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Mandate Media on Politics and Technology
These items are from a newsletter from Mandate Media that just turned up in my inbox. There's a lot of good stuff in here. I particularly paid attention to the items on the value of making confirmation emails meaningful communications with voters, the worst campaign websites of 2006, and legal advice for online politics.
Innovative list-building Flash BlogAd from John Kerry
He may not be running for President, but John Kerry is staying in the game. This week, his was the first organization to debut a Flash ad with BlogAds. And not just any Flash ad -- but a well-designed little sign-up form, inviting progressive activists to join his campaign to set a deadline to end the Iraq War.
John Kerry now hiring EIGHT new media staffers
We're not quite sure what he's up to, but Senator John Kerry's campaign team is hiring to fill eight positions in his Netroots Team.
Now that's a fabulous automated receipt email!
Anytime you donate or sign up online, there's always that instant and automated response email. Usually, those emails are boring and entirely functional. Of course, since it's an email that the recipient is actually expecting and hoping to get - it's a missed opportunity to do a little communications, a little branding, a little relationship-building.
Convio is one of the largest technology providers to large nonprofit organizations (and did some early work for the Dean 2004.) GetActive is a bit closer to the political space - with clients like the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Planned Parenthood, and...
15% of Americans say internet was primary source of campaign news
Some 15% of all American adults say the internet was the place where they got most of their campaign news during the election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002. A post-election survey shows that the 2006 race also produced a notable class of online political activists.
Starbucks defends itself on YouTube
What do you do when you're getting attacked online? Respond online. I don't know all the details, but Starbucks is under attack from Oxfam for its business practices in Ethiopia. So, Starbucks has responded with a short video on YouTube...
Joe Trippi on Transformational Politics
Trippi: "My own view is that Television helped kill transformational politics because it took people out of the process and made chasing big money too important. I really believe -- indeed have always believed since about the mid-1990's that the Internet would help herald a new era of transformational politics because it puts back into the process the most essential ingredient of them all in a democracy -- the people."
At his blog "How to change the world", tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki has an interview with the authors of a new book - Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message. He's not talking about politics, but we could all learn a few things from the guy who sold the Macintosh to the world.
Making caucus votes open, transparent, and instantly reported
Over at the Iowa Voters blog, they're discussing the possibility that the 2008 Iowa Caucus could feature instant online reporting of votes cast at the precinct level.
The confirmation email: a key resource
When someone donates to your campaign, do you send a brief confirmation email? And if so, do you take the opportunity to cement the relationship and encourage them to do more?
Extend the life of your computer
Over at TechSoup.org, the website for nonprofits, John Avellanet has a great roadmap for computer maintenance. In short, he argues you oughta pay attention to your computer like you change the oil on your car.
It seems like we all use "netroots" these days, especially in this business of politics and technology. So, where did it come from? William Safire explains.
The New York Times took note of the large number of domain names being grabbed by squatters in anticipation of the 2008 presidential race. How much are those domains worth? The answer will surprise you.
Over at TechSoup, Leanne Bergey has a great checklist for launching a new website. Everything from the free and easy to more expensive and complex rollout options. Nothing rocket science here, but most promotion stuff isn't. Check it out....
Worst campaign websites of 2006
Over at CNet, they've compiled a slideshow of seventeen of the worst campaign websites in the country.
Organizing Online? Think like a rock band.
Frogloop: "It would be so convenient if launching a viral message campaign, political or otherwise, on a social networking platform were as easy as just adding water. But, the truth is that as with any grassroots campaign, it takes persistence, lots of online and offline effort, and the right tools and the right message in the hands of the right people at the right time. Oh, and a little luck, too. Basically, you need to be scrappy, flexible, and think like a rock band."
Right-wingers talk about the local lefty blogs
Mary Katherine Ham, of major right-wing website Townhall, wrote: "I've always felt a little guilty that I'm not better informed about the city council," Ms. Ham wrote. "The folks who do follow and blog that stuff are doing yeoman's work."...
Legal advice for online political activity
There are always lots of questions about the legal reporting requirements and restrictions on bloggers, campaigns, and other kinds of activism. While the FEC (and state regulators) continue to explore the terrain, the Center for Democracy and Technology has released their Net Democracy Guide.
More, more, more...
Of course, there's much more over on P&T. New stuff 6-10 times a month. Dig in at PoliticsAndTechnology.com
Posted: 2007-02-16 15:46:14
Atlantic Monthly: Bush is fading. Bush Republicanism is here to stay.
Atlantic Monthly editor Ross Douthat has an interesting commentary in the March issue about why Bush's legacy is likely to continue in the Republican party, with current GOP candidates largely following his political strategy.
In addition to the continuing need of Republicans to court the fundamentalist Christian voting block, he writes:
Republican candidates have another reason for giving Bushism a second act: It has more potential to appeal to the broad electorate than other visions of where the GOP should go from here. The enduring popularity of the welfare state makes big-government conservatism far more palatable to voters than the government-cutting purism that Bush’s right-wing critics hope to revive. (In the long run, the country may be forced to choose between keeping spending high and keeping taxes low; in the short term, though, the deficits Bush has run up are not the public’s first priority.)
The link is here, although you have to be a subscriber to see the full text:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200703/douthat-comment
Posted: 2007-02-13 20:28:55
Presidential Contenders - Everyone's Welcome
Back when the dust was still settling from the 2004 Kerry campaign, BlueBroward.org was established with the goal of organizing a community of volunteers who could be put to work for the next Democratic nominee for President. Well, as you may have heard, the 2008 campaign season is starting early. So far only the John Edwards campaign is registered on BlueBroward's campaigns page.
