blogging

Pew's study on Social Media and Young Adults has some really interesting findings: teens don't blog or tweet. According to the study, 14% of online teens blog. This is down from around 28% just a few years ago. As for Twitter, only 8% of people 12-17 use the service.

The study also found that 93% of young adults go online, with 63% of those using the internet daily. This is comparable to only 38% for those over the age of 65.

So what does this mean? We know that teens use the internet, regularly. We know they are active on social networks - they post comments (83% of online teens say they've posted comments on a friends' pictures), they communicate (although less teens now say they use social networking to contact friends), and more. They do not, however, create that much content.

Only 38% of teens share content in general, 21% remix content, and once again - only 14% blog. For adults, the numbers are even worse. The difference comes in the fact that the numbers for adults have come up in recent years. Teens, on the other hand, created more just a few years ago.

Some, such as Ben Parr, have come to the conclusion that teens just don't have the life experiences needed to create quality content. They are simply consuming. Even though I am a teen, I tend to agree with this rather negative view...Most teens are not interested in creating content. Instead, they are simply consuming.

Members of my generation are consuming more information in a day than one might have come across in a lifetime in centuries past. They're reading, watching, and listening. The number of teens who simply USE the internet (93%) are huge. These young people will be heading into college and jobs with a new and unique outlook, gained by exposure to such huge amounts of information.

Overall, the study is interesting, but there isn't much to feel bad about if you're a teen. The fact we're able to consume so much more content than previous generations means we will be creating much more high quality content of our own in the future.

Newsweek, wondering whether or not "...politically engaged young people [will] continue to support the president and his agenda," has started a "Generation O" blog. The blog will contain posts from a handful of young people who supported President Obama's campaign across the country.

For the next three months, Kremer and 11 other Obama supporters, ages 19 to 34, will blog about life across mainstream America, with one twist: by tying all of their ideas and experiences to the new president and his administration, the bloggers will try to start a conversation about what it means to be young and politically active in America today.

While Newsweek isn't exactly breaking any technological ground here, this project should provide an interesting glimpse into the geography behind President Obama's appeal to young people. I'm hoping that each blogger won't shy away from writing about issues central to the communities that affect young people and how they see the President handling those.

One thing I found particularly interesting in the article was what one young Republican Obama supporter had to say about her generation's approach to politics.

Still, Kremer, who now considers herself a political moderate, sees her personal transition as part of an emerging trend. Her politically active peers no longer identify themselves by "party first," she says. Instead, she explains, "we're identifying as Americans first."

The more the Democratic Party takes on the issues of the most national importance in this country (education, energy, health care, and a strong, but respected foreign policy), the more it'll be seen as America first (and the more youth will flock to it).

I'm playing catchup today after 4 days in DC. Here's some stuff I missed while I was away. In reverse chronological order:

• The Project on Student Debt is encouraging the incoming administration to include student aid as part of the economic stimulus package. Here's a letter they sent (pdf) to Speaker Pelosi on the subject.
• The Project on Student Debt is also sending letters to Hank Paulson, demanding that he bail out students along with multi-billion dollar corporations. Sign the letter here.
• At the New American Foundation's Higher Ed Watch Blog, Luke Swarthout outlines a fair textbook policy that could alleviate economic pressures on students and break the oligopoly of the big three text book publishers. For more on this, visit Make Textbooks Affordable.
• The Democratic Strategist has a new paper outlining how Democrats can keep the support of young white working class voters.
• In The Nation, Kristina Rizga continues to ask "you voted, now what?" This time, she profiles Juan Reynosa of New Mexico Youth Organized, a member group of the Bus Federation.
• My Change.org Idea - National Election Day Registration - is tied for third place in the Civic Engagement category. The top three vote-getters in each category by December 31st will move on to round two. Go vote for my idea!
• At Personal Democracy Forum, Micah Sifry revels more about what a potential Obama for America 2.0 will look like.
• YP4 announced it's 2009 Fellows. Congrats to FM friend Ian Magruder for snagging a spot.
• In the Washington Times, Ben Domenech argues that Republicans must fight for young voters. Not because they will win, but because any victory for the GOP relies on at least cutting into Obama's 2 - 1 victory margin among Millennials.
• A study by Anderson Analytics shows that blogging is increasing in popularity among Millennials.

