As many of you already know, I have the honor and privilege of working with C-SPAN for the upcoming presidential conventions in Denver (DNC) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (RNC), respectively. The project is twofold: One site for the Democratic National Conventions in Denver (August 25th - 28th) and one site for the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul (September 1st - 4th). I will also appear on-air with my colleagues from New Media Strategies during this time; my first “hit” will be Friday morning at 9:55 AM EST on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal.

WHY I LOVE MY JOB. As a trained social scientist, civic-participation-advocate and a former McLaughlin Group dir. of new media & senior writer/producer, who loves (1) observing the ways in which social technologies are fundamentally changing the way we share, receive, react-to and process information and (2) efficiencies, I couldn’t be more excited about contributing to this project (let alone get to call it “work” for the next 2 weeks).

WHAT’S THE BUZZ? Not just because a client is involved, but because I was genuinely interested in what others would make of the project, I was excited to see a variety of folks take interest…

• Folks attending like Shireen at DigitalSista [#DNC08] and Bill Beutler of BlogPI [#RNC08] (Bill is also a member of the NMS team and my best friend)
• The Sunlight Foundation — thought-leaders in the transparency movement — noted: “The convention announcement marks a new moment for C-SPAN as a modern Internet information provider. Once a small cable channel with a dream; now with embeddable web video, Twitter hashtags, and aggregated blog posts.”
• DC-insider blogs like FishbowlDC, Eric Pfeiffer’s CQ Ground Game and FamousDC
• The BlogHer community released information on their own election coverage, which included mention of C-SPAN’s interest in featuring their coverage on the Hubs (excellent quotation from C-SPAN co-President, Susan Swain): “[…] In addition, C-SPAN has made distribution arrangements with several credentialed bloggers, BlogHer among them, and will be linking to BlogHer’s convention coverage. ‘We love seeing women using C-SPAN’s political coverage to stay informed about issues,’ said Susan Swain, co-president of C-SPAN. ‘We think Convention Hub will give BlogHer’s readers fast access to important video from the two political conventions and at the same time, the Hub’s ‘Bloggers Roundup’ will introduce new readers to the issues you cover.’”
• Influential tech rockstars (and their respective outlets) Mike Arrington at TechCrunch gave it a first-glance exclusive today, noting it is a “great effort to spice up coverage with user-generated, up-to-the-minute content…” and conceded that it “may have the most up to date news on the conventions.”
• Frank Gruber at SomewhatFrank (DC-local, friend and favorite) also followed Mike’s lead.
• Brian Solis worked with his editorial team at bub.blicio.us to cover the release last week, about which Bub contributor Jacob Morgan writes: “News is becoming more of a collective resource as opposed to a one-sided ‘push’ medium and I think C-Span has a lot of potential for engaging it’s users.”
• JESS3 CTO (and main developer for the sites) Zvi Band gets excited about the TechCrunch post.
• Even BlogWorldExpo’s blog got in on the love.
• Leslie: Thank you one and all — more covering who has covered C-SPAN’s Convention Hubs on — you guessed it — the Hubs themselves, stay tuned.

WHO IS DOING WHAT. The sites are being managed and maintained by C-SPAN in conjunction with the the Public Affairs team at New Media Strategies (namely, Howard Mortman, Patrick Ottenhoff and Bill Beutler), of which I am a member and acting Community & Project Manager. I have the doubly exciting role of working with Jesse Thomas and Zvi Band of JESS3 on the site design and development side of things (where I wear a second hat as President).

WHAT MAKES C-SPAN’S SITES SO SPECIAL? I wanted to do a brief overview of what the site has that other news and public affairs outlets might not have thought of during this, the historic first campaign of the digital era (pen nod to author and friend, Garrett Graff). While some news organizations will be promoting their own content and looking to partner with online giants, C-SPAN is taking it to the people. And you just gotta respect that. Like their call-ins and always-rolling footage, they have a reputation for openly involving the American people in the process. Bringing this many perspectives under one “Hub” could not be more in-line with their long-standing mission and what we have grown to expect from them. As I share these feature distinctions, I wanted to parenthetically share my thoughts as “Leslie” (as this is, afterall, me’blog) ’spanning from (1) what it means to me and (2) what it means for the online community as a whole.

