I think two other factors are also playing a role.  That Prop 8 in California took away rights was a single concrete event which demonstrates the level of bigotry we are facing.  The amount of money thatr was spent to pass Prop 8, even from peple outside of California, demonstrates that even “local” government is a toll of bigotry used by institutions of intolerance. But also, the timing of the film MILK!, has played a role by giving Harvey Milk, a voice to rouse the crowd.  Harvey wants to recruit us, and we are ready to be recruited!

Is the Issue Equality or Marriage Equality?

On the other side of the coin are calls to see the bigger picture and not to let Marriage Equality become an all consuming motivator.  I have been vocal in my concerns about how this issue can eclipse other others GLBTQ people need such as protection from discrimination in house, employment, and accommodations, but others are voicing concern as well. Jerame Davis writes on the Bilerico Project, writes eloquently about this. And groups such as the HRC have been so caught up in the Rick Warren thing, it is unclear what if any plan they have to move Equality forward in 2009.

So what do you think?  Add your comments and help generate dialogue!

Added @ 4:25PM

Wanted to add a few more links examples that I have come across since I posted this originally this morning.

• A student group at Stanford: http://stanfordscme.blogspot.com/2008/11/guerilla-flyering-election-day-and.html
• FaceBook Group: Equality Flag: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35993801337

Photo Credit: Frankfarm

Here is a list of my favorite tech things from 2008.

 Twitter

twitter.com

I don’t remember when I started to use Twitter, but I have been hooked from the very beginning, and it remains a primary way I interact on the web.  I first saw mention about Twitter, on a Second Life listserve.  I had also developed a program at work, where every month, members of my team spent 1/2 day exploring or “playing” with anything they wanted, and then reported on what they did and how it might impact what they did at work.  We called these sessions, “Look Ahead” because often what a person chose to explore was something new.  So, I decided to use Twitter as my Look Ahead project. I’ve blogged before about my use of Twitter, so I won’t say too much more here. Rohit Bhargava has written that there are 5 steps of Twitter acceptance. I probably spent most of the year at 2 or 3, and over the past few months, I think I’m more in the 4 and moving towards 5 area. I also think Twitter is going to keep growing, and I’m looking forward to being involved in it as a community.

Roomba

There are a few gadgets in this list, and the first of them that I bought was a Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, and I totally love it! With a big white dog in the house, there is almost always fur everywhere- even during the times of year that she isn’t shedding! So, early last Spring I was at Target, and saw the Roomba on the shelf.  I thought it might make my life easier, so I decided to give it a try. And shortly afterwards, I bought a second one- one for my first floor with the original on the second floor. The newer one came with a base station.  I was looking forward to having it vacuum on schedule and return itself to be recharged.  That hasn’tworked out perfectly, but still all in all, this was a gadget that has saved me time, and kept my floors cleaner!

 iPod Touch

My friends know me as a person who struggles with delayed gratification.  Generally, when I decide I want something, I want it now. But when Apple released the first iPhone, I knew I would be waiting until the next generation phone so that it would do seamless integration with the email at work. My friends laughed.  I would never wait that long! But I did! A few months before the release however, I was really struggling, and so I decided to get an iPod Touch as a way to test the keyboard, and stuff. To see if I was going to really want an iPhone. And it worked.  The Touch fed the urge I was feeling, and gave me some experience with the touchpad. 

I still love and use my touch a lot.  It is the iPod I use in the car for music, and use it at work for email, and stuff if I’m going to be in a part of the building where there isn’t much phone signal.

iPhone

But the gadget I love even more than my Touch is my iPhone!  I am one of those Apple snobs, and so on the one hand, I had no doubt that I would love it, but I had a TREO 650, and it seemed to meet all of my needs.  Wasn’t sure what more I would want.  But I have never looked back.  The iPhone is truly an amazing thing.  I use it all day, everyday, in ways I never would have thought to use my TREO.  The apps available for it, rock! 

