we've seen that the rise of social media on the enhancement of campaigns for nontraditional candidates. one of the things that also happens to women candidates, is that female candidates and women who participate in the social media space, even though over represented are likely to have , aggressive shutdowns by other people participating in those venues. regularly,ho blog they can get visceral attacks, and there are a lot of trolls who spent time doing this attack. do you have advice for how candidates can most effectively handle that type of engagement? two, what do you see as the future for campaigns beyond how these platforms are regulated so we have less visceral engagement anywhere that is deeply negative and diminishes discourse? ms. finn: that dynamic, where

there is a lot of vitriol and also not just for candidates, but even voters who participate on social media, it is a deterrent, because people are attacked and really shut down. there are people who -- it is almost like they are not allowed to express their views. if someone takes a opposing the, -- an opposing view the , discussion is really shut down. that is unfortunate. that hinders the ability for to be a platform for discourse. i am more concerned about that then siphoning people often to their own camps. what is the reward for trying to express a view and having a discussion if you are going to have that kind of response? it is worse for women because of the types of attacks and can lead to. in terms of advice, you have two options. either you engage or you don't

engage. if you decide to engage, do you types ofge those commenters or not? i think engagement is always better for all the reasons we're talking about today. if you stay silent or absent, people are talking about you on social media anyway. you want to be able to, not so much control, but participate in that conversation and be part of it. in terms of whether or not to engage those commentators, because of where -- where the platform does not limit, you have to ignore it. i see this happen all the time with many women candidates. some are really the best at being open online. especially the members of the house. they get those kinds of comments, and i always wince when i see them. but they continue to do it. it helps in terms of the human

-- the image that their constituents have of them as someone who is open. some of those women on both sides are in swing districts. the reason they continue to be successful is they do this. >> would you mind repeating the second part of your question? >> do you see the future of social media as better regulation on platforms? what we see is a type of discourse, and particularly engendered aspects, that if they took place in a form that microphone would be cut because they had nothing to contribute to that discourse and might even be considered hate speech. one of the benefits of the social media platform is that people can express their authentic selves. but do you see that as always west or uncharted wild do you think that over time there will be more mitigation in

those systems to create a more effective dialogue? ms. finn: it is such a tough line because where do you draw the line? where do you cut it off? what some people see as quite offensive, others see as appropriate. this is a big issue in college campuses in terms of what is allowed in debate. those platforms tend to be as open as possible. there is platform policy that is continuously revisited when you certain things that are absolutely acceptable, and will register a complaint and can be taken down. members will be warned that their account can be shut down. every platform has those policies in place. there are really thoughtful debates that go on about when to -- where they draw those lines. but they tend to lean toward being more open because it is part of the promise of the platform for open discussion. >> my name is ignacio, i am a

sophomore at the college. every once in a while, a really bad tweet resurfaces and harms a politician. i was wondering what you thought is going to happen in the next 40 years when people are running for options who have hundreds of thousands of tweets in their name. will that be any different, will people actually go back and look at all these tweets that people from my generation are tweeting now? and if that is going to affect us in the future? >> or facebook photos. what is that next generation politician going to look like when we can see what they were like freshman year and not really caring what they put on the internet. a memo to all of you. do you think the things we see now from politicians, that we see things past resurface.

do you think it will be as harmful down the road? john? mr. volpe: i am hopeful that is put into the proper perspective over time. i remember the first time that there was an ongoing debate about bill clinton smoking marijuana. now you have every candidate talking about the things they have done during the college life, so we have had more context in the last 30 or 40 years and i suspect that will be the same. it is so difficult now for somebody to run for public office, in terms of opening themselves up to that history. hopefully that will have the proper context over time. i am an optimist. >> yes. social media has definitely impacted our sensitivities in that way. it might be a reason somebody exited the race in the past. it might be a big deal. it becomes a huge deal in 24

hours over twitter and facebook, but then it goes away because there's so much else to cover. the news cycle has become so quick. yes? hi. my name is evan. i'm a senior in the college and thank you for coming out. when i think of the question is social media ruining politics, i think of one of two effects of the one is that everything nowadays is political, and becomes very political very quickly. one example i can think of is there is this woman who tweeted a joke, and then by the time she landed in south africa, she had been fired, had to move, she receives death threats. the other is the comment one section. the question i have is sort of two parts. the first one is, why do you think this seems to pop up everywhere and every explanation

that people come with all the time. for me it was anonymity, short form. they always seem to go away. why does this always seem to to be the case and will be inevitable? mr. carr: the scale of these platforms means that it is very easy to get enough people concerned or offended that it snowballs very easily. for all the good things about social media, it can be a platform for a mob mentality where people kind of react viscerally without thinking or without giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. unfortunately, that is part of human nature. when you create this kind of scale where anybody can say anything about anything it , becomes very hard to avoid

that kind of very unfair and damaging dynamic. i have a sense that it will always be with us. there. my name is frankie hill. i'm a freshman at the college. i was wondering, you talked a lot about how social media can be bad for discourse. and talking about political issues. i was wondering if you have seen any better ways to do it. are there features that we could be implementing that improve social media websites, to improve discourse on them? in your studies have you , encountered anything like that? mr. carr: i have an example or two. it is connected to the original point i made which is you can , use social media to start a conversation, but you're not going to create a policy paper

on twitter or facebook, right? you need to take it somewhere else, either off-line or online. this is an example of starting a conversation in multiple places where you find people who really want to be there, who really want to have a perspective, and take it to a closed space. where people can participate, like a letter to the editor but , you have to say who you are. then you work with other members of the community to solve a problem where it can be crowd , sourced within some kind of guidelines in terms of what the problem is and have a respectful conversation. that will lead to tremendous results. we have done this dozens of times across the country. and at the end of it you have specific policies that are created at the local level, sometimes with experts, sometimes with citizens, that eventually gets the attention of the governor, the senator, the mayor, the administrator, and i

think that is the way it can work. so again, we all agree that you cannot have the most productive conversation on social media, but it can start to be an invitation to invite people into a more private space with goals and objectives. moderator: i think there's a lot of room to make it better and to build platforms or improve existing platforms for discourse. i think that is a challenge to the students in this room to work on. ms. finn: that may be a tall and -- order for students in this room to work on. something i worked on last year was a platform called change.org. it is an open petition platform and petition is the oldest form and tool in our democracy to share your voice. the one thing we found was that it was an incredibly powerful platform. through people signing petitions and collective action of sometimes millions of individuals there was a lot of change happening. the things people were wanting are happening. we still have the same issue

where it was very one way to one way you would not normally expect. we talk about politicians shouting at the public and it being one way. this way it was shouting at decision-makers and corporations but not giving them the headphones to actually listen in a productive way and engage in a dialogue. sometimes people are clamoring for particular change and it may not be obvious the way things are they are. we actually created a new feature set of that platform to allow politicians to respond and start to engage in the dialogue, which has been used by dozens of politicians at this point. i'm not saying that is the full answer but it really was a , response to disconnect and the in socialwhat we see media right now is wholly

inefficient for this kind of dialogue. mr. volpe: the easy part is to create the platforms that would allow for deeper discourse. the hard thing is to allow people to talk. moderator: last question. >> thank you. i am >>. i am an alum of the college. -- i am rick. i am an alum of the college. i would be interested of you talking about how is owned raising and how you see it moving both by candidates and by third parties, where is that going to go? how is it affecting these campaigns now, and where do you see that having an impact in the future? moderator: fundraising generally, or through social media and digital? >> through social media. how is fundraising through social media, e-mail, facebook, like bernie sanders and everybody and third parties?

