Archive for February, 2009
In a short break from the Obama lessons series, I just published a piece on the Campaigns & Elections/Politics Magazine blog — a review of GOP.gov, the new website for the Republicans in Congress. Not to give too much away, but the site starts out with a good framework and starts failing pretty quickly from there. Read more, plus a quick look at the Democratic alternatives in GOP.gov: Built for a Party, But Will Anyone Come?
– cpd
February 25th, 2009
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Part Two of a six-part series
Structure isn’t sexy, but to talk about the online tools of 2008 without discussing the framework that governed their use brings to mind a certain metaphor about forests and trees. ANYONE could employ most of the technology the Obama campaign used, but very few online communicators have ever done so either as effectively or on such a scale. One important lesson from 2008: the tools you use don’t matter as much as how you use them.
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February 24th, 2009
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Part One of a six-part series
Without the internet, Barack Obama would still be the junior senator from Illinois. Under the rules of the broadcast era of politics, a young man with a funny name and a couple of years in the Senate might run honorably but would almost certainly lose, crushed by the ability of an experienced candidate like Hillary Clinton to raise money from big donors and lock up endorsements from elected officials and party activists.
But Barack Obama declared his candidacy in 2007, not in 1991, and his two-year campaign for the White House could rely on the internet to an unprecedented extent for its core functions. His staff would employ a combination of both new and proven online technologies to organize volunteers, to find new supporters and put them to work, to turn out voters on election day and (of course) to raise unprecedented amounts of money — all contributing to a crucial edge in the primary and general elections.
Both Obama and Republican rival John McCain relied on the net to bolster their campaigns. But Obama’s online success dwarfed his opponent’s, and proved key to his winning the presidency.
“Propelled by Internet, Barack Obama Wins Presidency,” Sarah Lai Stirland, Wired.com, 11/4/2008
Obama’s online staff and the contractors they employed designed, built, tested and steadily improved a series of systems and procedures that formed the basis of a scalable, distributed organization that by November of 2008 spanned the United States and penetrated areas in which Democrats had not competed in years. The Obama new media team tried many techniques in the process, but motivated by the need to achieve measurable political results, they focused on replicable models, practical tools and incremental improvements. In the end they were richly rewarded: their work midwifed an astounding level of citizen interest and involvement for a modern political campaign. The numbers alone are impressive:
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February 23rd, 2009
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Hi y’all, I’m fixin’ to publish the first of what’s planned as a six-part series on the lessons of the Obama campaign for other online communicators, political and commercial. The second article will go live tomorrow, followed by the rest over the following week or so. Once we’re done, I’ll bundle ‘em up into an e-book like the Online Politics 101 and put it out there for download — it’ll make a great gift for the whole family. The planned topics are below; the links will start to work when each article appears.
Update: download the complete series as a PDF e-book.
– cpd
February 23rd, 2009
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Political search advertising has come up a couple of times on the site lately, once in connection with the Obama campaign and once involving a 2010 Senate race. Even if you can’t make it to Search Engine Strategies in March, DC’ers still have a chance to learn a little more about a subject that’s only going to become a bigger part of the political communications landscape in the future, via a panel discussion moderated by ClickZ’s Kate Kaye and hosted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
The “Political Online Advertising in the 2008 Election: Politics Will Never Be the Same Again” panel will also cover behavioral advertising, which I believe somehow involves turning us all into zombies and so will be useful to know more about. It’s free, it’s on Monday March 2nd at 10 a.m. (is the sun up by then?), and you can register here.
– cpd
February 19th, 2009
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- Bipartisanship as a political weapon, and the Republican counter-”strategy.”
- The eternal role of the personal in politics.
- At Obama’s first prime-time press conference, a blogger gets a nod, while Biden’s Office Holds Stimulus Call with Progressive Bloggers.
- Winning panels for 2009 Politics Online Conference.
- Top Tweets from the GOP Tech Summit, plus The RNC Tech Summit — Some Thoughts and GOP Tech Revival Earns Some “Amens.”
