DAVID KARPF Presentation

Visiting Scholar

Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 - 2:35pm - 5:15pm

Location: Media Production Center, Room 100, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20016

How do the burgeoning social media networks change politics? What are the lessons for media makers?

David Karpf is an Assistant Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.  He studies online political advocacy.  His previous work has been published in the Journal of Information Technology and Politics, Policy & Internet, IEEE Intelligent Systems, and Information, Communication, and Society. David has a new book out called The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy.

David’s understanding of political advocacy was formed through firsthand experience.  He joined the volunteer leadership of the Sierra Club when he was 16 and served as National Director of the Sierra Student Coalition in 1999.  He also was elected to serve two terms on the Sierra Club Board of Directors (2004-2010).

David blogs at ShoutingLoudly.com and his twitter handle is @davekarpf.

About The MoveOn Effect:

"The real impact of the Internet on American politics isn’t limited to “clicktivism.”  In this book, Dave Karpf presents evidence that changes to the very nature of organizational membership and fundraising are resulting in a  generation shift among American advocacy groups.  New “netroots” organizations have risen to prominence.  Longstanding organizations are struggling to adapt to the new media environment.  Rather than “organizing without organizations,” the internet has given rise to “organizing through different organizations.”

The MoveOn Effect provides a richly detailed analysis of this disruptive transformation.  It highlights major new advocacy groups — MoveOn.org, DailyKos.com, DemocracyforAmerica.com, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee — that are driving progressive political advocacy today.  Through interviews, content analysis, and direct observation, the book offers the first thorough explanation of how these new organizations differ from their older peers.  The book also addresses the distinctly partisan character of these netroots organizations, offering an explanation for why conservative advocacy professionals have been unable to build equivalent online organizations.

Written by a political scientist who is also a longtime political organizer, The MoveOn Effect offers a widely-accessible account of the Internet’s impact on American politics. Operating at the intersection of practitioner and academic knowledge-traditions, Karpf provides a reassessment of many longstanding claims about new media and citizen political engagement."