O’Conall Street

According to the lead story in PR Week, a group of British Labour activists are copying Hillary Clinton’s online campaigning and fundraising techniques to help overthrow the party’s treasurer. Whilst I admire the former first lady I think they are emulating the wrong campaign .

Clinton has been using established online techniques to track supporters and identify new ones using influencer software but her campaign remains very top down. There is very little narrow-casting in Clinton cybersphere and a lot of broadcast. The results reflect this inability to embrace advocacy.

I admire the guys at LabourHome.org for getting themselves involved but would urge them to look at what Obama is doing.

Last month Obama raised over a million dollars a day and this year over 300,000 people have donated something to his campaign. This is an unprecedented number. On Super Tuesday alone (when for the record the won the contest for votes cast on the day) he is reported to have raised $3million. The Clinton’s on the other hand had to inject $5million of the own funds to keep the campaign going the week before and there are reports that staff have been asked to wait a little longer to get paid this month.

Obama is able to recruit this number of people because of the way in which he is campaigning online. He has a stronger presences on the social networks, on the blogs and is much more proactive in contacting supporters online and asking for help.

I have registered as a supporter for both, from Clinton I get the occasional thank you whereas Obama and his many supporters are in touch with me at least every day with a ‘get involved and be part of it - here’s how you can help me right now’ message. Apart from the ability to donate from your desktop on Super Tuesday Obama also allowed anyone to start making calls on his behalf by logging into a virtual campaign call centre.

There were reports yesterday that Clinton has challenged Barack to 10 debates in the coming weeks. She is having to do this to get herself on TV. The money is running out and she fears he will be able to buy ads and she wont. The campaign built on the few is feeling the tidal wave of cash and support, much online, coming from a campaign of millions each of them on their soapboxes and each and advocate for change.

The battle for the nomination may be tied but the race in cyberspace has a clear leader. 

Interestingly enough the other front page story in PR Weekis about people in the twenties and thirties shifting online for their news and the impact this is having on newspapers.  

Oisin McDevitt (7 and 3/4), a P4 student at Stanmillis Primary School was unusually keen to get off to class this morning. Yes there was the compulsory stand off over the duvet. I pull it off, he pulls it back up, I pull it off again and go for my shower, he pulls it back up, then just as I step out of the bathroom the son and heir springs out of bed with a cheeky smile. 

Hillary may have a good bit of work to do before she can call herself Mrs President but on this island we are in the middle of our second one. President Mary McAleese is paying Stranmillis Primary School a visit today and I am well pleased she is able to do so. Ten years ago she was not my first preference for the park but as head of state she has done the Republic and this island proud. From 9/11 to the peace process McAleese has used her office well to build relationships and encourage understanding between our traditions. On her regular trips to this her home town she facilitates a conversation between very many strands of opinion and every section of society. The doors of Aras an Uachtarain have been opened to the people of Northern Ireland and I am always pleased to hear friends and business associates who are proud unionists talking about their meetings and encounters with this quintessentially cross-border head of state.  

I look forward young Master McDevitt’s report on the big visit this evening.

I attended a lecture by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind to mark the launch of the University of Ulster Real Estate Initiative last night. Built environment is big business in Ireland and rapidly becoming a global enterprise for our top tier developers. The initiative is a public private partnership involving some of ireland’s leading property figures, the university of Ulster and Harvard University.

Libeskind was a musician before he decided to adopt architecture as a profession. The creator of so many iconic buildings in every continent he has more gongs then I have had birthdays. He had this message for Ireland. Development is a central proposition of humanity and buildings the the homes of human greatness. They only succeed in peace. Conflict restricts life and buildings need the elixir of humanity to succeed.

He also believes in simple value for money. Take the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, an amazing building built on a small budget. The impact is in the design not in the finish. The genius is in human intervention and creativity transforming a brown field site behind Old Trafford into a celebration of peace and a lesson to us all of the futility of war.

Born in post war Poland, he is your classic post conflict, post nationalist like so many Europeans of his generation. A rare breed on these shores, he builds for people. He believes in communities, shared space and urban freedom. Take a recent project in Beirne Switzerland which will bridge a huge motorway ring around the city with a wooden clad mixed development to incorporate a hotel, shopping centre, leisure centre and housing. The motorway connects Beirne with Germany and France but divides the city. He saw the opportunity to bridge the gap with amazing style creating a destination in nowhere. Imagine the Westlink bridged by such a project?