BlueBroward is open to all contenders in the primary phase, so I encourage those of you who may be backing one of the other candidates to introduce the local coordinator for that campaign to BlueBroward and/or volunteer to be the person who will make sure campaign events in our area
will be posted to this calendar.
Any BlueBroward.org member can post events to the calendar, but ideally campaign events should be posted by designated representatives of the campaigns. First, we've got to get those campaigns to recognize BlueBroward as a regional organizing resource.
Remember, this is a community website, so ideally everyone's supposed to participate in making it better - not just the webmaster! And I do appreciate all your help.
Thanks,
David
Posted: 2007-02-12 12:03:27
Daily Show Rock! Mid-term Elections
In case you missed it, the Daily Show primer on how things really work:
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=77913
Posted: 2006-11-17 10:16:53
Help file for Democratic Club contacts
If you post event notices for your Democratic Club, these instructions may help you understand a little better how to use the meeting schedule editor on BlueBroward.org.
http://www.bluebroward.org/help/Club_Meeting_Editor.htm
Of course, it's all supposed to be easy to use and self-explanatory, but some of the feedback I've gotten is that there's still room for confusion. Hope this helps.
Posted: 2006-11-13 21:32:03
Congratulations and Thank You
Congratulations to the winners in Tuesday's election -- and to everyone who helped make those wins possible by making phone calls, knocking on doors, waving signs, manning polls, and/or writing a check or two.
Of course, we had some notable disappointments on the state level, and we ought to be thinking about what we could do better next time to produce the bigger turnout that might have put candidates like Jim Davis and Skip Campbell over the top. But first let's take time to celebrate winning a Democratic majority in Congress and picking up seats in the State House for the first time in way too long. Let's be proud of Ron Klein, Martin Kiar, and Ken Keechl for winning very tough races with enthusiasm, hard work, and the backing of a lot of great volunteers.
Winners from among the campaigns registered with BlueBroward.org included:
Congressman Kendrick Meek and Senator Bill Nelson
Ron Klein for Congress
Jeremy Ring and Ted Deutch for State Senate
Martin David Kiar and Elaine Schwartz for State House
Alex Sink For CFO
Ken Keechl for Broward County Commission
Phyllis Hope for Broward County School Board
(There were others who won without BlueBroward's help, and congratulations to them, too, but here I'm emphasizing those who participated in our campaign and event listings).
I hope that BlueBroward.org provided some useful services to these campaigns. Feedback on what we could do better in the future is always welcome.
Posted: 2006-11-08 20:50:43
Broward Get Out the Vote Locations
Master List of Office Locations
All these locations should have yard signs and literature. Call to check on phone bank hours, which are being expanded as election day approaches.
Broward County Democratic Party
1824 N. University Dr.
Plantation, FL
954-423-2200
All Broward Realty office (Dale Holness)
4325 W Sunrise Blvd
Plantation, FL 33313
Pembroke Pines/Miamar Democratic Club (Howard Forman)
8367 Pines Blvd
954-297-4626
954-261-2306
Hollywood (HQ for Elaine Schwartz, Eleanor Sobel, and "the top of the ticket")
4231 Hollywood Boulevard
954-478-7586
954-985-8505
Seeking volunteers to:
- Phone bank
- Sign wave
- Man the polls on election day
Coconut Creek/Margate Dem Club Office
5217 Coconut Creek Parkway,
Coconut Creek, FL
(954) 979-3838
Note from Jack Shifrel: The campaign HQ on Coconut Creek Pkwy needs people on the phones for the next 5 days, we need people to drive voters to the polls & to be at several polling places on election day.
GLBT Democratic Vote Center
1700 N. Andrews Ave
Ft. Lauderdale
954-763-1880
Posted: 2006-10-27 13:21:24
Phone Bank Locations
MoveOn Ft. Lauderdale Phone Bank
729 NE 20 Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33304
Call 954-253-4840
Open 8:00 am to 9:00 pm
GLBT Democratic Vote Center
1700 N. Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
954-763-1880
OPEN DAILY 10am-8pm
SouthEast Campaign HQ (being used for Elaine Schwartz, Eleanor Sobel and the Top of the Democratic Ticket)
4231 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
954-985-8505 / Wefisher77@hotmail.com
Office open most days 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (call for phone bank schedule)
Coconut Creek and Margate Democratic Clubs
5217 Coconut Creek Parkway in Margate (just east of 441, by Banks Rd.)
954-979-3838
Operating 10 am to 5 pm weekdays, hoping to expand hours if they can get more volunteers.
I'm told there are several others, but these are the only ones I've been able to get a substantial amount of info on, other than those run by the campaigns themselves.
If you want to support Klien for Congress, they're phone banking day and night at their office in Pompano Beach.
Klein for Congress Broward Office
1440 N Federal Highway
Pompano Beach, FL 33062
Contact: Julie Petrick
Email: staff@ronklein2006.com
Phone Numbers: (954) 941-2965
I'm also looking for volunteers to man a phone bank for Klein in Coral Springs - contact me at david@bluebroward.org if you can help with that.
Posted: 2006-10-26 08:16:56
Phone Bank from Home for Jim Davis
Want to help Jim Davis but can't fit in a trip to one of the local Democratic phone banks? You can also sign up to call voters from home at this website:
http://jimdavis.vivademocracy.com/
I would have publicized this before now, but I just found out about it today.
There are lots of ways to help, including the Grassroots Patriots canvass that I've been helping publicize, so do what makes sense to you -- but do something, and help achieve the broad-based victory we're all hoping for.
Posted: 2006-10-24 21:37:29
Palm Beach Post endorses Ron Klein
I hope this endorsement will swing some votes. In short:
A vote for Sen. Klein will end a 26-year incumbent's stubborn loyalty to failed policies.