Facebook

Facebook was not new in 2008, and not even new for me.  I first signed onto Facebook in 2006 to see how it was being used by college students.  Was there a way that the School of Pharmacy, my employer should be taking advantage of Facebook? While it looked interesting, too many other things took priority, and I didn’t login again until this past year. Partly because of my Twitter experience, I was ready to be more involved in an online community, and Facebook has become a really cool place for me.

 Pittsburgh PodCamp

Podcamp Pittsburgh was a real turning point for me this past year.  That I have this blog grew out of Podcamp.  That I am again producing a podcast, was encouraged by PodCamp!  I can’t say enough positive things about it.  The un-conference format rocks, but my guess is, it is really the people involved who make it, so I’m thankful Pittsburgh can bring such a community together and create such an event.

Tubu.net and WordPress

At PodCamp, I was talking to Chris Brogan about my podcast, and asking if I should be blogging in addition to it, and how should I accomplish that, and he introduced me to Andy Quayle from Tubu.net.  Prior, I was blogging and posting my podcasts on a .Mac account, which is super easy, but I didn’t think I was being indexed well.  Tubu.net has basic WordPress packages that are extremely affordable, and so I decided to go ahead and jumpstart my return to podscasting with WordPress blogs- one for me personally, thomascwaters.com, and one for my podcast, qlatb.com.  Andy is tremendous.  I’d encourage anyone who ever thought about a blog, to give Tubu.net a try.

I had already been using a blog at work a bit (see below), but was new to WordPress.  WP provides a very comprehensive application within which to build your blog.  Unlike Apple’s iWeb, I can add to my blog, anytime via a web page (or an iPhone app). This increases my blogging tremendously over what I would be doing if it was just iWeb/.Mac.

Second Life

I started playing in Second Life for work and I think it is a really cool platform.  It hasn’t stayed as high on my priority list as I wish, and so I hope in 2009 to remedy that. but SL showed me that the future is so much more than words, pictures and links. If you are bumping around SL, look me up- Caleb Spad.

OS X Server Wikis and Blogs

OS X Server

At work, we use Apple’s OS X Server for internet server, file server and a bunch of other services.  I have a beautiful rack of mostly Xserves, and it is amazing. I began to use the built-in Wiki and blog server quite soon after 10.5 was released, and I expec t that many static areas of the school’s website will be replaced with wiki or blog served pages this coming year. No server is easier to set up, manage and use than OS X Server.

Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner

Shower Cleaner

This is my last gadget of the list, and the least advanced from a technology standpoint.  But as with any technology- always use the least tech that is right for the task.  This thing keeps my shower cleaner than it has ever been before, and that is a very good thing.

The ID Project podcast

I have a few favorite podcasts, but none mean as much to me as Ethan Nichtern and the ID Project podcast.  A number of years ago, I got interested in meditation and Buddhism, and then about 2 years ago, when my partner and I separated, I jumped into these practices with both feet.  In Buddhism, I found a philosophical world, and a spiritual practice that didn’t negate my Christian past, but filled in the cracks that have for me, kept Christianity for really being useful. I began to sit (meditate) with a local group, but it is the ID Project that feels like a true sangha to me.

Google Reader

I just began to use Google Reader in the past 2 months, and it has totally changed the way I deal with the web and information. I am following blogs more than ever before, and I wonder how did I ever get along without it?

Using Twollow to Auto-follow on Twitter

A while ago I wrote a post about how I’m using twitter and received some great comments. Thanks to my readers! That post was meant to be a precursor to one about the use of Twollow. So, here it is.
Twollow is a way to set up for twitter to auto follow Twitterers based on keywords. When I started Twollow, I was following about 500 people with about 225 followers. Since, the number has risen to almost 680 followed and 275 followers. I want to talk about this in terms of my Twitter experience; and the effect on my goals.
Twollow and other tools for using twitter in marketing will continue to become available as more people seek to use microblogging in business.

