What’s in a Celebrity Endorsement? When It Comes to Voting, a Lot

How much power do celebrities wield with their social media-mediated endorsements? When it comes to encouraging the apathetic to vote in the 2018 midterms, now less than three weeks away, probably more than you think.
At least one study, of how celebrity endorsements may have impacted the 2016 presidential election, supports this notion. According to study author Nives Zubcevic-Basic: “In a cluttered world where myriad messages fight for the attention of time-starved consumers, celebrity endorsers serve as arbiters of public opinion.” Much as brands rely on celebrity endorsements for their products, just seeing a beloved celebrity with an item can create positive psychological associations for fans. But for that endorsement to do well, the celebrity’s public image and the “message” of the item need to align.
In 2008, it’s estimated that Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama generated as many as a million votes for him. But there’s a theory that her endorsement of Hillary Clinton in 2016, along with hundreds of other celebrities, wasn’t enough to override the fact that President Trump was a celebrity endorsing himself.  
For this year’s midterms, celebrity endorsements seem to be leaning left. Of the top 500 Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit posts of the link to vote.gov, 53 percent were from people with “significant” cultural influence (this category includes more traditional celebrities like Sean Hannity and Debra Messing, but also verified social-media influencers like Twitch streamer Hutch). Of that 53 percent, it’s interesting to note that more than 86 percent of posts were by people with left-leaning views (such as Taylor Swift.)
A total of 43 posts were from politicians, with 79 percent of them identifying as Democrats, 12 percent as independent and 9 percent as Republicans. But it was the non-politicians, celebrities like Mark Hamill, Kathy Griffin and Sean Hannity, doing most of the legwork. More than 88 percent of non-politicians encouraging voter registration through the vote.gov link fell on the left of the aisle. In many cases, one person posted the link multiple times: Kathy Griffin, Padma Lakshmi and Billy Eichner led the pack in terms of frequency, with 23, 13 and 11 posts, respectively.
While both the GOP and the DNC have created their own sites to encourage voter registration, the vote.gov website is a nonpartisan website sponsored by the U.S. government.
Will celebrity involvement in the midterms have a different effect at local levels? Or are we seeing a new era in endorsement of candidates? We’ll find out on Nov. 6. Until then, double check your voter registration status, register if you still have time and take a look below to see if your favorite celebrity is working to get their fans involved with this election:
https://twitter.com/patsajak/status/1050102795703992320
https://www.facebook.com/rihanna/photos/a.10152251658271676/10155888351851676/?type=3&theater
https://www.instagram.com/p/BokGXZ3FSQK/?taken-by=amyschumer
https://www.facebook.com/SeanHannity/posts/10161400368605389
https://www.instagram.com/p/BopoXpYnCes/?taken-by=taylorswift

4 Low-Lift Ways You Can Help Fight Gun Violence

In the first six months of 2018, there were 150 mass shootings in America. And though the number of dead continues to climb — over 7,210 people have been killed by firearms this year, a figure that is rapidly rising — gun law reform hasn’t had much traction on Capitol Hill.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to get involved in shaping U.S. gun laws and regulations. From joining advocacy groups to buying lipstick (really), here are four ways you can take action on gun reform to help push it onto the congressional agenda.

ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE

Lobbyists and reporters are often at odds in how they can influence policy. Reporters expose, while lobbyists harangue and cajole. But despite their differences, both are effective in their own right — and they could use your help.
First, know your stuff: Read daily news from a source like The Trace, a nonprofit news organization that covers gun violence across the U.S. and is primarily financed through the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety.
Everytown, which is funded by $50 million of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s money, actively fights against the NRA’s lobbying with a coalition of their own — comprised of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, as well as survivors of gun violence — to help raise awareness and change legislation in the U.S.
Everytown recently had success in pushing gun reform in New Jersey, which just passed a “red flag” bill that allows law enforcement to temporarily confiscate guns from people they determine a risk to society or themselves. According to Axios, the group convened 10 times with state leaders and had a day of advocacy in support for the bill in order to help pass it.
Other organizations to learn about and support: The Brady CampaignThe Violence Policy Center and The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

INFLUENCE POLICY FROM YOUR LAPTOP

Have an opinion on gun reform? Outside of voting, social media is the easiest way to send a message to your congressional leaders.   
Not only does Facebook’s Town Hall Project make it simple to find out who your local representatives are and to message them directly, websites like Countable help you navigate all the bills currently being considered in D.C., and to take action by letting representatives know what you think of the bills.
SideReel founders Peter Arzhintar and Bart Myers launched Countable in 2014, when there were few ways to engage politicians on the internet. “We were talking about what to do next, and we’re both passionate about politics,” Myers told Wired. “We were interested in what happened with campaign finance reform and [the Stop Online Piracy Act], but we were disappointed with the tools that were out there to drive advocacy and let the average voter to get involved.”
Countable now has news and a social component that allows users to interact with others’ opinions, and vote on them too.

