First Day Canvassing

Me handing out some of my very first CTV (Commit to Vote) cards at the Greenville Farmers Market!

Today was my first day working for the Fellowship with Hillary for South Carolina. We hit the ground running and tackled the Greenville Farmers Market this morning, a place where you’ll likely be able to find us most saturdays. It was an exciting way to get my feet wet in real political grassroots action.

Late last night, when my mind was reeling with excitement, I started wondering what exactly it means to canvas and what I should be expecting. So I started surfing the web and seeing what I could find.

I found that canvassing can increase voter turnout.  Canvassing is a systematic way to gage how citizens intend to vote by having conversations about politics in hopes of engaging the broader electorate. Essentially its face-to-face interaction with other local citizens. These face-to-face interactions are much more effective campaign recruiting tools that any television advertisement a politician could put together. The first study of this was in 1998 Don Green and Alan Gerber and their findings have been consistently backed up for almost two decades. The reason for this is the personal element of the interactions. This is what has drawn me to politics and fueled my passion for studying it over the years; the interactions with other people and the way in which politics unites people through impassioned discourse and collective movement.

Contrary to some definitions, canvassing, as I learned today, is not an act of persuasion. Our job was simply to ask as many people on the streets of Greenville whether they were planning to, or interested in supporting Hillary. We had main points to touch on like her plan for South Carolina, which includes  helping the middle class get ahead and stay ahead and fighting for specific groups of our society, like women who work the same hours for less pay. These main points I found were a great fallback, but the conversations that were most successful were when I put the script out of mind, and asked people how they were doing.

A genuine conversation. That was what I learned is the most effective tool in campaigning on my first day as a canvasser. Not only do I feel like I reached and connected with the voters more in depth, I personally felt my own political views solidifying and I enjoyed my time even more. Isn’t that the beauty of politics, isn’t that the importance of democracy? Having an educated and engaged electorate who can talk about democracy and choose the best candidate to represent us.

I left my first day feeling more connected to my community and fellow Americans than I have ever before. Not because we agreed, but because my confidence that people do care and want to get involved in discourse about our election and our country increased dramatically. In a time when many have a dismal view on our political participation, I challenge everyone to have a conversation with someone, and feel refreshed by the eagerness of our fellow Americans. For me, all it starts with is “Do you support Hillary Clinton?”

Digital Literacy: An Evaluation of the Journey

The past three months have been quite the transformation for me, I feel as though I learned an entirely new language in this short period of time! Three months ago I published my first blog post talking about how overwhelmed I was in this new digital realm. To be honest at the time I didn’t even completely grasp the concept of a “blog” nor did I know how to hyperlink, let alone edit a video or create a website. One could definitely say I was digitally illiterate, but now I would say I am very competent in a realm that originally intimidated me.

The most valuable thing I learned through this course was how to effectively market myself and all the different ways to do that. Self-branding was the main element behind every project and component of my multi media project. Here are the main components of my multimedia project, what I learned from them and how they will help me in the future.

Starting with my Blog!

Main Take-Aways:

• Proficiency in digital writing
• Proficiency using Photoshop
• Proficiency on issues pertaining to women in politics and other relevant news issues
• Proficiency in interviewing
• Proficiency at Video Editing (iMovie and Premiere)

Favorite Posts:

Key to Midterm Elections

This post demonstrates all of the elements of digital literacy. Including a video that shows proficiency in interviewing, video editing and creativity. I enjoyed researching and writing on an issue that was relevant to what was occurring at the time.

Keystone Pipeline Sidelined

Blogging has become a great way to stay current on relevant news and issues pertaining to politics. This post was an extra post I did because it was relevant issue and combined areas of biology for my biology class and politics and it incorporated digital communications when I put it all together in a blog post.

Hillary Drops a Hint

In this post I created a collage which shows my ability to use Photoshop which is crucial for digital literacy. I also practiced writing in a way that is conducive for digital readers.

Website

Main Take-Aways:

• Self-Marketing
• Layering
• Proficiency at communicating through digital media

I think my website really gives someone a taste of who I am better than a piece of paper with my resume on it ever could. It shows my creativity, my organized nature but also that I am young and have a sense of humor too.