thank you. moderator: why don't we do a quick answer? we will start at the end. mr. volpe: i think a lot of -- i learned them from 2004 with howard dean before social media, with the idea of empowering regular citizens to share couple of dollars here and there. wasof the best uses of that to shut down people who commented on blogs during that campaign. the organizers would say for every native comment, i want our community to raise x number of dollars. and take a look at the other side of the campus. he is using social media to organize his campaign. he is the one that has the highest portion of his tweets responding to people. he is working, talking to people, raising a decent amount

of money with small donors to get there. >> mandy? ms. finn: the great promise of the internet was that it was going to re-democratize the process. we talked today about the ways it has and hasn't. with fundraising, it is another one of those stories that has two sides. it deftly has in some regard. you look at bernie sanders right now, and the fact that he was able to raise almost as much as hillary clinton in the last quarter. the great majority of that was social media and online. you see that with republican candidates who are doing that as well. marco rubio would not be where he is today if you not done the same thing in his senate primary against charlie crist. he was able to do the same thing. that said, there is still an incredible influence over the system by major wealthy donors. the really is two sides to the story. that is one of the stories to watch in this election cycle and

to see if it will be that tipping even with howard dean, point. he was able to over perform where people expected, but he was ultimately victorious. barack obama was ultimately victorious, so there has been an -- a mixture story about those who have those movement behind them. >> and nick? mr. carr: i know absolutely nothing about fundraising. [laughter] moderator: fair enough. can we please give our awesome panelists a round of applause? [applause] moderator: thank you everyone for coming, very much. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> president obama welcomes the

u.s. women's soccer team to the white house. followed by remarks at the national press club. chance to, another see the impact of social media on politics. >> on the next washington journal, rebecca chabad has of the two-year $80 billion budget agreement passed by the senate this week. the american enterprise institute and executive director examiners for america health care in the united states as open enrollment for 2016 begins. as always, we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. it is a very touchy business being the son or daughter of a to tater. -- on a dictator.

it is a question of interesting and sometimes lurid stories. there are points about tyranny, loyalty, nature, nurture, politics, and even about democracy. q&a, theunday night on book children of monsters, which looks at the lives of the children of 20 dictators. >> i was able to talk to some knowledge of people. i could not talk to family members. that was usually the case in preparation for this book. there are only so many around to talk to, and so many willing to say what they know or divulge their feelings or experiences that all. i was digging around for any scrap or tidbit i could. these sons and daughters, some of them are famous and important, some of them become dictators, but most of them are

footnotes and you have to dig to find out about them. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. tuesday, president obama welcomed the u.s. women's soccer team to the white house. this is about 15 minutes. decided months ago, i to write a letter to the first family after watching the u.s. women's hockey team. its is what i wrote here

dear mr. and mrs. obama, i am 13 years old and live in massachusetts. the women'swatching world cup, which i loved so much, and then my brother decided to come in the room and say that boys are so much better at girls than soccer. [laughter] i hate the fact that boys a sports always get the most attention and want to do something about it. it makes me mad that people do not treat girls equally. plus, a lot of curls are better at sports than boys. [applause] saying is that i would like to do something about it. i need to help. thought that my note would bring me here to the white house with the woman i was watching on tv. having this opportunity is something amazing and i'm never going to forget this moment. and now it is my honor to introduce the president, barack obama. [applause]

pres. obama: well, welcome to the white house, everybody. thank you for that introduction. you did a great job. i know your dad is incredibly proud of you. i don't know where your brother is right now. [laughter] pres. obama: but this is some payback right here. [laughter] pres. obama: you just had a national audience -- [applause] pres. obama: you just had a , letting himence know what's what. because a lot of people agree with you. thanng gives me more hope knowing that we have a whole likeation of young women

are ready to save the world by storm. speaking of women who took the world by storm. give it up for the world champions. [applause] was really: i excited about this. i go to a lot of meetings. [laughter] pres. obama: most of them are not that interesting. team that spark the imagination of people all across the country and around the world is just wonderful. i want to recognize a lot of people who made these incredibly talented women, put them in a position to be able to showcase

their talents so if actively. first of all the u.s. soccer president. please give him a big round of applause. [applause] your outstanding coach, joe ellis. [applause] coach ellis, i very much appreciate you allowing them to come to the white house tour theyur victory have been playing a lot of. friendly matches across the country, but by looking at the scores, they are not that finley. these guys are competitive. my first order of business is to ,ongratulate our newlywed sidney leroux. sydney? [applause]

is that the newlywed wave. the presidential wave, ok. just about the whole team showed up. chihuahuar she has a with 10,000 twitter followers. [laughter] pres. obama: which makes me dogs did not our have their own accounts, because i do not have -- one controlling me from my own house. few months a busy for the team. they graced the cover of magazines and video games, and a pace -- apparently corn mazes. a farmer build a corn maze in the shape of megan's phase. -- face. [laughter] pres. obama: i thought i was

cool a few years ago when somebody made a bust out of me of butter. she has an entire cornfield. these champions deserve all the attention they have been getting. after 16 long years, too many tortbreaks, they flew north put america back on top and the soccer world and did it in style. it was a victory that took all 23 players come that took leadership, alex morgan's play mainly, alex o'reilly's game face. [laughter] quiteobama: it took --inance, and everyone box and the not so quiet dominance of abby. she said she wanted her final world cup to be like a fairytale. drake in the stars & stripes, showing us how far we have come

on and off the field by selling that sharing a celebratory kiss with her wife. a course -- of course this victory required -- carly is no stranger to clutch performances. in the 2008 and 2012 olympic gold-medal matches. final against japan, she did it even better, scoring three goals in the first 16 minutes. i have to say first of all that my corncited -- i have and was settling in. [laughter] pres. obama: i'm thinking i have a couple hours of tension and excitement and it was over. [laughter] pres. obama: afterward, carly was asked if she ever thought she would score three goals in a world cup final.

no, she said, i dreamed of scorn four. [laughter] pres. obama: she does have an attitude. you can see. she is not lacking. [applause] thinkobama: although i do that is a two pointer, so it's almost like four. ,y the time the game was over someone had changed her title on wikipedia from midfielder to president of the united states. [laughter] way, the jobby the is about to open up. what's another candidate? [laughter] pres. obama: i guarantee you carly knows more about being president son -- than some of the folks who are running.

[applause] that is a whole other topic of conversation. while carly's performance put an and end on a historic run, this victory was more than that. it was about dominance, skill, and about inspiring our country. about a month before the world cup kicked off, they encouraged all young fans across the country to believe in themselves. through that campaign or on the field, they have inspired millions of girls to dream bigger, and by the way, inspired millions of boys to look at girls differently, which is just as important. [applause] sasha had a chance

to go with one of her best friends to the game live, but others were following it all across the country. player ina young florida who told sydney that i look like you and want to be just like you. heard thatoo often they weren't somehow supposed to be as good at sports as boys. she got mad, and she should be mad with those attitudes. this team taught all america's children that playing like a girl means you are a bad ass. [applause] perhaps i should not have used that phrase. [laughter] pres. obama: playing like a girl means being the best, drawing the largest tv audience for a

soccer match, mineral women's, in american history, meaning wearing our nations crest on your jerseys, taking your team to the top of the world. that is what american women do. that is what american girls do. that is why we celebrate this team. they have done it with class, the right they've done it with class. they done at the right way. they have done it with style. on behalf of all americans, congratulations. let's go bring home the gold in rio. thank you. [applause] all right. >> on behalf of our team and our staff, we want you to try out. we figured you would be free. [laughter] we were just like to say thank you so much for your support. it meant the world to us.