Gun Reform 2
Activist beauty brand The Lipstick Lobby donates all net profits from their “Fired Up” line to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

STAY FLY

If you’re fired up about the lack of gun regulation in this country, buy some lipstick.
No, really. The Lipstick Lobby is a social movement e-commerce beauty website that is dedicating 100 percent of net profits from their “Fired Up” lipstick color — a fiery orange-red — to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The Brady Center aims to cut gun deaths in half by 2025.
If you’re feeling especially generous — or just need to stock up on cosmetics — you can also support Planned Parenthood or the American Civil Liberties Union by buying other products from The Lipstick Lobby that contribute to those organizations’ campaigns.
For those with extra deep pockets, supporting high-end brands that align with gun reform is another way to maintain your activism-glam game. As one example, Gucci donated $500,000 to the March for Our Lives rally this year. And if you’re a jet-setter, flying Delta and staying at a Wyndham hotel is yet another way to stick it to the NRA. Those are just a few of the brands that have cut ties with the gun lobby.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD, EVEN IF YOU’RE UNDERAGE

With the website WeCan.Vote, you can see how your state representatives rank with the NRA’s scorecard (A+ being the most friendly toward the gun lobby and F the least). If you’re not yet voting age, you can sign up on the website and then cast your vote to keep those members in or out of office. The vote is purely ceremonial and doesn’t actually influence election results, but it does send a message to leaders that the next wave of voters is coming.
Another way to make a difference? Join or form your own activist group, much like students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School did when 17 students and staff members were shot and killed this past February. If you need some inspiration, here are just a few examples of young activists demanding change.

Borderwise: The Program That’s Making It Easier to Pursue the American Dream

One word described Luis Aponte’s experience living as an undocumented immigrant in the United States: helpless.
“Not [being] able to drive, not being able to travel or those things. Those things really wear you down,” says Aponte, a 40-year-old project manager for a parking company in Jersey City, N.J. “While I was here without documents, my father passed away, and I was unable to go and see him. Things like that — that makes you sad.”
After marrying a U.S. citizen, Aponte spent thousands of dollars trying to become one himself. He visited multiple immigration lawyers, but the bureaucracy — and the hefty price tag — of the American immigration system made it seem like an opportunity out of reach.
Aponte’s experience isn’t unique. Millions of undocumented immigrants and those with expired temporary visas live in this country because the process of becoming an American citizen can take decades and cost tens of thousands of dollars. It’s this flawed system that inspired a Canadian to create a tech workaround that eliminates the minutiae of immigration law and makes it simpler (and cheaper) for migrants to achieve U.S. citizenship.
“I started looking into the process, Googling around, trying to figure it out, and after a couple of hours of banging my head against the wall, I gave up and started looking into hiring an immigration lawyer … but it cost me thousands of dollars,” says Jeremy Peskin, co-founder of Borderwise, a digital platform that drastically reduces the time required to fill out immigration forms — from hours to just 10 minutes — by turning the mounds of paperwork into a simple survey.
Since its launch in 2016, Borderwise has helped hundreds of immigrants begin the application process.
For years, Peskin tried to gain citizenship, holding employment on what he describes as an “alphabet soup” of work visas. After marrying his wife (a American citizen), he confronted the problems of the immigration system face-to-face.
“I sat with my immigration lawyer in his office, and we started discussing my case. And I could see as he sort of walked through a decision tree that he had spent years learning to figure out exactly which documents and forms were required to compile my application because there’s potentially over 12 different forms, over 40 pages of paper work,” Peskin says. “I realized that if we could have an expert design a piece of software, we could use technology to dramatically streamline the process of preparing these applications.”
Working to bring his idea of the American Dream to fruition, Peskin enlisted the help of his own immigration attorney, James Pittman, who at first was hesitant of the idea.
“Immigration law is way too complex for that,” Pittman recalls saying. “There’s [sic] just too many exceptions. No matter how much you program a software, you can never duplicate a human being in all of the complexity and nuance.”
Peskin and Pittman looked to machine-learning technology to solve for the intricacies, complications and problem solving that immigration lawyers typically handle.
The result? A two-pronged platform: one portion used by immigrants themselves who want to become a citizen through family sponsorship; the other, a cloud-based version used by law firms. Both streamline immigration paperwork, while also giving those applying for citizenship more insight into how the process works.
By eliminating much of the work typically performed by attorneys, Borderwise has made the entire process more affordable.
“The lowest an immigration lawyer would ever charge for a family-based green card application is $2,000, and frequently, they would charge $5,000,” Peskin says. “The median income for an immigrant in the U.S. is $40,000. So for many just preparing a green card application, it’s close to 10 percent of their annual wages.”
Borderwise charges just $500 — almost 90 percent less than traditional methods.
Aponte, who used Borderwise, says the platform was simple, cheap and easy. What’s more, the process evoked strong emotions about his father, who passed away in Aponte’s home country of Colombia.
“I’m 100 percent sure he would have been super happy … with my wife and my beautiful family,” he says. “He would have been extremely happy.”
The 2017 AllStars program is produced in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal and celebrates social entrepreneurs who are powering solutions with innovative technology. Visit NationSwell.com/AllStars from Oct. 2 to Nov. 2 to vote for your favorite AllStar. The winner will receive the AllStar Award, a $10,000 grant to help further his or her work advocating for change.
 