Home Page: I used the digital element of layering on this page through an effective menu to direct the interactor. Below on the page I have stories with pictures and excerpts that connect to my resume. I also establish a color pallet that helps with layering.

 

 

 

 

 

Resume:  I digitalized my resume into an interactive timeline with slideshows below and sectioned off highlights like my GPA which I made stand out with the color purple.

http://helenfite.wix.com/helenfite#!resume/c8f4

 

 

 

 

 

Group Project: Collegiate Stress

Podcast

Main Take-Aways:

• Group Collaboration
• Proficiency at Video Editing
• Audacity: Could Improve

I took a main roll in editing our video, but another group member took the lead on editing our podcast. Because I didn’t get as much practice with this media I could stand to improve my audio editing skills.

Social Media:

Main Take-Aways:

• New Medias: Flickr, Linked In, HootSuite
• Awareness of Self-Marketing
• Needs Improvement

I still need to work on is my social media. I still struggle to combine the purposes of both socializing with my peers and socializing with potential employers and how to balance both of those elements in what I post.

 

 

 

Collegiate Stress

Here’s a video I worked on in digital communications, check it out!

If you want to learn more also check out our podcast!

Shucker Leadership Institute

After posting several blog posts on national female leaders, I thought I would highlight the leadership here on my campus at Furman University.

I am apart of a wonderful organization called Shucker Leadership Institute. After going through an application process in the summer before college, I joined Shucker along with 24 other freshman.

My Shucker Fellows class!

Shucker is named after Furman’s previous Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Harry B. Shucker. This two-year program is intended to enhance the college experience through meaningful service and leadership development. Below is a picture of two of the members of our Lead Team; Bianca and Caitlin!

Bianca is the Student Director and Caitlin Vaka is the Assistant Director.

Bianca, Student Director, leading our session today on developing our Passion Projects!

Last year I met some of my best friends in Shucker through our weekly meetings, retreats and service projects. What I was most excited to find in college were a group of people who were as driven and involved as I am and people that would push me to be the best version of myself. I found that in Shucker.

The Shucker Fellows are involved in a multitude of activities, organizations and service projects. I found role models in Shucker that have inspired me to reach for my highest ambitions. These people are all going to do great things and even change the world with the passion and their leadership. I am proud to be a part of this organization here at Furman!

Class 7 Alli Piepert working in our session today, November 20, 2014

Hayden Rudd and Emilee O’Brien collaborating in our session today!

 

Keystone Pipeline Sidelined

“If you took all of the oil and gas pipelines in the U.S and wrapped them around the earth, they would circle the equator more than 100 times, but a relatively small pipeline, less than 900 miles long, and not yet built has become a huge symbol”

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana after the Senate voted down the Keystone XL pipeline bill. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

The Senate voted on the proposed additions to the pipeline on Tuesday November 18th. The extensions were voted against 59-41 in the Senate after passing in the House.

The Keystone Pipeline currently extends from Nebraska to Oklahoma and eventually to Texas through various connecting pipelines. The proposed project would’ve connected Alberta Canada to Nebraska and been able to carry oil from Alaska all the way to Texas.

Many opponents of the pipeline argue the environmental impact would be too significant and outweighs the potential job creation or available oil it would create.

One of the main environmental concerns is the emissions of greenhouse gases which could in return effect climate change. Producing crude oil from sands emits 17 percent more oil than traditional drilling.

The XL Keystone Pipeline planned to cross borders into Canada, as a result the State Department took a leading role in the implementation and fact finding of this plan. They released an environmental review that concluded that the environmental impact would be significant because the oil will be produced regardless of whether the pipeline is put into place.

What further makes this pipeline unique is the power President Obama has over the bill, because it crosses international borders, it requires a “presidential permit” Obama’s decision becomes increasingly difficult due to the political nature of the issue. His vote could set the tone of how he plans to handle his newly elected Republican Congress, but furthermore it has implications in the Democratic Party where the party is genuinely split.

