CEC Insider

Like most political junkies, I spent last Tuesday night following the returns of the Massachusetts “special election.”  Among hundreds of potential reasons for the upset cited, many pointed to Scott Brown’s effective use of social media.  This significant event in the application of social media to politics followed a more symbolic event the day before.  On January 18^th, 2010, Barack Obama sent his first tweet. (I found this shocking because I would have put the over/under on his total tweets at around 100, but this was the first from the President himself.)

These developments reminded me of three recent member conversations on the following question:  Will social media erode the line between traditional lobbying and public relations?   I won’t predict the future, but I’ve seen enough smoke lately from some very credible parties to suggest the potential for a significant fire.   

As a primer on this issue, I recommend this July 29^th 2009 BusinessWeek article.  In it, authors Theo Francis and Steve Levine argue that Obama administration reforms on lobbying have prompted onetime lobbyists to deregister in favor of roles as “strategic communication advisors.” This limits their actual face time with politicians but frees them to leverage social media and other grassroots channels to mobilize people in support of their client’s interests.  This observation prompted Courtney Barnes of the PR News Blog to forebodingly ask whether lobbyist use of social media will end up commoditizing the expertise of communications professionals—or, perhaps, if communicators’ social media skills will increase their strategic importance in the policy arena within their organizations.

So, while some observers are suggesting not just a blurring of the lines but a potential turf war, the smoke that I’ve seen merely shows the smart money preparing for an integrated approach:

• First, Edelman recently acquired Grassroots Enterprise, an organization that uses social media to trigger a “multiplier effect” by connecting people to policy makers.
• Second, the American League of Lobbyists now offers its members some sort of vague social media accreditation.
• Third, several companies such as Google, Verizon and Cisco maintain policy-oriented blogs that allow Government Relations staff to comment on day-to-day issues and new studies, but also provide outlets for employees whom public policy most impacts to reach to deciders and influencers directly and credibly.

Clearly, there’s something going on, and if you’re like the three members I recently spoke with, you may well be asked by your lobbyist, your trade association, or even your CEO whether you should dissuade, endorse, or lead social media initiatives on behalf of your organization’s political interests.  Given the risk of commoditization that Ms. Barnes raises, I’d argue that the answer must be at least a strong advisory if not leadership role.

No matter where your current involvement in government relations lies, I’d be curious to get your thoughts on any smoke you’ve observed in your organizations.  Also, those familiar with D.C. may be interested to know that CEC’s parent company recently hired former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams as Executive Director of our new Government program, so maybe I’ll ask him too!

Update:  Does the Citizens United decision—allowing corporations to spend directly on candidates, not just on issues—increase the propensity for these lines to blur?