- Facebook: All Your Stuff is Ours, Even if You Quit, plus Facebook: all your content are belong to us. FOREVER! Protests ensue. In response, Zuckerberg On Who Owns User Data On Facebook: It’s Complicated.
- NBA Streams Live with Facebook, Obama To Appear?
- The secrets of Obama’s success.
- I Have a Blog Crush on the White House, via @veronicaeye.
- Five Ways the Pickens Plan is Using Social Networking to Build Public Support. C.f. Obama’s Not the Only One Who Gets Social Media.
- Gingrich Eager for a Twitter Review Course, while others are Following @dipnote: Hillary Clinton Steps Out.
- Rebuild the [Republican] Party: Hard [Social Media] Metrics for Campaigns and State Parties.
- Ocean.gov — A Modest Proposal.
- MoveOn v. Corporate CEOs, while MoveOn’s Eli Pariser-replacement answers critics online (via tPrez).
- Bev Godwin: A Great Appointment.
- Bloggers as Partisan Activists.
- The Michael Phelps [bong-hit] saga is a classic example of our addiction to feigned outrage. C.f. Whitehouse.gov does not mention the words “marijuana” or “drug policy.”
- Mining The Thought Stream.
- “In 2004, a giant flare from another soft-gamma-ray repeater was so intense it measurably affected Earth’s upper atmosphere from 50,000 light-years away.”
- Old News Brings Fresh Outrage: Reprints of 1930s Nazi Articles Rile German Censors.
- A case that threatens the right of Web sites to link freely.
- Government Web Sites Grapple with YouTube.
- How To Speak Obama: Zadie Smith’s two cents on how 44 mesmerizes.
- The evolutionary roots of Facebook’s “25 Things” craze.
- T-Shirt Hell Staying in Business After ‘Stimulus’ Stunt Pays Off.
- McCaskill Gets It (on Twitter): Authenticity Matters.
- [Emailed, Video] Response to Liberal Groups’ Ad Causes Uproar.
- The G.O.P.’s “Funny” Valentine E-cards.
- Organizing Nationally to Make a Difference Locally. C.f. Dear Facebook Friend, Have a Condom.
- What Was I Thinking? Porn-Star Boyfriend. See above.
- New administration Web sites appear to be “shovel ready.”
- Open It Up — How to Engage Your Base Behind the Scenes.
- Social media “expert” evaluations.
- Recession Obsession — What Does The Future Hold For Online Fundraising?
- Bloggers as Partisan Activists.
- Did blogs make American politics uglier? See the second and third pages (though the whole interview’s well worth reading).
- Top Five Web2.0 Applications that Conservatives Need.
- Pew: 11% of Americans Read or Post Status Updates. C.f. To desire Twitter is the root of suffering.
- Award Winning Social Media Strategies.
- House GOP Overhauls Web Presence.
- e-Politics — The Australian Experience.
- Maryland General Assembly Will Lift Facebook Ban, via TechRepublican.
- The secret of Twitter [success] revealed.
- The White House is Liveblogging.
- Latest Celebrity Rant: Conan Goes Off on Boron.
– cpd
February 17th, 2009
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For all the attention paid to the back-and-forth over the House and Senate versions of the economic stimulus bill, the version that REALLY mattered is the one that appeared last: the conference committee report. The early debate and early votes certainly contributed, since they helped set the parameters of what was possible for the legislation (i.e., what the critical players in either body would tolerate), but the votes to send the bill through each body were really prologue, since the conference committee would write the actual final draft that would eventually go to the president.
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February 17th, 2009
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How’s this for random economic fallout — will the recently passed stimulus bill stimulate online politics?
Here’s why it might: money for transportation and other projects will be funneling down through state and regional funding entities, and every local government is going to be fighting for a share. Plus, though we often think of transportation money as being dedicated to highways, roads and bridges, some of it can be re-allocated to bike and pedestrian trails or paths at the planning agencies’ discretion — and local outdoor recreation organizations will be firing up their members to push away. Finally, it always happens that some people are going to fight certain projects, particularly ones going through their back yards.
