Liking ain't quite Voting...

So I must admit, I am a social network fiend. I love me some Facebook. I am addicted. I check it far more than is healthy and/or reasonable. That said, I think social media is given a bit more credence in society than I think it is due…Let me ‘splain myself.

I enjoy the social media. It’s a great way to keep tabs on those I care about (a group no larger than 25 peeps) and those I kinda like keeping tabs on, but could honestly could do without (the rest of my 200+ "friends" on Facebook).

While I find it pretty cool to see what that guy I used to skip 5^th period Spanish with, has been up to. I think my life would probably go on without knowing how delicious this acquaintance from high school found a VooDoo Donut. 

*Way to state the obvious, VooDoo is delish!

So I was a lil off-put by a story I found in a (usually) reputable stalwart of journalism, Time magazine.

The title of the article was “Meet the 22-year-old who defeated Bank of America’s debit fee.”

On the surface, the preface was cool enough. A gal, PO’d with big banks (whom collected government hand-outs) charging fees for a service that was previously free, decided to say ‘Enough is enough,’ and started a social media campaign against Bank of America’s new debit fee.

The story (which you can read here) goes on to talk about how the gal used social media to coalesce a group and create an online presence to illustrate how the majority feels on the matter.

Now I am no mind reader, so I cannot be certain of the assertion to follow, but…

Clicking ‘Like’ or ‘I agree’ does not a wholehearted act of support make.

While a form of democracy, joining an online movement takes no real effort or thought. If something strikes you at the moment, all you need to do is click a mouse and ‘make a statement.’

I think such gestures are hollow. And rather lame.

Submitted for your approval, the case of JR’s fake engagement. -- 

I once left my (unpasscode protected) cell phone unattended at a bar…my bad.

Someone grabbed my phone and updated my Facebook status to: “I love my Fiancé!”

Now, I am not currently, nor have I ever been engaged. But I thought it was pretty funny, so much so that I even told the gal I was seeing at the time, that she should like the status, just to make it look believable. 

(Oh what an impairment alcohol is…)

After 30 minutes and double-digit “likes” and/or “Congrats, I am so happy for you” comments, I decided I should put an end to the charade. So I commented, ‘Sorry to disappoint…someone grabbed my phone at the bar. I am not engaged. Yet.’

What blew my mind, and has since shattered my confidence in social media as a voice of the people, were the responses that followed my comment noting that I was not engaged.

At least, 10 more comments and 5 additional likes followed as people didn’t read into what they were liking and just clicked a button.  

Sure, I didn’t help matters by taking steps to make the status look legit. But I think this story illustrates a few things.

First, “Liking” a status is not the same as voting or joining a movement.

Second, the ease with which someone can “like” something devalues the strength of that like. Let me illustrate, think of how much more receiving a text means versus simply getting a “Happy Birthday” comment on your wall on Facebook.

My thought process is like this, “Wow, someone took the time to compose and send me a text, and they may have honestly remembered my birthday.” As opposed to, “Welp, they saw the reminder on the Facebook homepage.”

Third, affecting real change takes action.

I am not devaluing the megaphone power of social media and the internet. But at some point, actors must step away from the keyboard and enter the real world.

While the power of the internet to affect the real world is very strong (see online bullying for example) I worry that people mistake liking a charitable organization with actually volunteering for said organization.

Again, here’s another real world example…

Election season is upon us, and while surfing the Seattle Times web site, I came across a pop-up ad that I really was impressed with- “Getting Married is so Gay. It’s About Time. Redhook supports Marriage Equality November 4^th.”

I immediately shared that ad on Facebook and got more likes than usual and even a share. Which is great, as I was able to leverage social media to share a point of view that I agreed with.

However, that ad was in relation to Referendum 74, which is a ballot measure to legalize Gay marriage in Washington State. So although I have shown support for the cause, to make it a reality requires me to step offline and actually vote. Sure, my post on Facebook may influence others to vote…but there are a couple keywords in that last sentence to pay attention to “may influence others”…the only concrete result from my actions on social media would me my voting for that referendum on election day.

All the likes in the world won’t make that referendum law.

And I guess that is the takeaway from this diatribe- Leverage social media and have fun, but don’t forget to take real effective action when necessary.

And be sure to get out and vote on Nov 4^th!

Stop reading this and go vote!

Get out and vote today.

I don’t care which way you vote, just do it.

If you don’t, you have no right to complain.

It's just that simple.

Putting the cards on the table...

Well folks, here they are.

Homer’s Odyssey 2008 Election Endorsements.

Prop 1- Yes.
For far too long the status quo in Washington state politics has been to sit on our hands. Dating back to the early 1900’s the sentiment of “this plan isn’t good enough” has retarded any real evolution towards a comprehensive mass transit solution for the region.

So here we are in 2008 with a plan on the table, why wait longer, allow the need to worsen and costs to increase?

This may not be the perfect plan, but it is a start and something to build from. The roads are still crowded and more busses alone are not the solution.

What is needed is forward thinking and proactive planning. I am not a fan of sales tax in general, but a .5% increase in the sales tax is tolerable.

The time has come to bite the bullet and make it happen.

Prop 1000- Yes.
This initiative is similar to Oregon’s right-to-die law.

While I am no advocate of suicide, I am a staunch advocate of personal liberty and dignity.