He talked about the new Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin and triple glazing with great design. Then ground zero. The day that changed his life and the project which above all will be his legacy. The hallowed sites  will remain, the footprint of the twin towers never to be built on again. They will be protected by a freedom tower 1776 feet tall and several other buildings. Yes there has been compromise in the design following extensive comnsultation in Manhattan but then compromise is central to democracy. That says Mr Libeskind is why he will never work for a totalitarian regime.

The lessons for us were clear. Be ambitious. Use regeneration to bring people together. Bridge divides and demand value for money and never forget buildings are expressions of liberal art. It was a pretty stimulating lecture. But is this city ready for such a liberal post nationalist built environment?

That is the big question this Ash Wednesday.

For the great northern press corp nominations for the 2008 CIPR Press and Broadcast Awards are now open and entries can be made online. Click here  for more. 

In the US Barack continues to challenge winning most of the states whilst Hillary continues to fight on scooping most of the delegates. The Republicans look likely to nominate the likable John McCain. More fun for us junkies and even more exciting campaigning techniques to analyse.  Will be checking in with Real Clear Politics for all the analysis.  It’s a great way to pass the dark months.

Closer to home Brazil come to a sell out croker tonight. The big question is when will there be a nominee for manager. Players are getting p…… off and I am getting bored.

O’Conall Street has been swept up in nomination fever too. We were very humbled to receive three nominations in the Irish Blog Awards. After just five month’s in cyberspace it’s great to get some acknowledgement - a big thanks to all those who took the trouble to nominate us. We are in the running for:

Best Business Blog 

Best Political Blog

Best Newcomer

Off to dodge the ashes today. Ever the catholic agnostic….

There is a consensus that Hispanics vote for Clinton yet in California the placards at the Obama rally read si se puede - yes we can. In an age of celebrity the Illinois senator has his pick of advocates. From politics the Kennedys (including Arnie’s missus), from TV queen Oprah and from music everyone from Stevie Wonder to the Black Eyed Peas who have penned a song for Obama (thank you Alan, aka Yank in Ulster for picking up on the song). 

Hell I wish I was in the USA today. It’s like that scene in the very first episode of the West Wing when Sam asks Josh on the street outside his NY law office if Bartlett is ’the real thing’.

Too good to be true I hear you say. Lets face it the West Wing was just good fiction. Maybe but then maybe not. What if when I write the next post Barack Obama has done enough to keep himself neck and neck with the finest Democratic Party dynasty since the Kennedys. What if committed democrats realise that everywhere there is an open primary (one in which independent voters can vote) Obama is leading and conclude that he can reach beyond the party loyalists and run all the way up Pennsylvania Avenue to an inauguration speech for the history books.

Bottom line about progressive politics is that it is not just about mobilising the progressives, it’s mobilising the middle ground also. They are the people who do not consider themselves radical or even progressive for that matter. ‘Ordinary’ people who care about their jobs, their families and their next holiday - the many millions who catapult a candidate into the power. This is the electability test for any democratic candidate and the key message Obama and his people need to communicate. He crosses the divide - she doesn’t.

Young Chris Brown from Downpatrick got a ticket to see Obama in Boston yesterday evening. Our account manager is a Clintonite and not an easy man to shift. The text this morning read: “Obama totally awesome - 15ft from Teddy K, John Kerry, C Kennedy, Gov of Mass and 2 congressmen. He spoke for 45 min off the cuff. 4000 there. Had 2 q for 2 hours in the cold I will never be in the same room of that line up again. Pics to follow”. I think Barack may have recruited himself another advocate.

Spainish has given us many a great political slogan:

• hasta la vitoria siempre
• el pueblo unido jamas sera vencido
• No pasaran!

Will si se puede join the political lexicon on Super Tuesday? 

The campaign for a lower rate of corporation tax for Northern Ireland has received a big boost  today with news that the cast majority of tax advisers in Northern Ireland believe it is the most important thing the British Government can do to improve the local economy.

The ICAI is hosting an important meeting of those who have led the campaign on Friday in Belfast. I suspect the calls will strengthen and the campaign will gather even more momentum after this gathering. Word has it the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster has decided to hold an evidence session on the issue which will put it right back on the parliamentary agenda. 