[button url=”http://nationswell4.wpengine.com/tech-impact-allstars-2017/#vote-now-for-your-favorite-tech-impact-allstar” ]Vote for Jeremy Now![/button]
 

7 Things to Do to Help Others in a Blizzard

As a blizzard bears down on the East Coast, resist the urge to curl up under the covers until the snow stops falling. Thanks to Winter Storm Stella, you now have hours of free time at your disposal. Use them wisely: help out others.
Here’s how to make your snow day count.
 
THE BASICS
You’ve heard this advice before, but it bears repeating.

  • Clear your sidewalk every couple of hours. Dig out a path that’s at least four feet wide. Your neighbor will appreciate being able to walk his dog without trudging through snow up to his knees. (Your back will also thank you.)
  • Look out for the elderly, disabled and homebound. Grab your shovel and remove the snow and ice from their sidewalks and driveways.
  • Check on your neighbors. Shoveling snow is particularly strenuous. Occasionally peek out and make sure they’re safe while clearing their driveway.
  • Don’t put yourself (or others) at risk. Download your utility’s app (most companies have one) and use it to report any outages or downed trees or power lines. Report non-emergencies to 311.
  • Know what to do with the white stuff. Clean off your car in your own driveway, making sure to sweep all the snow from its roof. Don’t throw snow into the roadway or into crosswalks and dig out fire hydrants and pedestrian ramps.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES
As local budgets continue to feel the pinch, funding for EMS and fire departments is drying up. Contact your local 911 crew and show your appreciation for their life-saving work by finding out what resources they’re in need of.
CHOOSE A PERSONAL PROJECT
Instead of binge-watching Netflix all day long, commit two hours towards identifying a cause to support. Then, take action to help the homeless, eliminate food waste, protect immigrants or support wounded veterans.
 

What We Can Learn From Our Veterans

As more and more service members take the long and winding trip home, America is bracing for their return. But beyond the stories of struggling with adjusting to civilian life is a group of men and women who are returning to make amazing contributions including volunteering, feeding the homeless and building playgrounds.
But rather than recognizing these accounts along with those of vets who suffer from mental illness or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), most of these stories go unheard.
That’s because fewer than 1 percent of Americans have participated in the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan (only about 5 percent if family members are included) — a stark contrast to previous generations who had direct connections to military life.
But a new book from Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive of Starbucks Coffee, and Washington Post correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran is seeking to change that disconnect and help weave our veterans back into the American narrative. “For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice” details numerous accounts of life on the warfront and how the valor and bravery of our service members transcends back home.
“In 1946, if your neighbor was watering the street at night because he was kind of crazy from shell shock, you knew that everyone coming back wasn’t crazy because your brother or son or husband had served and was successfully transitioning,” Chandrasekaran tells the New York Times. “We don’t have that common understanding anymore. So if someone goes and shoots up Fort Hood, there are all those people who think all vets are a bunch of killers-to-be. And that’s not the case. So the aperture needs to widen.”
While politicians and media continue to focus on vets who struggle with life back home, Schulz and Chandrasekaran aim to illuminate accounts — even those who suffer from trauma or injury — of service members who have made huge contributions to or continue to thrive in business, education, community service and government.
“We want the legacy of this generation of veterans to be serving with courage when the country called on them to serve overseas and then, when they came back, making the country stronger through continued service here at home,” says Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL and Rhodes scholar.
In 2007, Greitens formed Mission Continues, a nonprofit that connects about two dozen teams of veterans with community service across the United States. The group works with nonprofits and offers veterans fellowships to volunteer for six months while providing a food and rent stipend. More than 1,000 fellows had volunteered at 600 various groups by mid-2014, according to the Washington Post
Of course, there are plenty who still struggle with the transition, and it is our responsibility to ensure they’re welcomed back with respect. The Office of Veterans Affairs estimates that around 11 to 20 percent of more than 2.4 million post-9/11 veterans suffer from PTSD, and while more companies are pledging to increase the number of veteran hires, it’s important to diminish the bias that all vets are damaged, and that those who are, are not worthy. More than anything, it is these men and women that can teach us about leadership and valor.

“It is I who should be learning from you,” Schultz told a group of West Point cadets while speaking about leadership in 2011 . “You are the true leaders.”

It’s a lesson we should all remember.

MORE: The Military-Civilian Divide Doesn’t Have to Be as Wide as It Currently Is

 

This Is What the Path to Citizenship Really Looks Like

One of the criticisms of the immigration reform bill making it’s way through Congress is that it’s going to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Makes getting citizenship sound easy, doesn’t it? Maybe this graphic will help you get a better idea of what “amnesty” really means. Immigrants have to be continuously employed for 10 years, they don’t get benefits and they must pay more than $2,000. That’s a lot of hurdles to jump over.