Recent posts about internet
Another Kind of Payola Pundit
"Telecommunications analyst Scott Cleland, whose work is bankrolled by companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, also signed on as a hired gun for Microsoft earlier this year," reports National Journal. Cleland is "a frequent critic of Google" who "runs Precursor, an industry research and consulting firm, and chairs NetCompetition.org, which he describes as 'a pro-competition e-forum funded by broadband companies.'" Last year, Cleland released a controversial report "alleging that Google 'is by far the largest user of Internet bandwidth,' the company's share of bandwidth usage is rising rapidly, and its bandwidth use 'is orders of magnitude greater than its payment for its cost.'" Not surprisingly, Google disputed the report, but independent voices like Free Press' Tim Karr also faulted Cleland's "payola punditry."
General Mills Recruits "Mommy Bloggers"
"We don't tell them not to write" about bad experiences, "but most want to only write positive things," said Stacy Becker of Coyne Public Relations. She was talking about General Mills' new blogger network, "MyBlogSpark." Coyne built the network of "more than 900 bloggers -- over 80 percent are moms," and General Mills will "feed them free products and enable them to run giveaways for their audiences." General Mills requires participating bloggers to "contact the MyBlogSpark team before posting any content ... if you feel you cannot write a positive post regarding the product or service." The Federal Trade Commission recently indicated that it may require "clearer disclosure from bloggers who review products." Of the "half-dozen product review posts from MyBlogSpark members" reviewed by Adweek, none included "mention of General Mills." With "moms" controlling "up to $2 trillion in annual spending," companies including Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Wal-Mart already have "mommy blogger" outreach programs.
Beyond MoveOn: Using the Internet for Real Change
Recently the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice asked me to write an article for them with my ideas of how grassroots activists could better use the Internet for real change. As a member of the group, I was happy to tackle that assignment, and here are my thoughts.
Barack Obama owes his election in no small part to his brilliant use of social networking websites, email, cell phone texting and blogs, all utilized in unprecedented ways by his campaign staff to promote, organize and fund his unlikely victory. He employed techniques pioneered by online groups such as MoveOn and took them to an entirely new level. Thanks to Obama's use of the Internet, politics in America will never be the same. It's crucial that peace and social justice activists at the state and local levels understand and harness these new technologies in organizing for fundamental social change.
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NATO PR Push Targets Journalists, Youth
As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) turns 60 and some ask why the Cold War alliance still exists, NATO is launching new media and public relations efforts. The NewsMarket, an online source of b-roll and video news release footage, is providing NATO-produced videos to journalists. Not surprisingly, given Barack Obama's controversial plans to increase troops in Afghanistan, the NATO / NewsMarket channel features videos on "mentoring the Afghan Army" and "taking the fight to the Taliban," along with an interview of U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones, a proponent of NATO expansion. "NATO Public Diplomacy Division has developed a comprehensive strategy to engage with young audiences," according to the NATO / NewsMarket press release. NATO's youth outreach includes an "Internet TV" channel and "unconventional advertisement videos" posted to YouTube. NATO spent 500,000 Euros (U.S.$666,000) on the videos, which use the slogan "Peace and security. That's our mission."
Airline and Online Lobbying on U.S. "Card Check" Bill
In the battle over the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would make it easier for workers to join a union, "both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO are focusing on grassroots outreach." Before the bill was introduced, "the Chamber launched the Workforce Freedom Airlift program, a series of events that fly in local small business owners to Washington," to lobby against the bill. The first "airlift," on March 10, "brought in small business owners from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Nebraska, and Louisiana." Since July 2008, the Chamber has worked with Adfero Group on an anti-EFCA "social media effort," expanding "a virtual march on Washington that was created the last time the bill went to Congress in 2007." It "allows users to register for the march as avatars and send an automatic letter to their elected officials through a Facebook application." Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO is highlighting "YouTube videos of workers sharing their support" of EFCA, and running "an online contest that allows users to vote on the most outrageous statements from the opposition."
The Bleak State of the News Media
"Newspaper ad revenues have fallen 23% in the last two years. ... By our calculations, nearly one out of every five journalists working for newspapers in 2001 is now gone, and 2009 may be the worst year yet," reads the summary of the "State of the News Media 2009" report. In local television, "revenues fell by 7% in an election year -- something unheard of -- and ratings are now falling or are flat across the schedule." News "audience migration to the Internet is now accelerating," but "online ad revenue to news websites now appears to be flattening; in newspapers it is declining. ... [A]lternative news sites, have continued to grow," but they remain few and small, "far from compensating for the losses in coverage in traditional newsrooms, and despite enthusiasm and good work, few if any are profitable or even self-sustaining." These "chilling" numbers led to the Project for Excellence in Journalism's "bleakest" annual report on the news business. There's an eager audience for online news, but "the news industry does not know -- and has done less than it could to learn -- how to convert this ... into revenue."
Oil Industry Advisor Comes Out of His Shell
The oil company Shell -- which is heavily invested in Alberta's tar sands, an especially dirty and greenhouse gas-intensive source of oil -- has launched a blog about climate change issues. It's "the first time a major oil company has used social media to make a public policy case," reports Siobhan Hughes. Shell climate adviser David Hone authors the blog, making him "the public face of Shell's climate agenda." Hone said the blog is "about recognizing that the paradigms have shifted and we have to shift with it and therefore it's about a solution and, whether we like it or not, that solution is going to come." Shell has previously courted public opinion, including by sending then-president of U.S. operations John Hofmeister on a 50-city tour in 2006. Hofmeister said "the tour helped improve public perceptions" of Shell, "even if there were some 'dicey moments.'" The Center for Media and Democracy's Diane Farsetta cautioned that Shell's messaging has "to be put in context. ... What we need ... is a totally independent discussion" of climate change issues that is "very critical of major oil companies."
Congresspedia Has a New Home at OpenCongress
Congresspedia, the CMD citizen journalism project that has thrived inside SourceWatch since 2006, is no longer. Its funder the Sunlight Foundation decided to merge Congresspedia into their OpenCongress project. Much of Congresspedia's content will remain in some form inside SourceWatch but CMD's staff of editors will no longer be regularly updating the articles. CMD is proud to have created what quickly became the best and most extensive 'wiki' website on the US Congress. Our development of Congresspedia led directly to the creation of our growing number of other SourceWatch portals on issues including the tobacco industry, the coal industry, climate change, front groups, global corporations, and the nuclear power industry. We wish the website formerly known as Congresspedia well in its new incarnation at OpenCongress.
Shut Up and Take Your Medicine
Doctors who don't want their patients to complain about their services are signing up with a service called Medical Justice, which has developed a standardized waiver that patients are asked to sign, agreeing not to post online comments about the doctor. The company "advises doctors to have all patients sign the agreements," reports Lindsey Tanner. "If a new patient refuses, the doctor might suggest finding another doctor. ... Doctors are notified when a negative rating appears on a Web site, and, if the author's name is known, physicians can use the signed waivers to get the sites to remove offending opinion." Dana Blankenhorn writes that patients rights advocates are angry at the attempt to stifle patients' speech: "MyDocHub calls it an attack on First Amendment rights, while ePatients.Net calls it an 'almost comical attempt to hold back the tide.' Consumer advocates are also grumbling."