• FACT: C-SPAN is taking an open source approach to event coverage, creating a clearinghouse for convention reporting and commentary. C-SPAN’s Convention Hubs bring together numerous platforms, communities and independent news sources.
• Leslie: That’s right folks, we are linking to state bloggers, national bloggers, news-affiliate-bloggers, Utterz users, Qik’ers, Twitter’ers… as long as we can get our hands on the content and it is relevant to the conventions at hand, we will work to feature it. Think about the kind of implications this has from both an efficiency-of-information-market as well as a sociological perspective — folks who may have never been interested in the conventions but who love technology can be turned on to one through the other. Similarly, those who are wonkishly into state, regional and national issues on the public affairs front will find the application of social technologies to be as helpful as they are trying to keep up and make sense of each convention.

• FACT: C-SPAN recognizes the importance of not just covering the coverage, but covering what happens in between.
• Leslie: The Twitter aggregation isn’t just jumping on some bandwagon (as a commenter over at TechCrunch noted earlier today), it is about providing a valuable, communal “hub” for those interested in the “moments in between” (these are the micro-narratives that I love so much and the very kind of coverage I will be presenting on at the Online News Association’s Conference September 12th & 13th in DC).

• FACT: C-SPAN will be using Qik cameras, in addition to their trusted CSPAN1 and CSPAN2 camera coverage.
• Leslie: This is awesome. Awesome in the sense that an organization who has brought us unaduterated content for decades is now Qiking it up a notch and embracing the tools and technologies that have and will fundamentally change the way we view the world — and the world views us.

• FACT: The Convention Hubs’ “Twitter Roundup” page provides an as-it-happens glimpse of one of my favorite places to visit: The Twitterverse
• Leslie: This is extra awesome. We all know who will be tweeting with the appropriate hashtags (me! me!)… tell a friend #RNC08 #DNC08.

• FACT: C-SPAN is making all of its convention-coverage video available for users to search for what they want, clip just the section they need, and embed it on their own site.
• Leslie: see for yourself! Embedded my first C-SPAN video below… huzzah!

One year ago today I started blogging here on my namesake site, LeslieBradshaw.com

It is amazing how much has happened in this time — some of which I have captured here on my blog, but most of it I have just been busy living (and Tweeting, of course). It’s funny how many times I say to myself: I should blog about this… but somehow find that my days fill up with being part project manager, part President… part business developer and part community participant. Next thing you know, the alarm is going off and it’s time to do it all over again.

Aside from getting my feet wet with blogging (though writing has been my thing for a while), a quick reflection on the last year has also brought me to say: It has been filled with lessons and blessings. I have spent a lot of time cultivating friendships and business relationships. Learning a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Being as bold as I have ever been, but still really humbled and thankful (as cheesy as that sounds). Being amazed, overwhelmed and impressed at times, at others, I have been stressed out and disappointed, too.

As much as I wanted to do a full run-down, retrospective of the last year in blogging, it has been a long day and I need to get packed for my trip to Wyoming to see my family tomorrow. I did, however, want to make sure and post a quick shout-out and thank you to the traveling/visiting hosts of two events that were held tonight in DC: David Kralik of American Solutions and Ryan Paugh of Brazen Careerist. Both groups have strong ambitions and great active words… drilling and being brazen. Having a career and doing something about it now.

On that note, one last plug for my Blogiversary and a big thank you to all of my readers, commenters and supporters. Look for more lb, more often. Until then, every 16 days or so seems to be my pattern…

“And I jotted each of these items down in a little notebook so I could remember them later on, because that whole week I never lost the feeling that I was participating in world event and was linked in a tiny invisible way, to everything that took place everywhere.” (The Mystery Guest by Gregoire Bouillier, p. 38)

As someone who has been journaling since I could write (age 5? 6? 7?), when I cam across this passage in The Mystery Guest, shared with me by a friend, I couldn’t help but put it as my new tagline/sub-header above. It was one of those passages that just jumped off the page, spoke to me in such a profound and true way. It came to life for me really as I pictured myself jotting things down in my memory. In a record of some sort, a journal or a blog (as if the two were any different). Now, in an email or a Tweet. Then, on paper.

As an aside: I am annoyed that it is covered by the search box, but am resolving that (1) it can be seen as emblematic of something, like, “as I write, I search…” and (2) Zvi Band to the rescue (eventually a new JESS3 design, but for now, Zvi is my go-to technical ninja).

