Behind the scenes at a Telephone Town Hall with Lt. Governor Candidate Ronnie Earle

By Jennifer De Guelle

-Austin, Texas: 2/23/10

This past Tuesday evening, more than 9,000 registered Democratic voters “attended” – from the comfort of their own homes –a Telephone Town Hall Meeting with Ronnie Earle, candidate for Lt. Governor in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary.

As Campaign Social Media Coordinator, I saw this unique event as it happened, and afterward spoke to the candidate about why he was hosting it and what he hoped to achieve by it.

Mr. Earle said the idea was simple: to give people a direct voice using a “virtual” town hall that would erase geographic barriers and allow people across our vast state to directly question someone who wants to represent them.

He said he hoped the format would send a clear message; the voters are in control of the process, not only because he respects their opinions but because they are the decision makers who will determine the future of our state.   He said his job is to answer their questions, listen to their opinions, and find out how to best serve them.

Part of the reason I volunteered for this campaign is that I admire a candidate who doesn’t rely on focus-group-tested ads, scripted sound bites or the other gimmicks commonly used to manipulate voters in contested political races but who would rather give people the chance to ask him questions directly and to respond unscripted.

In my opinion, commitment to our shared democracy has to be more than an ideal; it must be exemplified by the actions of those we elect to lead.  Mr. Earle has made it clear that he intends to serve regular Texans, not the special interests who so often control lawmaking to serve their needs.

As a former state legislator and District Attorney of Travis County for the past thirty years, Ronnie Earle has a long track record of standing up for regular Texans and he wants people to make up their own minds on who to vote for based on who they feel is the most qualified candidate in the Democratic Primary.

Speaking with Ronnie Earle face to face, my lasting impression goes beyond an initial observation of a sharp mind, quick wit, and authentic Texas charm to one of a candidate who has genuine integrity and fierce resolve to govern independently, beholden only to the people of Texas.

The feeling you walk away with is that if democracy is the prize, this is the guy you want fighting in your corner on behalf of you and your neighbors.  I’m working on his campaign because I’m excited about the candidate, and I hope I can share some of that feeling with you – this is a genuinely good man, the kind we need to have more of in government.

Tuesday, March 2^nd is Primary Election Day. I urge you to join me and Vote Ronnie Earle for Lieutenant Governor.

For more news and information about the campaign, visit www.ronnieearle.com and join the Ronnie Earle Facebook Fan Page. I’ll be posting more of my impressions about this exciting race on my personal Blog http://austinmsw.wordpress.com/.

Join Ronnie for a Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Monday, March 1st.

The call will begin at 6 PM with a second call starting at 8 PM. Each call will last approximately an hour. To join in the call, dial 1-877-229-8493 and when prompted enter PIN# 15592

Listen in and submit your questions by dialing *3 during the call.

Begin sending in your questions now to be answered live on air

Using Facebook: http://ow.ly/19kPG

Or Twitter: https://twitter.com/RonnieEarle

Be sure to include the tag #TelRonnie in your Facebook Post or Tweet.

A Note to My readers–My Cause and Why it Matters

Dear Readers,

Helping Non-profits build their social media and web 2.0 marketing campaigns is my passion because the end result is a net positive impact on people’s lives. As a mother of two young children, my focus remains on making the world a better place than it was when I found it; that’s the commitment I made when I took on the responsibility of being a parent. More than just a new media professional, I am a member of my community and Austin is the city I call home. I am a Texan and for better or worse, I will never give up on my belief that we can restore our fair state back to a progressive, shared democracy. For far too long corruption and partisan politics have been the norm in Texas as well-moneyed special interests buy their way to the front of the line while regular citizens take a backseat and wonder why the system is so broken down.

I have taken the opportunity to support a cause that matters to me. This blog is meant to serve individuals regardless of political affiliation and my personal affiliation is not meant to influence my work at AustinMSW and SMCM. I am however supporting a political candidate that while registered as a Democrat, appeals to all Texans as a true independent, a man with a proven track record of fighting corruption, beholden only to the people of Texas.

Over the next few months, in addition to content on using social media to build your nonprofit, I will also be posting my observations as Coordinator of Social Media for the Ronnie Earle For Lieutenant Governor of Texas Campaign.

Thank you for your continued interest in Social Media Charity Matters.