I have been thinking about the generational differences in the use of the internet for political expression. I want to share my basic idea and hopefully you will share your thoughts about the subject.

We know that despite the stereotype, most political bloggers and active members of blogging communities like Daily Kos tend to be older, with Millennials not having a huge presence.

I believe that younger voters express themselves politically online using social networks as opposed to blogging. Their involvement and sharing has more of a retail peer-to-peer feel to it as opposed to blogging, a more wholesale form of expression.

One of the things we know from life is that a person has a much better opportunity to find like-minded people to discuss things with when they are in high school or college. There are a lot of people from the same generation concentrated in one place. Younger voters don't have to look very far to find friends to talk to about politics in real life, and they tend to engage online by sharing with those people through social networks like Facebook and MySpace.

Older voters tend to have a harder time finding such people in real life. Many spend the majority of their time with a small group of coworkers, and a lot of employers don't encourage political discussion. These people who are passionate about politics look for an outlet for them to express themselves and find a community. They find this outlet in blogging communities like DailyKos. For the most part they have never met the people they end up discussing politics with in real life, at least until they attend some kind of meetup like Netroots Nation.

When I first started blogging about youth politics I wondered why there weren't more comments and why there weren't many young people blogging relative to those who are older, especially since our generation is supposed to be savvy digital natives.

My belief is that many young voters don't have to broadcast themselves online. They have people to talk to in person, and their online involvement is with those same people on social networks.

So those are my quick thoughts on this. What are yours? Help me flesh this idea out by sharing your ideas in the comments.

What I'm reading this Saturday:

• This history of the culture wars of the last 40 years dovetails a bit with my earlier piece. I think (and hope) we're emerging from this.
• The Times proclaims that "the year of the political blogger has arrived."
• Virginia's young voters are tearing it up. What an amazing development.
• Are younger candidates the answer to getting youth involved in local politics?
• Congressional Democrats zero in on a directive to Veterans Affairs hospitals to prohibit voter registration efforts.
• Incoming college freshmen were born in 1990?!? Find out more about them here.

While at Netroots Nation, I will agree with Kevin, I too found it difficult to blog. we were all over the place, and when we weren't it was because we passed out after 2-3am. I have tons of video and lots of notes I'll be reporting this week, but let me start with the best.

Colin Delany, of E-Politics and TechPresidents, two blogs I quite honestly live on and link to a lot, and whose Online Politics 101 manual I refer people to often, and I found each other at the same fundraiser for Young Voters PAC the last night of NN08.

Colin pulled out his swanky new video camera which he later told me only cost him $175 and records about an hour of video, and started to talk to me about how I got started blogging and what was my most read blog. After a few minutes I noticed that we were really having more of a conversation than an interview, so I decided to pull out my camera. It turned into the first mutual interview I've ever seen and people around us enjoyed the sight.

Following this, of course, we had an extensive conversation about things that should not be posted on this blog. Enjoy, just posted it so it should be active soon, but I'm boarding the flight home.

While at Netroots Nation, I will agree with Kevin, I too found it difficult to blog. we were all over the place, and when we weren't it was because we passed out after 2-3am. I have tons of video and lots of notes I'll be reporting this week, but let me start with the best.

Colin Delaney, of E-Politics and TechPresidents, who I like to link to a lot, and whose Online Politics 101 manual I refer people to often, and I found each other at the same fundraiser for Young Voters PAC the last night of NN08.

Colin pulled out his swanky new video camera which he later told me only cost him $175 and records about an hour of video, and started to talk to me about how I got started blogging and what was my most read blog. After a few minutes I noticed that we were really having more of a conversation than an interview, so I decided to pull out my camera. It turned into the first mutual interview I've ever seen and people around us enjoyed the sight.

Following this, of course, we had an extensive conversation about things that should not be posted on this blog.

I've just returned home from a wedding I was at all weekend and I'm playing catchup. I know a number of folks commented on the site and/or emailed me this weekend. Be patient and I should get back to you later today. Sorry for the delay.