Now that I write more publicly, this passage perhaps has an even richer meaning. Even more so, all of the journalists, authors, writers, bloggers, Twitters, Facebook Wall Posters… we are all connected… what we write, how we link to one another both via hyperlinks as well as through our content, context and concepts. I would insert a crazy, sexy data visualization of all of this, but I leave it to your imagination.

On that note, a final quotation because I am just in that kind of mood tonight:

“To sleep, perchance to dream.” (Shakespeare)

Long-winded preface: I started writing a post before hitting the road, but didn’t get the chance to post I realize that the #NN08 #RTON08 #BlogHer08 friends that may have come by in the last few days might take pause with my content: ‘Wow, Leslie seemed really [insert kind thought here // e.g., insightful, smart, serious, etc.] — really would have expected more from her than just a meme.’ I know, I know, I am GUILTY of not blogging enough about some of my crazy theories and passionate thoughts. After the Naked Blogging session @ BlogHer08 yesterday, I am ready to start taking more off, so to speak, when it comes to frequency and meaningfulness of my posts. So, here it goes…

__________________

My dear friend, inspiration and colleague Jen Nedeau and I have been on quite a journey in the last few days (oye vez, and it is still not over). We left the Roslyn offices of New Media Strategies on Wednesday night, bound for Austin, TX and two events that I planned to simultaneously attend: Netroots Nation and Right Online. As someone who is passionate about social scientific field work, civic participation, ideologies, social media, online media and the issues, hitting both was really important to me. I also had many friends and colleagues from all over the country attending and presenting at both; I even had the chance to help my good friend and co-worker Bill Beutler on his reputation management/brand you presentation for Right Online, which even earned me a full-slide shout-out for my Twitter brand management (so I had to go to that one!) And, politically as a libertarian and undecided voter, I have been spending as much time as I can to better understand both candidates, their stances, their records and their supporters. What better way to do this than to talk with and learn from folks from both camps?

But wait, there’s more.

Over the very same weekend, there was another event (yes, another event) that I felt a strong pull to attend: BlogHer. I have been an outside observer of this community for the last 3 years and wanted to not only learn more about it, but, gosh darn it, finally “join.” I felt some of the same things calling me to this conference: social scientific field work, civic participation, the issues. There was also a chance to have political and issues-based discussions with fellow females about the upcoming election. And, as a woman, this conference spoke to the very core of my sex and my gender. I needed to be there.

Lastly, in all three cases, my job as a member of the New Media Strategies Public Affairs team and President of JESS3 gave me professional reasons to attend both. The industry-insight, thought leadership, technology/trend temperature check, business development, client-relations and contacts I have been cultivating over the last four years is always increased tenfold by showin’ up in person.

So, as Jen so eloquently put it over on her blog, we decided to “F$*% It” and “Do It From the Road”

I have a few friends waiting on me to head around San Fran before boarding the redeye later tonight, so please come back and visit, as I promise additional, thought n’ photo-rich comparison posts. In the meantime, check out Jen’s blog post above… and my many Tweets from the road (@LeslieAnn44)… great stuff, I promise. xo-L.

While I have a few free moments (rare they are these days!), I wanted to graciously respond to the Meme tagging by Larrisa Fair (@lyf108) over at Livingston Buzz Bin.

SUMMER MEME

4 things you like about summer

1. Seeing family & summers in the Northwest on the farm (Orygun!)
2. Shorter work hours (sometimes)
3. Summer storms
4. Summer love

4 of your favorite vacation destinations

1. Home - Orygun
2. Home - Jackson Hole
3. The islands… in the past, Hawaii; more recently, New Zealand
4. Old Home *miss it* - Lake Tahoe

4 of your favorite summer foods

1. Nectarines
2. Frozen grapes
3. BBQ ribs (a la my dad)
4. Diet Rootbeer Floats (an oxymoron, I know)

4 concerts not to miss

1. SOJA (Jesse has introduced me to this Arlington-raised, national-touring reggae band with a ton of soul as they have followers who know all the words… their concerts are magical, inclusive and not to be missed. Back in DC area July 27th for “Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival 2008″ (full schedule here: http://sojamusic.com/soja/shows/)
2. Gnarls Barkley [w/ Hercules & Love Affair] August 5th (we have our tickets!)
3. I am not much for music and concerts, was more of a book nerd, field worker and athlete/jock as a young lass… so my 2 concert ideas are 2 more than I would ever have growing up. Thank you Jess3 Thomas for introducing me to such things

4 things to avoid during the summer

1. Second Larisa on this: Bug bites (too late!)
2. Being indoors
3. Leaving food, animals or childeren in a hot car
4. Too much work, not enough play

Thank you once again Larrisa for the tag and for being such a connector in the community. I also want to take this time to publicly apologize to you — and your bf Josh — for not making it to dinner on Sunday night

As Nick and friends discovered on Saturday night as well, Jesse and I slept through two dinner engagements this weekend and have taken this as a signal that we need more sleep during the week so the weekend isn’t a crazy catch up on sleep fest (aka: trtl pileon).

