Tom Watson

In the Trenches of Digital Change: Hype Mavens Need Not Apply

This week's Personal Democracy Forum in New York was the sixth annual confab of social media geeks, government 2.0 types, non-profit changemakers and digital dreamers of all shapes and sizes - but it was really Year One AO: After Obama.

Last year's social media avalanche, loosed from the peaks of a historic national election, made everything seem possible; armies of do-gooders wielding iPhones and tweeting for change were poised to radically remake both the polity and our vast social commons. (Well ok, that was #IranElection two weeks ago as well - but you get the idea).

This year, it seemed to me, doubt walked the halls at PDF, and optimism tempered by experience kept both the Twitterstream and the panels and speeches well out of the red on my hand-held hype meter. Indeed, the very word "Obama" seemed to be sharply discounted in its usage around the Time Warner Center - used more respectfully (and sparingly) as a reference to a new(ish) Administration facing a myriad of challenges foreign and domestic than as a harbinger of of sweeping, digitally-interconnected change.

That's no knock on the President, especially at a conference where progressive-leaning attendees clearly outnumber their conservative counterparts. ("Republicans don't really don't care about community and all that," snorted GOP digital operative David All, as if to cement his side's outsider status at a gathering largely devoted to more open government). Rather, I think it was a "settling in for the long road ahead" moment, a groupthink realization that big change isn't easy, and that turning an entity the size of the Federal Government quickly is a bit like spinning the Queen Mary into a watery parking space.

Yet the fact that 900 attendees would gather to talk about the possibility for wired change - both 'CauseWired' to borrow the theme of my book, and politics-oriented - in the current economic dust storm (and in a non-election year) was very impressive. And some of the themes and news bytes well worth recording:

The talk about the super-hyped role of Twitter and other social media in the protests surrounding the disputed Iranian elections was mainly about authenticity, crowd-sourced reporting, and whether governments could effectively shut down digital communications. Yet it was stunning to hear Randi Zuckerberg admit that Facebook doesn't know if the "official" page on the social network for Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi is genuine or not, considering the missives published there are often taken for the official voice of the protest. And it was hardly a triumphalist sentiment that NPR's new media wizard Andy Carvin shared when he emphasized that Twitter users "have to be skeptical of where the information is coming from."

Yet there was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's social media maven Alec Ross extolling the use of digital platforms and networks to change how Americans face the rest of the world. Ross argued that everybody who lives in our network society now has the power "to be a Paul Revere" and sound the alarm for everyone else, noting that it was a couple of young people on Facebook who organized massive rallies against the Colombian guerilla group FARC. "It doesn't always have to be over the mahogany table with porcelain cups of tea," said Ross of crowd-sourced statecraft; it was Ross who leaned on Twitter not to shit down for maintainance during the height of the Iranian protests.

And there were a couple of big "government 2.0" announcements at PDF: the Obama Administration's launch via CIO Vivek Kundra of the new U.S. Federal IT Dashboard, which provides at-a-glance access to the budget process, and Mayor Bloomberg's announcement (via Skype) of a "big apps" contest for developers who mash up the city's data feeds in ways that benefit the public. Such thinking about sharing information, said PDF co-founder Andrew Rasiej, shows that "we do have Big Brother now - Big Brother now is us."

That might be the ideal, but as a couple of speakers argued, nirvana on the digital public common's ain't exactly nigh. “Can poor people see streaming video that calls out corruption in government and in business?” Josh Silver, the executive director and co-founder of Free Press, in reaction to a discussion about President Obama's broadband. And Microsoft's Danah Boyd called out class distinctions on the digital commons - to the mainly white, non-deprived, plugged-in geekage: "We still don't have a language to talk about classism in America today," she argued in an eye-opening presentation. "There is no universal public online."

On the Book Trail

Book table, originally uploaded by Tom Watson.

We had a great book launch party last week at Turtle Bay on Second Avenue - muchas gracias to Changing Our World for throwing the bash. Great to see so many friend and colleagues turn out. (More pics here). CauseWired is doing pretty well. Last week, it hit number 840 or thereabouts on the Amazon charts among the couple million books, and even reached number two on the "blogs and blogging" list - a few slots ahead of the new DailyKos book, no less! CauseWired on its second printing, which doesn't make me Stephen King, but it's great that so many people are reading it. If you happen to live in suburban New York, we're planning a book-signing on December 6th from 12:30 to 2 pm at Womrath Bookshop in Bronxville. And the reviews have been both generally positive and really thoughtful

CauseWired for Sale

CauseWired for Sale, originally uploaded by Tom Watson.

Yeah man, the front window of the local indie bookstore - that's where you wanna be, especially when your kids and your parents wander by. Of course, you can always get your copy here.

