local politics | ResearchBuzz: Firehose

January 8, 2019

Missing: A Digital Playbook For Local Elected Officials (Civicist)

Civicist: Missing: A Digital Playbook For Local Elected Officials. “In just the last two weeks, newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has gained half a million new Twitter followers, zooming from 1.6M to 2.1M. On Instagram, another platform where she excels at sharing interesting glimpses of her life as an activist-turned-newly-successful-politician, Ocasio-Cortez now has 1.6M followers, putting her in the top ranks of politicians using the platform world-wide…. For Ocasio-Cortez, this is all doing wonders for her national political profile and undoubtedly will add to her ability to influence current debates. But should we hold her up as a model?”

October 19, 2018

New York Times: In Virginia House Race, Anonymous Attack Ads Pop Up on Facebook

New York Times: In Virginia House Race, Anonymous Attack Ads Pop Up on Facebook. “A competitive race in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District has an alarming new element: anonymous attack ads on Facebook. The ads, which appeared on a Facebook page called ‘Wacky Wexton Not,’ were purchased by a critic of Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat trying to unseat Representative Barbara Comstock, a Republican. The race is one of the most closely watched in the country.” Meanwhile, Chipotle free delivery ads are being flagged as political?

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September 22, 2018

Poynter: Ahead of the midterms, Google News Lab created a way to see what’s trending at the state, county and city level

Poynter: Ahead of the midterms, Google News Lab created a way to see what’s trending at the state, county and city level. “With close to 500 House and Senate seats in play with the midterm elections, Google News Lab started thinking about how local reporters might use local data in their work. On Wednesday, the team went live with a Google Trends Midterm page with data on real-time Google search trends at the state, county and city level. (Disclosure: The Google News Initiative funds some training and projects at Poynter.)”

New Resources 0

July 29, 2018

Pews: Moderates in Congress go local on Facebook more than the most ideological members

Pew (PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!): Moderates in Congress go local on Facebook more than the most ideological members. “While highly ideological members of Congress tend to use their Facebook posts to criticize political opponents and support their allies, moderate lawmakers are more likely to concentrate on local issues in their outreach on the platform, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis covering Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2017.”

Research & Opinion 0

July 13, 2018

New York Times: Nextdoor Is Betting a Social Network Can Still Be a Platform for Politics

New York Times: Nextdoor Is Betting a Social Network Can Still Be a Platform for Politics. “When Hala Hijazi wanted her friends to meet London Breed, then a candidate for mayor of San Francisco, she invited the whole neighborhood. Ms. Hijazi, a community organizer and consultant, lives in the city’s Marina District and is a member of Nextdoor, the neighborhood social media site.” This made me laugh, because my Nextdoor is mostly speeding complaints, lost pets, and fox/deer/coyote sightings.

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April 20, 2018

Chicago Tribune: For elected officials in Northwest Indiana, social media serves as a help line and a sounding board

Chicago Tribune: For elected officials in Northwest Indiana, social media serves as a help line and a sounding board. “When I contacted Porter County Auditor Vicki Urbanik at 9:49 p.m. on a Tuesday, she was responding to a taxpayer via Facebook. The taxpayer sent Urbanik a message about a tax bill through the auditor’s Facebook page earlier that day. ‘Though I can’t access her tax information right now, I believe the issue deals with her assessed value, so I am explaining the appeal process,’ Urbanik told me.”

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August 6, 2017

Engadget: Facebook tries slipping more local politics into your News Feed

Engadget: Facebook tries slipping more local politics into your News Feed. “Facebook isn’t shy about wanting to increase your involvement in politics, and that might soon include seeing posts from the politicians you don’t follow. A spokesperson has confirmed to Recode that the social network is testing a feature that slips the ‘top posts’ from local politicians into your News Feed, even when you don’t follow them.” While not showing me updates from pages I’ve actually liked?

Tweaks & Updates 0

Poynter: Ahead of the midterms, Google News Lab created a way to see what’s trending at the state, county and city level

Engadget: Facebook tries slipping more local politics into your News Feed

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