Time for a little crowdsourcing, folks. Jose Antonio Vargas has pulled together his list of the Top Ten Moment online political moments of the past decade (with photos), and you get to vote for your faves. It’s Macaca Moment vs. The Dean Surge and many more, a tag-team deathmatch of digital glory for all the ages. Check it out for yourself over at Huffington Post, and be sure to vote early and often. BTW, nice work tPrez crew!
If you’re reading this via Epolitics.com rather than through your favorite RSS reader, you might notice a slight change: we’re now about 25% wider. In the 3.5 years since E.pol’s initial launch, the proliferation of big flat-screen monitors has changed the prevailing standards and allowed sites to spread out sideways, just like certain online authors if they don’t hit the gym often enough. E.pol has lagged a little behind the times, but no more — the results of an early New Year’s resolution.
The actual expansion wasn’t too complicated, requiring a rebuild of the top banner and some changes to the stylesheets, but let me know if you see any bugs I missed. Let’s hope the coming year’s other resolutions go as easily.
If you’re a music fan in DC, you probably know all about the 9:30 Club. With a great physical space, excellent sound and a staff of real pros (and music freaks), it’s the best place to see a band I’ve ever been in. But I was surprised yesterday to get an email from the club that started a little like this:
Concert Fans Beware!
There’s a train wreck about to happen and consumer groups say YOU will be the victim if the two most powerful corporate interests in the live concert business get their way. But you can help stop the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The government needs to hear from music fans now. Tell the Department of Justice that you’re against these monopolies amassing illegal power over consumers, before it’s too late. antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov
The 9:30 Club, making online advocacy safe for rock and roll! Yet another example of how just about anybody can use the internet for politics, whether or not they have specialized advocacy software or expertise. Read the full email here, and get your messages off to the DOJ today. Only YOU can help save Rock and Roll from the bean-counters and greedheads.
But what about the self-employed? Why your boss is incompetent: The Peter principle says people get promoted until they reach the level of their own incompetence — now mathematics proves it.
Welcome To The Errordome. Post misunderstands Public Enemy, hilarity ensues (be sure to read the comments).
Organizing For America may own Obama’s supporter list (and be looking for people to help nurture it), but they’re not the only ones trying to follow his campaign’s example and connect people online to help change the world. Hope+ is a new site (currently in beta) that aims to build relationships between people around the world and channel members toward specific projects that need their help. It’s a similar model to that of Change.org, but focused more on the developing world, where a little support can often take projects a long way.
Like any socnet, the site will obviously live and die based on whether it can build a critical mass of users, a process that’s just beginning in this case. Swing by and check it out; I just joined. It’ll be fascinating to see where this goes!
This just in from OFA, the organization that has custody of the magic Obama supporter list:
Housed at the Democratic National Committee, the DNC/OFA are hiring email campaigners. Email campaigners are responsible for planning, writing, and executing grassroots campaigns to advance the President’s agenda for change. Campaigns will primarily be driven through email and web tools and use fundraising, citizen advocacy, and local organizing to achieve our goals.
BTW, it’s good to see them actively recruiting email writers — it’s a sign that the list is going to be more active moving forward, something that some of us have been waiting for.
Hi y’all, I just got myself an early Christmas present — I signed up for the NonProfit 2.0 conference on February 12th. Are you into nonprofit online communications, or just like to hang out with folks who are? Then check out this from NP2.0 co-organizer Allyson Kapin:
NonProfit 2.0 is more than just a conference on the next generation web. It’s a next generation conference in format. Ever attend a conference, for a keynote, and find the rest of the content to be wanting? NonProfit 2.0 delivers the best of both worlds, offering great keynote sessions led by Amanda Rose, Founder of Twestival, but in an unconference way with no PowerPoint, 15 minute leads, and open questions and dialogue for fantastic conversations. Then from midmorning forward, NonProfit 2.0 shifts into a full-on Unconference.
Here’s a sign that the Tea Party movement intends to be a force in politics for years to come — some of its leaders are trying to build the foundation of a powerful online fundraising and organizing presence. Some hints about what they’re up to:
Developing an online fundraising apparatus modeled after Obama’s small-donor operation. According to a Post article last week, “We’re looking at the potential of raising small checks from a vast number of donors, just as Obama did,” [Freedom Works President Matt] Kibbe said. “We’ve been studying everything about the Obama primary strategy, and I happen to think the tea party movement could make even the Obama grass-roots machine look obsolete.”
Quick plug: last week’s discussion based on About Face turned out to be both fun and illuminating, and tomorrow’s promises to be as well. You still have time to sign up! This episode’s speakers include Ben Katz, Glenn Kessler, Dan Schnur, Mark Davis and Michael Bassik, smart folks all. “See” you guys there.
As you might could tell from the promo graphics popping up all over the site, the just-concluded How Candidates Can Use the Internet to Win in 2010 series is now a single publication ready for (free) download.
With five chapters covering the essential online tools and tactics that state- and local-level campaigns can use to find supporters, raise money and turn out voters in next year’s elections, the PDF/e-book provides a straightforward guide to leveraging both new and old online tools to win in 2010. Download now or browse by chapter, and don’t forget to spread the word.
Just a quick reminder: the first “virtual book party” for About Face is Thursday at 4 pm Eastern! There’s still time to register for that event and for the follow-on session next Tuesday. Sign up now.
