If a Democrat Wants to Win the White House it is Time They Make a Smart Investment...
The first paragraph of Technology, the Internet and Progressives puts a great deal of insight into one of the reasons why a Democrat is not in the White House today. Democrats have a tendency to refuse to put an adequate amount of campaign money into their Web components and do not accept technology as willingly as the Republicans. "Conservatives know that modern technology is the most efficient and effective way of 'getting to people' and 'getting their message out.'"
To me it seems ridiculous in the year 2005, some Democrats are still unwilling to put enough campaign resources into their Internet strategies. The Internet is a critical component to any campaign and a poorly designed site might make the difference between a winning and losing campaign.
The way I see it why wouldn't a candidate want to create best Web site they possibly could? I see a site not only as the perfect location to store a clearinghouse of positive news reports about a candidate but also help the candidate to make a personal connection with the voter. They can tell their life story, show pictures taken throughout their lifetime, highlight their accomplishments and explain their policy stances. As Emi showed in class Tuesday, candidates can take quizzes to see how their views correspond the candidate's. That is a great tool. Web sites also serve as a direct avenue to garner campaign support - both economically through donations but also through volunteer sign ups.
If I was to lead a campaign today, once I developed a message and a strategy I would start from the web up. All of my traditional campaign collateral like banners, bumper stickers and yard signs would point voters in my candidate's site direction where they would have an amazing tool at their disposal.
I am all about online newsletters, banner ads and volunteer connection emails. I think that the Web is the best place to get both like minded and undecided minds together to support a candidate or a product. It all seems so simple and a non-issue to me, but perhaps that is because I am of the Web nativist generation. When I want to know something about a person or a thing the first place I go to is the Internet.
If a candidate does not see the Web as being important in an election today or worthy of a large amount of funding I would say that they are making a critical mistake. I believe if you ignore the Web in politics today, you will most certainly get ignored at the polls.
To me it seems ridiculous in the year 2005, some Democrats are still unwilling to put enough campaign resources into their Internet strategies. The Internet is a critical component to any campaign and a poorly designed site might make the difference between a winning and losing campaign.
The way I see it why wouldn't a candidate want to create best Web site they possibly could? I see a site not only as the perfect location to store a clearinghouse of positive news reports about a candidate but also help the candidate to make a personal connection with the voter. They can tell their life story, show pictures taken throughout their lifetime, highlight their accomplishments and explain their policy stances. As Emi showed in class Tuesday, candidates can take quizzes to see how their views correspond the candidate's. That is a great tool. Web sites also serve as a direct avenue to garner campaign support - both economically through donations but also through volunteer sign ups.
If I was to lead a campaign today, once I developed a message and a strategy I would start from the web up. All of my traditional campaign collateral like banners, bumper stickers and yard signs would point voters in my candidate's site direction where they would have an amazing tool at their disposal.
I am all about online newsletters, banner ads and volunteer connection emails. I think that the Web is the best place to get both like minded and undecided minds together to support a candidate or a product. It all seems so simple and a non-issue to me, but perhaps that is because I am of the Web nativist generation. When I want to know something about a person or a thing the first place I go to is the Internet.
If a candidate does not see the Web as being important in an election today or worthy of a large amount of funding I would say that they are making a critical mistake. I believe if you ignore the Web in politics today, you will most certainly get ignored at the polls.
