An interesting blog post at Newsweek's "The Gaggle":

The other issue, I think, is the way health insurance has been sold and positioned. In general, we talk about the outcome of health care reform in two ways: the micro impact on individual citizens and the macro impact on health care costs. Neither has struck a cord with Millenials [sic]. Like I said, the individual impact strikes us as unimpressive. The large-scale economic outcomes take a lot of effort to understand. They seem distant, probably to Millenials [sic] and the rest of the population, and easy to lose sight of in a Twitter-size news cycle.

Instead, the more attractive part of health insurance for Millennials, these poll numbers indicate, is the moral underpinnings of the bill: that all Americans ought to have access to insurance, that this is our responsibility as a nation. While 47 percent of Millennials generally support health care reform, 70 percent support the idea that all Americans should have access to affordable health insurance, the highest number for any demographic. Maybe we’re just young and idealistic, maybe we have genuinely different viewpoints than our parents; either way, that provision really strikes a cord with younger Americans. But the bill has not been sold that way--if it had, perhaps more Millennials would strongly support health care reform instead of the kind of, sort of support we see now.

Yes, the expertise gap is tough for us to navigate. But I think what's worse for youth engagement is the heavy presence of traditional Washington behavior. Untelevised hearings. Deals behind closed doors. Inaccessible jargon. A lack of political courage. All of these elements and more preclude young people from focusing on the moral principle at stake.

We live in the United States -- all of us should should have access to affordable health insurance. But when the discussion is misrepresented, shrouded in Washington-speak and timidity, we lose that right to health care and we (young people) understandably lose patience with the process.

Pew's study on Social Media and Young Adults has some really interesting findings: teens don't blog or tweet. According to the study, 14% of online teens blog. This is down from around 28% just a few years ago. As for Twitter, only 8% of people 12-17 use the service.

The study also found that 93% of young adults go online, with 63% of those using the internet daily. This is comparable to only 38% for those over the age of 65.

So what does this mean? We know that teens use the internet, regularly. We know they are active on social networks - they post comments (83% of online teens say they've posted comments on a friends' pictures), they communicate (although less teens now say they use social networking to contact friends), and more. They do not, however, create that much content.

Only 38% of teens share content in general, 21% remix content, and once again - only 14% blog. For adults, the numbers are even worse. The difference comes in the fact that the numbers for adults have come up in recent years. Teens, on the other hand, created more just a few years ago.

Some, such as Ben Parr, have come to the conclusion that teens just don't have the life experiences needed to create quality content. They are simply consuming. Even though I am a teen, I tend to agree with this rather negative view...Most teens are not interested in creating content. Instead, they are simply consuming.

Members of my generation are consuming more information in a day than one might have come across in a lifetime in centuries past. They're reading, watching, and listening. The number of teens who simply USE the internet (93%) are huge. These young people will be heading into college and jobs with a new and unique outlook, gained by exposure to such huge amounts of information.

Overall, the study is interesting, but there isn't much to feel bad about if you're a teen. The fact we're able to consume so much more content than previous generations means we will be creating much more high quality content of our own in the future.

A few weeks ago we posted a piece from Mike Hais and Morley Winograd - Authors of Millennial Makeover. They urged Millennials to be a part of the Census because a Pew survey shows that the Millennial Generation, this country's largest generation in history, are less likely to participate.

"This lack of knowledge translated directly into this key demographic segment’s unwillingness to participate, with only 36 percent of 18-29 year olds indicating that they “definitely” would respond to the form when it arrives, compared to large majorities in all other age segments who said they would do so."

Future Majority is participating in the launch of Voto Latino's Count Me In 2010 campaign asking young voters to pledge to participate in the Census.

Users Can Take the ‘Census Pledge’ and receive 25 free songs from artists like Pitbull, Mos Def, Morrissey & Rodrigo y Gabriela by going to BeCountedRepresent.com/FutureMajority

According to the release:

"Be Counted, Represent! is comprised of multi-platform web, mobile, direct and traditional media initiatives that will elevate the census in the minds of millennials, who are historically undercounted in the Census.

In the United States, census data affects everything from the allocation of federal budgets for education, health care and transportation to the drawing of Congressional districts. This year’s 2010 census is of critical importance to all Americans because it allocates $400 billion in federal funds and determines congressional representation.

“Our work with the census is to both educate Latinos about the importance of taking it and re-imaging it as a means of personal empowerment and taking ownership of one’s future and one’s family’s,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, co-founder and executive director of Voto Latino, an official US Census partner.