So sorry friends! Definite sleep deprivation issues!! We are seeking help, balance and better alarm clocks, promise.

What do Hillary Clinton, Sex and the City, a Peacock and Elliot Spitzer have in common? They are all mentioned in this post, but you have to read the whole thing to understand…

(Peacock picture credit: Tom Rydquist)

Just over a week ago, Grand Central Political published this column by my good friend and colleague Jennifer Nedeau of New Media Strategies (Twitter: @HumanFolly; Blog Human Folly) “Could A Little “Sex” Help Female Political Candidates?”

Jen originally posted it on her blog Human Folly and Brazen Careerist. A few other sister blogs gave the column love by posting on The Moderate Voice, Writes Like She Talks, Politics Anew (aka: Political Voices of Women), and even the She-hub of them all: Blogher (via Jill).

I have been meaning to join in the Jen-lead Sex-And-The-City-Female-Civic-Participation-love-fest for a while now and am glad to finally sit down to reflect and repost as well.

What Jen is proposing is as bold as it is logical and, before I repost her article, my thoughts on the bold and the logical.

The bold. I believe it is bold for two reasons:

1. It might ruffle the feathers of those who [still] find sex, sexuality and female sexual power taboo (Yes, sadly Freud, we are still at this point).
2. It might ruffle the feathers of those who adhere to school of feminism that views things like fashion and leveraging one’s sexuality as — at best — trite, trivial and superficial and — at worst — offensive and demeaning.

The logical. I also believe it is logical for two reasons:

1. Today, in 2008, branding and marketing the hell out of things, often using sex, like it or not (!!), is where it is at. What’s more, the kind of branding and marketing that works and appeals to people — for better or worse — sizzles. In the current model of promoting candidates and issues, it sure is hard to add sizzle to (aka: “sex up”) politics and political issues (unless they, of course, literally involve sex, in which case, we tend to resort to a good round of heavy media coverage, pointing to the hypocrisy of it all and air all [perceived] transgressions). Believe me, I do this for a living and am constantly challenged to get people excited about a topic like science and education, whilst up against YouTube videos who have strategically placed scantly clad female stills as their freeze-frame image. And, while I am not lobbying here for Hillary and other female candidates to go topless midway through their YouTube clips to catch an eye, it wouldn’t hurt to capitalize off of their femininity a little more. And maybe bring in a full on brand expert that comes from a non-political background. Advise on everything from marketing materials to wardrobe. I am sure they do this already, but let’s get a little more Project Runway and a little less QVC.
2. There are folks who might say that sexualizing your brand gets you attention for “all the wrong reasons.” Well, folks, in an attention economy as competitive as the one we face with the advent of the Interweb, if we are to get candidates and issues not just above the fold and on the news, but in the hearts and minds of kids and adults alike… we have to get real about what is interesting. What is interesting? What captivates, motivates and inspires us? To help lead some answers here, outside the ‘pull on their heart strings,’ I would say: What do human nature and human habits tells us about this? Then, I would follow with: What do our most intrinsic biological-survival-of-the-fittest traits tell us? I will hold off writing any conclusions as I think you are already there [think: peacock].

So, let us join Jen who calls for us to get real, think sex and make things happen on the local, global and world levels… without further a’do, I present Jen’s article (as reposted with permission in its entirety from her Human Folly blog).

Could A Little “Sex” Help Female Political Candidates?

June 25, 2008 — dionysianprincess If Hillary Clinton took a few cues from Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, or Charlotte, could she have locked down the Democratic Presidential nomination?

In an election season where the definition of femininity has never been more hotly debated, in addition to the premier of the Sex and the City Movie, the question of whether to add a little “Sex” to political campaigns seems all too timely. Since Barack Obama took the Democratic Presidential Nomination, I have come to wonder: if Hillary had harnessed some of the powerful imagery of SATC, could she have done better among women like me who think she just wasn’t female enough to earn the title of “First Female President?”

