Friday, February 20, 2009

Gavin Newsom for Governor

Hey PoST class,

I got this email from Gavin Newsome, current Mayor of San Francisco. I found it incredibly relevant to the GET framework we've discussed in class. Check out the site. Very interesting way to use social technology to try to enable group thinking...

"Don't Do It Gavin" When I first started talking to friends and family about running for Governor, I was excited at how much enthusiasm there was for the idea.

It’s not a decision I’m going to take lightly – but of course it’s nice to hear friends say they support the concept.

That’s why I was a little taken aback when I asked my father what he thought. Without hesitation the man whose opinion I value most came out and said it:
“Don’t do it Gavin.”

I think my father must have seen my face – because he immediately said – “Of course I think you would do a great job – it’s just that nobody is going to be able to solve the state’s problems. I don’t want to see you fail in a job that's impossible to do right now.”

I hope all of you get a chance to meet my dad. He is the smartest, toughest and most caring person I know. He is at once a small town judge, an activist jurist and the product of a rough and tumble San Francisco political culture. He knows what he’s talking about.

I agree with him – changing California is going to be the toughest job imaginable. And my dad’s right – one person alone can’t do it. In struggles as big as we face today, we must all be activists if we are to succeed.

But what about 1,000 people? What about 30,000? What about 100,000 Californians who come together to make change?

I can’t do it. But we can do it.

And that’s why I’m asking you to join me on GavinNewsom.com or Facebook .

I’m putting together an exploratory campaign for Governor to see if we can take the hard-learned lessons from the many reforms we’ve made in San Francisco and apply them to the State of California. Making big changes wasn’t easy in San Francisco, and it won’t be easy in Sacramento. But together we can make the changes the state demands.

San Francisco is the only city in America that is making universal health care a reality. If one small city can do it, together we can do this for the entire state. Like California, San Francisco has weathered historic deficits, but we have learned we cannot build for the future with business as usual. We have made sustainable long-term budget reforms to successfully balance a multi-billion dollar budget and save for tomorrow in our "Rainy Day Fund." If San Francisco can, then California can. We have made our city a national model for recycling and greenhouse gas reduction and a center for high-wage green jobs. If we did it here, then together California can do all this and more.

But it's going to take tens of thousands of us coming together to make the big changes we need. As important as a strong grassroots and netroots army is going to be in order to win the campaign, it will be even more vital if we’re going to win these much-needed reforms once we get to Sacramento.

That’s why I hope you will join us. On Facebook . On GavinNewsom.com . And in person , as we travel around the state to make this vision for a better California a reality.

Sincerely,



Gavin Newsom
www.GavinNewsom.com
P.S. Take a moment to check out and sign up for our Facebook page and connect with thousands of other supporters.

If you would no longer like to receive emails from Newsom for California, please click here to unsubscribe .

Paid for by Newsom for California Exploratory Committee. FPPC #1308175.
4104 24th Street, #766 San Francisco, CA 94114


If all else fails, use puppies.

Hey Class,

One more thing I found interesting about the kinds of videos that grab attention online. In this case, it was more of an accident that turned into a phenomenon. These people wanted to check in on their puppy’s litter so they fixed a webcam so they could view the litter online. The link spread organically and over 4 million strangers tuned in to view the pups. I found this interesting because advertisers spend millions of dollars trying to create the next viral video, but a zero cost production like this spread through word-of-mouth and outperformed videos from some of the biggest brands today.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

-Justin Wismer

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