Beyond the Tweet: Translating Enthusiasm on Twitter into Offline Activism
Your Tweets can echo beyond the Twittersphere. Join us for a discussion of tools and techniques to make messages on Twitter influence the offline world. We'll cover petitions, fundraising and how to become part of a larger network of progressives on Twitter to increase your reach.
Jim Gilliam is the founder of 3dna, making internet tools like act.ly, GovLuv, and pro.act.ly to shake up a broken political system. He co-founded Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films, building a non-profit grassroots media powerhouse of a million members. In the late 90's, he launched Business.com as its Chief Technology Officer, and worked at Lycos, one of the first internet search engines. Gilliam produced four documentaries, and was honored in 2008 with Take Back America’s second annual Maria Leavey Tribute Award. His work has been featured in publications like the New York Times, Forbes, Wired, and the Washington Post. Jim fought cancer twice, and is the enormously grateful recipient of a bone marrow transplant and a double lung transplant.
Nate Thames, Political Director, served as the Deputy Finance Director for Congressman Dennis Moore (D-KS), where he was responsible for online fundraising strategy and major events. During the 2004 cycle, Nate worked for the Kansas Coordinated Campaign field program, and later served as Technology Director and Vice President of the KU Young Democrats. Nate graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Tracy Viselli is a blogger, advocate, and the Community Manager for ACTion Alexandria, an online civic engagement project and Knight Foundation Community Information Challenge winner.
Known in blogging circles as "Myrna the Minx" for her Nevada-based blog, Reno and Its Discontents, Viselli has explored the possibilities for online advocacy and civic engagement though her blog and projects like TwitterVoteReport, TweetProgress,and the #p2 hashtag. As a blogger, she was the first person to get the Nevada State Democratic Party on the record regarding the eventually canceled Fox-sponsored Democratic presidential primary debate in March, 2007.
Viselli regularly provides social media consulting and training and frequently speaks about social media as an effective tool for community building, engagement, and advocacy and has been quoted in several national publications including; CNN.com, The Hill, National Journal, techPresident, PBS Media Shift, and the London Times.
Viselli is the co-founder of Nevada Interactive Media and writes about politics and feminism at her own blog and Care2.com. You can always find her on Twitter where she spends far too much time @MyrnaTheMinx
