What would get you involved?

For almost a week and a half, I have been blogging about the election coverage being done through allvoices.  I have got to admit, it isn’t going as well as I hoped. I didn’t post over the weekend, as I was evaluating the participation….

Articles submitted

The same people are submitting articles every day. Most of the people writing original articles have already won shirts. The articles that have been listed are ones I have found. The vast majority of the articles are on the national election.

Don’t get me wrong: None of that is bad. I had just hoped to use this program as a way to get more people involved and (even more) get more people talking about the issues. I had also hoped that this series of posts would be a way to get more eyes on the great election content being submitted to allvoices.

Responses to the articles

Few of the articles submitted have had any comments on them. No one is commenting here. Every day a few vote via the polls or by email to me. But that is about all the feedback I am getting. I am not hearing from you the members of the site.

What to do?

My question to all of you is: How do we make it more worth it? How do we reach enough people to keep it going? How can I get YOU involved? What would it take?

Today’s t-shirt – and tomorrow’s news…

First order of business: Monday’s Voice of the day

T-shirt for Monday’s Voice of the Day goes to community member  allenels for her abortion rights piece: A Letter to Pro-Life Supporters

Close 2nd went to Kuldeep for all his great video submissions. I think if there had been more text with those submissions, they would have taken the t-shirt.

And now for today’s articles…

Submissions were slightly down today. Only 11 articles on the elections. That means we are going back to a poll. Read each article, then vote in the poll, below in the comments, or on the site. Let us know what you think!

 

• McCain-Palin accused of activating our ‘Stone age brains’Early voting started in North Carolina today and already the election atmosphere at the polls appears to be divisive and angry. John McCain supporters have begun to gather in opposition of Barack Obama voters, tires are being slashed during rally events,…
• Joe the Plumber is DEAD!!!!Source: freedomanddemocracy Colin Powell on Meet the Press, October 19, 2008Press availability following his endorsement on “Meet the Press.” Destroys every McCain and Republican talking points from Ayers to “terrorist” to Rep. Bachmann’s rant to…
• Sarah Palin Now a Cartoon Parrot in New YouTube VideoA red-breasted cartoon parrot is prancing on a cartoon perch, itself balanced on a cartoon podium. But what’s this? A ‘McCain’ placard on the podium? No wonder this bird looks familiar. That huge head is that of Governor Sarah Palin, Republican nominee…
• Political Polemics in Battleground States Confuse Voters, Study SaysAdverse Ads Counterproductive, Facial Expressions Misleading, Studies Show OhioNewsBureau with John Michael Spinelli Columbus, Ohio: As the race for president winding down, you would think that spending more money on more political advertisements
• Did Powell’s endorsement finish driving in the nail?Would it still be possible for McCain to turn that hammer around and wrench the nail out that was driven by the endorsement of Barack Obama, by Former Gen. Colin Powell ? This endorsement has been quoted and pushed throughout the Media, as the…
• Palin Loses Mind: Claims The Vice President Is ‘In Charge Of The U.S. SenateYesterday, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) sat for an interview with KUSA, an NBC affiliate in Colorado. In response to a question sent to the network by a third grader at a local elementary school about what the Vice President does, Palin erroneously argued
• Palin Set For White House Run In 2012Whatever the result of November’s Presidential race, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin won’t be leaving the big stage any time soon.I’ve learned that Republican party officials in Alaska, as well as those at the Republican National Committee, have big plans
• I can live with defeat: McCainWASHINGTON: Barack Obama raised a record $150 million last month and swamped the airwaves in the final stretch of his presidential race against John McCain. The huge haul – by far the biggest in presidential history – came as McCain gave a robust performance
• Jay-Z: “I’m voting for Barack ObamaJay-Z encourages voters to vote in the upcoming election during a concert in Detroit, MI Make sure you get involved and get out to vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. To find your polling place or for more information about election day, go to voteforchange.com
• Heavy Voter Turn Out Nationwide Could Cause Delays at Polls Election officials around the country are bracing for huge voter turnout and a big spike in early voting may not be enough to prevent long lines at the polls come November 4. A number of key swing states around the…

See how easy it is to add your opinions to the site? Get out there and add your voice to the conversation! Write about anything related to the election and I could be sending you a t-shirt!

3 shirts to give away

I never got the time to blog over the weekend, so I am going to just announce the winners from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday here. Friday’s vote got very little results – either from the poll or from emails. Knowing that the weekend’s voting numbers wouldn’t be much better, I am just picking my favorites from the most qualified pieces.

Friday’s choice was the article on the roast: McCain and Obama roast each other at Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner. This article was by allvoices team member CharJTF who joined the site earlier this October. If you didn’t read the article, you should. In my opinion, this would have been much more interesting to watch than the debate Thursday night! Close second went to Roxanne Weber’s  article and the video on McCain and Letterman’s audience.

Saturday’s choice was easy. Community member MarcusCato wrote a great piece called John McCain’s sorrows come not single spies, but in battalions. Now, I would have preferred to pick something more locally oriented, but in this case… Let’s just say that the shear number of views got it. That shear number? Over 13,000 at the time of this blog post. MarcusCato – I owe you a shirt!