The Book: Some Reviews Are In

I haven't posted here about my book in a while, so here goes. CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World comes out on November 10th and you can pre-order it on Amazon now at a significant discount.

We have a bunch of review copies out there and some of the reviews have started to come in, including a few prominent endorsers who looked at galleys over the summer and were very generous with their comments. I blog a lot about the book and online social activism over at CauseWired.com, but I thought readers here might enjoy a few review excerpts - and perhaps lead some of you to pre-order it on Amazon now at a significant discount! In any case, here's what folks are saying about CauseWired:

Charles Best, Founder, DonorsChoose.org:

"In CauseWired, Tom Watson has written the seminal book on peer-to-peer philanthropy and its counterpart movements in politics and branding." 

Mario Morino, Chairman, Venture Philanthropy Partners

"Whether you're a net-native college student or a geezer like me, CauseWired is required reading if want to understand the future of activism and engagement. Tom Watson gives deep, insider perspectives on the transformative potential of social networking and other innovations for linking communication and compassion." 

Peter Daou, Internet Advisor to Senator Hillary Clinton:

"With eloquence and enthusiasm borne of deep experience in the world of social change and philanthropy, Tom Watson describes the intersection of causes and technology and shares a compelling vision of a philanthropic future powered by the social web. This is an essential book about one of the Internet's most important functions: bringing people together to help make our world a better place." 

Jed Emerson, Managing Director for Integrated Performance, Uhuru Capital:

"CauseWired is a fascinating look into the rapidly evolving world of the Internet, social networking, and social change. Watson demonstrates how individuals are using new digital outlets and tools—most importantly, blogging, social networking, and online giving platforms—to explore how we may each act to impact the critical events of our day, from the 2008 election to Hurricane Katrina and Darfur. His engaging writing style and breadth of perspective help us see not only what is happening today, but what will happen in the years to come as we each act upon our potential to change our world and communities." 

Judy Miller, Director, Hilton Humanitarian Prize:

"If you don't want to be left behind in our new wired society—or if you're already behind—this book is a must-read! Tom Watson has produced what could be a marketing bible for the field of philanthropy, and a primer for individuals who want to help change the world." 

And some reviews from bloggers are starting to roll in - a few excerpts:

Max Gladwell, Social Media and Green Living [full review]

One way to express the measure of a book for us can be the ratio of total pages to those we’ve flagged with the venerable dog ear. These are the pages that have a memorable line or a profound thought that we’d like to reference or revisit at a later time. These are the essence. Which is to say, one could read only the dog-eared pages and get a pretty good feel for that given book. Of CauseWired’s modest 200-some pages, we marked 22 as having these exceptional qualities. At about one in five, it’s quite possibly a record... The title of the book is not only intended to describe the movement toward networked social and political action, but like The Long Tail, Groundswell, and Tipping Point, it’s predisposed for buzzword status. Which is to say it’s potentially a term that transcends the book itself and becomes a part of the language we use, where the entire meaning of the book can be conveyed in a single word: CauseWired... In sum, this is a must-read for anyone in this burgeoning social-media-for-social-change space. It is recommended reading for anyone who wants to better understand what’s taking place on the social web in general. We’re officially adding it to our sidebar of recommended reading.

Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud [full review]:

Tom Watson explores the societal impact of online social networks in his new book CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World (Wiley, November 2008) CauseWired is the first book focused on making sense of social media in the nonprofit world. Watson not only gets it — but he also explains why social media matters in understandable terms. ...Watson believes that there are two major trends on a collision course: "On one hand, people are ever more conscious of philanthropy and its role in commerce and society; on the other, these people are talking to each other more than ever before." The traditional fundraising practices of acquisition, cultivation, and stewardship are forever changed by wired causes. Are you prepared? ...Tom Watson's CauseWired is must reading for anyone in the nonprofit world.

Matt Kelland, The Mongoose [full review]

It's easy to dismiss mass grass-roots activism as just a rent-a-mob, but that would be a mistake. True, some causes may be just a flash in the pan, but our leaders need to be aware that there are other issues that people - voters - really do give a shit about. I may not be personally affected by starvation in Darfur, by court-sanctioned rape in Pakistan, or be displaced to make room for a huge hydro power station, but I, and literally millions of others, don't want to live in a world where those things happen, and I want those in power to damn well do something about it. When a million, or ten million people all stand up and say, "hey, buddy, this ain't right," they can't help but take notice. CauseWired isn't a manual.. It won't tell you how to change the world. However, it's an important chronicle of a social upheaval in which the silent majority are being replaced with a vocal majority.

