When it comes to social media, there are two kinds of people:

1) Smores like me. These are social media whores. Folks who love to network and don’t mind the issue of privacy. I love community and engage in it often.

2) Reserved networkers. These are the folks that use networks to only engage with folks they know offline. They tend to respect privacy, want heavy filters and do not want to let folks know where they are as.

Good news for both! There are new apps out there!

For those that want to only let folks they personally know what they are up to and keep that information locked down to a small group, well then Rally Up is for you! My good friends over at @12Seconds combined with other have made this awesome app! I have mad respect for the crew over there, so download it and give it a try. You will not be let down! Oh, and bonus: go to their page for a chance to win an iPad!

For those that want to broadcast it to all and have several networks to do so (Brightkite, FourSquare, GoWalla, Causecast, Latitude, etc.) then Check.in is one place to do that to all networks! Currently it is in closed beta. I have access. Either sign up and wait your code, or hit me up for access. You know where to find me!

Liberal, Conservative.

Socialist, Capitalist.

Freedom, Fascists.

God.

The power of words is an interesting thing. Over the last 10 years I have worked in many different campaigns: political, educational, marketing and advocacy. We use these words to invoke a response or make a point: to manipulate the outcome of discourse.

They are loaded words. Regardless of your belief, these words are trump cards. Pull them out during a conversation and you will get a heated response. Each person has their own bias to each of the words listed above. Is anyone really ever “anti-life” or “anti-choice?” By the literal understanding of those words devoid of the context in which they’re used, no, but people identify their beliefs to these loaded words.

The die was cast by those, like me, who have spent millions of dollars in ad campaigns, positioned opinion pieces in your daily newspaper and with talking points for the talking heads to which many listen.

Personally, I respect that game because both sides of any argument have the same tools to play it. However, I have grown tired of the consequences of these loaded words in everyday, neighborly conversation.

God. Thousands of traditions and faiths have a different understanding of this word. Wars are fought and millions have died over this word. We have all been at that dinner party where the word “God” was used to justify a point. The tone of the conversation changed right? If wars have been fought over such words/concepts then why bring that into a dinner conversation to prove a point? No matter the intent, a reaction will be made. Be mindful of this.

In recent conversations, many supporting Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill have been called Socialist. The concept of Socialism being used to label supporters of a bill drafted and voted on by an established republic is not meant to be literal. It is meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

This is the point. Too often we react or use loaded words to invoke a response versus really, truly listening to another person’s point of view and finding common ground. As a campaign architect, I have seen the damage this has done to everyday, neighborly conversations. It pains me.

Voices of Arizona was created to have a discussion about YOUR opinions with the goal to strengthen community dialogue. At the end of the day, we might still disagree, but through the process of engaging in respectful dialogue, we can harness a stronger community. We try hard to avoid such words, or at the very least by mindful of them when we use them.

Be mindful of loaded words in a conversation. They might mean something completely different to the person with whom you are sharing a conversation. Before you use such words, be mindful that it might just be a landmine you are setting down. Is your goal really to blow the conversation up? Because often, such words do.

1. The debate is often set by the politicians and the media before the people get a word in;
2. The soundbites filter down to the people and the debate becomes filled with landmines/buzzwords;
3. Real day-to-day matters on peoples minds are NOT being heard;
4. We most likely agree on more of these day-to-day issues than the 30,000ft level political talk from the capitol.

I am a bleeding heart liberal with very close friends who are ultra conservative. We have a great friendship despite these issues. Why? Because we respect each others point of view and are NOT trying to prove each other wrong. Just listen to each other for different perspectives.

In the spirit of this, I have asked several of my Twitter friends to join me in a blog of peoples opinions of any or all issues they feel important. So I created www.voicesofarizona.com last weekend. In the first 48 hours we had over 1,000 hits, over 36 comments, and even some local media attention.

Thank you friends for helping fill it with great content and GREAT comments! Now the people have a voice void of partisan agendas.

Come join and lend your voice!

I have yet another side project I am working on. But this one is close to my heart.

Over the years we have heard many success stories of talent being discovered on YouTube. From Marie Digby to Kina Grannis they have marketed themselves well and have created a great fan base.

Well in the Spidel family all genes of musical talent ended up in one person, my sister Heather (a.k.a. Harmony.)

She has always treated this as a hobby on the side. Music is her passion but has always put other life priorities in first. Recently she has been asked to start singing at weddings of her friends, casually winning karaoke competitions, and recently starting picking up her song writing again. Last night out of inspiration of her voice, I helped develop a website and Facebook fan page for her music.

She recently started recording again and she feels ready to put her self out there more. The inspiration was this Lilith Fair announcement showcasing local talent on stage  with the tour.

In less then 12 hours she already has nearly 100 Facebook fans and her YouTube videos have aver 2,500 views. Thank you!

I will be helping her craft a social web strategy and look forward to the success of this project. Please take a peek and check her out at www.heatherspidel.com.

The race to get quality content directly to your HDTV has been building for a few years. TiVo now includes podcast aggregation ability, AppleTV includes the ability to watch movies, independent films are distributed via iTunes directly to your TV, and Boxee now aggregates and scrapes the social web for online video that your social network is watching and allows you to broadcast directly to your home theater.

Consumer electronic devices have gone from component HDTV connections to HDMI and optical inputs for quality HDTV viewing.