Margaret Ritchie made a little history today becoming to my knowledge the first northern minister ever to issues a joint ‘political’ press releasewith a southern one. Her partner in politics is John Gormley the republic’s environment minister. Those thinking this is the first sign of a new SDLP - FF axis should note that Mr Gormley is in fact a Green Party Minister. Nuclear power could not be more provocative or emotive topic as O’Conall Street predicted last month. It’s a red line issue on the island and the two ministers will receive widespread support for their stance. For this of your with a deeper interest there is a report on the Green Party website on why nuclear makes no sense which you might find interesting.

Congratulations go to the Antrim hurlers for stealing the Walsh Cup of a gale and Offally.

Yes.

We did it.

The nation’s faith has been restored. Shoulder to shoulder the fifteen warriors are answering Ireland’s call.

Just proves the saying, if you want a job done right get a woman to do to.

O’Conall Street salutes the Irish ladies rugby team on their comprehensive defeat over Italy yesterday. Mna na hEireann strike again.

All eyes now turn to Croker this afternoon. Can 15 professional men match the women and put to bed the embarrassing world cup performance of 2007?

Apparently you can get a corporate ticket for a fiver if you really want to. That’s some change from the glory of England v Ireland just a year ago.

Come on lads. The economy is on the turn. The winter has been long and cold. Under the iron sky of Dublin in the freezer put some pride back in that jersey. Your country needs you.

3.00pm.Half time.

The winter has done the boys good. Much better than the summer but still a long way to go. Second half is an opportunity to prove they have properly crossed the rubicon. Fingers crossed. Eoin Reddin is settling in well.

4.00pm.

God they have a lot of work and some praying to do before next Saturday in Paris. Too many dodgy substitutions. What’s the score taking man of the match Reddin off with ten to go?

Eddie is still sitting on his perch in the glorious Hogan stand but for how much longer?

Bottom line since the world cup is that this team is serially underperforming. All the talent - no bloody confidence.

Colleagues in the US and China brought to my attention this week the fact that there are now over 200 million Netizens (play of citizen of the net for those like me who tend not to get these things) in China.

They got the information from the CNNIC, the government-linked Chinese Internet information organization.

The fast growing online population has made the Internet a new forum for average Chinese to, among other things, express opinions in a way rarely seen in Chinese traditional media, although there remain serious questions about state intervention in the information allowed and accessible by Chinese netizens. This said the information underscores the importance of considering online media in China as part of broader corporate marketing strategies. Food for thought for companies on this island who are increasingly targeting the Chinese market.

The report is currently only available in Chinese on the popular Chinese portal Sina.com, but an English version is expected to be available later. This is a summary of the report:

• The CNNIC predicts that at the beginning of 2008, China will become the country with the largest online population in the world. China’s online population was only five million less than the US, which currently has the largest online population in the world. The US had almost 216 million Internet users by the end of 2007, according to research firm Nielsen. The EU performs better with over 250 million users last year. 
• The 210-million figure marked an increase of 53 percent (73 million) over 2006, fueled by rapid user growth in rural areas and a boom in wireless access. The number of rural Internet users reached 52.6 million by the end of 2007, up a whopping 127.7 percent from a year earlier. The number of Web users accessing through their mobile phones nearly tripled to 50 million. This means about one out of every 10 mobile users use their phone to surf the Net, despite the higher fees and lower speed of wireless access. It noted that China’s Internet penetration rate, the ratio of Web user numbers to the country’s total population, was only 16 percent, lower than the global average of 19.1 percent. The figure in the US is more than 70 percent.   
• The most used online service is music, followed by instant messages, movies, news, search engines, online games and email.
• About 24 percent of Netizens had updated their own blogs within the past six months, while only a third of respondents believed what the bloggers write. News in the cyberspace, by comparison, enjoyed more credibility as 51 percent Netizens believed the reports to be true. The first step for 1/5 netizens online is to check online news.
• China’s online gaming population grew 23 per cent last year and is expected to exceed 84 million by 2012.
• Nearly 2/3 netizens have posted their articles/opinions on BBS/forums/blogs in the past one year.
• Chinese netizens spend 16.2 hours per week online.
• The number of Internet users under age 18 and above 30 increased rapidly.
  Beijing boasted highest Internet penetration ratio, which was 46.6 percent and slightly higher than the 45.8 percent in Shanghai.