David Bailey [full review]

...I am in business, but I guess I have reached the age when ranting at my long suffering wife over the breakfast table about articles in the Sunday papers is just not enough. I want to change things, and some things really need changing. If you have ever felt like that, then this is a book for you. Singing along to Nickelback's "If Everyone Cared" is just not enough for you. Really, you need to get a few thousand people to change the world with you. And Tom's book can help you. It is not a "how to" book in the way of thousands of other pointless pages of lists. This is a down in the dirt, first hand reportage on some of the largest social movements on the Internet and what made it work for them. He documents how social change really happens, what kind of people it takes, and the tools of the trade. More importantly, he explains that if you set out to change society, then you might very well succeed. That, to me, is one scary message: are we ready for the power that we now have in our CauseWired Internet Age hands? Are we educating our children and our friends about the responsibility that comes with such power?

Oh, and a big #thankyou to Fred Wilson, who has been excerpting some of the stuff from the chapter on DonorsChoose to encourage donors to support his campaign in the DonorsChoose bloggers challenge.

Did I mention you can pre-order the book on Amazon now at a significant discount? Tell your friends. (And now back to our regular programming). 

UPDATE: If you want to understand the business of selling books in the wired world - and how limited the bricks and mortar side has become - delve into Andy Wheeler's latest post. Andy's the erudite marketing director at Wiley who has my book, and he's done a fabulous job.

Free Review Copies of CauseWired for Bloggers…Pass It On

Review copies of my book are in. And thanks to my friends at Wiley, we’re launching a program to get as many review copies of CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World into the hands of bloggers as we can before publication. If you’re interested in writing about CauseWired - and it covers online social activism across charities, NGOs, politics, cause marketing and more - we want to rush you an advance copy of the book.

Just drop a note with your name, blog, and snail mail address to Wiley’s extraordinary book marketer/guru/blogger, Andrew Wheeler, at awheeler@wiley.com and we’ll make sure you get one. Andy very kindly put up a post on his own excellent book blog and had some nice comments:

CauseWired doesn't just have something to say, it has a real, direct connection to what we're both doing right now, and what we're (all of us) doing more and more every day in the 21st century: connecting electronically about the things that matter to us. So this is a book I'm excited about, and want to see spread as widely as possible.

And that's why I want to give away as many of those bound galleys as possible, to bloggers and podcasters, to forum junkies and Facebook super-users, to LiveJournal mavens and MySpace eyeball-destroyers, to people who live in the wired world and who want to know what's going on there. If you want to read this book before it's published, and you have somewhere (preferably online) to talk to people about it afterwards, I'd like to send you a copy. Also, if you work at a bookstore and think your customers might want to know about CauseWired, you qualify as well.

Please feel free to pass this on to other bloggers or writers who think might like an advance copy. And you can still hit the link - top right on this page - for advances sales of the final hardcover!

Warming Up

I'm looking forward to the Republican National Convention like I'd look forward to the next appearance by the New York Mets bullpen - if I were managing the phreaking Phillies.

This baby  has all the potential of being one of the wildest chapters in modern political stagecraft history, and like the Mets pen, it's a good bet to get very ugly very quickly. What a cast of characters! (And that's just the ticket). Hiding the Bush legacy will be like trying to eke out a save from Aaron Heilman: an acrobatic managerial trick few can possibly pull off.

I will say this: it's suddenly appointment-level television, whereas during the pre-Palintological Era, the RNC could be easily ignored. Now I'm laying in a supply of popcorn and hooting for the beer vendor. This thing's going to extra innings, and I don't want to miss it.

Then too, Hurricane Gustav steadily descends on the Gulf as a deadly reminder of our national government's failure three years ago under this current president and his party. Yes, it's a mixture of pure politics and goodwill for both Obama and McCain to dedicate their resources to helping out in what seems like a near-certain crisis; McCain by turning the RNC into a telethon for aid, and Obama for raising money and making plans to mobilize his army of volunteers. Even the cynic applauds.

I have a post up over on my book blog about how social networks and online technology may play a greater role this time around; the first chapter in CauseWired opens in the aftermath of New Orleans, when online social activism really soared just as Web 2.0 technology took off. Some great comments there from online organizers, so head over if you get a chance.

UPDATE: Digby - "It's great seeing President McCain on CNN speaking directly to the country, directing the convention and the hurricane efforts and all, but I would think even the media sycophants could find time to talk to a Democrat or two in this weird HurriConvention coverage." Oh, Lord.

Cover Art!

Well, the cover art is ready for CauseWired and I thought I'd share it with you. I'll admit it, seeing a real cover design makes the book itself something of a reality. And yeah, you can pre-order CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World from Amazon right now - yeah, you.

About That Book...