Posted: 2006-10-23 12:30:57
My afternoon knocking on doors
I'm not going to win the award for the volunteer who knocked on the most doors, but I did get out from behind the keyboard this afternoon and canvass an apartment complex in Coral Springs for Ron Klein and Grassroots Patriots (juggling the two lists and trying to see where they overlap).
I wound up dragging my kids along with me for the first half hour, but then had to take a break and run them over to McDonald's as their reward for being patient with me. Dropped them back with their Mom, and did another hour but then had to get back home for another family obligation in the evening.
So how does that make me different from a lot of other people who are busy with work and family? It doesn't. But it does show where the do-it-yourself campaign style of the Grassroots Patriots Lightning Strike get out the vote effort can fit into any schedule. The time I put in may have been fractured, and not as much as I ideally might have liked, but I still knocked on a few doors that would not have been knocked on otherwise. The Klein campaign had a more formal canvassing effort they were doing in another city on Sunday, but I never would have been able to fit that in. By talking them into giving me a walk list to do on my own schedule, I at least got something done. I had them assign me a precinct just a few blocks from where I live (my own precinct is just outside of the district Klein is targeting), so I'd be more likely to be able to get over there in whatever small blocks of time I can shake free.
I'm hoping to keep chipping away at that walk list over the next few weeks and make a little bit of a difference on the ground, rather than just on the web.
Posted: 2006-10-22 23:47:10
Now Available - Grassroots Patriots Get-Out-the-Vote Lists
Over the next few weeks, we need to make sure the people who are telling the pollsters they want change actually come out and vote. Grassroots Patriots has compiled a precinct-by-precinct list of Democrats who too rarely vote, as well as independents who need to be persuaded to vote Democratic. You can now download the list for one or more precincts through BlueBroward.org.
This is just one of many ways to volunteer, and if you're already doing productive work for a campaign or for the party, it's not our attention to steal you away. But if you can do this in addition -- or if you haven't found a volunteer opportunity in your area, or one that fits your schedule -- this can be your do-it-yourself get-out-the-vote kit.
The link to the voter list query page will appear after you enter your BlueBroward.org password.
Please coordinate with Coordinate with Grassroots Patriots organizer Phil Busey -
philip@busey.org
- to avoid duplication of effort. Phil is also preparing some literature that you will be able to print and distribute. You may also want to check in with key campaigns in the areas you're covering to get literature to distribute.
Voter lists and analysis by Grassroots Patriots, a political action committee dedicated to Democratic victory. Web distribution of data provided on a volunteer basis by BlueBroward.org, an independent web publication of David Carr not financed by any campaign or political committee.
For those of you who aren't on the Grassroots Patriots list, I'm including Phil's message announcing this effort, which includes more guidelines on how this is intended to work.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Volunteers] Download your voter walklist now
From: Philip Busey
Dear David Carr,
Lightning Strike campaign plan has just been accelerated. The prize
remains to elect Democrats to partisan positions. So please keep your
eyes on the prize and download voter walklists for Broward County
(details below) and start knocking on some doors this weekend.
1. Just a reminder, please make sure to work for the campaigns of
Martin Kiar, Christian Chiari, Ron Klein, Michael Calderin, Jim Davis
and Daryl Jones, Skip Campbell, Alex Sink, and Eric Copeland. These are
the Democrats with significant opposition, but with a good chance of
winning, with your help. You can obtain campaign literature from them,
to distribute with the targeted walklists, or do other necessary work at
their direction to get them elected. And when the campaigns are not
putting you to work, walk your neighborhood and distribute literature
including a reminder of Early Voting on Monday.
2. For example, Martin David Kiar requests your help as a volunteer to
knock on doors and request votes in Weston, this Saturday, October 21,
10:30 a.m., meeting at the Weston Town Center. Please come early for
coffee and treats with us at 10:00 am. The Weston Town Center is
located just north of Royal Palm Blvd (formerly Arvida Parkway) on the
west side of Bonaventure Blvd. We will meet in the parking area facing
the lake and the fountains, nearest the east entrance off Bonaventure
Blvd. Drive past Bank of America on your left, and we will be just past
the Grill on your left, just off Bell Tower Drive facing the fountain.
3. In cooperation with BlueBroward.org and with the outstanding server
databasing of David Carr, GRASSROOTS PATRIOTS walklists are available
for you to download for your precinct or any precinct in Broward County.
Just go to the LOGIN in http://bluebroward.org and if you are not
already a member, you can register and download your walklist.
4. I suggest that you choose especially the "Independents" box because
this will give you a targeted list of households with at least one
Independent (NPA, etc.) voter with a 60% or higher chance of voting.
5. If you want a larger list, you can also check the "Sleepy Dems" box.
These are households containing one or more Democratic voters with a
probability of voting at least 30%, but not more than 60%. All other
household members are listed, so when you go to the door or make the
phone call, you have a pretty good idea of who you are talking to if it
is not the person you are looking for. By the way, the phone numbers
are good, not great. The addresses are outstanding except for apartment
complexes.
6. Both "Independents" and "Sleepy Dems" households have been filtered
to remove households with strong Republican leanings; however, you will
find occasional Republicans but they should not be strong Republicans.
7. The plan for palm cards has changed drastically. They should be
available through Internet download in a few days, but you will have to
print your own. I received a multitude of different requests for
different kinds of ballot cards, therefore we realized that there would
be no feasibility of printing all the different requested numbers and
getting them distributed in time. To make matters more complicated,
there were requests to discuss consider endorsing candidates for judge,
school board, and to endorse some Democrats running against other
Democrats. Sorry, the answer is no, and we don't have time for that.
8. To cut through the confusion, GRASSROOTS PATRIOTS only endorses
Democrats in partisan races in general elections, and in some cases in
nonpartisan races where there is no opposition from another Democrat.