president obama: thank you so much. [applause] [applause]

[applause] >> u.s. women's world cup wambach at the -- abby was the speaker at the national press club wednesday. her last soccer match will be on

december 16, 2015. this is an hour. good afternoon and welcome to the special national press club luncheon here at georgetown university. a special national press club luncheon on the road. i'm an editor for bloomberg's "first word, bloomberg's breaking news desk here in washington, and i'm the president of the national press club. our guest today is u.s. women's ch,ld cup winner abby wamba the world's all-time international goalscoring leader, but first, i want to introduce our distinguished head table, which includes club members and guests of the speaker. from the audience's right, the

senior public affairs officer at the canadian embassy. communications at the swiss embassy. reporter forolicy "congressional quarterly" and a native of rochester, new york, our speakers hometown. the mother of our speaker. the president of d.c. media connection and a member of the national press club softball team. speaker.of our the washington bureau chief of "the buffalo news," chairman of the national press club speakers committee, and former president of the national press club. skipping over our speaker for a moment. the white house correspondent for bloomberg news, a former

president of the press club, and the speaker's committee member who organized today's lunch. thank you. the father of our speaker. journalist who spent much of her career in south lorna with -- where football does not just mean the miami dolphins -- in south florida. a health and wellness reporter for "u.s. news and world report." a retired navy captain and a member of the american sportscasters association. [applause] i also want to welcome our atsts here in the room today georgetown and our c-span and public radio audiences. you can follow the action on twitter. use #npclive.

our speaker today, as i said, is the all-time leading scorer in the history of international soccer. that's a both men and women. she has also played on two olympic gold medal teams. she was the 2012 fifa world player of the year. in may, "time" magazine included her in the list of its 100 most influential people in the world. this summer, her team brought the women's world cup that to the first states for time since 1999 by beating japan 5-2.at memorable match yesterday, president obama welcomed the women's national team to the white house. he said the players have taught us that "playing like a girl means you are a badass."

that's not a word heard often in public at the white house or here at a national press club luncheon, but the audience thought it was an appropriate way to describe wambach and her teammates. grew up as the youngest of seven children near rochester, playing, and she began soccer when she was five years old. she scored 27 goals in her first three games and was immediately against be competing the boys. she helped put women's soccer in the spotlight throughout her career. she has never shied away from speaking her mind, if talking about referees or turf or challenging homophobia in sports. yesterday, after visiting the white house, she made some huge news -- she announced her

retirement. within minutes of u.s. soccer posting the announcement, the news lit up twitter and quickly spread around the world. begins age 35, wambach the next phase of her career and life. what's in store? we now get a chance to hear directly from the source. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in giving a warm national press club welcome to abby wambach. [applause] ms. wambach: thank you guys for being here. i very rarely -- and my mom can attest to this -- write a speech . she has wanted me to do that for my whole life. prepared me to be uber

for everything. so for this day, i actually put some stuff on paper. we will see if i stick to the script. first of all, i want to thank the national press club for having me and my family and friends. it is truly an honor to be here and have the opportunity to share this moment with you. just a few months ago, i was part of something special in representing my country winning a world cup championship. to send my sincere thanks to all of you who covered the women's world cup. without you pitching ideas for articles, for videos, or any space you could put women in your respective outlets, our championship does not get shared in the positive light that it was. for that, i will be forever grateful. people do not realize how important the media is to cities -- to the success of events like that. it not only changed my life and my perspective, but you had changed the lives of all the kids out there dreaming --

dreaming of being whatever it is they want in life. you have that if act. know that and never forget it. effect.ave that bringing back the world cup to the u.s. with my teammates was absolutely the highlight of my career. it was special not just because we won but how we won and how we transcended the game itself. it was clear it was not just about soccer anymore but how our team defines what is so beautiful about sports and our country. if you dare to dream and you work towards that dream, things you never thought possible can happen. yes, winning was our goal, but as a byproduct of winning is what made it even more special. we has a unique opportunity to effect real change. i believe this summer is another example of where we are and where we want to go in regards to women in sport and beyond. it has been an epic summer for many reasons -- serena williams, the supreme court ruling, presidential candidate -- all

things that will go down in history as life-changing. i believe that winning the world cup will be among these things that we look back upon and say it was life-changing, not just because i experienced it or i got to voice trophy, but because of what it means for those who get to share in the magnitude of the possibilities it provides -- not just because i experienced trophy got to hoist the . then a strange thing happened when i started to consider my own future. i accomplished everything i set out to -- olympic gold medals, broken records, hundreds of andarances for my country, that elusive world cup championship. on paper, i did it all, but it does not make it any easier to say to you today what i'm about to say. at the end of this year, i will be retiring from the game of soccer. wow. loud. i set it out it's actually appropriate because i started my career here

in d.c. in 2002, so it's a very fitting end to be announcing it here in our nations capital. i was lucky enough to get drafted here to play for the university of florida by the washington freedom. i don't know if you guys know her, but her name is mia hamm. she was on the team that i got drafted to play on. not many people know how vital it was to my success as a soccer player, but more even as a person. she taught me so much on the field, but the things i soaked up from her off of it may have been more instrumental. she taught me that it was not about how many goals you score or championship c-1, but how you conducted yourself amid all of that glory that defined you. character is a funny thing. i have found your character is tested the most when things do not go your way. mia and all the 99 are stott me

that. so many women came before me, and it is my hope and belief that many more will come after me. i was worried i would have to leave the game at one point the way my idols did. i thought man, this is not going to turn out the way i envisioned. this is not going to be that fairy tale ending. i can say now deep down in my heart that i know the game has grown and will continue to grow. it is not just a feel-good thing to invest in women's sports. it is a smart business decision. that is when it became clear to me that my time as an athlete on the field was over. i know that the next generation of players will grow the game in different ways. my role will be different, but i am still committed to growing women's sports and beyond. i have played a game for 30 years. during these 30 years, there are so many people i need to thank for the life i have been able to

have. honestly, this could take four days. first of foremost, if i have missed you or i do not say your name, it does not mean that you are not part of this or part of my life, but i have to specifically thank a few people. u.s. soccer. without you guys, without your support, there is no way i am standing here having television cameras looking at me retiring. when i was a little girl and i started out playing in the olympic development program and beyond, i did not dream that this was even a possibility. i had no idea. without this environment, without u.s. soccer's help, the abby wambach you have come to know would not be me.

so they are for giving me the opportunity to do what i have done for years. sponsors alike nike and gatorade. i have been lucky to have the opportunity to call some of the greatest brands on this planet my family. it you will never know what you have meant to me. all i ask is that you continue investing in women. it will pay off. i promise. i have to thank all of the coaches i have had, and there have been a bunch, all the way from my high school days to college, and all the national team coaches that have given me a chance to represent my country for all these years. gary smith, you gave me the belief that i could play at the highest level. the first coach the gave me my first olympic gold-medal, thank you.

and of course, our current coach, who gave me the chance to post that choice a world cup trophy. what a ride it has been -- to hoist a world cup trophy. what a ride it has been. it's not just about head coaches. there are a ton of other people and support staff that have helped me throughout my journey, countless doctors, trainers, conditioning coaches, which i will not be too sad to say goodbye to. they all help to me. -- helped me. [reading long list of names] -- i know this sounds ridiculous, but they will be excited that i said their names.