“With 80 million young people in the Millennial Generation, the Census is a critical in determining exactly where we are, who is unemployed or underemployed, who has started a family, and other important information that can serve as indicators to policy makers on the unique needs of our nation’s youth,” said Sarah Burris, managing editor of Future Majority.

In speaking to their target effectively and leveraging drive-to-web and SMS campaigns from their 2008 presidential election work as well as the best practices utilized by President Obama’s campaign, Voto Latino’s “Be Counted, Represent!” campaign is comprised of the following initiatives:

“Be Counted, Represent!” Local 
- On-the-ground Events : Voto Latino (VL) will be organizing on-the-ground events and census outreach operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Upstate New York, Long Island and San Francisco.


- Collateral and Direct Mail Pieces : Voto Latino will distribute iTunes cards, t-shirts and other collateral materials, including direct mailers to aforementioned markets.

“Be Counted, Represent!” On the Web & Mobile
- “BeCountedRepresent.com” – A dedicated URL, which goes live 2/2, will serve as the campaign’s hub, featuring easy-to-digest US Census information, and prompting viewers to “Take the Pledge” to participate in the census. Anyone who takes the pledge will also receive a free 25-song soundtrack courtesy of iTunes (as per below).


- “Be Counted” Viral Video PSAs – Executive produced by Voto Latino, who were acknowledged last year with a Webby award for their “La Pasión de la Decisión” get-out-the-vote PSAs, this three-part series of Internet shorts, feature a group of friends who, one night over a festive party, launch into a heated argument about whether to participate in the census. An all-star ensemble cast, featuring Rosario Dawson, Luis Guzman, Demi Lovato (Disney’s Camp Rock franchise), Ana Ortiz (“Ugly Betty”), Wilmer Valderrama (“That Seventies Show”), Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) and more, comprise of characters with opposing viewpoints. The first short will launch in February on BeCountedRepresent.com with subsequent shorts to follow through the end of May.


- Free Digital Downloads – Apple will provide Voto Latino with 100,000 census-themed iTunes cards that will be distributed to community organizations, universities and radio stations. The cards allow recipients to download 25 free songs from major artists across a wide range of relevant musical genres, who have donated their tracks to the campaign.


- Text2Represent SMS campaign – Voto Latino will send targeted text messages to tens of thousands of U.S. Latinos to ensure that they and their families understand the importance of the Census and being counted."

This week the Democratic National Committee announced a new entity responsible for promoting and re-engaging 25-39 year olds into supporting the President and his agenda.

Gen44 describes itself as

"Gen44 is a new concept founded from some of the campaign’s most successful programs – Generation Obama (GO) and the DNC TrailBlazers.

Building on this strong record of success, the DNC has merged these critical programs in order to create Gen44 . Gen44 will seek to harness the energy and excitement from the 2008 Presidential election by cultivating the next generation of fundraisers for the DNC and Organizing for America. Gen44 will work to maintain their passion from the campaign and engage their networks and colleagues in support of the President and the Democratic Party."

Sharon Yang describes the group as a year around engagement mechanism that communicates with the 25-40 year olds not just during "sexy presidential elections."

BlogTalk Radio interviews Yang about the new program here (click here if the link below doesn't work)

See the former fake President's bodyman "Charlie" from the West Wing - Dule Hill announce Gen44

This week's DailyKos/Research 2000 poll examined beliefs and political philosophies of republican voters. Nate Silver from 538 has an interesting take on it:

"This accounts for what might be the Republicans' greatest strength as we head into the November midterms as well as their greatest liability. The strength is that they can somewhat comfortably adopt a nationalized, one-size-fits-all message. They don't have to worry about the constellation of constituencies that Democrats have: labor voters, Baby-boomer liberals, blacks, Hispanics, college-educated technocrats, libertarianish younger voters, etc. Their base is the same pretty much everywhere, and actuating a strategy that appeals to that base is not challenging.

The liability, meanwhile, is that while the Republican base might be the same pretty much everywhere, the rest of the electorate isn't. Some states and districts have different ratios of Republicans to Democratic and independent voters. Moreover, they have different types of Democratic and independent voters, some of whom may be amenable to the Republican message and others of whom won't be."

Notable graphs where 18-29 year old voters differed the most from other age demographics:

This week NPR also did a report about young voters and the Teabagger movement.

"Mr. JORDAN MARKS (Executive Director, Americans for Freedom): I personally went and interviewed young Democrats that had spent a lot of time on his campaign to figure out what they had done differently.

GONYEA: But beyond the Internet, conservatives say their basic message is now getting more traction. As president, Barack Obama now has a record and conservatives say theres reason for young voters to start to scrutinize what hes accomplished.

