I’m moderating a panel discussion at the first Activism + Media + Politics Summit in Washington, D.C. this Friday!
Julie Marsh (aka The Mom Slant), Heather Barmore (aka No Pasa Nada) and Nansen Malin (aka Smart Girl Politics woman extraordinaire) and I will have a lively conversation about how to engage women in general, and mothers in particular, when it comes to politics and activism.
As Julie pointed out so wonderfully at her place, no laundry detergent is involved! Her point is an excellent one and one that I hope will be a major takeaway for those coming to our Friday afternoon session — I may be a mom, I definitely do laundry, make lunches, and pretty much keep everyone’s schedules, but I’m also a political person who is highly engaged in how the world is shaping up for my fifth-grader and how it will look for me if I make it to retirement (I figure I’ll be working until at least 75 at this stage of the game).
So when politicians and organizations reach out to me to try to sell a product or “sell” a point a view, I expect a two-way conversation, not a lecture. And that’s what most women online expect today. So the next question is this — how do those on Capitol Hill and elsewhere cultivate that to our mutual advantage?
While I’m always happy to attend and speak at conferences where everyone pretty much agrees with what I believe (!), one of the great things about our AMP Summit panel is the political diversity. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that odds are that Nansen and I may not agree on a lot politically, but that’s not stopping us from coming together to talk about best practices when it comes to reaching us wimminz online.
The key is this, to borrow from Lisa Witter — women aren’t a niche market, we ARE THE market — since we are the majority of voters, majority online and make the majority of buying decisions for our families.
I hope those who think that if they ignore us we don’t exist or we’ll go away will be there for this panel. I know it’s hoping for a lot to think we’ll change everyone’s minds, but since I know there are some who already understand the power of women online to help effect change, I bet we can bring a couple more over to our side of the social media world.
Wed, September 22, 2010
Democrats, Making Our Political Voices Heard, Moms & Politics, Republicans, Women in Politics