you all caps me healthy and able to do anything when i needed to. whether it was fixing my broken toe or helping me write speeches, everybody played their part and gave me the chance to be the best i could be. when i needed to be it. you guys are my unsigned heroes, -- unsung heroes, and i could not think you anymore. this one is going to be harder for me because i think not many people realize how important my teammates are. in anything you do, whether it is a work or a team, you have people around you that help you, and my teammates are that for me. i think lauren holladay said it best when she said that we only know how to live life with each other, probably more than with our own family members, our own partners.

my teammates have made my career what it is. i would not have done anything on the field without you. no goals, no record, no championship if i had not played with you guys. whether i played one time with you or 200 times with you, you all made a difference in some way. from the early days to the original gangsters, thank you for being here today. i really appreciate it. they did not actually ask, they just told me they were going to come, which shows you how amazing my teammates are. i cannot get rid of them. it's the truth. and everybody i have ever had a chance and privilege of going on the field with, you guys are all loved, special, and important on so money levels.

thank you guys for being here and supporting me on this -- so many levels. thank you guys for being here and supporting me on this day. i went to thank dan leavy, my agent. i never remember to thank him ever. every time i do a big speech, i forget. so i want to thank you. it has been over 10 years that we have worked together and you keep me on schedule. you make sure that i know what i am doing, and you do it in a way that not only is professional, but makes me less stressed about knowing what my schedule is over the next two years, five years, whatever it is. i love you, dan, very much, and i really appreciate all the support you have given me throughout the years. my friends and family. these are the people who shaped me, the people who supported my dreams, the people who saw something in me from when i was

a little girl dreaming of something that wasn't even a possibility. i guess that is when you know you love somebody, when you support somebody in a dream that you don't even, reality. i urge everyone out there who knows someone who has a gift and a passion, support them in their dreams. i love you all for believing in me and showing me i could be whatever i wanted to be. i dared to dream because of you. mom, dad, all my brothers and sisters -- i have a ton of them -- my in laws as well, sarah. there is no way i would have been able to play for as long as i have been able to play if it were not for the support of these people, and what is so hard is that not many people understand how often we are gone and how important it is that i have people who can help with not just paying the bills and

keeping the house in order -- i miss a lot of birthdays. i miss a lot of weddings. i have missed a lot of my family's life because of this one dream and this one belief and passion that i've had. so, what i want to say to my family is that i am coming home now, and be patient with me because it's going to be an interesting transition. i am not going to be perfect, but i will give it everything i've got and do everything i can to try to transition into hopefully what is a normal-ish life. if you know me, you know i would not be that brief. i can talk for days. they gave me a time when it --

time limit. i don't know if i have gone over it yet, but what i really want to talk about is not just my career, because i cannot stand talking about myself. i want to talk about where we are going and where we are headed. i want to talk about moving the ball forward. when i look around, especially going through this victory to her, and i look in the crowd, and i see the fans -- victory tour, and i look in the crowd, and i see the fans -- you look at what the fan draw was from then until now. there were literally like 1800 people in the stands 15 years ago. flash forward to 35,000-40,000 people coming to our games during this victory tour. i know we have made huge strides. i know we have made serious change happen. i also know there is so much more we can do.

it is going to take a lot of effort. it is going to take people reaching into their pockets and investing in women. it is not about investing in me. it is about investing in the next generation. it's about making sure you feel like it is not -- like i said before, the feel-good thing to do. it is smart to invest in women's sports. ask fox. this last summer, they killed it. they killed it. and the reason they killed it is because they believed in it, and they saw the potential growth this game could have and that women in this game could have. now, i really want to transition my career from inspiring kids to play and do something they never thought possible into may be doing something bigger than that. i keep getting these questions about what are you going to do next. i am not kidding you.

i wholeheartedly believe i want to be part of changing the world. i think the first part of my career, i have been able to do that. i have been able to change the landscape of women's soccer as we know it. it would be my -- and it will be my life's mission to make sure that off the field, that women are given all the opportunities that they can be and that they deserve. that we can talk about equal opportunity for everybody. it's not just about women. everybody deserves a chance to do whatever they want, to follow their dreams, to follow their passions. my life has kind of evolved organically. i was a naturally gifted athlete, and a third, so i don't mind speaking in front of people. i am doing so much better. i am a much better talker than reader, obviously. i really do believe that i was

put on this planet to play sports and to be involved in sports. i do believe that sport can transcend and can give people confidence, and can change the world and make it a better place. as cliche as that may sound, it's possible, and i have been a part of it. my teammates have been a part of it. my family has seen it happen. i just want people to know and remember it's not about me. it's not about our team. it's about the next generation. that's what i want to do is be a part of positively affecting change for the next generation of kids out there who may not know what they want to do, may not know who they are, but they can look at our team, they can look at me, and they can say i am going to be authentically who i need to be in this moment because that's all you need to be is yourself. i am so happy to be able to sit here and talk to you guys a little bit about my journey and to thank all the people i had to thank.

and really, i can't implore enough that our world cup isn't as successful as it was if it were not for the media, if it were not for the people writing the stories, pitching the ideas to put it on television. take a chance. don't be late to the party. you will be kicking yourself if you do. i think you will see in the coming months and the coming years that it is not just about women's sports, but it's beyond. it's women in the business world. it's women having equal opportunity. thank you guys very much for having me. i really appreciate it. [applause]

mr. hughes: thank you so much, abby. you're not quite done. come on back up. you talk about wanting to continue changing the world. there are so many different avenues you could pursue as you carry out that goal. do you have any thoughts on which types of ways you would like to move forward in bringing about that change? abby: i think it is a good question, and i think it is something that will eventually evolve. to answered a quick way, i want to change the world in every way, not just on the soccer field, but off of it. in the locker room, but in the boardroom. we need to get women making decisions on how to allocate funds. we need more women in fifa on the executive board making decisions that will help not just my team, but the next generation, like i said.

truthfully, i am open to any idea. i just want to be part of anything i possibly can that will positively influence women in sports and beyond. >> you also mentioned you expected to have a little bit more time, certainly time for your family. now that you have announced your retirement, what is the first non-soccer related thing that you are going to do or enjoy doing? abby: hmm. that is a really good question. i do not know. what am i doing tomorrow? i am flying home tonight, which is going to be nice. i have been working out for 30 years, so i am going to take a minute, as it pertains to that. i am not going to lift a weight for probably a month or something. i don't know. i don't know what i am going to do not soccer related. i think i will just spend time

in my house for three days and then have to leave again. [laughter] mr. hughes: >> president obama was pretty direct yesterday when talking about the level of play in women's sports, yet he is right about attention and money. how best to address these disparities? ms. wambach: i think we all saw this summer that there is plenty of talent around the world as it pertains to women's soccer. i think it is a problem that there is so much disparity between the women and men and how the money gets allocated. that is something i want to do and want to work toward to fix and make better. we have, you know, just seeing the glaring disparity is unnerving and frustrating, and especially because we see women who deserve everything that the men get and women who deserve

everything that they have earned. i think that's the most important thing that i want to keep driving home is women in sport, we showed that we were fun to watch this summer. it was the highest-rated soccer game that has ever been aired in the united states of america. that's pretty awesome. men or women. i think that something become buddies, corporate sponsors, television channels cannot ignore anymore. the highest, people. [applause] mr. hughes: you mentioned all of the soccer fans. there are a lot of soccer fans out there. are there any actions soccer fans can take in support of these more equitable playing conditions for female players when compared with their male counterparts? ms. wambach: i think any kind of

inequity that we see, you have to support, whether it is your local teams that, you know, the washington spirits here play at the sportsplex in germantown. whether it is going to a wnba game, whether it is being, you know, in a position to make decisions that will have a trickle, positive effect for women in sport, whatever it is, everybody has a chance. you have a choice. and for me, that's something i want to make more readily available. oftentimes i hear people say well, you're not on television. well, sometimes it's going to take you to go to an actual event. buy a ticket. go and support your local women's teams. or, if you do turn on the television and a women's program is on, watch it.

