I'm Voting YES on the Happiness Ballot.

No, there's not a referendum going on (although I do like a good referendum now and again). In my town, there is a civic election going on. Yes, I am an avid poli-watcher. I think we're so very lucky to live in a time and place where any citizen can participate in government and where we are free to speak out and vote safely. But lately I've noticed a tendency in myself toward aversion when it comes to local politics.

As I was trolling around my social networking sites today, one of the candidate's posts caught my eye. He is suggesting that new candidates, or those who don't get elected, create a collective list of their best ideas and present them to the new civic Council in December. On so many levels I like this. It's collaborative, it's positive and it suggests that other candidates have good ideas, too. 

This, though, is the line that grabbed me: "Let us use social media to sort out the cranky ideas from the practical".


Okay. I'm a social media advocate, so I love the idea of using the tools to collaborate further (he had me at social media) but it was the word cranky that was the real snagger.


I am so bone-weary of the politics of negativity and so utterly filled with longing for a different kind of dialogue. Even though I am eagerly engaged in local issues, have a heartfelt and almost obsessive passion for community, and nearly always vote in the advance polls because I just can't wait,  I find myself avoiding the general crankiness (and, dare I say, sometimes downright snarkiness) that surrounds much of the online and offline debates.


In my systems coaching work, we have a tenet: "Everybody is right. Only partially." 


I am looking for candidates to stretch into a framework that allows for a diversity of 'rightness' (or even leftness :) - that embraces the encouragement of good ideas from any source, that celebrates joy and shared success, that seeks wisdom rather than scores points. 


So I'm voting. I'm voting yes for happiness, yes for joy, yes for collective wisdom. And when I stumble across candidates who share my platform - why, I'll vote for them, too. 


Don't get me wrong. I get cranky. Sometimes I even get the blues. I can be negative. Human. what interests me is the choice about where I take action from - do I act and speak from my crankiness and negativity? Or, do I act from my joy - from the place inside that is untouched by circumstance? There is power in choice. Freedom. Something a little like voting. 

If you live in my part of the world and you vote in Maple Ridge BC, click here for info on where and when to vote. See you at the polls. I'll be the one at the front of the line with the 'Vote Happiness" button on.

#ElectMR - Candidates and Social Media

Because I couldn't resist...

It's civic election time where I live, and along with pumpkins, golden leaves and umbrellas, local candidates are showing up all over the landscape. And where I'm noticing them most is in the social media landscape. Many are first-time users of the medium, some have been putzing about on Facebook or Twitter, and a handful seem to really understand the medium and have been using it effectively for some time.

What I love is the willingness of candidates to jump into social media to get their message out and encourage people to vote. As Brian Solis posted recently in his article, Social is the New Normal, "Skeptics will now be recognized as laggards as they now officially stand in the way of progress." So I am excited when I see community leaders, who may have been skeptical, begin to embrace these tools. For me, it is going to be an important consideration as I decide which boxes to pencil in on E-Day (and, yes, WHY are we still pencilling in boxes on a piece of paper?).

There is more to it, though. Social media is about engagement, it is about connecting in an authentic way with people.  Partly this is why I am so hooked on it. And I want leaders who are willing to be authentic - I want leaders who are willing to engage. Social media will fundamentally change the way decisions are made. It is already doing so. Rigid communications models have given way to conversational models - citizens have numerous channels to express their opinions and influence their neighbours. In the same article, Solis notes that "Those active within social networks wield far greater influence offline than their more traditional counterparts". And many of our local candidates are nothing if not traditional. So I applaud them for the foray into social media (APPLAUSE!)

So, how are my local candidates doing? (There are 28 of them, by the way. I thought about doing an analysis of each candidate's digital footprint, similar to the one done by my amazing colleague, Jamie Billingham over in Chilliwack - but 28! Come on.)

Facebook:
I started with a Facebook search using Maple Ridge - the name of my town. The result?

Three local candidates come up with Facebook Pages in this search. I know there are many more on Facebook as they have been friending me like crazy. But they don't seem to have Pages - or if they do, they don't have Maple Ridge in the title.  I like Pages. Both 'like' and like. Firstly, they're public, searchable, and I can opt-in. Frankly, I don't want to have to personally 'friend' a politician, whose main interest is in selling me their vote over the next few short weeks, in order to find out what they think about issues. I might like to maintain my privacy. (Some are friends. That's different.) So my plea -  enable subscriptions!  That way if you insist on using your friend profile as a political platform, at least I can subscribe and still maintain my privacy. Better yet, create a Page - and use it.

And to my FB friends sans Pages who are also candidates: I love you. I love your posts, but my feed is getting crowded with punditry. Extra points to those of you who have created private Groups and invited those who want to engage, support and rally round you!

Twitter:
I think Twitter is a natural for politicians because it is all about connecting with people you don't know. Brilliant if you are trying to engage 'the public'.  It is also an excellent online listening tool...(hint).
I did a hashtag search using #mapleridge and the election hashtag #ElectMR. The result?

One! One candidate comes up in the Twitter search using the hashtags. I know there are more out there cuz they're following me...tweeps, use the hashtags! (Disclaimer: I did my search on a Sunday. Maybe candidates don't tweet as much on a Sunday?)

Websites, Blogs and More...

An organic Google Search of  'candidates maple ridge' brings up the following on the first page:

Only two - and one is a tweeter, who has, I know, a website. A visit to the District of Maple Ridge website offer a list of the candidates and their contact information. Most have websites. Some are very good. Some have current blogs. And some of the blogs are very good (and some  are not so very good - not so very sticky as we say in web-land). And they are not showing up in the organic searches.  Too bad :(  Websites and blogs are a big investment in time and money, but if no-one can find them....

The social media community is huge - and growing every day - and like any community it has a culture, norms and etiquette. I'm thrilled that potential civic leaders are entering the digital community. I'm on the look-out for meaningful digital footprints and online listening. I'm hopeful that the skilful use of these tools means greater openness, transparency and engagement in local government.

Yes - it is all about me. I'm a voter. I'm an 'Egosystem'.

To quote once again the awesome Brian Solis: "The Egosystem is an endearing term that describes the nature of the social graph. Rather than a social ecosystem, it is quite literally an egosystem where the entire experience revolves around you. You are at the center of everything. The information that you see, the people around you, what you share, are all unique to you. And, your experience will be absolutely different than mine or anyone else for that matter. As such, the egosystem is personal, powerful and reflective of all that moves you."

Candidates: Move me.


To find out more about the civic elections in Maple Ridge click here.