The  Social  Web’s  Impact    on  Public  Policy  Jonathan  Kopp  Managing  Director  /  Chief  Interac5ve  Strategist    The  Glover  Park  Group  

03  June  2014  

 @jonathankopp  

A  Decade  of  Social  Media  in  Poli<cs  

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2004   2008   2014  

The  New  Horserace:  Electeds’  Likes  &  Talking  About  

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Source:  “Congressional  Republicans  have  more  Facebook  fans,    but  Democrats  are  more  energized,”  Washington  Post,  4/28/14  

Ex-­‐US:  Social  Web  Fuels  Popular  Uprisings  

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Take  It  From/To  the  Top.  

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•  100K  signatures  in  30  days  for  response  (up  from  5K  when  launched  in  2011).  

•  Post-­‐Newtown  gun  control  pe55on  (12/12/12),  neZed  100K  sigs.  in  1  day.  

•  10  MM  users  &  15  MM  signatures.  •  WH  has  responded  to  200+  pe55ons.  

 

Construc5ve  Engagement  

Social  Web  Advocacy  Has  Reached  Maturity.  

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Everyone  a  Clicktavist  

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ü  MoveOn.org  ü  Avaaz.org  ü  Change.org  ü  Care2.org  ü  Act.ly  

Add  Accelerant:  Thunderclap  

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As  Social  Standardizes,  Staffer  Skep<cism  Surges.  

53%  of  Hill  staffers  strongly/agree  (25%  are  “not  sure”)    that  iden<cal  form  communica<ons  are  sent  without  cons<tuents’  knowledge  or  approval.    

Only  22%  believe  that  messages  actually  reflect  cons<tuent  communica<on.    [Source:  Congressional  Management  Founda5on's  2011  Communica)ng  with  Congress  report]  

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When  have  signals  from  the  social  web    influenced  public  policy  and/or  ac<on?      What  can  we  learn  from  them?    

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18  January  2012  -­‐  Day  of  Protest    •  162  million  people  saw  Wikipedia’s  blacked-­‐out  message,  “Imagine  a  world  without  free  knowledge.”  

•  70,000  smaller  websites,  including  those  of  companies,  advocacy  groups  &  individuals,  “went  dark”  or  posted  support  messages.  

•  4.5  million  people  signed  Google’s  pe55on.  •  2.4  million  tweets  in  one  day.    •  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  emails  &  calls  to  Congress.  

•  100K+  signatures  on  a  WeThePeople  site.  •  70,000  people  added  an5-­‐SOPA/PIPA  badges  to  their  TwiZer,  Facebook  &  Google+  avatars.  

SOPA/PIPA:  Legisla<on  Swigly  Killed        The  Stop  Online  Piracy  Act  (SOPA)  was  opposed  by  Google,  Microsog,  Facebook,  Twijer,    Reddit,  Wikipedia,  Cheezburger  Network,  WordPress,  Mozilla,  among  others.  

SOPA/PIPA  Difference  Makers  

•  Big  corporate  funders  •  Populist  issue  •  Clear  message  •  Technology  leaders  with  most  trafficked  websites  •  Highly  coordinated,  integrated  tac5cal  ac5vity  •  Innova5ve  approach  •  Call  to  ac5on  

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Results:  ü  President  Obama  cited  ASCE  Report  Card  at  Miami  port  event.  ü  Congress  enacted  Water  Resources  Reform  &  Dev.  Act  for  1st  <me  in  7  years.  ü  Forward  mo5on  on  the  highway  bill.  

ASCE:  America’s  Infrastructure  Report  Card  

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ASCE  Difference  Makers  

•  Rela5vely  obscure  driver,  but…  •  Large  membership  organiza5on…  •  With  assets  in  every  state  &  county  in  the  country  •  Enabled  localized  &  spot  market  targe5ng  •  Clear  message:  from  important  to  urgent  •  Data  based  integrated  campaign  •  Tried  &  true  tac5c  (report  card)  with  innova5ve  twist  (app)  &  crea5vity  (infographics)  

•  Endorsement  from  top  influencers  (White  House,  Colbert,  etc.)  14  

Student  Ac<vism  to  White  House  Ac<on  

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“Perhaps  most  important,  we  need  to  keep  saying  to  anyone    out  there  who  has  ever  been  assaulted:  you  are  not  alone.    We  have  your  back.  I’ve  got    your  back.”    –  President  Barack  Obama,          22  January  2014  

C  A  U  S  E  

E  F  F  E  C  T  

SAFER:  Difference  Makers  

•  Student  grassroots  ac5vists  tapped  social  media  to  share  campus  assault  news,  data  &  reports.  

•  Programma5c  approach,  coordinated  with  like-­‐minded  organiza5ons.  •  Evidence-­‐based:  •  Na5onal  study  in  early  2013  about  an5-­‐rape  ac5vists,  accompanied  by  a  series  of  blog  posts  and  promo5on  across  the  social  web.  

