The Dean Scream & How It Changed Electoral Campaigns Forever

As new technologies change how we communicate and exchange information, they also re-focus an immediate lens on thought leaders today.  Several leaders like Michael Pollan, Stewart Brand, and Danah Boyd have worked at harnessing the power of these tools to create system change.  However, the institutions that push forward their ideas are less adept at integrating and responding to the constant conversation unfolding.

Public, private, and  for-benefit institutions can learn from the conversation happening on the ground about the ideas, initiatives and products that are in need of change. They need to equip the people on the ground who are excited about their ideas with a strategic, focused message and the tools to communicate that message far and wide.

A case study of an institution recently undergoing a huge shift in how they talk to their supporters, how they intake information from their base, and how they leverage emerging technology to change the playing field and win is the democratic party in the US.  Recently, I gave a presentation to Prof. Jonathan Selzter’s Interactive Marketing class at the St. Thomas Business School about the infrastructure the democrats began building and how the Obama for America campaign was posed to win based on this infrastructure. We also chatted about how elected officials have begun integrating emerging technology into how they communicate with their constituents and how that is changing the conversation. Check out my presentation and lets plan the next tsunami of people using technology to change how the system works.  Sometimes all it takes is someone screaming for change to begin.