This law requires 2 of 3 doctors to approve of the action. Which is enough of a ‘safe guard’ for me.

I hope no one ever has to make use of the law, but that’s wishful thinking. Recent personal experiences have only strengthened my support for this type of law.

No one thinks twice of putting an animal out of its misery when terminally ill or its quality of life is severely limited.

Shouldn’t we extend the same compassion to a fellow human?

I-985- No.
Tim Eyman. Enough said.

Eyman wants to reduce the hours of HOV lane restriction to 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at night.

Not sure where he’s driving, but rush hour lasts far longer than that. And it’s obvious that adding another lane to traffic does little to solve the traffic mess.

Just another ill-conceived Eyman brain child.

Governor- Christine Gregoire-D
I voted for Dino Rossi last election. I don’t say this often, but I was wrong.

I questioned Gregoire’s character in that first election. But after 4 years, we are not worse off, in some very trying times.

Gregoire has also increased support for social programs which I find very important.

Budgets are hard to manage, especially as tax revenues dwindle, so I don’t knock her there.

But back to character, I simply don’t trust Dino Rossi. His “Don’t let King County steal the Election” billboards which are plastered all over the state speak volumes about his character…or should I say lack there of. We don’t need a divider in Olympia, especially a divider who wants to lower the minimum wage.

President- Barack Obama-D
No shocker here. He’s unproven, yes. And yes, he speaks in broad terms. But when he speaks, he says what I want to hear from my president.

He represents a change from the status quo. Now I am willing to say, change is not always a good thing…But I am willing to take a chance.

He understands that there is a world outside of our borders and our reputation is severely tarnished. And he appears open to the idea of working with other countries to restore America’s previous luster.

He also understands the plight of the working poor. Sure we need jobs, but taxing those who can afford it just makes sense.

His ideas on modernizing our economy and educating ourselves to make the American workforce an actual commodity on the world market again, just makes sense.

I will admit Obama has lost some luster during this campaign, but he remains the far superior choice.

Choices, Choices...

I haven’t decided who I am voting for in November.

I have decided who I am NOT voting for: John McCain (though I do like the guy) and Christine Gregoire (mostly because her last name is so hard to spell).

This Obama character is damned engaging. I heard an interesting observation on NPR about Obama the other day. Something to the effect of “He’s the first politician in a long time to actually talk to the American public like they are adults.”

That struck a chord with me.

I remember seeing a speech by a then unknown Jr. Senator Obama at the 2004 Democratic National convention. Obama was introducing former President Bill Clinton, my personal political hero…and Obama overshadowed Mr. Charisma himself. My eyebrow raised and I took note of this kid from Illinois.

It’s been a very long four years since that convention and the world has become an awfully scary place. I think we are all going to feel the effects of “BUSHwacked” foreign policy for many years to come. The one thing I’ll commend Bush for, is that he openly acknowledges his actions in the Middle East, which is much more than I can say for every President before him. At least Americans are now aware of why the rest of the world hates us so very much.

But back to Obama, it’s easy to get distracted from looking to the future when dealing with our present. But this Obama kid says that he’s the future. I’m not sure what it is about these kids from Chicago, Kanye West calls himself the future as well, wonder if the two hang at the same coffee shop or something.

But I think the two represent parallels to each other.

Granted, one is a politician and one is a hip-hop artist. But both men represent people who made their own way in careers that are very regimented and not prone to change. They saw the archetype for success in their industries and not only ignored it, they changed it.

West refused to conform to the standard-issue rapper persona that the industry demanded for success. He did his own thing, created his own sound and ended-up winning a Grammy.

Obama is very much the same. First off, he’s black. I am not sure how many of you watch C-Span, but most politicians aren’t black. Yet Obama managed to make his own way in politics.

Not only is he black, but he’s young. And in the glad-handing, you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours, institution of American politics that is strike number two. Obama isn’t the golden boy he’s been made-out to be as he’s seen his share of defeat. But he’s managed to learn from mis-steps and has progressively moved toward the goals he’s set for himself.

Even if I don’t vote for the guy, I do respect his tenacity and intelligence. Obama is bringing the same confidence and intelligence that made West a hip-hop star to politics. He’s making politics interesting and intellectual again. As a political junkie, I love him for that. I could never write this much about John Kerry and I voted for that fool.

If Obama is as smart as I think he is, he probably doesn’t want to win this election.

The state of our great nation is not so hot right now. And if Bush is a lame duck, whoever wins in November is going to be a scape-goat for the quagmire that will be the legacy of the Bush Administration.

This is where I begin to have my doubts about Obama. He is a great speaker and a man with great ideas. But I wonder how much fluff can actually become reality.

America is ripe for a change and this may just be the time for a paradigm shift. I realize that I am now knocking Obama for the very thing I have been praising him for…being different.

Should I vote for the status quo (Bill, I mean, Hilary Clinton) because they can actually do something at a snails pace? Or do I roll the dice and hope that Obama can deliver on half of what he’s promised?

I must say that I was extremely impressed by Obama’s recent speech on race. His willingness to finally discuss the ‘elephant in the room’ of race exhibited a fearlessness and boldness that has been lacking from American politics for a long-time. His speech was not only eloquent but fair.

He, of all candidates represents hope for change.

I guess the question I need to answer is, Am I ready for that change?

Perhaps that’s a question we should all be asking ourselves.