•  2nd  na5onal  study  5med  to  start  of  2013-­‐2014  school  year  analyzed  300  school  sexual  assault  policies;  promoted  across  the  social  web.  

•  Influen5al  champions:  Sen.  Gillibrand,  VP  Biden  &  President  Obama.  

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Hashtag  Deployment  

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“We’re  being  tweeted  into  combat,”  a  military  official  told  NBC  News.  

#BringBackOurGirls  

Clicktavism:  1  million  signatures  on  Change.org.  1  million  tweets  featuring  #BringBackOurGirls  in  early  May,  including  Michelle  Obama,  Hillary  Clinton  &  scores  of  celebs.    Results  to  date:    State  Dept.,  FBI,  DoD  commit  resources,  equipment,  personnel  &  poli5cal  pressure.  President  Obama  ready  to  appropriate  $5  billion  at  the  request  of  Congress.    

#BringBackOurGirls:  Difference  Makers  

•  Urgency  •  Brazen  criminal  act  against  sympathe5c  vic5ms  •  Authen5c  outrage  &  concern  among  grassroots  •  Size  &  speed  of  popular  response  •  Influen5al  voices  championing  the  cause  

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Gun  Reform,  Round  One:  #Newtown  

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Though  social  has  helped  fuel  the  gun  debate,  it  has  yet  to  produce  many  tangible  policy  change  results.      •  Funding:  More  than  $18  MM  raised  to  date  from  more  than  218,000  contribu5ons,  with  more  than  half  of  it  coming  from  people  dona5ng  online  in  amounts  of  less  than  $200.  

•  Analy<cs:  iden5fying  the  people  who  are  the  most  outspoken  and  targe5ng  them  specifically,  and  iden5fying  that  unlikely  groups  of  people  such  as  veterans  are  pro-­‐gun  control.  

•  Communica<on:  organiza5ons  can  quick  and  easy  to  talk  to  cons5tuencies  at  mass.  

#Newtown:  Lessons  Learned  

•  Passionate  base  can  make  more  noise  than  change;  alienate  opposi5on  and  moveable  middle  

•  Fragmented  coali5on  •  Lack  of  clear,  agreed  upon  goals  •  Spokesperson  maZers  •  No  quick  or  easy  wins  against  entrenched,  funded  opposi5on  

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Re-­‐load:  #NotOneMore  

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NRA:  Outgunned  From  Both  Sides?  

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NRA  Statement,  30  May  2014:    ….  If  we  exercise  poor  judgment,  our  decisions  will  have  consequences  …such  as  turning  an  undecided  voter  into  an  an<gun  voter  because  of  causing  that  person  fear  or  offense.      Recently,  demonstrators  have  been  showing  up  in  various  public  places,  including  coffee  shops  and  fast  food  restaurants,  openly  to5ng  a  variety  of  tac5cal  long  guns….      ….  while  unlicensed  open  carry  of  long  guns  is  also  typically  legal  in  most  places,  it  is  a  rare  sight  to  see  someone  sidle  up  next  to  you  in  line  for  lunch  with  a  7.62  rifle  slung  across  his  chest,  much  less  a  whole  gaggle  of  folks  descending  on  the  same  public  venue  with  similar  arms.    Let's  not  mince  words,  not  only  is  it  rare,  it's  downright  weird  and  certainly  not  a  prac5cal  way  to  go  normally  about  your  business  while  being  prepared  to  defend  yourself.  To  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  dubious  prac<ce  of  using  public  displays  of  firearms  as  a  means  to  draw  aZen5on  to  oneself  or  one's  cause,  it  can  be  downright  scary.  It  makes  folks  who  might  normally  be  perfectly  open-­‐minded  about  firearms  feel  uncomfortable  and  ques<on  the  mo<ves  of  pro-­‐gun  advocates.  

Open  Carry  Texas,  Gun  Rights  Across  America,  Come  &  Take  It  

NIMBY:  Single-­‐Family  Rental  Homes  

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YIMBY:  Na<onal  Rental  Home  Council  

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Social  media  can  drive  government  ac<on,    but  specific  condi<ons  are  typically  required.  

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PUBLIC   INFLUENCERS  

Bojom-­‐up:  Grassroots  groundswell  

Top-­‐down:  Engaged  celebri5es  from  

poli5cs,  entertainment  &  sports  

Tipping  Point    

CHANGE    

Social  Media  Is  Key  Ingredient,    Not  a  Silver  Bullet  

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 Fundamentals  of  effec<ve  communica<ons:  

Analy<cs  &  Insight  

Strategy  

Message  

Content  

Targe<ng  

STRATEGIC  APPROACH  

Paid  

Owned    

Earned  

INTEGRATED  TACTICS  (online  and  off)    +  

The  Social  Web’s  Impact    on  Public  Policy  Jonathan  Kopp  Managing  Director  /  Chief  Interac5ve  Strategist    The  Glover  Park  Group  

03  June  2014  

 @jonathankopp