I’m shocked, shocked that a political consultant would use innuendo, rumors and false statements to try to gain advantage in a political contest. I’m not, really. After all, that’s how the game of politics is played by many who are the most successful. So I guess I wasn’t surprised when a political consultant was caught using a “flog” - a fake blog - to carry out a political agenda on behalf of a client.

In the battle to replace Austin based District Attorney Ronnie Earle - who is best known nationally for playing a major role in dethroning Republican powerhouse Tom DeLay over alleged criminal behavior in office - ethics is naturally a major and important issue.

In the race between two Democrat protégés of Earle, charges are being aired in television ads by Rosemary Lehmberg that her opponent Mindy Montford is not as ethically qualified for the position because she has accepted campaign contributions from state lobbyists. The DA in Austin has a unique role among Texas DAs because, by virtue of representing the county where the State Capital is located, he or she can investigate and prosecute state officials and people who violate state campaign and finance laws, including lobbyists. Being totally independent from them is a very important issue.

Considering the shenanigans that lobbyists and lawmakers have pulled in Texas over the years, it makes sense to have someone in that position who is not beholden to any of them and someone who is above reproach ethically. Lehmberg seemingly had Montford on the ropes on the subject as the two of them headed into a tight runoff election scheduled for this Tuesday, April 8th. Then the flog settled in.

In what was probably considered a very clever political maneuver by Kelly Fero, Lehmberg’s campaign consultant, he created an anonymous blog called AustinPoliticalReport.com. In a recent post, Terry Keel, a prominent local Republican, is accused of helping Montford in the race, thereby insinuating that she would be too friendly to those she should be keeping a legal eye on.

The blog, which promises “the best buzz and most reliable rumors in the political capital of Texas and surrounding communities,” gives no information on who is writing it or any sourcing for the stories posted on it. Apparently Keel decided he wanted to find out who was behind the blog and did. Now he’s suing for libel and filing a criminal complaint.

What’s the big deal, you might ask? There are any number of boneheaded bloggers making stuff up every day on the internet. It is, after all, the “wild west” of communications. That’s part of the allure to many, including me, I’ll admit.

The problem here is that the Lehmberg campaign then emailed its supporters about the story anonymously posted by its own campaign consultant as though it was a credible news source. Keel, a former prosecutor himself, a former Travis County Sheriff, a former State Representative, the current Parliamentarian for the Texas House of Representatives, and a hardball lawyer in his own right, has decided to pursue the case.

So, Keel is pursuing civil and criminal legal action, the candidate for DA who was trying to take the high road on the ethics issue is trying to explain she knew nothing about the flog or the connection to her own consultant, and all with only a few days left until the election. The Austin American Statesman has provided good coverage so far but the local political blogs have been pretty quiet about it.

This incident may not dramatically impact the election. I still haven’t decided who I’m going to support and I’ll try not to let the antics of a political consultant, who defies the ideals of authenticity and transparency, impact my decision making too much.

This incident does prove, however, that the issues and concerns we’ve discussed at Social Media Club meetings and in other forums and conferences on the subject are now being discovered by the larger public.

Lehmberg has now dismissed Kelly Fero, apparently taking the matter very seriously. After all, if one of her lawyers brought bogus evidence into a court case, would it be seen as just a miscommunication? Or would it be taken extremely seriously? I think we know the answer to that. This incident should be taken seriously.

Note - Rosemary Lehmberg went on to win nearly two to one in a runoff marked by a very low turnout.

[from Toby Bloomberg at Diva Marketing Blog]

Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the “new” conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today’s show? You can pick it up as a podcast.

Today’s Diva Marketing Talks focuses on how micro blogging is creeping into social media marketing. Can 140 characters of text messaging really impact your marketing strategy? B.L. Ochman and Connie Reece tell about their experiences on Twitter and how a few little tweets turned into pea soup. With B.L. and Connie as guests at the mic this is sure to be an exciting conversation you won’t want to miss!

Topic for January 22, 2008: The Impact of Less Is More: Micro Blogging

Time: 6:30p - 7p Eastern/ 5:30p - 6p Central/ 4:30p -5p Mountain/ 3:30p - 4p Pacific

Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924

Read Tips from the Diva Bag about microblogging.

