Social Action Networks Defined

One of the more significant trends in online politics and public affairs over the last few years has been the rise of Social Action Networks.

A Social Action Network is an online community that allows members to connect and organize around shared political passions.  If visiting a social network like Facebook is like walking into a bar,...

Red Cross Utilizes Text Messaging for Aid After Haiti Quake

In response to Tuesday morning’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross has been reaching out across social networks to urge aid donations.

Supporters can donate using their online form or text HAITI to 90999. Text messages will donate $10 to the relief effort. Charges will be made to the user’s cell phone bill....

The Story of Mister Splashy Pants

Interesting TED talk from Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian explaining how Greenpeace’s Mister Splashy Pants became an online phenomenon.

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Organic Versus Inorganic Twitter Followers

Anil Dash has a great blog post up today entitled “Nobody Has A Million Twitter Followers.”  Dash was added to the Twitter suggested followers list in October, and as a result saw his number of followers jump from 18,000 to 300,000.  Even though Dash’s number of followers increased dramatically, the number of interactions he was having did not go up. ...

Ranking the Twitter IQ of Newspapers

In our newspaper study, released earlier today, we developed a formula we call the Twitter Interactivity Quotient (or Twitter IQ for short) as a way of measuring how newspapers were using their accounts.   If tweeting, which consists of original tweets, responses to tweets, and retweeting others’ tweets, is viewed as a conversation,...