Supporters, like Mary Landrieu, who was pushing the vote to save her political life, argue that the pipeline will create a significant number of jobs. The State Department concludes that the jobs would primarily be created during the construction phase, and approximately only 50 of those jobs would be permanent. 

Political strategists were skeptical of what the bill and the pipeline could do for Landrieu politically in her midterm election against Bill Cassidy. She was behind 5-8 percentage points prior to pushing the bill and the pipeline has little impact on her Louisiana voter base. 

Regardless of the outcome for Mary Landrieu, Congress is likely to see this bill again and it has even been suggested the Obama could pursue the bill himself.

http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=364727163&m=364760952&t=audio

 

College Stress

Here’s a group podcast on stress and its affects on college students. Take a listen!

Also stay tuned for a video on college stress to come!

Key to 2014 Midterm Elections

In the final days before the midterm election, its clear that both parties recognize the key to winning this midterm election is the female voters. Obama said it himself; “When women succeed, America succeeds and we should be choosing policies that benefit women”

Obama gives speech on October 31 2014 in Providence Rhode Island to speak out on women’s issues two days before the midterm election.

Women make up more than half of the population, meaning they carry a lot of political weight in this upcoming election. Nothing emphasizes this more than 15 times Obama said “women” in his last broadcast before the election.

Obama’s broadcast shows the anxiety of the Democratic Party who is fighting to hold onto their political viability. Projected to lose control of both the House and Senate, they risk the last years of Obama’s presidency stalled by partisan tension. This midterm election in two days will decide the control of the Senate, House and 36 Governors’ seats. The GOP already controls the House and only needs to gain six seats to control the Senate. With stakes this high, both parties are scrambling to gain the female vote. As Emily’s List President Stephanie Schriock said “There isn’t a race in this country where the women vote isn’t critical”

So what’s the key to gaining the female vote?

Politicians have suggested that women vote on gender lines, simply seeing a woman on the ballot will be enough to gain the female vote, but studies have suggested that this is not the case. One of the biggest mistakes in gaining the female vote is assuming that women vote predominantly based on their gender. So what is the biggest factor affecting the female vote? 

The answer is Party Politics.

Women have voted consistently Democratic since 1998 stated Jennifer Lawless, professor at American University who specializes in gender studies. On top of a historical record, the Democratic Party also has Emily’s List, a successful PAC dedicated to electing progressive women. The Republican Party has no PAC with an equivalent record of success or equal amount of visibility. 

Not to mention the inditement against the Republican Party of their “War on Women.” The Democratic Party brought back this strategy that was successful in 2012 in hopes that it would be successful again. Emily’s List Director of Communications said “From blocking women’s access to health care and birth control, to working against equal pay for women, to opposing an increase in the minimum wage, Republicans are totally out of step with American women.” The movement hopes to underscore that although there may have been a change in Republican messaging, there has been no equivalent change in policy. Policy is expected to play a large role, particularly and expectedly women’s reproductive rights such as abortion and contraception.

An interesting question becomes what role will female politicians play in generating the female vote? If women are the key to the midterm elections, does that guarantee more female candidates to be elected?

The answer is no, the party affiliation appears to be the strongest factor in determining the female vote this midterm elections.

Take for example Joni Ernst a Republican candidate in Iowa. Currently she is up in the polls, but Bruce Braley, her Democratic opponent has 57% of the female vote. Its argued that Ernst’s support is generated by outside groups instead of the female vote.  The support of female voters for a male Democratic candidate over a female suggests that Party plays a larger role than gender allegiance in determining the female vote.

Nonetheless Ernst groundbreaking campaign is interesting in other respects. She transformed herself from a relative unknown and now has gathered enormous national attention for the political risks she is taking through her campaign. Some of these risks include a commercial where she discusses her background in castrating pigs.

Her next ad featured her stepping off her motorcycle and then firing “shots” at Obamacare.

Ernst is breaking rules, running on the “tough” image of female politicians, and although it hasn’t garnered the female vote, it has provided an interesting dynamic and will likely have far reaching implications on future campaigns.

