1. 1 “COG Blogs” Project Introduction Presented to Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee Eric Eckl 3/19/2010

2. 2 Agenda Three audiences, and why they are important to us What’s a “Semi-Official” blog? Why is it a good choice? How will we know if it works? Timeline Is there any precedent for any of this? Q&A

3. 3 Moms Influence the reputation of tapwater among their peers Influence political climate for infrastructure investments Directly influence water supply with household conservation choices

4. 4 Green Thumbs Influence water quality directly with choices about application of lawn and garden chemicals Influence water supply directly with choices about how to water lawn and garden

5. 5 Stakeholders Defined as: elected and appointed officials, their staff, civil servants, construction and engineering firms, media, academics, utility staff, financial industry Influence public policy on infrastructure investment through trade associations, chambers of commerce, etc. Invest directly in equipment/training/personnel necessary to make infrastructure repairs and improvements

6. 6 How Big are These Audiences?

7. 7 “Social Media Moms” CharacteristicEstimateSource Metro Washington Population5,358,130U.S. Census # Children Under 5 (@ 6.5%)348,278.45Calculated # Children Under 18 (19%)1,018,044.7Calculated Fertility Rate2.15 children per womanU.S. Census # Moms w/Children under age 5163,511Calculated # Moms w/Children under age 18477,955Calculated % Adults aged 30-49 who access Internet81%Pew Internet and American Life Project # Moms w/Children under age 5 who use Internet132,444Calculated # Moms w/Children under age 18 who use Internet387,144Calculated % Internet users who accessed any social media site (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, etc.) “yesterday” 27%Pew Internet and American Life Project “Social Media Moms” w/Children under 535,760Calculated “Social Media Moms” w/Children under 18104,529Calculated

8. 8 “Social Media Moms” 36,000 moms with children under 5 who regularly access social media 104,000 moms with children under 18 who regularly access social media Intense social media use is correlated with extensive networks of peers -- these are opinion leaders

9. 9 “Social Media Green Thumbs” CharacteristicEstimateSource Metro Washington Population5,358,130U.S. Census Gardening/Lawncare Hobbyists351,675InfoUSA % Adults Who Access Internet79% Pew Internet and American Life Project # Green Thumbs who Access Internet 277,823Calculated % Internet users who accessed any social media site (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, etc.) “yesterday” 27% Pew Internet and American Life Project “Social Media” Gardeners75,012Calculated

10. 10 “Social Media Green Thumbs” 75,000 individuals who enjoy gardening, lawn care, AND are intense users of online social media Intense social media use is correlated with extensive networks of peers -- these are opinion leaders

11. 11 Blogger #3: Infrastructure Wonk CharacteristicEstimate Staff at Water Utility Staff at Engineering Firm Watchdog Groups Utility oversight board member Local Elected Official + Their Staff State Elected Official + Their Staff Federal Elected Official + Their Staff Wall Street Insiders + Their Staff State + Fed Regulators + Their Staff Media Academics

12. 12 What’s a “Semi Official” Blog? Why is it a good choice? How will we know if it works?

13. 13 Government Blogs Text Government staff, on salary, blogging on government site

14. 14 Commercial Blogs Contract writers, receive stipend and share of ad revenue on the posts they write

15. 15 Semi-Official Blogs “It is semi official, an informal means of communication for PlayStation. Importantly, we avoid censoring content here, so long as Three Speech is used constructively.” Official Playstation WebsiteSemi Official Blog

16. 16 The “Repeat Visitor” Formula

17. 17 Mommy Blog

18. 18 Green Thumb Blog

19. 19 Infrastructure Wonk Blog

20. 20 Semi-Official Blog Blog is linked to email, Twitter, Facebook, and RSS

21. 21 Semi Official Blog Blogger has license to make the discussion interesting, but Blogger has obligation to ensure decorum that reflects well on COG and members Blogger receives regular payment for touching on our issues Blogger receives additional payments for achieving repeat traffic

22. 22 Semi Official Blog

23. 23 Semi Official Blog

24. 24 Semi Official Blog How often do you serve tapwater to your kids? OAlways OMost of the time OSometimes ONever

25. 25 Timeline

26. 26 Timeline March: Decisions, Planning April: Develop blogs, recruit bloggers May: Launch effort November: End pilot and review

27. 27 Is There Any Precedent for This?

28. 28 Precedent

29. 29 Is online advertising be a viable alternative to advertising on the radio? Answer: Yes

30. 30 Precedent

31. 31 Precedent ImpressionsCostCost reach 1,000 people Radio (5/11- 6/15/2009) 355,446$80,000$225.1 Online (5/25- 7/21/09) 2,855,116$1,209$0.42 ClicksCostCost Per Visit Radio (5/11- 6/15/2009) 692$80,000$115.6 Online (5/25- 7/21/09) 1,200$1,209$1.01

32. 32 Precedent We were able to reach our audiences: –With great precision (location and interest) –At an affordable cost –In sufficient numbers to justify the effort

33. 33 Precedent But... as soon as the advertising campaign stopped, traffic plunged.

34. 34 Precedent Because we were not able to: –Generate fresh content consistently –Stimulate much conversation –Persuade many first-time visitors to come back again

35. 35 Can we earn and hold their attention instead of buying and losing it? We’ll tell you in November

36. 36 Q&A