(By the way – If you aren’t following MarcusCato you should be. I have said it before, I will say it again: His writing is great. His content is great. And he knows how to get eyes on his work. He just went over 200,000 views today.)

That brings us to Sunday. Sunday’s voice of the day is Roxanne Weber for her article, More Republican defectors site Palin as reason for lack of support.  I feel bad that it didn’t get more views over the weekend – it is a great piece about how the conservative base doesn’t seem much happier with Sarah Palin than the Democrats do. Once more it is a national piece, but it is definitely Roxanne’s opinions – so it takes the shirt.

Help Choose the First Voice of the Day!

Welcome to the first Voice of the Day poll for allvoices. We want to know whose article should be today’s winner. If you are looking for great content on last night’s debate, this is the place for you. By the way, I am guessing that most days we won’t have as much national election news as we did today. In order for that to happen, some of you are going to have to head over to the site and report on local issues and elections.

That said, there was no way I could pick between today’s entries for the voice of the day. Since WordPress just announced a polling addition to the blogging engine, I am going to use this blog piece to have you help me decide who is today’s voice of the day.

 

 

There were 7 stories submitted today that met the criteria of original, thought provoking, interesting pieces on election issues. Each of these stories is eligible for today’s t-shirt.

I have purposefully removed the author’s names from the list of articles. If you want to vote on an article based on who wrote it, you will need to check each article out individually. (Which I hope you do anyway!) To help choose the winner, read the articles and then vote in the poll below.

 

Did McCain have a ‘Dukakis Moment’ on stage after 3rd debate?

Hempstead :: NY :: USA | Oct 16, 2:28 PM | Political News

Much has been made of Sen. John McCain’s body language on stage during all three presidential debates, but as this framegrab taken immediately after the final debate Oct. 15 Hempstead, N.Y., shows, McCain finally outdid himself. And he may have…

Obama fends off McCain’s spirited onslaught

Hempstead :: NY :: USA | Oct 16, 6:19 AM | Political News

After the third US presidential debate held at Hofstra University on October 15, the Democrats are heaving a sigh of relief that Senator John McCain did not score the knockout punch he needed in order to wipe out his rival…

28 Million Hate DVD Distributed in Key Swing States! (Video)

Denver :: CO :: USA | Oct 16, 5:52 AM | Political News

A DVD that plays on American’s fear that Obama is a “closet” Muslim has been distributed with 70 newsapers to millions in the key swing states of Ohio, Florida, and Colorado. Entitled “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West”, the…

Ohio Plumber Drain’s McCain’s Pipe Dream for President 

Columbus :: OH :: USA | Oct 16, 1:26 AM | Political News

Case of Ohio Tradesman Unclogs Issues on Small Business Help, Taxes and Health Care OhioNewsBureau with John Michael Spinelli Columbus, Ohio: When the curtain came down on the third and final presidential debate of 2008, any pipe dreams Arizona Sen….

McCain throws baseball signals, Obama stays the course, voters remain … 

New York City :: NY :: USA | Oct 15, 9:53 PM | Political News

What was significant about the last presidential debate between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain? Finally, a debate that got to the heart of many issues people needed and said they wanted to hear about, but the results from Independent…

Put your punditry where the money is – Predictify’s $100,000 Election …

Berkeley :: CA :: USA | Oct 15, 7:28 PM | Political News

So you think you know electoral politics, eh? Then you might want to enter the Predicty/Rock the Vote $100,000 Election Showdown. Punditty did, and he’s pretty sure he’s going to finish in the money. Then again, he was pretty sure…

Blogger Railroaded for Exposing Sarah Palin’s Maternal Negligence 

New York City :: NY :: USA | Oct 15, 4:15 PM | Political News

According to The Hill , Susan Bruce , a campaign blogger for New Hampshire Representative Carol Shea-Porter, was recently forced to resign after she raised the legitimate concern about Sarah Palin’s abysmal public treatment of her children, including her down…

 

By the way – You may have noticed that most of those are expressing the same view. That isn’t the goal here. We want a diverse set of views. If you haven’t been posting because you are afraid we are biased toward one end of the spectrum or the other, please start expressing your views. allvoices is the place for you to express your views. We want to know what you think and what is important to you. Maybe all of tomorrow’s suggestions will be McCain backers….

It’s Monday… What’s the news in your corner of the world?

Happy Monday! (Now that’s two words you don’t see together very often!) My Monday is being spent at the allvoices offices in San Francisco. It makes me wonder how all of you are spending your Monday’s? Are you planning an exciting week? Do you have lots of news to report? Are you looking forward to the rest of the year or dreading it?

I have two important things to report from the incentive program:

1. allvoices member Tangerine has gone over 200,000 page views. Tangerine was our first member to earn a check from the incentive plan. He is now the first person to get TWO checks as well. (OK  He will be the first person to get two checks. It is in process right now.)
2. allvoices member OnlineBusinessWoman is about to go over 100,000 page views. Once she gets there, the process for her check will be be started as well.

It makes me wonder… How are your page views coming? Do you want more hints on how to get more views? The best way to get views is to write interesting stuff, write good stuff, and be sure that you add images and media to your news. The more you can do to get people interested in your news, the more they will want to share it with the rest of the world.