Twenty-six-year-old Ashley Sewell of the group Smart Girl Politics says recent college graduates are facing a brutal job market. She says 20-somethigns are worried and that provides an opening.

Ms. ASHLEY SEWELL (Smart Girl Politics): I think so, primarily because the conservative movement has really started to gain some traction. And I think that were starting to gain some legitimacy in the conversation.

GONYEA: Professor Peter Levine runs a nonpartisan program at Tufts University specializing in politics and young people.

Professor PETER LEVINE (Director, CIRCLE; Civic Studies, Tufts University): So I don't think the fact that they would be enthusiastic about Barack Obama in 2008 would guarantee that they would continue to feel that way. Theyre faced with a lot of things, including a very high unemployment rate. And it would be easy for them to change their mind about the effectiveness of government. "

Gonyea goes on to say that Levine describes young voters as being more liberal than the US as a whole and when conservatives spend too much time on issues like gay marriage it works against them.

This week I again referenced the hope that the DCCC has to ensure young voters vote for democratic candidates this November. It seems members of Congress want to get reelected, want young voters to vote for them, but members of the US Senate evidently have little interest in casting votes that help young people.

The White House's plan would help students who too often face high interest rates, miserable expectations to repay, and in the end students can end up paying for school three times over. But according to the New York Times bankers say a giant government takeover is afoot

"that could put thousands of people out of work at private lending centers around the country at a time when unemployment is hovering around 10 percent."

So the banks are throwing down. The Times reports that Sallie Mae, the giant student loan lender, has spent $8 million in lobbying the US Senate to prevent the White House's call to overhaul the student loan industry. This is more than double what they spent last year.

"House and Senate aides say that the administration’s plan faces a far tougher fight than it did last fall, when the House passed its version. The fierce attacks from the lending industry, the Massachusetts election that cost the Democrats their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and the fight over a health care bill have all damaged the chances for the student loan measure . . .

...Political action committees for the lenders and company employees made $2.1 million in political contributions last year, with the money split evenly among Democrat and Republican candidates, the data showed. Sallie Mae’s PAC alone made $194,000 in donations.

Some 10 million students got loans last year to help pay for their educations, and there is disagreement about whether having the federal government take over virtually the entire lending program would help or hurt them. Private lenders warn that students may default on their loans more often because they will get less counseling; the Obama administration says students will benefit from more grants and expanded educational programs. . . "

Less counseling? Seriously? This is their concern? The banking industry just worries about young people, and really wants to make sure they're being taken care of. Yeah, right...

"I would think that the White House would prefer not to make senators vote for something that is going to be very unpopular in their states — and for good reason,” said Jamie Gorelick, a former Clinton administration official who is now lobbying for the lending industry."

Somehow, I think having Senators going back to their districts and explaining to their constituents that they chose their state's young people and their future over the multi-billion dollar student loan industry is more of a win for them. But it wouldn't surprise me if this were to pass Sallie Mae then turned around to spend millions on ads saying they voted against the banker's jobs. Gotta love the Washington BS game.

Email your Senators today and demand they vote in the interest of our nation's youth and not the bankers.

Interestingly enough this story appears the same day The Hill posts a piece reporting that funding for higher education is really good for job creation.

It says, among other things that community colleges specifically can help train youth in some of the most sought after fields such as health care and credentials in engineering which can yield good starting salaries and great futures.

A new report, "Graduated Success: Sustainable Economic Opportunity Through One- and Two-Year Credentials" says

"forty-three percent of those who hold a certificate as their highest degree earn a median annual salary that is higher than that earned by someone holding an associates degree. And twenty-seven percent of those holding a community college certificate as their highest degree earn a median annual salary that is higher than someone holding a bachelors degree. Nearly a third (31 percent) of associates degree holders earn more than someone holding a bachelors degree. . .

. . .The salaries earned by those with community college certificates in engineering and health care ($47,000 and $46,000 respectively), are close to what bachelors degree holders in the social or natural sciences earn, and are actually more than what someone holding a bachelors degree in education earns."

So while the banking industry would have voters believe supporting youth is a crushing blow to the job industry, in reality we're helping more students than NOT helping them.

HeadCount hosted a poll on health insurance last fall, asking users whether they had insurance, and if so, who provided it. Now, they are planning to launch a new poll every few weeks. Their first is "Solutions on Climate Change".

What's the best way to fight climate change?

• Strict limits and regulations
• Personal responsibility
• Taxing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions
• Climate change is a bunch of hooey!
• Other

Go vote, and afterwards, add a comment about why you voted the way you did.

HeadCount is also partnering (one of nine non-profits participating) with Reverb's new Green Music Group. HeadCount, along with various venues, labels, artists, and groups, will be working together to make the music industry greener.