Goals

I had two primary goals that I wanted to accomplish with Twollow:
1) I wanted to get a feel for what type of dialogue was already happening out there on twitter in a few general areas and then 2) see if people with like interests to me would find their way to my blogs because of my posts to twitter.
I haven’t put too much energy into managing my keywords on Twollow. I added words, then deleted one and added one and that has been the extent of it. It is impossible to know exactly how these auto follows are working out, but visits to my blogs have been increasing very nicely.
That said I don’t know if I like the change to my Twitter experience. It used to be I would look at Twitter and find a ton of posts that interested me. Now there is so much more personal conversation or chatter. I like the personal exchanges, the @ replies and dm’s, bit so often seeing @ to others isn’t very interesting.

God and Bible

Two of the keywords I added to Twollow were God and Bible because of my blog, Queer Look at the Bible. I wondered how these words were being used on Twitter. I look at everyone who follows me, and if marked as already following then, I try and find their entry that prompted Twollow to auto follow. For these words it has often been entries like, “went to bible study” or “off to church.” There is clearly a healthy community of Christians using Twitter! These may be potential audience for my blog if they are either open to dialogue about the bible or they may comment on my blog even they if disagree with me. Time will tell, though I anticipate that will not be the case.

Gay and Queer

These follow terms brought some of the more enjoyable follows, so pleased with how these words are working. But it isn’t clear if they have brought any readers to either of my blogs. Interestlingly, being on Facebook has brought more identified people to this blog.

Doing Things Differently

If I were to do this again, I’d do things a bit differently. I’d add only one keyword at a time and do a better job evaluating the impact of it. I would work harder to send @ posts and DM’s too.

Are you using Twollow? Tell me about your experience.

So, I’ve been twittering for a while, not sure exactly how long, but about 9 months to a year I guess.  Over that time, I have spent a lot of time on twitter for periods and spent almost no time there during others. And finally, I am starting to feel like I am more connected to some folks on there.  Recently I started using twollow to auto follow people.  And I have begun to think about a blog post specifically about what I have learned though my experiences with it.  But seemed to me that before I go there, it might be useful to say a bit about why I follow people.

In the beginning, I looked at these folks who have hundreds following them and they are only following a few people and I thought that was the way to be!  That would mean you were successful on here, but I have changed my mind about that.  That may mean that you are more likely to get your ideas out there- but it may not too.  Now, I think the ratio of how many people you follow and your followers is unimportant.  Sure I would like to see the number of followers go up, b ut if a way for it to go up is to follow more people, then that is fine.

In the beginning, I followed people because they said something or posted a link that caught my attention- it was something I wanted to know more about. This was mostly in the arena of social networking, but other subjects too.  Now, my approach is fairly different.  I still do that- read tweets for interesting links and stuff and let that direct me to people who I want to follow, but I’m more inclined to read and follow pewople who have blogs or web sites, and subscribe to their blogs via Google Reader than simply follow them on twitter.  I guess I was using twitter as a feed aggregator, and now I’m using it to help me find feed, but I agregate them in Google Reader.

I still watch for social network stuff, but I’m more inclined to be on the lookout for broader categoriesof my interests.  Like creativity/art; like GLBT or queer stuff; like religeon/ritual stuff.  That last category probably deserves more of an explaination.  I write a blog and produce a podcast called A Queer Look at the Bible. So, now, I’m looking more for folks that are or might be like-minded.  Folks who may get value out of what I say in addition to folks who might say stuff that I would value.

And now, I’m doing more to have direct conversations- more @ posts, and more DM’s.

Last thing I think I’ll say in this post is that sometimes I follow people for no god “understood” reason.  There is something about what they say or how they say it, that catches me.  It may be something I have littl einterestr in, like sports.  But there is still something there.  So, I’ll follow them and pay attention- figure I’ll get something I need, I’ll learn something, or develop a freiend of some sort.