Our endorsements do not distinguish between one Democrat and another
Democrat, and we do not oppose any Democrat. And we have our eyes on
the prize of electing Democrats to partisan positions.
9. In view of the change of plan for the palm cards, and in order to
empty out our campaign account before November 7 so that we have no
money left over on November 8, GRASSROOTS PATRIOTS has proudly written a
$500.00 contribution to the campaign of Martin David Kiar, for State
Representative District 97, and another $500.00 contribution to the
campaign of Jim Davis and Daryl Jones for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
God bless you, and let's go gather a ton of votes,
Phil
954-579-3932
_______________________________________________
"Feet-on-the-Street Democrats."
Paid Political Advertisement, approved and paid for by GRASSROOTS PATRIOTS.
_______________________________________________
GRASSROOTS PATRIOTS Volunteers mailing list -
http://grassrootspatriots.org/mailman/listinfo/volunteers
Posted: 2006-10-20 11:26:10
BTW, it's still dead
The Broward County DEC website still isn't being updated. Wouldn't you think they would be publishing little details like how to volunteer for the get out the vote phone bank?
Since I mentioned it:
Ft. Lauderdale Phone bank, open 8:00 am to 9:00 pm
Location: 729 NE 20 Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33304
Call 954-253-4840
Posted: 2006-10-20 11:23:44
Klein Campaign Activities - Final Push
Dear Friends,
Attached and below is an email list containing our Debate, Canvassing, and
GOTV opportunities. It would be greatly appreciated if you all could send
this out to your lists, it would be greatly appreciated! Only 23 Days left
and I want to reach as many people as possible! Please let me know if this
is ok, and thank you all so much for your help.
Sincerely,
Julie Ann Petrick
Field Director
Klein For Congress
561.832.2661 (Palm Beach)
954.941.2965 (Broward)
julie@ronklein2006.com
WITH LESS THAN A MONTH, WE NEED YOUR HELP.
GET INVOLVED TODAY AND CHANGE HISTORY
COME SUPPORT SENATOR RON KLEIN AS HE DEBATES CLAY SHAW
Forum Club Candidates Luncheon
When:
Monday, October 16, 11:30 AM
Where:
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
701 Okeechobee Boulevard
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Kravis Center tickets needed
Box Office Phone Number: 561-832-7469
Palm Beach County Civic Association Debate
When: Friday, October 20, Noon
Where:
141 South County Road Palm Beach, FL 33480
TELEVISED DEBATE ON WPEC (this debate will be taped at a television studio,
there will be no live audience)
The Debate will be aired from 7:30pm to 8:00pm Saturday October 14, and will
be re-broadcasted on Sunday October 15 at 11am
(WPEC Channel 12 in Palm Beach County)
Please contact Felicia @ 561.995.9626 or info@ronklein2006.com for more
information
THE TIME IS NOW- COME WALK WITH US THIS WEEKEND FOR CHANGE
Palm Beach County
11 AM
Please meet us at the Palm Beach County MAIN DEC office
6266 South Congress Ave, Lantana FL
Ø Sunday October 22nd
1 PM
Please Meet us in the Albertsons Parking Lot
4801 Linton Blvd
Delray Beach, FL 33445
Please Contact Julie @ 954.941.2965 for more information
Join our Election Day Team.
Be a part of taking back our Country, sign up to volunteer for GOTV!
WHAT:
Please join Klein For Congress as we make our final to push to turn the 22nd
Congressional District BLUE.
Ø Door Knocking
Ø Lit Dropping
Ø Phone Calls
Ø Visibility
Ø Poll Watching
WHEN:
November 4th November 7th
8 AM-10PM
Please Contact Julie @ 954.941.2965 or staff@ronklein2006.com for more
information
Posted: 2006-10-15 18:46:36
Compare and Contrast - Broward Republican Executive Committee
Out of morbid curiousity, I took a look at the Republican website for the county.
See the comparison:
http://www.bluebroward.org/img/compare.htm
Posted: 2006-10-06 09:05:48
The Broward DEC Web site is dead again
This really annoys me.
One month to the election, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the Broward County Democratic Executive Committee website. Until recently, it hadn't been updated since July. Then somebody posted a tiny item with a link to the AM 940 website -- I guess because chairman Mitch Caesar was on the Jim DeFede show the other day. But if you want information on when the DEC is meeting next, let alone information on what the DEC is doing to get out the vote, you're out of luck. They apparently want you to call for that info, although when I tried that, the call was not returned.
This isn't even a criticism of the DEC organization, not really. I'm sure there are many fine DEC members who were involved in politics when I was in grade school, and no doubt I could learn a lot from them. This is a criticism about marketing and communication -- about letting people know about the Democratic party, how to connect with it, and how to support it.
The DEC website hasn't sucked this bad since shortly after the Kerry election. If you went to the DEC website in January 2005, you saw nothing but painfully outdated messages about gearing up for the November election. That was a big part of my inspiration to try to do something better and provide current information for Broward Democrats.
Then, for a while, the DEC website got a lot better. In addition to a cosmetic overhaul, it got a blog-style front page, making it relatively easy for someone in the office to post updates, rather than having to rely on a more techie webmaster to do it for them. But lately no one seems to have bothered.
I've posted a more detailed rant against outdated websites here previously, but basically the argument boils down to this: in 2006, an organization or campaign's presence on the web is its public face. If you let it run down, it's as if you were trying to run a business from a dirty, broken-down storefront.
Obviously, I'm more web obsessed than most people. But, you know, this Internet thing just might have some legs, might be around for a while. If you want the Google/YouTube/MySpace generation to take Democrats seriously, you ought to get the hang of it.
