What the Apple iPad Means For Politics and Campaigns

As Huffington Post Tech and Innovations Editor Jose Antonio Vargas says regarding Apple’s launch of the iPad device, “It’s the Content Stupid”.  The device itself is a pretty slick and relatively affordable content platform that campaigns should become hyper-familiar with.  Vargas hits it right on.  Here’s what the Operation Red State team sees for the iPad in Politics.

1. The iPad (and the iPhone/iTouch for the matter) are perfectly suited to have custom apps for field data gathering, door knocking, and polling. We haven’t seen much attention paid to this area of app development yet but it will come.  We want to see a google maps mashup that can assign door knocking grids to campaign staff/volunteers that allows for simple data point recovery in real-time like:  ”no one home”, “definite YES vote”, “definite NO vote”, “approximate talk time with voter”, “undecided” , etc.   Imagine sending out 5 volunteers to hit 5 grids in an evening, getting a 70% “at home” rate and knowing that of those 70% hits…that 65% said “definite YES”. ORS will build this if a campaign or campaigns fund it FYI.
2. The iPad is large enough for campaign operatives to engage people in the field and have them touch the screen to answer questions.
3. The iPad has an always on wireless data option that brings a nearly universal metro area connection for real time data transmission via the cloud back to campaign HQ.
4. The iPad is a convenient device to bring along to house party and other fundraisers for people to sign up for your updates…or more importantly CONTRIBUTE to your campaign.  Mobile optimized donation pages are a big plus and we don’t see too much of that on smart phones.

What other uses to do you see for the iPad in the coming years politically speaking?

Campaign Technology Consulting Engagement

On our site, you won’t find any reference to the technology consulting we do directly for candidates.  Nor will you see any description of the execution we bring to an e-campaign as fully engaged content creators.  That is going to change soon.  This portion of our business has been gaining serious strength lately and we only see that continuing.  As we continue to hone the concept of the winning online campaign strategy you will benefit greatly from reading our blog and becoming a subscriber to our paid service.  Hang on.

Don’t Hire A Campaign Consultant First

I expect to raise the brows of many (both finely sculpted and bushy inchworm-like) when I hit publish in my WordPress console shortly.

In my recent experience, the common advice that “Your first campaign hire should be a campaign consultant (CC)” is ill advised.

Granted we’re biased towards technology but in our work at ORS we have the benefit of working with State, National, and Local races so we have seen how each level builds a campaign organization.  In nearly every case the candidate and the engaged campaign consultant don’t put the ecampaign on a level playing with the ground operation.  The campaign consultant:

Goes to his/her contacts and resources and gets a “Basic site up” that “Shows the candidates positions, allows people to donate, enables email sign-ups, gets a Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account set up, and has a Why I’m Running for Office video.”

I cringe at this method but it sounds familiar if you’re currently a candidate doesn’t it?  The site and the candidate shall remain here in this online purgatory forever while the organization builds out, buys yard signs, door knocks, canvasses, etc.  This approach is NOT desirable anymore and puts you square into the “me too” ranks.

Here’s the best plan to launch a campaign along with some key observations:

1. Study and firmly grasp that the nature of information gathering, dissemination, and assimilation has likely changed more rapidly than you appreciate if you’re over 35. (I’m 37 so relax there’s hope)
2. Accept that your online activity IS the only means by which an increasingly larger segment each year interacts with you.  As a candidate it’s easy to dismiss the online world since you feel comfortable and cozy doing your appearances at the VFW Fish Fry and the County Party meeting.  This mistake is deadly.  You can only do so much as a candidate…perhaps 12 hours per day.  Why would you dismiss what technology can do for you the other 12 hours in the day?  The fact that you have a campaign web site , Facebook, and Twitter mean you’ve bought a ticket into the cheap seats.  Now what?  Who cares?
3. Engage tribes early and often. I’ve met 100+ candidates since April 15, 2009.  Most are over 45 and believe that by having the basic tech tools in place, they are “talking to” those under 30.  Wrong.  You’re an empty suit (or pant suit) to them.  You must start thinking in terms of online tribes just like you build the human tribes or coalitions around topics or interests.  “Hunters for Doug Mitchell” or “Digital Natives for Net Neutrality” are going to require very different communication.  But you MUST go out and engage these groups in their chosen communication medium.  It’s not up to you anymore.
4. If you are “That guy” or “That gal” who doesn’t really get the full picture about technology and expect that your campaign consultant will “Do the technology to you” and absolve you of changing your ways you will lose. Get over it.  Don’t be “that guy”.  Embrace technology and get educated through courses and training delivered online or via a direct consulting engagement if you have the campaign cash (or personal funds).
5. You must have an online campaign strategy and the team to execute on it right out of the gate. If you don’t your online strategy will get lost in the shuffle and you’ll be reactive.  You know that there is such a thing as “online momentum”.  You’ve felt it.  The volume of information, news, blog posts, tweets, etc…that enters the stream is too great for traditional filtering methods.  When teams understand how to filter more and produce more valuable information…when they know how to engage different groups through different mediums…their candidate appears omnipresent and engaging…because she is.