You may remember a post back in late January where I let slip that your host was embarked upon his first book - that posts in these parts would be rather thin for a period of months. Well, that didn't work out. The titanic primary race intervened and I felt compelled to follow its course in public. Nevertheless - he begins with a triumphant pause - the writing proceeded in frenzied weekend bursts, hour upon long hour, and so this week, I turned in the first draft of my manuscript for CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World, to be published this fall by John Wiley & Sons. Despite the short time frame, I'm moderately pleased with it, although with a topic like this one, the reporting is never done; the online social activism sector advances every day. I have also restarted the book's blog over at CauseWired.com and  urge you to add it your various feed readers, blog rolls, email subscriptions, and online touring schedules. And, if you feel so inclined, you can pre-order a copy right now - this very moment! - from the comfort of our keyboard. Note: Clinton supporters get a 34% discount. Obamacans should buy two.

Wings Over Westminster

Most of the old Palace of Westminster was lost in a disastrous fire in 1834, and much of what was rebuilt to form the modern Parliament chambers of Great Britain by the Victorians was damaged or destroyed by German bombs in the Second World War. So the seat of British democracy is a mixture of very old remnants and more modern recreation. Yet there remains one grand public space that dates to the 11th century - Westminster Hall, constructed on the orders of William Rufus, son of William the Conqueror. It is covered by a brilliant wooden hammer-and-beam roof  commissioned by Richard II. And beneath a corner of the hall, down a few stairs is the tiny St. Mary's Undercroft, a hidden chapel that survived fire and blitz.

Widely credited as the first blogging MP, Tom has been named Minister for Transformational Government by Gordon Brown, charged with helping to reinvent British government through information technology. And he took full advantage the new cabinet position last week with a speech that was a rip-snorter, and has fired its way through the blogosphere on both sides of the Atlantic over the past few days. Here's a bit, and I must, it's tailor-made for my book CauseWired, which I'm working hard at finishing up this spring:

Any community organiser or activist knows just how hard it is to get people together to do something. Weeks of backbreaking work required to organise a campaign. My earliest childhood memories are of endless hours of turning the handle of a manual duplicating machine whilst my dad fermented revolution in the pub.

Social media has removed the requirement for my son to turn the handle for his dad. It allows people to organise a demonstration or a lobby at a single click, with global effect. This is profoundly democratising.

And profoundly challenging for politicians. It also means my son can spend more time on the CBeebies website leaving his dad computerless.

And it's not just cheaper or easier for organisers. The personal cost in time and effort has diminished to a mouse click. With unsurprising results, more people take part. The maths is pretty simple.

Over 7 million electronic signatures have been sent, electronically, to the Downing Street petition website. 1 in 10 citizens have emailed the Prime Minister about an issue. The next stage is to enable e-petitioners to connect with each other around particular issues and to link up with policy debates both on and off Government webspace.

The challenge is for elected representatives to follow their customers and electors into this brave new world.

That is entirely the challenge. Tom posted a hyperlinked version of the speech on his blog, which is - of course - what every politician should do with a major speech; imagine if Obama had posted a hyperlinked version of his famous discussion of race, or if Clinton did a fulled annotated and linked version of an economic policy speech?

Media critic Jeff Jarvis found Tom's speech through 10 Downing Street's Twitter feed, ad thought he detected in some of the Tory reaction "the start of a liberal-v-conservative clash of worldviews approaching open, digital, social government and society." Probably right, but the Tories particularly dislike my friend Tom - it's the combative blogging nature, I suspect. Over at techPresident, Micah Sifry said Tom's agenda "makes me drool," and added:

Imagine one of our presidential candidates making it (even Barack Obama, who has done the most thinking on this topic.) You can't. But maybe, if we pay more attention to our cousins across the pond, soon someone will.

Five years ago, Watson was one of the first MPs to blog, and notes that even though it opened him up to daily abuse, "the blog broke down the walls between legislators and electors in a way that interested me. So I persevered." Now he says, "I believe in the power of mass collaboration.... I believe that the old hierarchies in which government policy is made are going to change for ever."

I think Micah is right about something else as well - "This isn't your father's e-government, which has all been about making it easier for people to download forms from websites or file their taxes online." It is about actually engaging people living in a democracy in the filthy business of running that democracy. And it's also about the recognition that good ideas can start in the populace itself - with entrepreneurs and regular people - that government programs actually begin as causes to change something.

Tom will in town this week and I'm hoping to get together. But on a side note, his big move reminds me of just how prescient I was last year after our visit in Westminster:

I must be careful here, but I will attempt an observation on behalf of my Right Honorable Labour friend. It seemed to me, as we breezed about, that Tom Watson is seen by his colleagues as a man who will return to government in some prominent role in the near future. His resignation as assistant defense minister was quite the story last year - all intrigue and rumor - and it helped start the exit door opening for Tony Blair. But this old political reporter could see in the greetings, in some of the hints,handshakes, and by-play - and frankly, in the enthusiasm that greeted his American guest - that Tom is reckoned as a man to be reckoned with.

Nailed it.