Posted: 2006-10-04 21:25:45
FactCheck.org on Distortions in Big Sugar Advertising
FactCheck.org, an academic project that tries to sort the facts from the lies in political advertising, has this analysis of the attack ads on Jim Davis financed primarily by sugar industry lobbyists:
http://www.factcheck.org/article423.html
I'm not posting this as a Jim Davis partisan. In fact, I've been leaning toward voting for Rod Smith for the past few months. I haven't voted yet, however, and I'm not happy about what I see going on in this race.
Posted: 2006-09-02 15:45:53
Sun-Sentinel Endorsements, Interviews with Candidates for Governor
The Sun-Sentinel has begun posting endorsements for the Sept. 5 election, which are worth looking at even if you don't agree with all of them (I disagree with several, although I congratulate Martin Kiar for getting the nod in recognition of his hard work).
If you haven't yet made a firm decision in the governor's race, you might also want to check out the editorial board interviews with the candidates, which they're presenting as videos.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/elections/
I did find that I had to switch from the Firefox browser to Internet Explorer to get the videos to work properly.
Posted: 2006-08-18 10:40:10
Paid Canvassing Positions with Klein for Congress
ARE YOU TIRED OF BUSH AND THE REPUBLICANS?
Help Take Back Our Country!
Paid Campaign Postions available now on the top campaign in the
Nation! This is the perfect opportunity for students and /or anyone
interested in a career in democrqatic politics and who are pssionate
about the future of our country! Gain valuable hands on campaign
experience and make great connections. To apply for a postion please
call Julie @ 954-941-2965
Please forward this to friends that might be interested and post it to
your favorite blogs.
Posted: 2006-08-17 11:52:27
Help Keep the BlueBroward Calendar Up to Date
Just a reminder that the best way to make sure that your favorite club or campaign's events are posted to the BlueBroward.org Calendar is to do it yourself. I'm strongly encouraging self-service because as the election gets closer, it's tough for me to keep up with all the requests for listings coming via email.
Any registered member of the website can post events, and they will appear immediately on the Calendar. I reserve the right to edit or delete listings that are not appropriate (we don't need to be promoting meetings of the George W. Bush Fan Club), but this has rarely been a problem.
Timing is important. This 2-week snapshot of events goes out by email every Sunday morning, so if you wait until Sunday afternoon to post an event that's happening on Tuesday, you've missed out. Between now and the election, I'm also sending out a weekend roundup for which the deadline is noon on Friday.
If you registered some time ago but have forgotten your password, there's an "Email My Password" option on the Login page. Your "user name" is the email address you used when registering with the web site.
Posting events is supposed to be easy. If you find that it's not, let me know so I can make it easier. After you enter your password, you should see a list of options that includes "Add event to events calendar." You can navigate to this menu by clicking the "MyPage Menu" button on the left hand side of the screen (only appears after you have entered your password).
If you are authorized to edit listings for a Democratic group that holds regular meetings, you will also see a link to "Confirm/correct calendar listings for [Group Name]." If you are authorized to edit listings for a campaign, you will see a link to "Post a Campaign Event for [Campaign Name]."
After posting your event, check to make sure it is displayed properly. If there's a problem, and you can't figure out how to fix it, feel free to ask for help. Sometimes I can help you make it look prettier or add a link to an online mapping service for directions.
I will continue to post relevant events that I pick up on myself, as time permits, but there's a lot of truth in the old saying that "if you want a job done right, do it yourself."
Thanks,
- David Carr, webmaster, david@bluebroward.org
Posted: 2006-08-05 13:34:05
BlueBroward.org not making endorsements in races between Democrats
Because this has periodically been the source of misunderstandings, let me say it again: BlueBroward.org does not take sides in races between Democrats, and a campaign or event listing for any particular candidate should not be interpreted that way. If your favorite candidate is not listed on the website, it's because they haven't taken advantage of the opportunity, not because I've snubbed them. BlueBroward.org is meant to be a "level playing field" between Democrats, a resource that all campaigns can trust to treat them fairly.
This is an editorial policy for the website and does not mean that I don't have some personal favorites among the candidates, some of whom I'm actively supporting -- but privately. Where BlueBroward is concerned, there is nothing I'm doing for the candidates I favor that isn't available to their competitors. (Although, certainly, I do pester candidates I like a little more to make sure they post their stuff to the website).
One of the things I'm thinking of doing, when I have time to get it organized, is set up some sort of Board of Advisors who could "keep me honest" on this stuff and put a slightly more formal organization behind BlueBroward. But meanwhile I'm doing my best to play it straight.
One other clarification: I list and link to Grassroots Patriots on the website as an "Allied Organization" because I like the work they're doing to energize grassroots volunteers. However, I'd categorize BlueBroward's relationship with them as "friendly, but informal." They're a completely separate organization with a more formal structure. We try to reinforce each other's efforts in general, but that's it.
Clear enough?
Posted: 2006-08-02 16:51:58
Wexler Spoof on Comedy Central
Makes me proud he's my Congressman.
Posted: 2006-07-22 22:53:40
Smith for Governor Events Center (acknowledges BlueBroward)
This is kind of interesting, and effort to do something like the BlueBroward calendar on the state level. I would rather not have it associated with any one campaign site, though, or at least to have a life beyond this campaign cycle. I've been toying with the idea of expanding beyond the county level and have a reservation on blueflorida.org. Anyone want to encourage me to go for it?
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Smith for Governor Events Center for DEC and Club Events, and Rod Smith for Governor Events
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 12:15:12 -0400
From: Paul Neaville <pneaville@gmail.com>
Hello this is Paul Neaville, Rod Smith's campaign manager. Please forgive this intrusion, but I wanted to give you all access to an exciting new tool we have on our website, www.rodsmith2006.com , which will allow you to post YOUR events on our website and allow our supporters and your members to have awareness of your events.
http://tools.rodsmith2006.com/page/event/search_simple is the link, and as it says, its simple!