Another example is Terri Lynn Land who is behind Gary Peters (D) by 12 points with the female voters. This also could be tied to her overemphasis on women’s issue’s and the so called “War on Women” Her advertisement “Really?” addressing this is considered one of the 7 most ridiculous advertisements of this election.

The last example of this Party allegiance is Kay Hagan whose lead over Thom Tillis is entirely due to women. Hagan is currently ahead of Tillis with the female vote by 19 points. In this battleground state Obama and both Clintons have campaigned at her side.

Kay Hagan also provides an interesting campaign. Her re-election campaign is one the toughest in the country and the high-profile support has draw even more national attention to the election with Thom Tillis. The slideshow below demonstrates several newspaper articles in the past week which have featured her campaign for re-election. Hagan has been a Senator since 1999. In 2008, when she defeated incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole, she became the first female Senator to defeat a female incumbent Senator. She has supported several Democratic initiatives like the Affordable Care Act, the DREAM Act and has consistently supported abortion rights for women.

https://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=1811922554

This is a testament that currently the Democratic Party reflects the values women share most effectively. Emphasis on equal pay, reproductive freedom and education seem to be more in line with what women are looking for in this upcoming election. This gives hope to the Democratic Party in the next two days; their success is riding entirely on the female vote.

Social Media Strategy

An Empty Coffee Shop Is No Good Strategy

Social media is a lot like your favorite coffee shop. Its a fun place to hang out, socialize and of course, enjoy a great cup of coffee!Coffee is the content, and “content is what makes the medium social, not the other way around.” But many companies lose site of what they are serving in a race to compete in securing their digital presence.

By this, Dubois, the author of “Content Strategy is King in Social Media,” means that the people must develop a meaningful content strategy, it is not enough to just be on social media.

Social media has revolutionized the communications sphere, its placed the power of marketing and put it in the hands of individuals. Marketing now happens with or without the permission of the firm, and many companies are not prepared to deal with social media and develop media strategies.

This is the foundation  Jan H. Kietzmann lays out in there “honeycomb of social media.” There are seven building blocks to social media and media strategy.

1. Identity
2. Conversations
3. Sharing
4. Presence
5. Relationships
6. Reputation
7. Groups

Different groups or companies choose different aspects of this “honeycomb” to focus on for their social media platforms, which is a critical part of the final steps to developing a media strategy included in the 4 C’s as follows:

• Cognize: Companies should seek to understand social media landscapes using the honeycomb framework.
• Congruency: These decisions are made in order to line up the social media strategy with the goals of the firm and to facilitate the needs of the business.
• Curate: Determine how often and when the company should involve itself in the social media and who will represent it.
• Chase: Be adaptable and on the look out for new social media environments to understand the companies current and future position in markets.

Anita Hill and Sexual Harassment: 23 Years Later

It is amazing that 23 years have passed since the Senate Confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Nominee Clarence Thomas in which Anita Hill testified for 9 straight hours that Clarence Thomas had allegedly sexually harassed her while she worked with him at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Anita Hill testifies  during Senate Judiciary confirmation hearings in 1991

When asked if the amazement is because its been so long, or because it was so recent, Hill responds; “I think both are going on. I mean, you look at that panel of men in the Senate and its 1991 and yet it looks like 50 or 60 years ago. And yet at the same time, when people look at the footage and they see me, they think, Could that have been 20 years ago? Because all these issues are still with us.”

So the question becomes do we treat women any better than we did 20 years ago?

“The beauty of time is that we can see how far we have come and how far we need to go towards gender equality”

One could argue that sexual harassment laws virtually didn’t exist 30 years ago. Many people further draw correlations between the Anita Hill hearings and the 1992 “year of the woman” as signs of progress in our treatment of women. In 1991 when the hearings occurred, there were two women in the Senate, but in 1992 female politicians won four new senate seats and 24 seats in the House. Anita Hill’s testimony had huge impact on sexual harassment laws and contributed to an increased number of women coming forward about sexual harassment.