watch our amazing some of these athletes are. the women who are playing now, the younger kids coming on the team now that i watch are far better than i was at their age. it's going to be really awesome to see in 10 years where we are at because the game has gotten so much better. i can't wait to see in 10 years from now how amazing the game is going to be. mr. hughes: fifa, the governing body of soccer, has been under fire and under investigation for corruption. how does this affect the women's game at the international level? ms. wambach: i think it been made clear that the corruption at fifa is maybe in large part because there aren't enough women in fia. -- in fifa. maybe there is some sort of correlation there. i don't know. [applause] ms. wambach: there are so many

things i don't know about fifa, but what i do know is that i am going to fight to get more women involved, not just in the decision-making that happens within fifa, but the executive committee, getting more women involved will, i think, make it a much better organization and one that i know my teammates would be proud to play under. mr. hughes: would you ever consider standing as the north american end soccer's governing body representative to fifa? ms. wambach: sure. i'll do it. [laughter] mr. hughes: you say you never southern need to be in the closet as a soccer player, but some sport -- you never saw the need to be in the closet as a soccer player, but some sports

are much less excepting of same-sex couples. what will it take for locker rooms in men's sports to widely accept gay players? ms. wambach: it's just i did take time. you have players who have come out. i don't know what it's like to be in a male locker room. i do know what it's like to be in a female locker room. i had an experience that is probably going to be very different than most game and will have in terms of coming out. i just want them to know that they are not alone. i support them as do so many people out there. and that's absolutely something else i want to be able to fight for. for so many years, i never wanted to be this person who put myself on a mountain and screamed from the mountain tops about my sexuality because it didn't matter to the way i played the game, but it does matter to who i am as a person, and it does matter in terms of where we are at as a culture and being open-minded, and giving

everybody the respect and equal opportunity. for all those kids out there who might be struggling with some sort of identity issue themselves, it is ok to be yourself. it's ok to authentically be who you are no matter what. that is definitely something i want to be a promoting person for and advocate for those kids out there who may not know -- you may not feel comfortable in their own skin. i want to advocate for them because of they don't feel comfortable i will be the person to tell them you are loved and you are heard. mr. hughes: you mentioned in your talk about reconnecting with your family. what about your hometown of rochester, new york? do you see yourself using your celebrity status in rochester in support of any particular civic causes there?

ms. wambach: i am a huge believer that you have to always remember where you came from in order to move forward in life, especially in a successful way. i have always remembered my childhood and being from rochester, and how amazing rochester has been throughout my entire career. i would gladly be -- and love to be a part of attaching myself to any civic causes. rochester made me i am. i would love nothing more than to give back to the city that raised me, that loved me, and that showed me nothing but love and respect throughout my entire career. mr. hughes: besides athletic talent, what is the most essential characteristic you would say is vital to success on the field? abby: i would say mentality is probably one of the most important things that has given me the success i have had. at this stage in this level, everybody is good.

everybody can run fast. everybody can run forever. but it's your mentality and the confidence you bring to the team, to yourself, it's that moment where you maybe have missed an open goal and the next play, do you want the ball again or are you the one that shies away? for me, i have always wanted to put myself in an environment where i keep challenging myself. if i missed 10 shots in a row, i want the 11th, i want the 12th shot. i think that has made the career i have had what it was. mentality, for sure, and the confidence, no matter what happens, that you can do it. you just have to keep trying. >> how do you balance individual recognition and glory and yet still keep together as a team? ms. wambach: i think this is one

of the most fascinating questions ever because as i have grown up and gotten older and this team and become a leader and taken on more of a leadership role, i had to start considering how to manage some of the spirits and egos, so to speak, on the same team. we are all type a competitive women. we all want to be the best. we all want to be the one that scores the goal. how do you manage all of these people and put them in a position to move in the same direction? i think you have to, as a leader, you have to be able to have the selflessness about the way in which you connect with people. you have to be able to individually connect, and i know this goes even be on the soccer field as a pertains to the millennial generation. you have to make sure that in order for any championship team to happen, in order for any success to happen with a

collective, everybody has to buy into the same ideals. for us, it was winning, literally, winning at all costs. i think we were all committed to that one goal, and no matter how we worked our way toward it, everybody was committed and it took every single persons 100% commitment in order to win. who on the team do you think you have had the biggest impact on, and who will be in a position to take your leadership position forward now on the team? ms. wambach: i definitely had the biggest impact on said -- syd. she is right there. she has had one of the biggest impacts on me as well. look at how i am dressed. she is my stylist. follow her on twitter.

in all seriousness, i think i have had the opportunity of playing with so many people, and i hope i have impacted them in a positive level. you would have to ask all of them if it was good or not, but i love the fact that i tried to connect with everybody on an individual level in a really try to be honest and authentic and real. there is so much when you get to a certain level of fame that can become daunting and unreal, almost surreal in moments. that is something i have always tried to do is make sure people know i am honest and i will tell you what i think and how i feel at all times. as it pertains to do the next leader of the team is, i guess that will have to be seen.

the person who has been my captain for so many years. it will be fun to watch. i get to retire, so it will be funded see what happens and how it goes. mr. hughes: this question specifically says what advice would you give promising teen athletes who lack of drive on their academics? there are many promising young soccer players here. what advice would you give to people who want to play the game and be successful going forward? how can they accomplish that? ms. wambach: i think everybody knows that in order to be a successful person, you have to have a well-balanced life. in order for me and every player in the national team to get a scholarship to college, we obviously had to do some homework, and we had to do well in school, and of so that the

-- enough so that the ncaa would give you a scholarship. that is one thing ioa's try to implore on the kids out there. that can be the first -- i always try to implore and the kids out there. that can be the first and best gift you give your parents, a college scholarship. i was the youngest of seven and my parents paid for all my brothers and sisters to go to college. i was really happy to give them that gift. i think my dad was happy to. [laughter] ms. wambach: the reality is, you have to be a well-balanced person in order to achieve any level of success, whether it is on the national team, or if you are to become an author, a chef, a musician, you have to have the balance to be successful. so, listen to your teachers and your parents. go to school and do your homework.

[laughter] mr. hughes: this question is about digital devices. what advice do you have for young boys and girls to get them off the digital devices and go outside and play? is that a trend that concerns you? ms. wambach: i think this is probably one of the biggest concerning trends out there. even right now, i can see in the audience some people looking down at their cell phones and i think what i want to challenge people to do is to look up. get some sort of personal connection. look people in the eyes. you know, i know it sounds stupid, but this posture is not good for your body. we are going to have some serious neck issues and some issues that come up on us in the next decade or so. but the reality is, yes, social media can give us some drive,

some amazing things and positive change, but it also has its tipping point where becomes absolutely and aggression. -- a digression. we need to make sure our kids are active and healthy. there were seven of us kids. my mom would literally lock us out of the house and tell us to go play. this was back in the day when kids were not getting abducted and all that stuff, so that was like the norm for us. we would be outside for the whole day playing, and i would love to get back to that. i would love to get back to where kids in the neighborhood are all playing together. my brothers and sisters all have children. they have found that that kind of lifestyle is no longer the case.

