You could say that Rahaf Harfoush, 25, had a hand in Barack Obama’s presidential win last November, as she spent three months volunteering for his social media network.
Her experiences on the campaign led her book Yes We Did, an analysis of how social media led to Obama’s win, and a book launch Thursday at Mount Royal College.
“It allowed (Obama) to create a grassroots network of people across the country who were able to use technology to organize, mobilize and raise money for him in a way he would have never been able to do,” said Harfoush.
Born in Syria and raised in Toronto, Harfoush has always been interested in blogging and technology.
While researching social media and the American election, Harfoush took the chance to work for the Obama campaign. Her campaign trail experiences provided the fodder for her book.
She said that people have to learn about social media and many make mistakes before really understanding its best use.
“It’s being authentic, human, honest, admitting when you’re wrong and being genuinely interested in what people say and not just paying lip service,” Harfoush said of social media.
Harfoush has now taken her social media skills to an international level. She now works in Geneva as the associate director of the global redesign initiative for the world economic forum to develop social networking tools.
The goal is to allow people around the world to connect with each other and deal with economic issues.
