Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics Intersect

Tareq Alani is a product leader who operates at the intersection of media, technology, and civic engagement. He is a Co-Founder at Chorus AI, where he leads product and growth. Chorus AI was designed to transform the way nonprofits and campaigns engage with media and content creation. Before Chorus AI, Tareq co-founded and served as the Chief Product Officer of PushBlack, the largest non-profit media company for Black Americans. While there, he spearheaded reader revenue efforts, generating more than $5M between 2017 and 2022. He also developed PushBlack’s groundbreaking voter engagement program, which in 2020 reached 70% of Black Americans online and generated 230M peer-to-peer voting messages, making it the largest digital voter turnout program of its kind. Throughout the conversation, we covered: How he got into the fieldWhy politics can’t just be transactionalHow Chorus AI is approaching AI as a tool to help progressive campaigns and organizations do moreHow they’re building their tech in a way that’s in line with their valuesWhat sets them apart from the more household names in AIThe important of social listening and how AI can help organizations get more done with lessOther AI tools he’s excited aboutWhat he thinks the future looks like for AI, and tech in generalWhat the media looks like in an AI driven futureAnd so much more! For links and more, head to hellomergetag.com.

Hunter Schwarz, founder of YELLO, discusses the unique newsletter covering politics, art, branding, and design. He explores the challenges of reaching voters in a fractured media landscape and shares insights on font choices, campaign rallies, and more.

Dan Pfeiffer, progressive messaging expert, discusses the importance of trusted messengers and involving everyone in the election process. Emphasizes the need to narrow the news chasm between what is happening and the voters. Touches on strategies for empowering local advocates, Democratic brand and media strategy, campaign infrastructure transitions, and launching of Anxiety Relief Fund and Volunteer Recruitment Campaign.

We checked in with Josh Nelson, CEO of Civic Shout, to talk about the rampant spam and scam currently overtaking Democratic fundraising. We talked about how we got here, and how we can fix things. He walked us through a fascinating timeline of digital fundraising, starting with Howard Dean's presidential campaign and their innovative digital work (which started with Meet Ups!). But which new generations of digital professionals "A/B tested... into some pretty unfortunate tactics." This all of course culminated in the world in which we currently live. You know, where we all want to throw out our phones and delete our email accounts. It was a great and enlightening conversation with a lot of reasons for hope. Hope you enjoy!

Delve into the importance of platform agnostic content with Andy Barr, managing director at Uplift. Explore the changing industry landscape, audience segmentation, and the nuances of digital advertising. Discover the significance of data, Scan tool for tracking ad spending, and strategic time management in political campaigns.

In this episode, Britt Bischoff discusses combating misinformation on Google during Ohio's fight for abortion rights. She led a campaign to disrupt pathways to misinformation, prevent harmful content from solidifying, and redirect users to fact-based information. The discussion also explores tactics for countering misinformation through digital campaigns and the impact of YouTube video ad exposure on search behavior.

Congressman Mark Pocan represents Wisconsin’s second district. He’s a small business owner, a labor union member and a surprisingly good magician! Along with serving on the Appropriations Committee, he’s served as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and serves as chair of the Equality Caucus and co-chair of the Labor Caucus. To say his politics are righteous is an understatement. While he is never one to shy away from a fight with Republicans at any level of government, or from those who put the needs of corporate profits over those of working families, I invited him on the podcast to talk about one very specific, and public, fight he’s currently involved in: and that’s his fight with AIPAC. He held nothing back. He shared that he sees what they are doing in Democratic primaries as a "Trojan Horse" way for them to "circumvent democracy" and talked about their "insidious" path to undermine the Democratic process. He expressed great concern that if AIPAC's current methods are successful, that we will see groups like the NRA following in their path. Along with AIPAC, we spoke about: TikTok and whether it's actually a national security issueThe "full-blown cult" that the Republican party has becomeWhy he's so comfortable getting attacked by powerful enemiesThe best ways to keep in touch with elected officials (and why you should reach out to them, even about issues on which you agree)Magic Mondays And a whole lot more! Listen now at HelloMergeTag.com or wherever you stream podcasts. Connect with Congressman Pocan: WebsiteCongressional TwitterCampaign TwitterFacebookInstagramTikTok

“Where the memes are and where the conversation is, is constantly evolving.” ------ Nancy Leeds is a veteran political operative with over 18 years of experience in the field. She has worked on Democratic campaigns all over, from Minnesota to California to Arkansas, as well as with several politically oriented non-profits.  She is also the author of Campaign Sick, a job serve and blog about best practices in electoral politics and campaign management.  Nancy recently launched CampaignSick Consulting, a management consulting and recruitment practice specifically focused on the progressive ecosystem.  Nancy rose to some campaign Internet fame during the 2012 election cycle when she started her Tumblr. It began as a knockoff of a then popular Feminist Ryan Gosling meme and evolved from there. She was, in many ways, the Organizer Memes of the cycle. If you missed it, I recently hosted Organizer Memes on the podcast. “Nancy walked so I could run” is what they had to say about Campaign Sick. Nancy used her meme fame to launch a more serious blog, sharing advice and tips for organizers and campaign operatives. In the years that followed, she also became a trainer and launched her jobserve. Throughout our conversation, we spoke about: How the internet has changed since Nancy launched Campaign SickThe rise and fall of different social platforms How campaign culture has changed, and what it’s meant for the new generation of campaign staff and their comfort level as they’ve become more open to discuss what’s happening behind the scenes on their campaignsHow campaigns have taken off the gloves and become willing to hit other campaigns - even within their own partyThe importance of candidates keeping it authentic, at risk of looking “like a dork.”Where downballot campaigns should be spending time onlineWhat’s happening with Tumblr And a whole lot more! Listen today at HelloMergeTag.com or wherever you stream podcasts. Find all links referenced and additional resources at HelloMergeTag.com.

Hilary Stohs-Krause, a senior software engineer at a cybersecurity startup, discusses the importance of unique and long passwords, using password managers, setting up 2fa, watching out for social engineering, and backing up data. She also talks about the benefits of paranoia when it comes to sharing personal data and offers insights on updating devices and recognizing fake notifications.

Deepak Puri, an engineer and Silicon Valley exec, discusses using free and affordable tech solutions for progressive campaigns. He shares his favorite tools, including Lumen five for rapid response videos and Esri for mapping demographics. They also explore creating accessible content, AI learning models, and bridging the gap between organizers and tech experts.