i think we can re-create that because that's a good thing, getting kids out, being active, especially being active in your community. playing kick the can in your neighborhood, wasn't that the best? it's the best. mr. hughes: what has been your most discouraging moment of gender inequity or discrimination, and how did you react and/or overcome that? ms. wambach: i think that is a great question, especially since winning the world cup. i am not going to talk about specific numbers, but i know that for any male that has won the world cup during my career, none of them would have to have another job after they retire. now, i am retiring, and i am telling you, and i have been one of the faces of this team for over 10 years now, that i want to change the landscape of women, not just soccer players, but so that women athletes don't

have 21, have another job while they are playing their sport, -- don't have to have another job while they are playing their sport, and also, they can retire from playing their sport and not have to get another job because they didn't make enough money, so to speak. that is a goal i have and i'm sure my teammates will be excited when that is something i come through with. hurry up. hurry up. [laughter] mr. hughes: as we have learned more about concussions, how did you and your teammates, the way he played soccer, change it all as you learn more about concussions, -- the way you played soccer change at all as you learned more about concussions, and what, if anything, do you think should be done to prevent more head injuries? ms. wambach: i have partnered with a company that has created a headband that has a sensor in the back of your head that measures the head impacts that

you take. if it goes above a certain threshold, you can watch it real time, parents can, trainers can, doctors can, on your iphone or whatever device you have, you can get real-time information to make a decision on whether and not you should be let back into the game. for me, i have been lucky i have only had one concussion. it is definitely a hot topic right now. the number one thing is to make sure our kids are in a healthy environment where they are playing a sport they love and not being put in danger. teaching kids how to properly head the ball. making sure their body in the muscles are developed well enough that they are not going to do damage to themselves. these are big topics and things i want to keep advancing and

keep talking about. all of these questions, everything i have talked about today, for me, it's all about keeping a conversation going, whether you agree with me or not. keep the conversation going, because that is what this is all about. that is why we are here. we are here on this planet to try to survive together and to evolve as a population and does humanity. so for me, let's just have a conversation. if we disagree, that's ok. we can do it peacefully. but we have to be willing to do it and put ourselves in position to have the conversations. sometimes it's hard to disagree with somebody. but it's those disagreements and still being capable of being in the same room that is the beauty of life. >> this questioner wants to know what is your very earliest soccer memory, and how did you get done the game? abby: i think i said it earlier, but my earliest soccer memory

was probably a scoring 27 goals in the first three games. i think that speaks for itself as to why i loved it. >> what advice do you wish you had been given at the start of your professional career that you would now give to young professionals? ms. wambach: that's a really good question, actually. i think the advice i would give myself, my younger self, is, maybe if i had focused a little bit more attention and put more of my mind and heart into staying fit and getting fit and learning how to be fit at a younger age -- nowadays, there is so much science and information about health and nutrition. back when i was growing up, there really wasn't that. people to be hydrated.

-- people didn't even tell you to be hydrated. now with all of the information and technology we have, i would definitely tell my younger self, use as much information as you can to learn and be the best athlete you can be because your athletic career is not going to be in till you're 60. there is a time clock that stops -- be until you are 60. there is a time clock that stops. and that is something i would tell myself 30 years ago. mr. hughes: if you want to change the world, might you consider running for public office someday? abby: i don't know. this is actually kind of a funny

story. i really love jokes. i love to be funny. i love to laugh. and i have realized -- i realized yesterday after meeting president obama that no matter what he says, people just laugh at everything he says. in some of the things he was saying were not that funny, but people laughed. i don't know if i could go into public office because i don't know if people would be genuine about laughing at my jokes, because i am funny. [laughter] see? in all seriousness, i would definitely be open to any and all possibilities to create and affect positive change to in fact change the world. if it is public office, and that might be an interesting route. i don't know. but don't laugh at my jokes just because i am in public office. that's all i ask. mr. hughes: when should kids specialize in just one sport? when did you stop playing other sports, presuming you did play

others as a kid? ms. wambach: i think this is one of the best questions i get these days. so often nowadays, parents and kids are forced to choose one sport at a really young age. to all the parents out there that think their kid is going to be the next professional, just be smart. know your kid. know wt your kid is like and what they are into. for me, i played basketball and soccer, and really, i played a lot of orts growing up. -- a lot of sports growing up. i was on organized teams for soccer and basketball. i needed basketball to take my mind off of playing soccer. after every season i would tell my mom, i am quitting. i never want to play soccer again. two weeks later, i would be in the backyard with the ball again. as a kid, our attention spans are so short. you need to create and give them an opportunity to play different sports, be happy, and joy with

they are doing, but also develop physically different muscles and skill sets because the reality is not every kid out there is going to become a professional athlete. oftentimes, i think the clubs, especially in soccer, are saying you need to play year-round. well, they want your year-round money, parents. know your kids. if they want to play another sport, let them play another sport. i am not standing here right now if i didn't play basketball, if i didn't learn how to jump, if i didn't learn the trajectory of the ball and how to jump. -- if i didn't have the opportunity of separating myself for a little while from playing soccer by playing basketball. i urge all parents out there to get your kids involved in as many sports as possible, because

then, of course, it will give them more of an opportunity of being a healthy adult, because they will have learned how to play different sports at a young age, so that as they grow up and become adults, maybe you will become involved in a coed league or whatever it is as an adult because you learned those skills as a young kid. mr. hughes: what about artificial turf? you have said it is not as good as grass. do you subscribe to the health concerns about rubber fields? ms. wambach: i think we all know my stance on turf. i am not a huge fan of it at all. our world cup was played on turf, and i personally believe there were many goals not scored because of the turf. not only is it not as fun to play on and not as pretty to watch, it is also a gender equality issue.

fifa would have never made the men play on turf for the full world cup. for that reason, i was upset, and you could see throughout the tournament that the turf played a role. in some ways, positive. in others, not so positive. people can argue, well, you won the world cup. i will be the first to say it was not because of the turf. it was because of the athletes and players on the field that were able to adapt. there are some serious health concerns. it is not just about injury.

what is in as little rubber pellets? i don't know. and i don't want my kids to be the ones to suffer because they are the guinea pigs of these big turf companies wanting to make a 10 of money. i think it's not ok. i think it's irresponsible, actually. so, that is also something i am going to get into. get rid of turf everywhere. mr. hughes: will you help david beckham start a soccer team in miami? ms. wambach: if you want me sure. i'd love that. -- if he wants me, sure. mr. hughes: who is your all-time favorite soccer player? ms. wambach: that's a good question. i would say my all-time favorite soccer player is sarah hoffman. i have to say that, right? i met sarah playing for the washington freedom, and she was one of those people that worked so hard and has always been there for me and supported me in my dreams and my journey. but as it pertains to players,

mia hamm, for sure. on the women's side, she was not only a teammate but somebody looked up to. i had pictures of her on my wall and then she was my teammate. that was weird. probably more for her than me. [laughter] on the men's side, i would say mesi is one of my favorite players to watch because he play so differently than the way i play. he really does play beautiful soccer. mr. hughes: before he asked the final questions, i have some housekeeping. the national press club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists, and we fight for a free press worldwide. to learn more about the press club, visit our website, press.org. to donate to our nonprofit journalism institute, visit press.org/institute.

i also want to remind you about some upcoming events. former congressman patrick kennedy will discuss mental illness and addiction at a national press club newsmaker on thursday, november 5. on november 6, veteran affairs secretary robert mcdonald will address a national press club luncheon, and on november 10, p.j. o'rourke, one of america's most celebrated humorists, will discuss his new book, "thrown under the omnibus." i would now like to present our speaker with the national press club's world cup. that is our national press club mug. [applause] so, abby, you said in your speech that you are retiring from soccer, and as you think

about stepping away, what is the one thing or two things you will miss most about not playing anymore? ms. wambach: i think the number one thing i will miss the most, absolutely, is the time i get to spend with some of my teammates. like i said earlier, some of my teammates know me so well, know me better even than some of my family members do because we have spent so much time together. it's not the time, really, when we are on the field playing. my favorite time is off the field, whether it be staying up late nights talking in bed or watching movies together or sitting around a meal room having discussions on who the next president should be, these are the moments that i cherish, and that have kind of creative my personality and shape to i have become as a person.

