Blurring the Line Between GR and PR

1
Blurring the Line Between GR and PR

• Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
• Internet Advocacy Center
• December 15, 2005

2
Sherringtons Law

• In 1904, Lord Sherrington conducted experiments
  on dog reflexes.
• He identified pressure points at various
  locations on a dogs body where, if you applied
  sufficient stimulation, the dog would respond by
  reflexively scratching its haunches.

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Sherringtons Law (continued)

• Sherrington observed that stimulation must exceed
  a threshold to produce the reflex.
• He also found that simultaneous, sub-threshold
  stimulation to multiple pressure points would
  also produce the reflex, where none alone would
  have.
• He called this phenomenon additive summation.

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Sherringtons Law Applied
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Reinforcing Tactics

• Always link or refer to your website.
• Make opportunity to act prominent and easy on
  website.
• Carefully choose action and targets to meet your
  campaigns needs.

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Advertising Activates

• A gift idea from Defenders of Wildlife.
• Raises issue awareness and money.
• Additional action options
• Tell-a-Friend
• Donate

7
Clever Ads on Blogs

• Ads on Blogs reach Blog readers and the Blogs
  author.
• An ad that creates newsworthy action can increase
  effectiveness (think Daisy Commercial with action
  opportunities).
• BetOnIraq.com sells Iraqi Dinars to investors and
  promotes support for the war.
• What was once 82,500 worth of Dinars now costs
  lt50.
• Will it come back?

8
Earned Media for BetOnIraq.com

• BetOnIraq.com has been interviewed or written
  about in
• Baltimore Sun
• Seattle Times
• Irish Independent
• Stars and Stripes
• Times of London
• TV and radio coverage
• Money Matters
• Radio Europe Mediterraneo network

9
Case Study Ashdown for Senate

• Q. How do you defeat a well-funded, six-term,
  Senator if you dont have much money?
• A. Using the tools of cyberspace
  (www.pashdown.org)?
• Pete Ashdown vs. Orrin Hatch

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Websites Can Still be the Story

• Collaboration Wiki for developing policy platform
• Wiki is a group of Web pages that allows users to
  add content, as on an Internet forum, but also
  permits others (often completely unrestricted) to
  edit the content.

11
Ashdowns Opening

• For each issue, Ashdown presents his core
  position.
• www.pashdown.org/wiki

12
Voters Discuss

• Voters are free to discuss, comment, suggest.
• Ashdown participates in discussion and modifies
  and expands his position based on discussions.

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Blurring the Line Between GR and PR

• Thank You
• Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
• Internet Advocacy Center
• December 15, 2005