Kevin Bondelli has a must-read post for anyone who is the leader of a chapter-based organization weighing the pros and cons of starting a blog (or keeping the one you have). Kevin's piece is specifically about YDA (his own organization), why chapters should blog, and how they should go about doing it, but the points that he makes are applicable to most any chapter and member-based political or non-profit organization.

Why is blogging important?

• Blog posts drive traffic to your chapter’s website.
• Blogging enables a two-way conversation with your visitors.
• Blog posts can show that your chapter is active and give prospective members an idea of what to expect if they get involved.
• Blogging allows you to promulgate your message quickly and repeatedly.
• Blogging, especially when linking to other blogs, builds your relationships with your online community and internet influentials.
• Mainstream media gets story ideas from blogs.
• Popular blog posts will improve your site’s search engine rankings.

Two opportunities in the youth movement are available:

First, check out the 2nd Annual College Blogging Scholarship. The contest awards $2,000 to a college student who blogs about politics. Applications will be accepted from February 11th through the 24th, and you can nominate yourself or submit an application on behalf of a friend or a young blogger you admire.

Second, the Center for Progressive Leadership is now accepting applications for their 2008 New Leaders Program. The deadline to submit your application is March 15th.

About the program:

10-Week Paid Internship: Once you’ve been accepted into the program, we help match you with a paid internship in Washington, DC. The program will take place from June 6 – August 15, 2008. We’re focused on putting you in a position where you’ll find the work rewarding and the cause personally meaningful.

Leadership Development: As a New Leader, you will have a variety of opportunities to grow as a leader, network with members of the progressive community, and build the skills and connections you need to deepen your involvement in progressive causes:

Training and Workshops: During your internship, you attend a variety of sessions led by leaders in the progressive movement designed to provide you with the tools and techniques you need to become an effective political leader.

Networking Events: You’ll regularly have the chance to meet leaders in the progressive movement and create lasting relationships with mentors and advisors throughout Washington.

Mentoring/Career Coaching: You’ll be personally matched to a leader in the progressive community who will provide ongoing support and coaching during your internship and beyond.

CPL is also offering a New Leaders Fellowship program this year that is 5 months long and links diverse, young leaders to full-time, entry-level positions with progressive organizations and is happening both in D.C. and in select states across the country.

This morning, MTV dived into citizen journalism on the campaign trail with the launch of Street Team '08, the 51 member blogger/vlogger press corps which we've reported on in the past. Using a $700k grant from the Knight Foundation, which is working to promote new forms of news gathering and reporting, MTV has equipped 51 young citizen journalists - one from each state and the District of Columbia - with video cameras, computers, flash drives; all the equipment they need to blog and vlog the campaign trail for the next 11 months.

From the press release:

“Street Team ‘08” members represent every aspect of today’s youth audience – from seasoned student newspaper journalists to documentary filmmakers, the children of once-illegal immigrants to community organizers. They are conservative, liberal, from big cities and small towns. The tie that binds them all is a passion for politics and a yearning to amplify the youth voice during this pivotal election. All of the “Street Team ’08” correspondents will begin reporting early next month, after an intensive MTV News orientation in New York City.

Reporters are required to file video news stories with MTV on a weekly basis. These stories will be specific to their home states, and will be distributed primarily through the Associated Press’ Online Video Network and Think MTV, the corporation's activist social network, where all 51 reporters have home pages (for a full listing of URLs, see below). At the editorial discretion of MTV, some stories will be rebroadcast to the reported 88 million subscribers of MTV, MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3ìs.

Citizen journalism has been a hot topic in recent years. In 2005, Al Gore stepped into the field prominently with the launch of Current TV, a cable news network where all content is generated by the users, and many editorial decisions are also outsourced to the viewing community. More recently, new ventures like Assignment Zero and Off the Bus have tried to harness in varying ways the power of crowds/regular people to provide reporting that is equal to or better than that provided by the mainstream media. This has met with varying degrees of success thus far. Street Team '08 offers a lot of exciting possibilities for MTV to step into that space and give regular people a chance to change the debate with a younger, and more local, perspective.