Reverb, a non-profit organization involved in the industry and in climate change movements, founded the project and the launch event was held late last month. GMG is meant to be large-scale and widespread - which explains the great number of artists signed on, and their diversity. Their website lists four essential goals:

1. Creating an engaging online community of musicians, music industry leaders, and music fans all committed to addressing our greatest environmental concerns.

2. Facilitating large-scale greening of the music community through touring, venue, and label standards, resource development, green grants mentoring, and viral video and public service campaigns.

3. Providing environmental nonprofits with a megaphone for their cause, allowing them to expand their reach and support base.

4. Creating a sustainable green music guild to support and inform the efforts of the music community and position leaders in the music industry as voices for change, working to shine a light on the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

Seems like good stuff to me. Other groups, venues, artists, and labels involved include:

Warner Music Group
Brushfire Records
American Airlines Arena
Verizon Wireless Center
Comcast Center
Barenaked Ladies
Linkin Park
The Roots
Guster
and more!

GMG also has partnerships with DoSomething.org, The Sierra Club, and other groups. Overall, it looks like they've drawn in some big enough names to actually make some waves and get something done in the industry. We'll keep an eye on them to see what develops.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe just posted a video for Organizing for America (OFA). After the colossal youth fail in the Massachusetts Special Election, two of the highest priorities of OFA members was bringing first time 2008 voters back to the polls in 2010 and registering new voters.

I just wrote about the contrast in the Mass elections where partisan organizers neglected young voters vs. the non-partisan youth outreach organizations that got the youth vote to the polls to pass a tax hike to wealthy people in Oregon. Does this mean OFA is committed to young voters in the 2010 election the way they were in 2008, or is this going to be a lip-service kinda thing?

So, turns out if you do youth outreach in an election you have higher youth turnout. I know, right? Who knew!?

If you read my take on the returns from the Massachusetts special election for the US Senate race then you know that Mass had some issues with reaching out to young voters. There was some confusion about who was going to do it.. or if it was going to happen...

In the great state of Oregon we have a fantastic organization who has worked for years to get young voters to the polls. The Oregon Bus Project worked the hell out of it and the results were noticeable.

In Massachusetts they had a turnout of 15% of 18-29 year olds for the special election. In the Oregon's special election about 24% turnout of youth voters.

Caitlin Baggott from the Bus says that this is due to a few particularly important factors:

• A year-round and multi-year strategy,
• Populist messaging and policy development,
• Budget (actually spending money on youth outreach
• And finally, which I'll expand on, a focus on field and youth turnout

When it comes to a meaningful field outreach campaign Caitlin points to two major elements

• A strong field campaign matched with a strong media campaign. Oregon Student Association, the Bus Project, and the coordinated campaign registered 30,000 voters--primarily on campuses and youth-dense parts of Portland and Eugene. The campaign led a huge GOTV field program to knock on 300,000 doors. We all phonebanked the hell out of our lists. (The Bus got a "thank you" message today from a voter who decided to vote after getting 15 phone calls from us. Haha.)
• Can't say yet what youth turnout looks like (coming soon!) but we expect it to be better than VA and MA. We're hoping that the lesson for all of us in 2010 is that young people will vote if we (1) Re-Register them, and (2) invest in youth-oriented GOTV. OSA and the Bus executed a huge youth-focused voter registration program in Oregon, and the Bus did youth-focused mail, earned and paid media, and phonebanks. (Trick or Vote for the fall!)

So here's the thing. Do the outreach. I don't care what state you're in... it will make a difference and it could make the difference enough to win your election. Yesterday, was the Illinois special election and Julie Hamos who was running for Congress lost by 700 votes. Elections can be won or lost by young voters if you know how to do the outreach.

Earlier today President Obama answered questions submitted through CitizenTube via the White House Live Facebook application.

I had hoped to have the video from the question and answer session to embed here, and have been waiting for it since CitizenTube hours ago claimed that it would be available shortly, but unfortunately it is not yet posted. (I'll add it once it is, whenever that may be).

I was pleased for the most part with the question selection, which included questions about Sudan (an area many Millennials are interested in), net neutrality, college affordability, and one from the Energy Action Coalition about clean energy and the environment.

As for the execution of the session, the video quality was a little choppy and would occasionally stop, requiring a refresh, but the chat/status posting discussion was a nice touch.

On the whole I think the session was a great move and fits in with my belief in taking your message to the places where people live and hang out (even virtually), and Facebook is certainly one of those places.

What are your thoughts about the President's Q&A over Facebook? What would you like to see next time?