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Lesbian activist Cathy Brooks discusses effective use of new media tools
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Cathy Brooks is a San Francisco-based Huffingtonton Post blogger, a classically trained journalist, an activist in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community (LGBT) and a new media consultant.
Brooks led the charge on business development for Seesmic. While there, she secured and managed the company’s relationships with top media organizations such as 20th Century Fox, The BBC and The Washington Post.
In this interview, Brooks discusses: how the LGBT community has used the internet and new media to push for LGBT equal rights, LGBT organizations that have a firm grasp on new media, LGBT organizations that haven't figured out how to use new media, and how LGBT organizations can successfully leverage the power of new media.
Stevens: You're an activist for the LGBT equal rights movement. What new media tools do you think LGBT activists have used successfully to organize grassroots equality campaigns?
Brooks: Candidly, until very recently I'd have said the answer to this was "none." In fact, I think a huge factor in the the failure of the No on 8 campaign was the fact that they didn't use any new media tools. But you ask about grassroots equality campaigns for today, and I would say that while it's still very early days, the impact of platforms like Facebook and Twitter are unquestionable. Using these tools, activists around the country - and indeed the world - have been able to connect, communicate and begin mobilizing local efforts. The Meet in the Middle rally scheduled for the Saturday after the California Supreme Court's decision last May (2009) was orchestrated almost entirely using on-line tools. The Facebook fan page and Twitter feed helped inform people about the event, solicit support and spread awareness and visibility. When news hits the community, I'm often seeing it first from a series of Twitter feeds both from new organizations that have arisen since the Prop 8 debacle as well as some of the old guard. NCLR is using Twitter well. EQCA less so. The Courage Campaign has developed a series of online tools that also are serving to help grassroots organizations connect with each other - much in the way that the Obama campaign mobilized volunteers using an online platform.
YouTube and Flickr are slightly less well used at this point, but I'm seeing more and more effective use of these as well.
The great news is that there are new platforms evolving every day, just as our movement is growing. It will be incumbent upon us to keep abreast of these developments, stay agile and adapt.
Stevens: In your opinion, is there any new media tool that LGBT equal rights activists haven't used to its full potential?
Brooks: To the point in my first response, the LGBT movement has yet to fully realize the potential of any social media platform. Yes we've made progress, but there are still old-fashioned list-serves and email groups being used for spreading information and the true democratization - which requires participation of the old-school groups and the new organizations. For the old school organizations, that means they cannot just talk and expect people to listen and follow. The very nature of social media is conversation, and dialogue - by definition - has two directions: in and out. For the new organizations, the strident vitriol with which the old guard is often attacked does nothing but deteriorate the foundation of what our community needs - which is unity or at least acceptance of each other.
Both sides can and should learn from each other - and then the use of the platforms will come.
Stevens: A survey published by Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications states the LGBT community uses internet social networks in far greater numbers than do heterosexual males and females. Do you have an opinion about why that's the case?
Brooks: Well, the fact that social media platforms and technologies provide a simple, safe and quick way to find the [LGBT] community, regardless of geography, can't hurt. After all, apart from going to a gay bar, to an LGBT center or some gay event, it can be hard to find the community - especially if you don't live in the midst of a gay mecca like San Francisco. Also, for those who may be less comfortable being "out" (or maybe they're just introverted), social media technologies and platforms provide the perfect solution.
Stevens: Your consulting firm works with companies and individuals who wish to leverage the power of new media. What's the first thing you tell clients who want to use Twitter or Facebook to promote their brand?
Brooks: This is definitely one on which I could opine at length, but there's one simple place to start. Know who you are and what you stand for first. Remember that these platforms are not about touting your brand or pitching your message. It's about listening as much as, if not more so than, talking. So being clear on what you stand for, and then being prepared to engage in a dialogue is critical. It's also key to remember this: you will not always hear things you like, and sometimes that is the most valuable information you'll receive.
Stevens: You have your own talk radio show called Social Media Hour. Can you tell us a little about the format?
Brooks: This is a weekly, hour-long talk show broadcast live on BlogTalkRadio. The tagline of the show says it best - "Because it’s not about the tools it’s what you do with them . . . " In my opinion, the technologies and platforms are useless until we start truly focusing on the way in which they're being used: how they effect our ability to get information, how we share information and how we engage with others. Hopefully, we learn to be better people and businesses in the process.
My guests range from people who build the technologies talking about why they make the platforms and how they hope they'll be used, to people from all kinds of businesses and walks of life who actually are using the technologies. As noted though, we don't talk about the technology so much as we talk about the way in which our world changes as a result.
There's a live chat room during the show and we also take callers. I ensure that we engage the chat room directly and the audience loves when they hear that their questions are being asked and answered real time.
Stevens: You were a finalist in the Panasonic Living in HD Insider competition. Please explain that competition.
Brooks: Panasonic asked people to submit videos explaining why they wanted to be the Living in HD Insider. This person would win a suite of pretty hard core A/V technology and also the opportunity to be a featured voice for the Living in HD online community for a year. I entered on a whim and was selected to be one of the 10 finalists.
Although I didn't win, I got some great things out of it. I met and connected with some wonderful people in the LiHD community, connections that will continue regardless. And, I mobilized my own network - though a bit late in the game, sadly - but in mobilizing them and creating a fan page on Facebook. I was very out and found that my network truly supports me and my activism.
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Photo credit: Cathy Brooks
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