For the Flip giveaways, we have a couple of people close to the number of referals for a Flip. I would have like to to have given these away much faster, but we are getting there!

Our next big push will be news about the US elections. What are the elections that matter to you? I know that the presidential elections matter to much of the world, but I am wondering what local issues matter to you as well. What initiatives and local offices grab your heart? What do you think are the big issues in next month’s elections?

If you aren’t in the US, what issues that we are voting on here matter to you? Do the bailouts affect out how you see the US? Do you think either of the candidates will change how you view the US? What local political events in your area will change the world?

As the election season runs down, our next big push will be the end of year holidays. What are the gifts you want to get and give? Know of a product that you think everyone will want? Let the world know what it is and why they should care. What do you think will be the toy of the season for kids and for big kids? Will the world economy affect how you spend the rest of the year? Tell us!

All in all, I am a happy camper this Monday morning. I am hoping that things are looking up in your corner of the world and that the rest of the year will be full of interesting news that you can share on allvoices.

Things I would love to see reported on allvoices

Hitting writer’s block about what to report? I know how that goes. Living in Phoenix and working from my home, I often feel that I am disconnected from the news of the day. To overcome that, I follow a lot of people on different social media sites to learn what people are talking about, caring about, and reporting across my corner of the net.

I thought that it might help some of you out there to know about some of the lesser known corners of allvoices. These are places that don’t get as much reporting, so you have a greater chance of getting eyes and visibility on your content.

Entertainment

We get quite a few reports on the big stories from the entertainment world. But did you know that no one seems to have submitted a single user report on Emmy fashions? We have a few general pieces that the system grabbed, but we don’t seem to have much on the fashions worn – the hits and misses, the shoes, the jewels.

Another example is reality TV. I haven’t found anything user contributed on the site about Survivor, reality TV, Amazing Race, Biggest Loser or Project Runway (to name a few of my favorites). I know that there are people in the world who are interested in these shows. And I don’t just mean the US versions of them. But no one yet reports on these on allvoices. Pick up the reality stream and you will get views.

Sports

I am a huge women’s basketball fan. The only WNBA contributed story on the site appears to be the one I posted during the Olympics. No news on the playoffs. No news on the award winners. (My favorite, the Phoenix Mercury are out of all of that, so I am not the one to post it.) Do you follow the new Australian league? Report on it! Nothing has been contributed there either.

What about baseball? Believe it or not, there is little there either. There is a story on the end of Yankee Stadium… But little else. Follow football or soccer? Tell us about it! We do seem to get some international news on the soccer world, but not nearly what I would like us to have.

Another area you can report on and have a pretty much monopoly on the eyes are your local school sports events. Tell us about the events at your college, your high school, your kids’ schools. You will get picked up by not just the current attendees and parents, but also by the alumnae and the staff.

Sports news is easy to report too. Find out what happened with the stars of your favorite team and provide your opinion on how they are doing. Tell the world why your team is great or why they aren’t so great this year. Give us something good to read and we will.

Science and Technology

We do get quite a bit of science news. The tech stuff seems to come in waves. If you have the latest gadget, let the world know why they need it (or why they should stay far away). Tell us what you think the next breakthrough will be. Tell us why people should care about the scientific and technological breakthroughs you find important.

Are the kids in your school doing something great for science projects? Tell the world. You would be amazed at how big your local audience really is! Tell the world about a research project or study you know something about. Reach out – people will find you.

Conflict and Tragedy

We get lots of big event stories. What really catches people are your pictures and videos a from the ground. Don’t believe me? Check out the Islamabad pictures from earlier this month. They really have power and punch. And they got views!

Business

Business news is a bit harder normally. Right now, with the world economy where it is, anything you can share that helps people see how you are getting through or how you are helping others – that’s good content and will get viewers.

Is your company taking a new approach to health care costs? Tell us about it. Others can learn from you. And the better it is, the more people will see it.

Politics

National and international politics are easy to see and find things to write about. BUT just as important is the local news. Find out if you can report on the city government meetings. Find out what is happening locally around the debates. Start a discussion about what your area needs and what it does well. Politics will always bring people to your work.

The unreported stuff

Finally, report on the stuff that matters to you. Are you attending a conference? Report about it live and let people know. Tell us about the conversations and the people who are there. Talk to the attendees and learn more about why they are there and what they can contribute.

Are you a volunteer with a national organization? Tell us what that organization is doing right and what it is doing wrong. Tell us how you feel about changes being made. Tell us about changes you feel should be made.

In closing…

I want to read what you write. If I am not already a fan of you, let me know. If you fan me, I will fan you. If you write something you think should be given more visibility, let me know. I’ll do what I can.

What does this have to do with my job as community guru? Everything! If I don’t know what people are reporting on the site, I can’t get people to the site to check things out. The more you tell me, the more I can tell the world.

If there are other things you would like to see reported, but don’t feel you can report on, comment away – I’ll see if I can find someone to write on it! Also, if you have a story on something mentioned here, but I don’t know about it – tell me in the comments. I’ll be glad to check it out!