You can do many things here, the main one being that you can create your own event--and upload your club and DEC meetings into our calendar.
While there are sites like www.bluebroward.org that have county specific events, we are hoping to replicate these successes on a statewide level for all Democrats!
From our homepage, www.rodsmith2006.com, you can go to the Events Center on the right hand of the screen and follow the prompts to either find an event near you, or create your own.
If you go to this link, and click on "plan an event" you can follow the prompts to load your events, be they regular meetings or special events you're having, into our website.
Once you enter in your zip code, just follow the prompts to set up an account and you'll be able to put your events out in one simple clearinghouse for the members of the Rod Squad. While we envision this being a tool for primary use by our supporters, we also envision this being a way for your members to communicate with a larger audience who may not attend normally scheduled meetings. There is no cost to you, we just ask that you only put events here that are not related to our opponent in the primary. We welcome other events related to other candidates other than our opponent. I'm sure you will understand this simple rule--other than that, we are happy to assist you by adding new categories or to add features you might find useful.
Please let us know what you think of the system, and thanks for being loyal Democrats!!!
Paul Neaville
Campaign Manager
Rod Smith for Governor
PS--forward to your friends and colleagues, I'm sure I missed some email addresses!
Posted: 2006-07-16 13:26:43
Winning Strategies for Democrats
Interesting analysis by James Carville and Stan Greenberg for Democracy Corps. Link suggested by a BlueBroward member as "A document every Democrat should read."
Posted: 2006-07-13 11:56:27
Businesses' tech tools get a political test - Boston Globe
Interesting article in the Boston Globe about Democrats making better use of technology to track voters and plan campaigns. Mentions the Voter Activation Network system being used in Florida.
It's great that we're getting better tools. I hope we'll make effective use of them.
Posted: 2006-06-23 10:47:03
Can the Democrats Win the Ground War at Home?
I missed this piece in The Nation when it was first published, but found it a very interesting analysis of what went right and wrong in 2004 and the signs of hope for the future. The article particularly looks at the issues of coordination, or the lack of it, between the Democratic Party and allied groups like ACT.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051219/hayes
BlueBroward.org is intended to be a unifying force on the local level, open to Democratic clubs as well as sympathetic groups such as Democracy for America. We're all supposed to be on the same side, right?
Posted: 2006-06-23 10:27:08
Giving the Democrats a 1-2-3-4 punch
Read Robert Watson's opinion column in the Palm Beach Post. Thanks to Barry Dockswell for pointing this out.
Excerpt:
Most Americans support restrictions on assault weapons, know that families can't live on minimum wage, favor clean air and clean water and believe that America is always strongest when leading our allies, not bullying them. So Democratic policies don't need to be changed; instead, the way they are presented to the country does need to be changed.For example, the Republican Party, like a good courtroom attorney, frames debates in such a way that to oppose the war is to oppose our troops. To criticize or question Bush is to be unpatriotic. Democrats need to lead on national security and the fight against terrorism by reminding the country that being patriotic means providing our soldiers with protective armor, a livable wage, fair death benefits, and the truth about the war.
Posted: 2006-06-15 09:26:07
The Worst Thing a Campaign Web Site Can Be Is ...
...outdated. The same could be said for most Websites, political or not. But when I do a campaign Web site, I want people to come away with the impression that there's a lot going on with the campaign, momentum is building, this is a campaign worth getting involved with or supporting financially.
Conversely, if you're not careful, you can present the impression that there's not much going on with this campaign and it's not worth paying attention to. If a visitor to your Web site clicks on a link that says "News" and sees only a few press releases that are several months old, what kind of message are you sending? Better not to have a News page if you can't commit to keeping it current.
That's why I always include a feature for listing current campaign events, and I have the events automatically expire off the Web site when the event date is past. I don't want people coming to the Web site and seeing an invitation for a fundraiser from two months ago. I want them to see something new.
Often, Web sites become outdated because it's too difficult to get new information posted. Typically, the bottleneck is a webmaster who maintains the site manually and is the only one who has access to the software and the password to make updates. But it shouldn't be that hard!
A good Webmaster ought to be able to provide a way for other members of the campaign to post routine updates, such as press releases and event notices themselves. And they shouldn't have to be technical geniuses to do it -- anyone with the right password should be able to update the campaign Web site, and doing it should be no harder than sending an email.
So make sure it's easy to update your Web site, and then keep it up to date.
Posted: 2006-06-03 13:25:49
Was the 2004 Election Stolen? - Robert Kennedy Jr. in Rolling Stone
Robert Kennedy Jr. adds up the evidence that says it was.
Posted: 2006-06-02 10:21:17
Thanks to flapolitics.com
Thanks to flapolitics.com, the Democratic news and opinion site, for giving a link to BlueBroward.org. They've got a good story at the top of today's home page about Jeb Bush offering a letter of thanks to the Swift Boat liars:
http://www.flapolitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=804
Posted: 2006-06-01 13:43:35
The BlueBroward Campaign Button
Campaigns can now take that red-white-and-blue button from our campaign listings --
-- and add it to their own Web site or emails.
Instructions at: http://www.bluebroward.org/campaign_button.php
Posted: 2006-05-31 16:20:09
Recruiting Candidates and Volunteers
I attended a Hollywood Democratic Club meeting last night, which is unusual for me because I live at the other corner of the county, in Coral Springs. But I had some other business down there and asked to have a minute in their program to talk about BlueBroward.org.
My basic pitch was that BlueBroward.org is set up to connect candidates with volunteers who can elect them, and in order to do that, I need to have both candidates and volunteers be aware of the site and, ideally, register with it.