Sincerely,

Jennifer De Guelle
Founder, Social Media Charity Matters and AustinMSW Consultants

Revenge of the Nerds: Life Imitates Art When Geeks Unite

Posted by Jennifer De Guelle

07/04/2009 

This post was inspired by The Society for Geek Advancement and the Summer of Social Good Charity Fund’s joint initiative  Global Geek Week

Revenge of the Nerds

If I learned anything from college or from the cult classic film Revenge of the Nerds it’s this, a properly motivated group of geeks is all you need to change the world.

If you are not already familiar with the film, a brief synopsis:

Freshmen computer science loving nerds are harassed by members of their collegiate Greek council made up mostly by  jocks who control the school. After loosing their dorm rooms to the powerful but irresponsible elites the nerds fight back and through their spunk, ingenuity and outside-the-box thinking they beat the jock fraternity at their own game and become the new leaders of the Greek student council.

Life Imitates Art When Geeks Unite

Life imitates art as geeks  have banded together in real life creating and using technology to level the playing field and  agitate the old guard.  So much so that they have created a cultural paradigm shift that imitates the film “Revenge of the Nerds”, geeks through their innovation have become the new “in crowd”. Dorks, brains, geeks, and NERDS as we were once called are now the new influencers. We have become the trendsetters, followed and admired by our former collegiate tormentors,  jocks, cheerleaders, and the affluent Greeks alike. If you still doubt the power of geeks, consider Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergery Brin.

Looks, athletic ability and inherited wealth have become an antiquated legacy defeated by the age of information and the digital revolution. Web 2.0 and social media allow the strength of your ideas and the popularity of your information to determine your success and no longer is it televised by and for a select group but dispersed across the networks we have created; blogging, micro blogging, wikis, youtube, facebook and so on and so forth. Decades of geek oppression have motivated us to act but not corrupted our spirit of fairness or our intent to create a place where anyone with talent and new ideas can contribute.

Perhaps that is why we feel little pity for the Greeks in the film because not unlike the current public outcry against the unchecked political corruption and corporate greed that has thrust us into our current state of economic crisis, we have to wonder why we let them have so much power in the first place to influence us when their interests and intentions served to benefit only a small group of people they deemed worthy as elites.

On that note, Generation X and Y Geeks not only use the power of web 2.0 and social media to shatter the status quo, they use it to make a positive impact on society. Perhaps our high school and college years served the purpose of reminding us Geeks what it feels like to be disregarded by the popular crowd and it has instilled in us a general mistrust of elitism and mob mentality. Geeks through the force of their own invention now have the power and they are embracing their responsibility to give back, adopting the philosophy that to those who much is given, much is required.

Take for example the campaign launched this week by Mashable’s, “Social Media for Social Good” and Summer of Social Good charity fund, in partnership with The Society for Geek Advancement; together they have launched Global Geek Week which includes a week long competition to submit a “geek inspired” video entry through Youtube and encourages people to use Twitter as a platform for sharing thoughts and ideas on how geeks can change the world for the better by including the hashtag “#Geeks4Good” in your the text of your tweet.

Consider submitting your video entry or contributing via Twitter. Altruism and responsibility as a hip new alternative lifestyle doesn’t have to be the mantra of  just us geeks, there is a geek inside everyone and now that it’s cool to do so, give in to your inner nerd because helping others ultimately benefits your life, geek or not.

Please read an excerpt from the following article by Mashable’s COO Adam Hirsch and consider how you can contribute your talent and ideas. Your success as a Nerd can help influence and promote the greater good and that is perhaps the sweetest Revenge a geek could ask for.

GEEKS UNITE: Global Geek Week Launches Today #geeks4good

August 3rd, 2009 | by Adam Hirsch

The Society for Geek Advancement and the Summer of Social Good charity fund are proud to announce Global Geek Week, including a week-long YouTube () video competition.

Submit your geek inspired video to the Global Geek Week YouTube Group for the chance to win two roundtrip main cabin tickets to anywhere Virgin America flies, with Gogo passes so you can use WiFi to blog about the experience. Our Judges, including Guy Kawasaki, Shira Lazar, Hank Green of Vlogbrothers, Marina Orlova of TooHotForWords, puzzle champion Wei-Hwa Huang and Lisa Donovan aka LisaNova, will pick and announce the winners on Friday.

In addition, all week long we’re encouraging you to tweet and share how geeks can change the world (include the hashtag “#Geeks4Good”). Donate and keep up-to-date with video submissions, check out the twittervision global #geeks4good map and more at globalgeekweek.com. “Embrace your inner geek and give back!”