-- created my personality and shaped who i have become as a person. it's not just my teammates. it is the thin pieces of who im, to be able to achieve and get gold medals and what not. it is how you get to the championships that make it sweeter. my teammates are like my sisters. there are moments when i get upset at them and we talk about that. i cherish some of the most memorable moments that people my teammates.with that is the number-one thing i am going to miss the most about retiring. what i will miss the least is the running. aboutally, we have talked how we are in a connected world

digitally. i want to thank a questioner aom twitter for this question short while ago. why did the u.s. men's team failed to bring home the gold like the women dead in the world cup? >> well, that is a tough question to answer. in the made a great run world cup, but respectively speaking, our women's team respectively has been more successful as it pertains to winning championships. we are very proud of the third star we won this summer. we support the men's team and want them to earn no first star for the world cup championship and hopefully that happens fairly soon. i know the president would love

for that to happen. a round of give applause for our speaker? [applause] >> i would like to thank members of the national press club for their work in preparing for today's event. again, i want to thank georgetown university for hosting this special national press club event on the road today. to learn more about the national press club, visit our national website and you can get a copy of today's program by visiting the website. thank you very much. we are a journey. : thank you very much. [applause]

narrator: next, a discussion on the impact of social media. mcconnell and senator reid talk about the spending bill. after that, a senate hearing on groups of applying for tax exempt status. narrator: on newsmakers, senator rudy talks about his interest in replacing paul ryan as chair of the committee as well as tax issues and the agenda. that is on newsmakers. >> being at ladylike does not require silence. why should my husband's a job or years prevent us from being ourselves.

that being aeve first lady should prevent me from expressing my ideas. [applause] ford spoke her mind with the choice of and as a supporter of the equal rights amendment. she and gerald ford openly discussed her breast cancer. and her addiction defined her white house years. betty ford. c-span's original ladies."first from our the washington to michelle obama. on american history tv on c-span3. >> at now, we will hear from mr. director, the

polling director, and an author of books about the internet. they are talking about the effect of social media and politics on campaign 2016. questions from the students at the harvard kennedy school in cambridge, massachusetts. this is just over one hour. here tonight on our panel, is social media ruining politics? an irp institute politics from 2014 will be meeting and we are delighted to have you back. in 2014, she led a study group on gender, journalism and the midterm elections and she will be able to revisit the topic in the general elections soon.

she is the political editor of the boston globe, where she coordinates the newspaper coverage of the new hampshire primary and the 2016 presidential race. she also works on the weekly section of politics, capital, which publishes friday in print and throughout the week online. previously, she served as the politics editor for "roll call" and you can find a different new stations on the weekends and otherwise. she uses social media to enhance and promote work across all the platforms, so i guess she has a bias, but we'll find out about that in a moment, after she introduces the rest of the panel and moderates. thank you very much. [applause] moderator: a little, thank you so much for having us here today. i think this will be a great panel and this has been a great week so far. i am leading the discussion today. instead of me introducing all of

you guys why not we go through and each of you will have two minutes to go over your background. nick: i write about technology and culture. i have written a few books, most recently the one called the "glass cage" about automation and how it is taking over our job and that souls sometimes. before that, a book called "the shallows," which looked at how being consummate connected to the internet is influencing the way we think -- being constantly connected to the internet is influencing the way we think. and, many years ago i was an "harvard the [-- business review." mindy: i was an editor at the harvard business review. mindy: i am mindy.

i got my start in politics 12 years ago and kind of made, by accident fell into new media, which most people do not know what that was, but i was young and coming out of college and had a little experience in photoshop and people said, do this job in addition to your regular work on capitol hill, and that led me to run the media program or presidential campaign , the republican national committee, to open a consulting firm where i worked with different candidates and groups in the area. ultimately, it led to a job at twitter as one of the first staffers for politics and advocacy. social media has been a big part of my life in politics even before it was considered social media, when it was blogs and other platforms. i think many of you, back when many were in middle school, today, i've a consultant and i do political consulting and run a group called empowered women to inspire, educate, and give way to a new generation of american women, to bring them together and strengthen their impact on civic culture. john: my name is john and i am the director of polling here at

the institute. for the past 15 years, 27 or 28 different sources, i let the city group of undergraduate with the largest millennium generation. you cannot study the millennial generation without engaging in things related to social media, so that is a major focus of what we are about to conduct two surveys a year and over the course of the last couple of years, dozens and dozens of focus groups with young people across the country. in addition, i often talk about how i am indebted to millennial's on campus and at home and have a company and the objective is to use social media to identify, empower, and asked more from our clients and passionate constituents using social media. thank you for having me. moderator: give a warm welcome to our panel. [applause] i will kick it off with i think the most burning question on all of our minds in terms of social media -- donald trump, good, bad, or as he might say "huge" with social media? which one? nick: i think he is a good case

study in what works in social media and politics. in the tv age, politicians wanted to have a coherent image out there, so they tend to repeat the same thing over and over again. the image may have been artificial or partially artificial, but that was your goal. that does not seem to be the goal with social media because what you want to do is grab people's attention when they are swirl ofis information to social media, and it turns out donald trump is good at that, at blasting messages, love him or hate them, but they make you stop and say, i cannot believe you said that. that seems to work and keep the focus on him through social media. that kind of escalates through the rest of the media, so he has

often been setting the agenda for the messages he is shooting out on twitter and the rest of the media covers it. it is a different dynamic than we have seen before. moderator: would he be the front-runner today if it were not for twitter? mindy: i think it demands authenticity. that is one of trumps greatest strength. he is playing it perfectly. when i first started at twitter, and my job was helping to train candidates across the board, one of the best actresses?

-- what are the best practices? how can you authenticity? it was behind the scenes, make them feel that they are the most important stakeholders, your twitter audience, and instant response. what we see, even today, when kevin mccarthy dropped out of the race or speaker, from was that with a response within minutes. you can tell it is not -- i would be -- it might be carefully scripted, but if it is, he did it might quickly. whether he be the front runner without twitter, quite possibly because he was already a tv celebrity and they know he gets great ratings etc. have been quick to want to feature him. in fact, i think what is contributing to his decline in the polls are a few things but one as he was hyper covered for so many weeks and there is only so much that it could be sustainable and they had pulled back. moderator: john, what do you think donald trump's lasting effect will be? john: i think it is all of the above based on where you sit. i think it is good because he is

innovative. right? an example. i have the first time i have ever seen a candidate create short, 15 second many ads on instagram, so good as i think he has shown the power of what somebody can do and engage people. whether he is engaging people in terms of moving the country forward making america great again as opposed to making insults is to be determined. i think he could be far more positive in terms of his tone and capturing the moment to engage voters in several discussions, so i think that is bad, but it is huge because i am not sure he would be or we would be discussing today if it were not for his use of twitter and instagram. moderator: this is an example that john pulled from instagram. can we let it roll? >> having trouble sleeping at night?