Signing up for our campaign listings ought to be a simple decision for candidates, I'd think, because I'm offering them free advertising. But trying to give something away for free can be tough, maybe because it makes people suspicious. I keep trying.
I ran into Christian Chiari, a Democrat who is running for Florida House District 91, who told me he had hesitated to post a listing because he felt his own campaign Web site wasn't very polished yet.
So maybe there's some confusion about this -- candidates don't necessarily have to have a fancy Web site to take advantage of the BlueBroward.org campaign listings. If you provide a link to your own Web site, great, people can go there to find out more about you. If not, you can still post a few paragraphs about your candidacy and some contact information to BlueBroward.org, and hopefully we can steer some help your way. With luck, we'll get a few people to click on that red-white-and-blue Join Campaign button and send you their BlueBroward.org profile (which is how the system is supposed to work).
It's meant to be a no-lose proposition.
Since I mentioned Mr. Chiari, let me put in a plug for him as a hard working candidate whom I've seen at every Democratic event I've attended lately. He's also working hard for Ron Klein, one of our great Congressional candidates.
Christian can be reached at (954)803-4844 or chiari06@att.net
Posted: 2006-05-24 08:01:33
Tell a Friend feature
Something new I've added to help members make better use of the events and candidates listings on this Web site, and maybe make BlueBroward.org a little more widely known in the process.
You can now use the Tell a Friend page to easily email any of this info to up to 100 of your closest friends. You must be logged in to use this feature. Once you enter your password "Tell a Friend" should appear as the last of the red-white-and-blue buttons on the left hand side of the page.
Try it and let me know whether you think it's ready for prime time before I promote it more widely.
Posted: 2006-05-23 09:51:30
Hazards of Email
Interesting Christian Science Monitor piece on the hazards of email miscommunication. Not specific to politics, but something to keep in mind for every kind of email interaction.
Posted: 2006-05-23 07:24:38
Campaign Sign Up feature - New & Improved
One of the original goals of BlueBroward.org was to allow members to create volunteer profiles that they could share with campaigns they wanted to support. This feature has never been used as much as I'd like, but I still have high hopes that it could be useful as we go into the Fall elections and gear up for 2008.
The idea is that your profile is supposed to be a sort of volunteer resume, with the essential information about how to contact you as well as a summary of your skills and the issues that matter to you (your selection of the checkboxes in the issues section of the profile also feed the "Top Issues" section on the home page). So in this respect, BlueBroward is supposed to function sort of like one of those career Web sites where you prepare an electronic resume that you can submit to multiple employers.
The "New & Improved" part is that I've worked on making the system easier to understand and easier to use.
The new Campaign Listings page features a bright red white-and-blue "Join Campaign" button.
Clicking on that takes you to the sign up screen --
-- and I've added an opportunity to add a message to the campaign up top. If you're already a BlueBroward.org member, I ask you to login first. Once you've entered your password, you'll be returned to the campaign signup screen with your profile filled in:
So at that point you would make any updates, maybe add a message to the campaign (like, "The next couple of weeks would be good if you'd like me to go door-to-door or do phone banking, but after that I'll be on vacation") and click Submit.
The campaign will then get your information via email, with a cheery "Here's someone who wants to be part of your campaign!" at the top.
So that's the big idea here. It was inspired partly by the experience I had (and I know I wasn't alone) finding it much harder than it should have been to volunteer for the 2004 Kerry-Edwards campaign. I got the impression that the campaign, or the party, or maybe both, weren't very organized. So with the encouragement of some other grassroots workers, I set up BlueBroward.org as a way for the volunteers to organize themselves.
Now, I don't mean to reopen arguments about what went wrong in 2004 and whose fault it was. Maybe there were just too many votes aligned against us, and nothing anyone did in Broward County would have made a difference. Let's just make sure we're as organized as we possibly can be going into these next rounds of elections. I'm doing my part to help the best way I know how.
Posted: 2006-05-20 10:03:57
I'm happy to report that we now have a listing for Sen. Bill Nelson's reelection campaign, something I've been trying to get for months.
I ask the campaigns to submit a short blurb, as well as some contact info, so I need their cooperation to do it right.
Why does Bill Nelson need a listing here, when he has his own Web site? Well, to help you find his campaign Web site, for one thing. Directories are one of the things the Web is really good for (that's where Yahoo! got its start) and even in the age of Google they have something to recommend them.
This is also supposed to make it easier for you to submit your BlueBroward profile to the candidates who are listed here. (On my to-do list: making that easier).
Posted: 2006-05-18 17:37:43
This is a perfect example of how even big campaigns sometimes miss on the basics of email communication. So I'm scanning through my email on a busy day, and it contains a mix of spam and commercial promotions. I make my living as a tech magazine writer, so some of the promotions are legit, such as press releases from companies I maybe should be paying attention to. There are also a couple of political emails in this batch. Can you spot them?
The one that jumps out more is Martin Kiar's (good job, Martin), because it includes little details like the name of the candidate. But the other is from a much more high profile campaign, Jim Davis for Governor. Except I don't know that until I actually open the message.
This is what I see then:
OK, up until now the only way I'd know this was from the Jim Davis campaign is if I recognized the name Jennifer O'Malley. No disrespect intended, as I assume she's an important person in the campaign. But sorry, no name recognition here. And that subject line, "And we're off!" could be anything. In my world, could definitely be a publicity person writing about the launch of a new product. Could be one of those messages telling me that some stock is about to take off and wouldn't I like to get in on the ground floor? In other words, it's a message I'd be inclined to ignore and maybe even delete unread.
Now that I have the email open, I can see that the email is from jimdavis2006.com, and the candidate's name is in the first sentence, so now I know why I'm supposed to pay attention to this. Still not as eye catching as it's supposed to be because by default my email program doesn't display images (a defense against certain spam and hacker techniques).