So my advice to you as you decide to to run for office is don’t listen to advice…at least from the traditional institutions and insiders.  We believe we’re onto something here at ORS at more and more of you agree with us.  If you’re running for local office or in office perhaps our subscription model serves you best.  If you’re running for a statewide office or a Congressional race perhaps you need direct assistance from our team to build your strategy and execute.  Either way, the ORS team is ramping up for what is going to be a barn burner of an election cycle and we’d like to get you elected.  Start with a clear and compelling online strategy that will support and drive your grassroots ground operation.  This isn’t a competition for who should go first rather a smart strategic and operational decision that can be made when you don’t hire a campaign consultant first.

Dave Funk – FunkForCongress.com Dazzles the Red Alert Hour Studio

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dave Funk (FunkForCongress.com) last night on the Operation Red State – Red Alert Hour.  Dave really has an amazing story to tell and he’s a tried and true conservative.  Take a listen and get Dave’s take on National Defense, Taxes, the Second Amendment, and the driving force that launched his campaign.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (30.3MB)

I’ve embedded the live stream video below but have also included audio only for download/podcast because the studio cameras were not cooperating last night so for the last 40 minutes or so, you’ll be staring at the station logo.

Operation Red State Named Strategic Technology Partner to Funk For Congress Campaign

The Operation Red State team proudly announces that it will be serving as a strategic technology partner to the Funk For Congress Campaign in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.

Mr. Funk is an amazing conservative candidate and will fully engage technology to communicate his message and open a two-way channel of communication with voters.  Funk stands on a solid conservative base and his message is straightforward and powerful.

We’ve partnered to ensure Funk’s 3rd District constituents get a “360 degree view” of their candidate…not only receiving the stump speeches…but gleaning powerful insights into Funk through candid “campaign trail” content.

We’re proud to have Dave Funk on both the Campaign Technology Consulting side of ORS…as well as the subscription side where we provide remarkably affordable technology training for your entire campaign leadership, volunteers, and staff.  Now the Funk for Congress Campaign is fully armed…locked and loaded…and ready to take back the Third Congressional District of Iowa.

Are you ready…to win?

Doug Mitchell on The Bean Walker LIVE Show Talking Campaign Technology

I was privledged to spend an hour with Tim Albrecht who runs The Bean Walker.com site and the 2 hour per week Internet Livecast.  We talked technology and politics and we had a great time.  An hour really flies when you’re having fun.  Thanks again Tim and we hope your viewing/listening audience learned something new!

Dear Political Website Builders, Strategists, and candidates

Dear Political Website Builders, Strategists, and Candidates – Using Blogs, Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter put you at the C minus level…just below average.  That’s right.  If you thought having those tools in place got you kudos from the coveted voting blocks you seek with these tools…you’ve just entered the game.

There are many political website builders and full service campaign companies operating today.  There will be more as races heat up around the country.   But at Operation Red State we have noticed a gap in the online strategies of many candidates.  Most campaigns get connected with some social media tools and use Twitter to say where they are…but that’s about it.

Becoming a candidate that engages the 18-40 demographic means a whole new style of campaigning and a new level of transparency.  It’s uncomfortable to imagine at first but it will become the standard.

To become the “Candidate 2.0″ here are the key words to remember:

1. accessibility
2. transparency
3. engagement
4. multiphasic conversation
5. live streaming
6. virtual town hall
7. chat
8. impromptu meetups
9. tweetups
10. content multi-purposing

At ORS, we exist to compliment the website builders and consultants.  Our goal is to provide an educational platform that’s affordable enough for the entire volunteer crew to gain knowledge, get informed, and ASSIMILATE into your online strategy.  Campaigns are only as good as their volunteers.  Isn’t it time we worked together to win?

(If you own, operate, or are a leader in an organization that delivers technology solutions to candidates, please give our platform a try.  We’d like to talk to you about adding our service into your mix so candidates get the complete picture of what technologies exist and what they can do for their campaigns.)