This was originally posted at GrandCentralPolitical.com. If you are interested in republishing this piece on your web site, please email me.

Sex and the City has had a remarkable following among a large, diverse female demographic throughout its existence as an HBO series and now as a Hollywood movie. The New York Times reported that the weekend premier of the SATC movie garnered nearly $56 million during its opening weekend, with 85 percent of the ticket buyer’s women all from the ages of 20 to 40 years old. Talk about hitting a target demographic; single women now make up 51 percent of the female adult population and in 2004, they were 54 percent of the electorate. As fewer women vote in step with their husbands, it is time to treat them like a unique voting block, not one that will fit in neatly with the male voter archetype.

In the SATC movie, Miranda remarks to Carrie as she looks for a Halloween costume - “These are the only two choices for women - witch or sexy kitten?” Currently, the ability for a female leader to rise above these stereotypes is difficult, if not impossible. If we are ever going to get past these stereotypes, we need a female leader who is brave enough to prove that being powerful and female isn’t a detrimental condition corrected by a short hair cut, a figure less suit and emotionless campaigning. I think Hillary in particular would have had more success if she had tried to embrace her gender instead of treating it like a handicap. Perhaps then, the females turned off by her decision to fit in all too nicely with the male political paradigm, might have decided she was someone worthy of their vote.

While SATC may politic to the materialistic, superficial, and trite - the values of being a professional woman, dealing with family hardships, and making friendship and love work are what make SATC more than a story of “labels and love.” The excitement surrounding the movie demonstrates how Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha have defined a generation of females far beyond any political leader, rock star or sports figure.

While drawing a connection between Hollywood and politics may seem far-fetched, the two have often been intertwined. For example, Playboy heir, Christie Hefner has held an instrumental role in the founding of EMILY’s List, The Chicago Network, and The Committee of 200. In the 2004 election, Rahm Emmanuel’s Red to Blue Program created a bi-coastal revolving door of money and influence via his brother’s contact list, the Hollywood agent, Ari Emmanuel. (Both Emmanuel brothers also have television counterparts - Rahm as Josh Lyman character on “The West Wing” and Ari as Ari Gold, in HBO’s “Entourage”). Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush embraced the idea of an “entertainer-in-chief” with Bill’s saxophone serenade on Arsenio Hall and Bush as John Wayne’s doppelganger.

The next female who wants to be commander-in-chief could try to embrace her gender as a plus, rather than a minus. Simple things such as an upside down stiletto could easily take the place of the “V” in “Vote for Me” as a start. Instead of stuffy suits, add some fashion to the political stage and allow a popular female designer to dress the candidate for a day. Work with Mommy Bloggers, admirable female celebrities, female sports stars, and sorority girls to create the solid base of female support to carry the campaign. Most importantly, meet women in their element. Organize the female electorate such as Mobilize.org did with a voter registration drive at the Sex and the City Movie Premieres. Or host a Cocktail Caucus at CHANEL similar to what Polichicks Online has done.

I chose to be a Barack Obama supporter in part because I did not agree with Hillary’s misogynistic branding of her campaign. When Obama took the nomination it became clear that in targeting the 20 to 40 year-old demographic he found success - they wanted to have a beer with him and listen to his policy - something Hillary could not seem to achieve. However, when another female wagers for the White House - instead of seeking a candidate to drink a beer with, why not a one who might sip a Cosmopolitan? Bridging the gender gap in politics is not impossible; it just takes a little creativity.

Around the world, women are finding a place on the political stage and using their femininity to get there. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is a respected, successful woman in a traditionally masculine dominated part of the world, who is perfectly comfortable wearing very girlish, high fashion, non-suit attire. Add her to the likes Michele Bachelet, the Presidenta of Chile, and Cristina Fernández, the Presidenta of Argentina, and you have good examples of women leaders embracing the female narrative, the female body, and gender as a defining trait within an ultimately male world. Hillary should have done more to demonstrate that a change has begun; rather than business as usual, a woman trying to fit into a man’s world, instead of creating her own.

For females who want to run for office, set up the ultimate Trojan horse, take some notes from the fearsome four SATC females, and apply it to politics. There is power in femininity. Let’s use it to sell the leadership qualities and accomplishments of our female political leaders.