With local officials from school board on up now hearing from internet-organized constituents, and with cadres of veteran Obama volunteer commandos dug in across the country post-election, we may see an explosion of email, online video, social networking outreach and all of the other tools of electronic advocacy in the coming months — but this time turned on the projects in the stimulus bill, not on electing a candidate. Here’s one thing certain: anyone with an opinion will have no trouble finding a soapbox, at least a virtual one.
– cpd
February 16th, 2009
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Cross-posted on K Street Cafe
Check out this fascinating print ad placed by the National Association of Home Builders in today’s Roll Call, which starts out with quite a strong quote:
“If this thing passes, I will buy immediately.” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5
Followed by more quotes attributed to the LA Times, St. Louis Post Dispatch and U.S. News and World Report. But check out the veeeeery fine print in the scanned version below, sent in by a little bird and revealingly photoshopped:
Now, let’s take a look at it again, this time WITHOUT the fine print blown-up.
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February 13th, 2009
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Due to a ridiculously embarrassing snafu (check those passport expiration dates, kids!), I am NOT delivering a presentation in Mexico City this afternoon (ouch). While this situation sucks in myriad ways, it does give us the chance to consider why yesterday was the busiest day on e.politics since Election Night 2008. The answer: because the web rewards the GATHERING of good content at least as much as it rewards its production.
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February 13th, 2009
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The process of putting together a conference presentation for this Friday, while also planning out a series of articles on Obama campaign lessons, has yielded a nice side benefit: a list of articles about Obama’s presidential campaign and how it won in 2008. Consider these a down payment on history, since a slew of books about the 2008 race is due for release this year. And since our site is called e.politics (and all), this collection does emphasize the online side of the campaign, though it begins with more general overview pieces and goes all the way through some interesting niche applications (librarians in action!).
What’d I miss? Leave any article suggestions in the comments — with any luck, we’ll have us a little crowdsourcing.
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February 11th, 2009
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Cross-posted on techPresident
Another tip from the Obama campaign: take a solid look at search advertising. At two recent public discussions, members of the winning 2008 new media team have mentioned the effectiveness of Google ads in building the campaign’s list of supporters, volunteers and donors. Email team head Stephen Geer alluded to it in passing in a RootsCamp presentation, describing search advertising as having a “ridiculously” high Return On Investment as a list-builder. Joe Rospars talked significantly more at a second NOI-sponsored event last month, divulging that search and contextual ads (Google Ads) were the backbone of the campaign’s online advertising outreach, and that a relatively straightforward strategy had been steadily and consistently effective.
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February 10th, 2009
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- Congressman Twitters a Security Breach, as Hoekstra Twitters Details of Iraq Codel.
- Stimulating the Netroots — Obama/DNC stimulus bill outreach has social media angle. C.f. e.politics coverage, plus The Challenge of Managing Obama’s Advocacy Organization.
- Lessons from a Modern RNC Chair Race, as RNC Chairman Michael Steele Uses YouTube to Deliver Weekly Republican Address.
- Boener to Obama: do you fear my videos? C.f. Building a YouTube Problem for Obama and Congress Jumps on Web 2.0 Bandwagon.
- Responding to Online Criticism: The Air Force Approach.
- Op-Ed: Time for Israel Advocacy 2.0.
- New Dates for 2009 Politics Online Conference.
- F-22 Stealth Jet Gets Online Push, as a Jobs Program via display ads and an “email your president” website. Plus, (announcing the launch of) StimulusWatch.org.
- President Obama Versus the CW Machine, Round One.
- Dispatches from the Culture11 Wars. Death of an online magazine.
- Pajamas Media Puts (Conservative) Blog Ad Network to Bed.
- David Plouffe Gets the Esquire Treatment.
- Tracking The Washington Elite.
- Identity Politics: A Social Media Election Retrospective.
- New Media, New Channels of Influence — report on a presentation by Obama’s Scott Goodstein.
- GOP.gov overhaul a change we can believe in, via TechRepublican. C.f. Sarah Palin’s PAC Website.
- YouTuber has his say about paid parking debate.
- Mapping Political Website success in Google: A New Technique and First Results.
- Dirty SEO tricks you should avoid.
- Obama, The ‘Revolution’ in Online Politics — And What Happens Next.