These vloggers will essentially be their own editors, reporting on the local political stories they care about, with total authority over their work. That's a big step for a corporation like MTV that, until recently, was more widely known for broadcast-era programs like PSAs and news specials. I don't expect to see those programs vanish, but clearly MTV is aware that a shift is happening in media, and they are working to position themselves to lead, or at least not get left behind.

Now, before I go all techno-utopian on you, let's keep things in perspective. These content distribution deals will give the 51 vloggers and their stories a great deal of exposure, as will, presumably, the fact that their work will be not only embeddable, but local and specific (read: valuable to state-level bloggers and youth orgs). But in the end, MTV isn't ceding all control. They are still the gatekeeper to the 88 million domestic viewers of their 4 cable channels, and what type of content gets moved up to that next level is a big question mark. Will it be safe, non-controversial, platitudinous content? Or will it be diverse, controversial, and thought-provoking? The vloggers supposedly come from a wide array of ideological viewpoints. Can MTV distribute such wildly contrasting world-views on their cable channels in a way that is inspiring and exciting? Or will content pulled up to the network be least-common-denominator material designed to play it safe and protect the ratings? Will the final results be more Hunter S. Thompson or David Broder?

On this I'm willing to give MTV the benefit of the doubt. Their work with MySpace on the candidate forums has been impeccable, and as I'm personally acquainted with three of the vloggers (OR, NE, MA), I'm hopeful for the best. I expect their reports to be hard-hitting, and at this point have no reason to doubt that the other 48 candidates will be any different. Only time will tell.

There is one other distribution channel that will be open to all vloggers without the editorial control of MTV - mobile media. It's not quite clear yet how mobile distribution will work (can you subscribe to one vlogger at a time? All at once? How exactly is content delivered?), but the press materials sent out by MTV mark it as one of the primary distribution channels and make no mention of MTV exercising editorial control over mobile distribution.

Personally, I'm somewhat skeptical that as a country we're ready for high-quality content delivery on mobile phones. The hardware, service, and contracts that most users are subject to are still prohibitive of such content distribution on a massive scale, especially compared to other countries where service is better and cheaper, and more people own devices with more capabilities. But more importantly, I don't know that user habits are there yet to support such content delivery as more than an extremely niche product. Maybe the usage habits of tweens are radically different from that of teh general population, and even the early-adopter population, but I don't see a lot of people watching video on their cell phones as of yet. I don't doubt that mobile content distribution like this is coming, but I don't think that 2008 is going to be its break-out year. Maybe in 2010 when a significant number of people have iPhones or iPhone-like devices.

At the very least, it will be very interesting to see how MTV fares in this strategy. If anyone has the ear of the demographic most likely to exploit such technology, it's MTV, and their findings come November will likely be a leading indicator on what we can expect in the near future for mobile content delivery in politics.

Taking a step back to look at the larger picture, I have to wonder if this is MTV making a move toward a more general adoption of the content model pioneered by Current TV. Perhaps not for all their programming (it would be hard to ditch the ratings and/or replicate the production of MTV's reality TV series), then at least for the majority of their news programs. If Street Team '08 is successful, MTV could conceivably expand on the program. If the vloggers caught on and gained an audience, I could see MTV quickly opening this up to all audience members and implementing a pay/rating system similar to that employed by Al Gore's user-content driven cable channel. MTV already has a larger audience (88 million compared to Current's 51 million), and with a lower spot on the dial and a much larger brand name, MTV could very easily beat Current at its own game if it was willing to cede even more control to the users. The way MTV has been embracing social media this year, I don't know that such a scenario is all that far fetched.

As I've reported before, MTV is really stepping up its game this year. Their candidate forums are clearly one of the best innovations this cycle in using social media to improve upon what is still essentially a broadcast politics event. The launch of Stret Team '08 seems like another step in the right direction for them, and it's hard to doubt that at least in the youth political space, MTV is working hard (and perhaps succeeding) at recapturing the political relevance they held after their initial parnership with Rock the Vote in 1992.

For a full listing of the 51 vloggers and their Think MTV home pages, check below the fold.