Hollywood would like to break your TV and revert your viewing experience back a few years. Never mind the evolution of media distribution created by an open market. The large corporate trade associates want to control distribution abilities directly by breaking your TV.

The MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) has been trying to increase movie distribution while maintaining full control of their content. Throughout the years they have joined forces with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to take on media related websites, bit torrent technology, and various file sharing programs in an effort to crack down on illegal piracy.

Enter Selectable Output Control (aka The Cable Kill Swith).

“Selectable Output Control” (“SOC”) is the remote signaling of home devices by content providers or distributors, to turn off consumer home interfaces on a program-by-program basis. The interface in question would simply not operate for the particular program. It would mean that a consumer who has purchased an HDTV display, and pays for a set-top box or other device with an HDTV output, still might not receive all of the HDTV programs he or she has paid for — because the interface between the set-top box and the HDTV display has been turned off by remote control. In the long term, imposition of SOC could have the effect of driving from the market any home interface that supports home recording. HRRC has opposed imposition of SOC by law or in any context subject to regulation.

SOC is activated by data “triggers” that ride along with program information when it is sent to the home. FCC Encoding Rules currently ban SOC use, but the FCC has left the door open to its use in the future.  – Home Recording Rights Coalition

Here is a video about this technology:

For years the FCC has limited the SOC option from content creators or distribution providers (cable companies.) However on November 23rd the MPAA sent a letter to the FCC defending their original request to wave the FCC’s previous deicsion to block access to the SOC technology.

Public Knowledge, Home Recording Rights Coalition, the Consumer Electronics Association, and various other organizations took a strong public stance against the original request (the letter available here:: http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/soc-genachowski-letter-20091104.pdf.) In additional they responded to the newest letter in several strong blog posts stating:

“it utterly fails to demonstrate that anybody steals content through the analog hole or that giving the MPAA the ability to shut off both analog and protected digital outputs would have any impact at all on piracy.” (original link: http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2783)

Further:

“We use the word, ‘breaking,’ deliberately, here and in previous filings and videos, because that is exactly what would happen if the industry has its way and the FCC grants the ill-conceived waiver to allow the industry control over consumer devices. Because of existing FCC rules, a consumer with a stand alone digital video recorder (DVR) or Slingbox knows that it will work for all video-on-demand (VoD) services, and that compatibility is a key factor when consumers spend their hard-earned money on consumer electronics. It would be a rude shock if, at the industry whim, some of those devices did not perform as expected. (original link here: http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2782)

As the debate continues between Hollywood studios, consumer electronics manufactures, and home recording rights advocates, there are many more that have yet to weight in on this debate or be mobalized that will be severly impacted.

Given the current economy, job creation is critical. Direct-to-home movie releases will eliminate thousands of movie theatre jobs and hurt movie theatre owners. The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) has yet to publish a statement on this issue and the impact it will have on the job market.

How will this impact independent distributors and 3rd party content distributors such as Apple iTunes, Boxee, TiVo, etc?

Will blocking their signals be next?

Greg Tarr from TWICE says it best:

“There is also no readily available consumer friendly way to make copies of HDTV programming over the so-called unprotected analog component-video outputs. So why do producers require the ability to shut down such ports? Why must thousands of consumers who have purchased expensive HDTVs five or more years ago lose the ability to watch some programs in HDTV now that it is finally available? Just to prevent a handful of pirates from possibly using expensive professional recording equipment with complex analog-to-digital encoders from illegally reproducing the content for sale?

The solution to that problem lies with law enforcement, not by discriminating against the people who helped to make the digital TV transition happen.”

In the coming weeks we will put this issue on the forefront. New Media content producers, movie theatre owners, workers, and consumers have yet to weigh in.

This issue will not just be an FCC issue. We expect Net Neutrality related issues to surface in Congress around this matter. We will be talking to these groups in the coming weeks and begin to organize a consumer led public awareness campaign.

For now, your thoughts on this issue is important.

What are your concerns?

Will this affect you? If so, in what way?

It’s been three years since Jeff Howe coined the term “crowdsourcing” in his Wired article “The Rise of Crowdsourcing.” The term, which describes an online, distributed problem solving and production model, is most famously represented in the business operations of companies like Threadless and InnoCentive and in contests like the Goldcorp Challenge and the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest.
(via CFCM.)

Governor Schwarzenegger launched the www.MyIdea4CA.com website for Twitter users to share and discuss their ideas to move California forward. The MyIdea4CA Twitter Forum was initiated to extend a popular conversation that began in June of 2009 on Twitter when Governor Schwarzenegger called for public participation for new ideas on the state budget.

As government cuts back their budgets, consultants, polling data, and combined with the need for transparency we will begin to see more crowdsourcing projects more and more. It not only creates a way to get real time results of public opinion, but also provides engagement strategies to connect with the public. The real question is the quality of this feedback?

This is not scientific nor a professional response, however it is true public response and engagement. The Public and the European Union has begun working with the public to perfect this approach.

Echoing the Open Government initiatives currently underway at the White House, the process is beginning with an open brainstorming session to identify and evaluate a range of ways in which EU governments can harness the emerging power of the web to transform European public services.

Debate graph on these ideas here: http://debategraph.org/flash/fv.aspx?r=20101

The potential is huge. The trend of such approaches have already caught on. With such traction, do you feel that decisions will now be interpreted as the popular sentiment? Does access and knowledge of social media provide greater access to policy makers?

A perfect example of social web word of mouth!