In an email suggesting a focus on the election climate and process, Editor Joni Moths Mueller wrote: "Given the subject matter and the fact that our alums belong to both major parties, but also second-tier parties, the issue would not take a left or right slant but be an informative and thought-provoking issue that shares the expertise of some faculty. ... I saw in your blog that you taught a class on social media as it affects campaigning, which got me wondering whether you would be comfortable writing an essay as one of our expert authors – in your case speaking to the impact of social media and the 24-hour news cycle on both candidates and voters?"
Of course, I readily agreed to contribute. Please read my essay, "Campaigning in 140 Characters," which spotlights efforts by The Washington Post, Pew Research Center, NM Incite and others to promote greater interaction between voters and candidates via social media. (I also cited and particularly recommend "Ten Ways Social Media Can Improve Campaign Engagement and Reinvigorate American Democracy," by Darrell West of the Brookings Institution in Washington; and "25 Ways to Use Facebook, Twitter and Storify to Improve Political Coverage," by Mallary Tenore of the Poynter Institute in Florida.) You will find the related faculty essays by Charles Franklin (who visited my elections class last fall), Christopher Murray and Amber Wichowski on the same webpage as mine.
Again, this is my first writing contribution for Marquette Magazine. I must say that it is as gratifying as being featured in one of the publication's alumni profiles in the winter 2006. Reminds me of when the magazine featured a Twitter posting by one of my journalism students, Ceili Emma Seim, in its winter 2010 edition: "I'm having my class assignment critiqued by Pulitzer Prize-winning alumna Jacqui Banaszynski. @Marquette U is seriously amazing."