Mike Bloomberg, Paid Advertising for Facebook Pages

Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, has started an aggressive campaign to attract his constituents to his campaign page on the internet’s largest social networking site, Facebook.  This week Bloomberg posted a commercial on YouTube inviting his viewers to become his supporters on Facebook.  He also has paid advertisements on the internet attracting people to his page.   This is definitely a unique use of social media for a mayor of a city.  Granted, he is the mayor of New York City, which obviously makes him a higher profile politician than most of your everyday mayors around the country, but I haven’t even seen my Governor (thankfully) or US Senators do this.  Paid advertisements to lead people to your Facebook page?  This is a relatively new concept.  Bloomberg is a pioneer.  I wonder how long it will take until we see that from others.  Maybe next Presidential election we will see paid advertisements on television by Barack Obama or Mitt Romney trying to get us to visit their Facebook campaign page or to follow them on Twitter.   This wouldn’t surprise me at all.

I often mention how great a campaigning tool social networking sites are because they are so cheap (typically free unless you hire someone else to manage it).  Now we have a politician taking it to the next level by actually buying advertising space to promote his campaign pages on social networking sites.  I am curious to see if this strategy is effective and worth the money paid for the advertisements.  Bloomberg now has over 15,000 supporters on Facebook and the number continues to grow.

The world is changing.  Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate with each other, the way we campaign, the way we do business, and the way we get our news.  I don’t think anyone can fully comprehend where social media will be at the time the next Presidential election comes around.  The more people make bold moves like Bloomberg, the faster social media will progress.

Read more about it here:

http://www.politickerny.com/3593/bloombergs-facebook-supporters-thompsons-facebook-friends

Who’s Who in Social Media Demographics, Part 6 of 6 | YouTube

Well, as you read back on May 11th we discussed the preferences of Women in blogs versus networking sites.  As I mentioned, I wanted to dig a little deeper and see who is who in the world wide web.  We’ve now created a six part blog series that will cover six networking sites’ demographics.

YouTube

YouTube is currently reaching 81 million US people every month.  It currently ranks as the sixth site on the internet for how many users it has.  Out of all those users, YouTube has over 486,000,000 visits every month.

By researching these 81 million users, what can we find out about these users?  Well, 51% of them are men and 49% are women.  1% of those users are addicts who account for 25% of all visits to the site.  46% of users are regular visitors who account for 60% of visits and 53% are passer-by users who account for 15% of visits.

The age breakdown of these users is as follows:

• 3  to 11 : 3%
• 12 to 17 : 19%
• 18 to 34 : 36%
• 35 to 49 : 23%
• 50+ : 19%

Another interesting fact is the education level of most of the users.  48% have do not have a college degree.  This surprises me since the users under the age of 18 only account for a total of 22%.  Granted, some of these are found in the 18 to 34 group, but I am surprised that it is that high.  Overall, YouTube does a respectable job at entertaining the teenagers but at the same time still is dominated by the popular 18 to 34 group.  These statistics are definitely helpful.

Who’s Who in Social Media Demographics, Part 5 of 6 | Twitter

Well, as you read back on May 11th we discussed the preferences of Women in blogs versus networking sites.  As I mentioned, I wanted to dig a little deeper and see who is who in the world wide web.  We’ve now created a six part blog series that will cover six networking sites’ demographics.

Twitter

Twitter is one of the fastest growing social networking sites around.  Between the beginning of March to the end of April Twitter is estimated to have more than doubled its total number of users.  It currently is reaching 23 million US people monthly.  It is getting more than 158,000,000 hits a month.  Women use Twitter slightly more than men, accounting for 52% of Twitter’s users.

The frequency of traffic on this site is interesting.  1% of those addicted to the site account for 35% of the site’s traffic.  The regulars (27%) account for 41% of visits.  Twitter is primarily dominated by people over 18 years old.  People under 18 years of age only account for 2% of these users.  That surprised me.  44% of Twitter’s users are between 18 and 34, 33 % between 35 and 49, and 21% over 50.  Clearly Twitter is built for people at the college level and above.  Teenagers just aren’t using it as much.  That is probably why 63% of users have a college degree.  Pew Internet recently reported that the median age of Twitter users is 31 years old.

The topics on Twitter primarily focus around entertainment, politics, and other daily topics.  It isn’t used as much to stay in touch with family and friends.  Normally people will resort to Facebook or other blogs to do that.

In terms of total household income, Twitter is fairly balanced between all levels.

• $0 to 30k : 22%
• 30 to 60k : 28%
• 60 to 100k : 23%
• 100k+ : 27%

The amazing thing about Twitter is really how fast it is growing.  At the pace it is at it will be coming up on other social networking sites shortly.

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