New event: Political and Policy Communication: Impact, Ethics and the Art of Persuasion

With the election around the corner, I’m gearing up to appear at a few public events to talk about political communication and my research. I’m particularly looking forward to an event entitled: “Political and Policy Communication: Impact, Ethics and the Art of Persuasion” hosted by George Mason University on October 25th from 9:30 a.m. – 12:45 …

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Dealing with Draco: Twitter and holiday travel woes

This saga begins with an all-too-common experience: Trying to get a relative home for Christmas. But for me, this became a cautionary tale on how companies can fail using social media, particularly Twitter, to help out stranded customers – or how they can succeed. My sister Amanda was supposed to be coming home to Madison …

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Owning “Obamacare”: The implications of a new message strategy

With the Affordable Care Act back at the front of the media landscape as it arrives in front of the Supreme Court this week, advocates on both sides of the issue are dusting off their messaging strategies around the issue. Last Friday, President Obama signalled that rather than running from the title of “Obamacare” that Republicans have …

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A prophesy: Google+ vs. Facebook=Harry vs. Voldemort?

Having enumerated what I see as some of the benefits and drawbacks of Google+, compared to Facebook, what do I think that it means for the future? There’s a lot of speculation, so I have to add my piece. I think the upcoming Google+ vs. Facebook battle may be foreshadowed in our other current social …

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Tweeting the revolution: Social media and Madison’s protests

When the protests in Madison started, I don’t think anyone – myself included – expected them to endure for so long or to have so much of an impact. But as the protests gained momentum, the news media has started its speculation about whether Madison represented the frontline of a new political conflict. But even if …

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