On February 9, 2007, an idea was born–and you’re reading it. The idea came out of conversation around a table at Starbucks with Mike Chapman and Kelley Burrus, two professional colleagues who were fast becoming personal friends. I was venting about the PR firm that had brought us together but not let us use our talents–especially when it came to social media.

In between sips of a latte, I went on and on about the power of social media for making connections between people and ideas and causes and … and … and …

After a while Mike scribbled something on a piece of paper, tore it out of his legal pad, and pushed it across the table. “You need a name,” he said, “and here it is–in three words.” Every Dot Connects.

Three days later I had a logo and an exit strategy. And here we are–not quite a year after that memorable conversation at Starbucks–debuting in Mack Collier’s Top 25 Marketing Blogs list at #23. (Please excuse me while I remind myself to take a deep breath.)

Over the holidays it has been fun to get to know Mack better on Twitter (mackcollier). He is a social media consultant and author of The Viral Garden, a blog focusing on marketing and social media. Mack is also a frequent contributor to the marketing blog Daily Fix, and one of the contributing authors to the Age of Conversation project.

What a year it’s been! During 2007 Mike Chapman and I became business partners. Kelley Burrus and Brenda Thomspon remain our head cheerleaders, go-to resources, and occasional contributors to the blog. While not yet listed as part of the Every Dot Connects team, Sheila Scarborough and Kara Soluri will be frequent contributors in 2008. Our goal is to continue to create value for readers and to continue connecting people, causes and ideas.

Thanks, Mack; thanks, Team; and most of all, thanks to all who read and contribute comments here.

A new new media friend, Connie Bensen, tagged me on a meme started by one of my favorite bloggers, Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang.

Jeremiah posed the original question: Do you respect media snackers? And he defined them as “folks who consume small bits of information, data or entertainment when, where, and how they want. If you want to be part of their lives you’ve got to respect them.”

Here’s my response, in the form of … a media snack.

(Note: RSS readers may need to click through to the blog to listen to the audio file.)

As mentioned in the audio, I am tagging the following bloggers: Jim Long and Geoff Livingston from Washington, D.C.; Lee Hopkins and John Johnston from “down under” in Australia; and two of the younger generation of PR practitioners, Paull Young and Kait Swanson.

Watch for their responses. And here’s your chance to answer the question — in the comments. Are you a consumer of media snacks? Do you cater to media snackers on your blog or podcast?

UPDATE 10-27-07 I am tagging Drew McLellan after the fact. I’m behind on feed reading (even with my RSS diet) and just discovered his recent post about providing a steady stream of snack-sized messages.

Building Connections and Networking Online
Leader - Connie Reece, Austin, TX - Every Dot Connects

Session Notes

Here is a PDF file of my notes from the session I facilitated at BlogOrlando this past weekend. Thank you to all who attended and participated — I enjoyed the dialogue.

I can’t say enough great things about Josh Hallett and the team of volunteers and sponsors who put together this truly outstanding event. It was a privilege to be tapped to lead one of the sessions.

If you have any questions about the session notes, please leave a comment and I’ll answer in the comments or create a new post to address them.

PDF: BlogOrlando Session Notes-Connie Reece

A year ago, one of the first people to comment on one of my blogs was Josh Hallet. In a few weeks I’ll finally get to meet Josh at the outstanding unconference he produces.

I’ll be facilitating a session on Friday afternoon, September 28 –

Building Connections and Networking Online

Leader - Connie Reece, Austin, TX

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…..and all these other online tools allow you to build relationships for work and play, but when does information overload set in? Connie Reece will talk about how to effectively manage it all.

Here’s a detailed schedule for BlogOrlando and a description of all the sessions.

Shel Israel, who writes the Global Neighbourhoods blog and co-authored Naked Conversations, will present the opening keynote; and Chris Heuer, founder of Social Media Club will wrap up the day–two more social media heroes I’ve had a chance to work with but have never met. It’s going to be fun having some face-to-face time with them.

If you’re in Florida–or if you’re able to get there–consider registering for BlogOrlando. It’s FREE! That’s right. The conference itself costs you nothing, but the information you’ll learn–and the contacts you’ll make–could prove invaluable.