need some energy? i think the norm ought to be -- [indiscernible] jeb, for all your sleeping needs. john: it is good because i never would have thought of a 15 second ad, bad because i would use that time to say, give me your ideas and what we need to move the country forward rather than having negativity. mindy: it is a reordering and a shift in how you run the campaign, typically, when i have been on campaigns, the discussion is, went to go negative and when is the right moment? there is not been that calibration. they recognize that you cannot wait and criticism of mitt romney back in 2012 and quite often when they lose, they waited too long and he is not waiting at all. moderator: anything to add? nick: if you look at jeb bush and hillary clinton, the

-- they are still playing by the old rules and nervous about saying anything that will blow up into a tv controversy, be accused of having made a gaff. trump lives on that. things that would have been defined in any election previously, for him, seems to put more fuel and in his tank. moderator: as reporters and covering campaigns, we monitor the role of television quite a bit. how much money they are spending on tv and it usually shows, 20 they are bringing in. for years, decades, we have thought of television as the dominant force of media. is that still the case and for how long? and when will digital media overtake that? nick: i think the 2016 campaign is the first when we are seeing social media as a mature levels begin to shape the campaign. 2008 i think was called the face the facebook campaign because obama organized people on facebook, younger people

mainly, and he got a lot of contributions, but it did not shape the discourse of the campaign. i think this is the first year that we have seen how campaigns change when social media does drive for discussion. that does not mean that tv or radio is going away, but it does mean that often, all the other medias are following for this going on on social media. even if a person is following the campaign through twitter, but they are seen through tv and other media may be very heavily influenced by what is going on on social media. mindy: there is a mistake often made by campaigns and also by many who cover the campaigns that were the most money goes means that is the most important aspect. most of the money goes to tv because it is the most expensive. digital advertising is not only increasing in the share of the

budget but in cost as demand rises. tv is still incredibly expensive. there are reports about the money that super pac's are spending on television because there is so much competition. because of that, i think it will still tend to dominate the narrative. i think maybe by next year when we are a few months out, there will be more coverage of online advertising in the same way as television, but tv is a more regulated market. there is more disclosure of where people are buying. the internet landscape is gelling and their are more demand side for getting into the wonky terms of where people are buying through one platform, but it is still the wild, wild west in terms of tracking and who is buying where, and because of that, it is easier for reporters to write to beat stories in the social media story. moderator: true. john: the one thing to add to that is that video and

television is still a primary way to tell a compelling joy. i think it has been 10 -- compelling story. i think it has been 10 years since we saw the dramatic change of television to other kinds of advertising. in 2006, one decade ago, they placed without a single tv ad and they held onto the lead without the ad. he said, i do not have enough money to put this on tv, can you send this to friends and family? he went from third place the first place against two people who were far better known and had more money in their account, so it is for the campaigns of candidates that empower them to engage on their own terms. moderator: nick, you mention 2008 was the face collection and from my perspective, 2012 was the twitter election.

2016, what will that be? john: a lot of folks take it could be this snapchat election. in terms of not having to wait for the 24-hour news cycle for the consummate the perspective of their friends. we see that 1/3 or so from our surveys of voters are actively engaging with snapchat. when we look at the demographics of snapchat versus instagram, they are quite different. each of these campaigns identifies where they want to focus their interest. shira: so 2012 was the twitter election.

mindy: i am sure snapchat is sitting back and say, we would love that to be the story for 2016. it very well could be, but i don't think so. i think it sounds sexier but the more accurate is it is finally the mobile collection. people engaging with the campaigns via mobile. nick: i think that is right. i think it is all of social media now. i do think that calling it the snapchat election makes sense metaphorically because what we have seen with trump and others is that the good strategy is to model the personality on the way snapchat works at the burst of the people' is consciousness at regular intervals but not take anything so deep complicated that it requires people to pay attention.

if you model yourself on snapchat, that could be a good media strategy. moderator: good news for rand paul, i guess. raise of hands, how many people in the audience have their own facebook account? snap chat account? twitter account? do not be shy. nick, you specialize in how the internet changes our behavior. on facebook, i think we all have friends who pick and choose what they post based on their political beliefs, we all have that uncle, but by only reading what we choose and having that option, is it possible people are hardwiring their brains to read certain things and what a long-term effects? nick: unfortunately, and this is not something you would the internet for social media, but i think what we are seeing is a continuation of the story of the polarization of politics in the country where people -- the hope for the internet was you put all this information out there to make it easily available and people will go out and sample different opinions and look for thoughts that contradict their own. what really happens is people go out and gather information that confirms their existing biases, political beliefs. what we know from the

psychological studies is that the more information you can gather that supports your pre-existing belief, the more beliefs tend to get. it did not start with the internet social media, but i think it is probably going to end up being more of a polarizing force that we originally believed or hoped, which is that it would encourage people to expose themselves to a wide range of viewpoints.

shira: this strikes me as probably not the most productive thing for constructive political discourse, right? would you agree or disagree, mindy? it used to, if you ran a campaign, you could

run it around a geographic. the media has disrupted that. it also has, in certain plot arms, allow people to post anonymously. makes a knee-jerk reaction of consuming things in bytes. that instant reaction and people responsive emotionally, i do not think it is construct for a discourse. people get on facebook versus other channels. the millennial generation, i don't think i am sure the opinions are so polarized when they become of voting age for the first time. right?

words, they are on twitter trying to understand the way the world operates. times, they are sharing their dreams. are saying them things they care about. not left-wing wing or right wing, but things they care about. is for members of both sides of the aisle to engage with them and dig deeper. to say, tell me about your perspective. .nd they do not so i think the challenge is from those who hold the power to not engage. example, senator corker unfortunately,, the example is few and far between.

as your research, you work with millennial's, can you show us a some slides to show positive and negative examples? john: let me give you a little bit of background. the reason we started this pullback in 2000 was some young folks were concerned about the disconnect between service and voting. that those interested in giving back to service, there connection to voting. they thought it would be easier they voted.if we have a good and bad example. senatorhich was from

booker from new jersey, as i mentioned, engaging with a citizen related to then control legislation. see -- so -- a constituent of new jersey said what is common sense gun legislation. senator volker actually went talkingfive tweets about his perspective about what his definition of good gun control legislation is. right? thousands of people engaged in a positive policy remark that would not have happened otherwise. again, just a movement but now , ok? is a connection there more information you can find. that is one example. theher example of doing it

opposite way, which is what the trump campaign tends to do, they engage, but rather than positive, negative. hass tweeting somebody who 42 followers, he is tweeting negative.very trump is engaging citizens, but not in a dialogue, more in -- about --a he tweets >> speaking of examples, i was wondering if you two would not mind sharing an effective way you saw a presidential campaign reach voters and maybe an ineffective way if you have one. mindy?

mindy: i think one of the less effective and i do not mean to pick on him, but there was a moment a few months back and i do not remember the exact issue, but jeb bush and hillary clinton got into a twitter spat and i do not think -- it seems that the reasoning behind that would have been to say, we are embracing the new media, political discourse happens, and this is where political engagement happens and by jeb rising up in debating hillary, she was already the nominee and he was in that old presumptive nominee, this was several months back, and i think they both ended up looking childish, so that was one of the poor examples i have seen. shira: the comment he made in new hampshire that people needed to work harder and then she jumped on it or something like that. nick: bernie sanders has been pretty effective in reaching his audience and expanding his audience through his posts on facebook, where he feels them around contextual statements. they allow him to rise above the fray.

the problem we are talking about what is affected or not, we could go with john's definition which is what helps political discourse, but that may not be what it is politically acacias. --efficacious. i think trump tends to post offensive tweets, but they have been effective for him. you could argue they don't raise political discourse, but that is to be what works on social media. we have to remember that the political stream of information is just one string among all sorts of streams, social streams and stuff, that people are looking at. you have to really do something to stand out and grab people'