- President Obama Clone Brings Chocolate Avatars To Street Fighter Online. C.f. Apple Rejects Obama Trampoline iPhone App, Leaves TechCrunch Puzzled.
- How ‘in line’ communications won it for Obama, as Libraries and Librarians “Learning from the Obama Campaign,” ‘We’ has power over ‘me,’ and Tips for using multichannel marketing if you’re NOT on the Obama Campaign.
- Online Fundraisers: The Eyes Have It, plus Best blogs for fundraisers and Everything You Wanted to Know About Online Fundraising in a Bad Economy.
- The Joys of Google Grants, Part 1.
- (Local Chicago) Politicians’ Web sites not so entertaining.
- Internet Technology in the Obama Age: Helping People Change Government.
- Make Your Nonprofit Technology Resolutions a Reality in 2009.
- Pickens Plan Web Program Wins Reed Award.
- Coleman Now Trolling Internet For More Voters.
- Well-Connected Parents Take On School Boards.
- Bong hit cell phone camera photo causes Michael Phelps grief — use of phone cameras at parties now punishable by death.
- Software Swarm to Spot Rocket-Propelled Grenades Before They’re Fired.
- Google Quietly Declares E-Mail War on Yahoo.
- Colorado Man Faces 10 Years for Threatening Obama by E-Mail.
- Expanding the base for an issue by tracking connections in the blogosphere. C.f. The Feminist Web According to Linkfluence.
- Launch a denial-of-service attack/commit a felony — against your Halo 3 enemy.
- Redesigning the Government (websites): FEC.
- Can social networking fix U.S. image? Via A Loyal Reader (thanks Dad!).
- Google Earth provides dizzying 3D views of Mars .
- How to control a herd of humans.
- Oh, the (25) random things we do for the sake of Facebook.
- Twitter: New User Quick Start Guide, while Do You Have to Follow People to Use Twitter Correctly?
- A New Site for Clinton’s Constituents.
- Facebookers Back Howard Dean for HHS Secretary.
- Just How Smart Are Your Social Media Objectives?
- Mobiles in Advocacy Redux — Tips and Advice.
- Serious networked governance paper from Joe Trippi, David Weinberger, Britt Blaser.
- Online outreach metrics & budgeting.
- Rise of the Goverati.
- Starting a Campaign? Give New Media the Scoop.
- Marketing to an older generation? Don’t dismiss Facebook!, since Facebook Nearly 20 Percent Bigger Than MySpace in US, but it’s Banned In Baltimore: Maryland General Assembly Blocks Facebook, MySpace.
- How progressives can use Twitter: a strategic perspective (DRAFT), plus 500 Club — The Most Followed Government Twitter Streams.
- Banner Ad Quality Sinks to New Lows.
- Tips for Giving Social Media Projects to Interns. Tip #1: make sure they’re not batshit crazy — I made that mistake once.
- Keep Your Eyes Peeled: Ways to Distribute Content Proliferating Like Bunnies.
- Make Your Web Site Press-Friendly, So Journalists Cover Your Org.
- Information Age Volunteerism — Open Sourced! Crowdsourced!
- E-Mail Outage Forces White House to Operate the Oldfangled Way. Now burning appointees’ tax returns for heat.
- Free Buzz monitoring Tools.
- Google’s New Energy Lobbyists.
- 10 Steps for Planning a Successful Webinar.
- Obama’s Secret Record Collection (note: vinyl was once “new media”). Meanwhile, MySpace Begins Monetizing Music Videos With Impressive Results.
- How I Made a 1,474-Megapixel Photo During President Obama’s Inaugural Address. Awesome! Be sure to zoom in — terrific level of detail. Via Antonia Kreuger.
– cpd
February 8th, 2009
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Here’s an observation I’ve been meaning to write up since Netroots Nation this summer, but one that seems particularly relevant now as both Democrats and Republicans are getting their first views of their current legislators in action: if you want to change the direction of your party in Congress, or of Congress as a whole, fund challengers’ staff early. And by “early,” I’m talking about a year in advance of the relevant primary or general election.
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February 6th, 2009
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