I hope to see you there.

A major challenge for the burgeoning “netroots” movement in politics will be to make sure that there is a diversity of opinion and involvement. In a report on a recent meeting of Yearly Kos, a gathering of bloggers considered a dominant force in the left-leaning grassroots movement on the internet, it was pointed out by the Washington Post that the participants were predominantly white and male. At that same meeting, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, a candidate for President who has been very active in the blogosphere and other social media venues, and who happens to be a white male, received an overwhelming show of support from the participants. Conversely, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, obviously not a male, and also a candidate for President, did not receive as favorable a welcome. In fact, she was verbally jeered.

In fairness, the responses each received were reported to be based more on the respective candidate’s positions on the war in Iraq, and relationships with Washington lobbyists, than just on the candidate’s gender. But the article reminded me of a problem that is something many of us white male bloggers don’t think about enough. Even if the participants disagreed with the “woman” on the panel, would a more diverse audience have been so comfortable booing and hissing her? Or would a more representative group have behaved differently with a greater percentage of females participating?

I have yet to be harassed sexually, or in any other way, on a blog. The same Washington Post article reports, however, that “many women bloggers complain of sexism and harassment in the blogosphere.” Frankly, this makes my blood boil. Whoever these guys are, they should be ashamed. I’m hoping we can begin a conversation about how we address this in an effective way. If someone is stopping short of breaking the law, but is clearly harassing someone based on gender, how do we offer a way for would-be and current female bloggers to feel comfortable on line?

The executive director of the Paramount and State Theatres here in Austin has started a new blog, and I think it’s destined to be a smashing success (disclosure: the Austin Theatre Alliance is one of my clients).

Ken Stein is a popular, well-known guy. His curtain speeches are a hit with crowds ranging from the tweens and 20-somethings seeing Altar Boyz to the older crowds for classic musicals like Carousel (I’ll be there this weekend).

As a blogger, Ken is conversational and funny, just like he is in person. His stories about what the Kodo Drummers wrote on the wall backstage at the Paramount, Kathy Griffin’s response to Dan Rather’s famous “Courage” sign-off, and Patrick Cassidy’s insistence that he’s NOT gay (like anyone cares) are fun to read. Ken’s having fun, and posting often, and I predict that he’ll draw readers from around the world to “Offstage with Ken Stein.” Check it out.

“Hiring is a conversation, about putting yourself out there.”

This bit of wisdom comes from Ben Yoskovitz, aka byosko, via Twitter. Ben is author of the Instigator Blog and also co-founder of the soon-to-debut Standout Jobs.

“Your blog is your resume.”

So says Lorelle VanFossen in her new book, Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging –

Every word you write in your blog is an example to a potential customer or employer on your writing skills. The structure of your blog, the arrangement and presentation of the content tells a lot about your organizational abilities.

What you put on your blog says a lot about who you are, how you work, and what you are capable of. Is your blog your resume? If not, consider making it one.

What do you think of this advice from Ben and Lorelle? How is hiring, or job seeking, like a conversation? Do you use your blog as your resume? As an expression of your “personal brand”?

Go ahead, chime in. Commenting is free.

This weekend Darren Rowse asked Problogger readers these questions:

• When was your biggest day of traffic?
• Where did the traffic come from?
• What (if anything) did you do in order for it to happen?

My answers:

• May 16, 2007 - Podbit 001 - Why I Switched to NBC News.
• Biggest traffic source: Twitter; second: Google.
• Fresh, original content. First-ever audio file posted. I promoted it through Twitter and a few personal e-mails to the people I linked to in the post.

When I post something I believe is worthy of attention, I mention it on Twitter and provide a TinyURL link. I only have about 100 followers, but they are a very engaged, influential group. So the Twitter link to my first Podbit file pulled more traffic to the site than any other source.

Chris Brogan often promotes a particular blog post on Twitter. And even though I am subscribed to his RSS feed, I usually see his “tweet” letting me know about the post before it shows up in my reader. So what do I do? I click on the Twitter link and go directly to his blog to read.

My question: how are you promoting you blog in general or specific posts in particular?