Anita Hill says it herself in an interview with MSNBC describing the barriers that exist now. She says that it is apparent that more women know they are able to come forward, that her confirmation hearings led to the acknowledgement of sexual harassment as an issue for women. Anita Hill helped finally give women a name for what was happening to them.

But how far does acknowledgement really get us? It is argued that there is still confusion on the difference between sexual harassment and sexual assault. Sexual harassment does not hinge upon whether or not Clarence Thomas touched Anita Hill. Alan Simpson, one of Hill’s harshest critics, struggled to grasp this concept during the hearings, and there still seems to be confusion today.  This confusion is exactly why Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) recently began pushing Congress to implement mandatory sexual harassment training. These trainings, which have been mandatory in the executive branch are still voluntary for the House and Senate.

One of the strongest pieces of evidence that there has not been change in the treatment of women is in the fact that four members of 14 white male United States senators, who persistently refuse to make eye contact with Hill while they grilled her for almost nine hours on the lurid details of penis length, large breasts, Long Dong Silver, and the pubic hair in the Coke can, are still in power today. Further more, none of the Senators on the Committee have issued a formal apology- not even Clarence Thomas, who remains silent to this day.  Although some senators have acknowledged that the panel probably didn’t understand the “explosive nature” of the issue.

Joe Biden points angrily during Senate Confirmation hearings. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. looks on at right. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File)

These men, who referred to Anita Hill’s claims as “a little bit slutty and a little bit nutty” are the men representing us in Congress today. Joe Biden is now the Vice President of the United States. Patrick J Leahy is now the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Charles E. Grassley it’s most ranking member.  Orrin Hatch remained on the committee until 2005 and now is the minority ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Alan Simpson, remained involved in politics until 2010. He continued, through his tenure as Minority and Majority Whip as well as the Chairperson of Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, to make derogatory comments towards gender; including referring to Social Security as a “milk cow with 310 million tits”.

Although women have gained significant representation in government and significant advances in sexual harassment legislation, there is evidence that there is still a long way to go. This will continue to affect female aspirations in all areas of the workforce, including the House and Senate, where Senators who previously sneered Anita Hill’s reputation permanently, continue to exercise great influence.

Moving Media: Adding Motion to Mesmerize

“Cinema has been around for over 100 years, and audiences are still willing to sit in dark rooms with stingers to watch the big screen”          – Linda Felder Chapter 4

Adding motion to your media is incredibly powerful, it dazzles, it mesmerizes and it scene sets like no other media. You can add motion through:

• Video
• Animation
• Motion Graphics
• Software Simulation
• Games
• Photo Slide shows
• Digital Storytelling (storycenter.org)

Each of these media can be used to achieve a specific effect on your audience, we are going to look at  video specifically.

Video places the audience in a time or place through motion pictures. It can encompass a wide variety of things from films to interviews.

The first step for a successful video is a storyboard. The benefits it provides are as follows:

• Gathers all ideas on paper with a timeline
• Persuades stakeholders
• Informs team members
• Creates a working agreement

Every storyboard includes a brief introduction which states the main idea and message of your story, the targeted audience and the objectives of the work.

After you make your storyboard, you can begin planning the shots you will need for your video. You do this by:

1. Compile a list of all the information
2. Compile a list of locations
3. Compile a list of shots for all locations
4. Scout the elements (Lighting, Ambient Sound and Permission)

The next step is taking the shots. Here are some basic concepts worth understanding when it comes to shooting:

• Subject Shot/Action Shot
  • This is the shot that encompasses the primary action of your                             story. Typically it is a medium close-up framing, like an interview!

• Establishing Shot
  • Establishes the story of the video in time and space

• B-Roll
  • Any shot related to your story other than your subject or action
  • Can be used with great effectiveness as punctuation

Here are some tutorials

Beginner Video Shooting

Shots and Framing

Lighting Tutorials 

The last step is editing your video.

Editing should progress in the following steps with the aim to tell your stories based on your interviews

1. Cut down your interview
2. String Interview clips together
3. Cover everything except key moments with B-Roll

Here is a great example of strong digital storytelling from Center for Digital Storytelling :