So it's not until I tell the software I trust jimdavis.com that I see the message in all it's glory:
Having the images displayed wasn't critical in this case, which is good. The worse thing that I've seen campaigns do is send out something like an event information where all of the information is embedded in an image file. Often this is done because someone has come up with a cute graphical treatment that they're proud of, but the consequence is that if image display is turned off, all recipients see is a blank message. There are technical ways to work around this (alternative text that can be displayed if the image isn't), but you really have to work at making sure that, no matter what, your message gets through.
In case it wasn't clear, the point of this critique was not to say anything bad about the Davis campaign, just to emphasize how important it is to identify campaign emails clearly enough that email recipients can see at a glance why they should open your message.
Posted: 2006-05-18 15:22:28
The BlueBroward.org Editorial Page
Here's the way it works, or at least is supposed to work, in newspapers:
- Editorial content appears on the editorial page
- Regardless of the opinions expressed on the editorial page in favor of one candidate or another, everyone's supposed to get a fair shake in the news pages
On BlueBroward.org, anything that appears in my blog or any other blogs here that takes sides in, for example, a Democratic primary is "editorial page" content.
The campaign and event listings that appear elsewhere on this Web site are more like "news" content, presented without bias. In fact, it's not a perfect analogy because most of those items are submitted by the campaigns themselves or by local Democratic groups. Really, what I'm trying to offer here is more a set of communications and community building tools than an editorial product. But the point is, this is supposed to be a level playing field for any legitmate Democratic candidate, regardless of whom I or any other "editorial page" writer might favor. The only bias here is supposed to be a bias in favor of Democratic victory.
Is that clear enough?
Posted: 2006-05-17 22:11:04
More on email & political spam
Candidates interested in reaching lots of people cheaply via email tend to want to be pretty aggressive in terms of who they send to, but that aggression can backfire (getting you on spam blacklists that in turn prevent you from getting your message through to those who do want to receive it).
Check out this posting at Mandate Media's Politics and Technology blog.
Happily, one of the eggregious examples they point to is the Charlie Crist campaign's practice of adding people to its lists at random and ignoring requests to be removed from the list. But don't doubt for a minute that Democrats have been guilty of the same overreaching. To be honest, these clips are making me rethink some aspects of how email has been handled in campaigns I've been involved in as well.
Posted: 2006-05-10 18:45:17
Email - please identify yourself
Campaigns and other political organizations, like most organizations of every type these days, have made use of the Internet integral to their operations. But they don't always do a good job of it. I've been known to make some mistakes of my own, of course, but there are certain principles of how I think Web sites and email campaigns ought to be run that I'd like to explain in this space from time to time.
A very basic thing that I often see done poorly is email communication between a campaign and its constituents or a political organization and its members. In particular, one error can make your email a failure before it's ever read - failing to identify yourself and your message in the email Subject line and From address. If you can't do that, your email is likely to blend in with the background noise of spam clogging everyone's inbox and either be deleted unread or just be ignored (possibly until after the date of the fundraiser or election or other event you were trying to alert recipients to).
The worst case would be something like this:
From: jbowden123@aol.com
Subject: about tomorrow
Definitely looks like spam, doesn't it, even though jbowden123@aol.com might be someone important writing from a personal email address. To make it just a little worse, this person could also leave the subject line blank, a bad habit I see from a lot of folks.
But consider even something like this:
From: John Bowden <jbow@hotmail.com>
Subject: Our Meeting Tomorrow
This is a made-up example, but I've seen things just like this from campaigns (including some I worked on) and Democratic clubs and other groups whose messages I care about. The problem with this message is that if I don't instantly recognize the name on the "From" line, I might think it was spam. One of the insidious things spammers have done in recent years is craft the subject lines of their messages in the form of routine communications you might receive from a friend or associate, such as "follow up" or "Our Meeting Tomorrow."
Maybe this is an important message. It might be the secretary of my local Democratic club announcing that a speaker I'd really like to see will be at tomorrow's meeting. It might be the volunteer coordinator for the campaign saying that tomorrow's meeting will be at the library instead of the coffee shop, a last-minute change. But if I'm having one of those days where there are hundreds of messages in my email inbox, and this person hasn't achieved instant name recognition with me, this would not be one of the first messages I'd read, if I'd read it at all.
Some people can get away with this. When I get one of those messages that has "John Kerry" on the From line, yeah, I know who that is (I still might not read it, but that's another issue -- a little late for you to be campaigning hard, isn't it, JK?).
But unless you've run in a national presidential campaign, you probably shouldn't assume that every recipient of your broadcast email is going to instantly recognize your name. I don't think the state party chair should be making that assumption, for example, and I definitely don't think the local Democratic club secretary should be.
Now, if you're the candidate, obviously you're trying to build name recognition. But still it would be better to have the From line be
From: John Bowden for Mayor <johnformayor@aol.com>
or
From: John Bowden for Mayor <john@johnbowdenformayor.com>
The point is that somehow you've got to set the context, whether for a campaign or a meeting of your organization or whatever, just from those two pieces of information -- From and Subject.
In addition to / instead of putting the info in the From line, you can get it into the Subject line, as in:
Subject: Tamarac Democratic Club Meeting Tomorrow
or
Subject: John Bowden Campaign Meeting Tomorrow
Some mailing list software will automatically insert an identifier, often between brackets, at the start of the message. For example, I used the Web site domain as sort of a short hand identifier for one of the campaigns I worked on:
Subject: [electscottjbrook.com] Saturday March 19 Meet and Greet
There are other things you can do in the body of the message to identify your candidate or cause more thoroughly. But if you don't do it with the From and Subject lines, recipients may never get that far.
Posted: 2006-05-10 09:22:38