Tuesday, February 03, 2004
A great discussion is going on at Daily Kos, a political weblog, on how the Democrats' DNC should reform themselves and use the Internet better: "it's not that the DNC is malicious, merely that those who run it are, like all of us, not particularly skilled at uniting the inside and outside of the parties to form a cohesive unit. So let me make some suggestions for the how the DNC could integrate bloggers into their operations so as to garner support from people like me.
1. Don't write to us like we are investors as the primary means of contact. I don't care what your internal operations look like, or your radio booking operation that gets you on air. I'm a member of the party, I'm not a rich liberal leaving on the Upper East Side who wants glossy proof of pedagree before investing. Kick ass on the radio, kick ass on TV. I listen, I watch. Make me proud to be a Democrat.
2. Dean's Get Local tools are not tools for a single candidate, they are tools for a political party. All local, state, and national political events, as well as grassroots events, should be put into a decentralized DNC tool to enable Democrats to meet Democrats. This tool is off the shelf software; expensive, but worth it.
3. Stop using the 'I/you' dichotomy, and stop calling us 'grassroots'. We are not grassroots, we are the party. As are you.
4. Implement mentorship programs nationally so interested Democrats around the country can learn about their local party organization.
5. Put something behind Meetup. Send out DVDs, agendas, a goddam web page, whatever. Prove that you want us in the party.
6. Buy and give hosting space to Democrats to use for blogs. Contract out with Typepad, or something. Give your party members a voice beyond an election.
7. Focus on building niche online/offline Democrat communities. For example, you could set up a Democrat dating service. As stupid as this sounds, why not give it a try? Is there any better way of cementing party loyalty? Or you could set up Democratic reading clubs. There's a lot of potential here.
All in all, be creative, and recognize that donations are the last component of a satisfying relationship. Treat us like we are customers who really want your product but have been burned many times in the past. It's probably not your fault, but we feel insulted and demeaned, all because we want to help the party and the party doesn't seem to want our help, just our cash. This can change, but it will take some organizational focus, not just a good database. Prove to us that there's some value in being a member of an organized party, or else we will just drift off to individual races that captivate us. It's hard, I know, because we seem disorganized and bitter. And many of us are. But that can all change, if you help the process along."
1. Don't write to us like we are investors as the primary means of contact. I don't care what your internal operations look like, or your radio booking operation that gets you on air. I'm a member of the party, I'm not a rich liberal leaving on the Upper East Side who wants glossy proof of pedagree before investing. Kick ass on the radio, kick ass on TV. I listen, I watch. Make me proud to be a Democrat.
2. Dean's Get Local tools are not tools for a single candidate, they are tools for a political party. All local, state, and national political events, as well as grassroots events, should be put into a decentralized DNC tool to enable Democrats to meet Democrats. This tool is off the shelf software; expensive, but worth it.
3. Stop using the 'I/you' dichotomy, and stop calling us 'grassroots'. We are not grassroots, we are the party. As are you.
4. Implement mentorship programs nationally so interested Democrats around the country can learn about their local party organization.
5. Put something behind Meetup. Send out DVDs, agendas, a goddam web page, whatever. Prove that you want us in the party.
6. Buy and give hosting space to Democrats to use for blogs. Contract out with Typepad, or something. Give your party members a voice beyond an election.
7. Focus on building niche online/offline Democrat communities. For example, you could set up a Democrat dating service. As stupid as this sounds, why not give it a try? Is there any better way of cementing party loyalty? Or you could set up Democratic reading clubs. There's a lot of potential here.
All in all, be creative, and recognize that donations are the last component of a satisfying relationship. Treat us like we are customers who really want your product but have been burned many times in the past. It's probably not your fault, but we feel insulted and demeaned, all because we want to help the party and the party doesn't seem to want our help, just our cash. This can change, but it will take some organizational focus, not just a good database. Prove to us that there's some value in being a member of an organized party, or else we will just drift off to individual races that captivate us. It's hard, I know, because we seem disorganized and bitter. And many of us are. But that can all change, if you help the process along."
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