Blogroll, In The News•
on January 9th, 2010•
Recently, the UTPL team has been getting recognition for the new Voter Fetch system. Meghann Olshefski from TechRepublican.com wrote a great summary of the system and how it can bring your campaign into the 21st century.
Are you looking for a new phone-from-home software for your campaign’s online grassroots efforts?
For some volunteers, showing up to a campaign headquarters to make phone calls can be an inconvenient and impossible feat. Every volunteer is different and many would like to help, but want to do so on their own terms and on their own schedule.
In a modern world, campaigns should do everything possible to make volunteering possible for mobile volunteers. Especially since many campaigns come down to the wire and GOTV efforts are the deciding forces in close races.
Today, Under The Power Lines launched VoterFetch.com a new tool designed to facilitate boots-on-the-ground grassroots activism for Republican and conservative campaigns.
VoterFetch.com increases the viral nature of campaign activity by giving supporters the ability to call voters from home.
Powered by Bivings Group developed technologies, VoterFetch.com is already being used in Beta by United States Senator Jim DeMint’s re-election campaign, US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s campaign for Governor of Texas, and the South Carolina Republican Party.
The company charges flat per-month fees for the application.
Don’t worry if you’re a smaller campaign – monthly fees are charged on a sliding scale, which means if you’re running for a state legislative seat you won’t be charged as much as a senate campaign would be and the price stays the same regardless of the number of volunteers who sign-up to use the tool.
Sure, there are other phone-from-home packages out there – how is VoterFetch.com different when it comes to price and functionality?
Under the Power Lines’ Wesley Donehue weighs in:
Voter Fetch is based on one concept in mind – simplicity. We didn’t include VOIP or make it too complicated because we want everyone to be able to use it. The biggest problem I’ve seen with other programs is that they’re just way too difficult for some folks to use.
As for the price, we might be the only ones who can provide this product for a cost affordable for every campaign level. A State House race can’t afford anything else I’ve seen.
If you don’t want to make the major commitment right away, you can try the service for 7 days, free of charge, to see if it fulfills your grassroots campaign needs.
Until then, happy calling.
Blogroll•
on December 22nd, 2009•
As the holiday season approaches and politics hopefullycomes to a screeching halt (we need a few days off), we want to thank everyone who helped Under The Power Lines grow tremendously in 2009. We also want to thank all our conservative clients who are helping beat back President Barack Obama’s liberal agenda at the national level, and all our state clients who are working to turn around South Carolina’s devastated economy.
2010 is going
to be a big year. We’ll be ready
Blogroll•
on November 6th, 2009•
Do you ever have one of those days where you think you should say something just because you haven’t said anything in a while so all you come up with is some blathering BS like I’m throwing out now?
That’s where I’m at right now. Over the past few weeks I’ve been churning out mad blog posts. But today I’m just fried. It is Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday. And I’m friend like a chicken.
This week I’ve been slammed up with a ton of corporate projects. I’m launching an awesome new voter contact application. I’m launching a new project with my BA designer. I’m launching a brand new site for our favorite Congressman. I’m launching a new site for JUMP! I’m launching a new blog for my wife. I’m even launching a blog for one of my best friends. And all that’s compounded by the fact that Adrienne has been rocking faces off in Virginia since last week instead of helping me.
So as I sit here and try to come up with some great analysis of Tuesday’s election or some strategy on using Twitter lists, I’m stuck listening to Ben Fold while staring at this guy who’s been responding to my DailyBooth pics. I don’t know who he is, but he’s one funny dude.
My brain is fried. I’m out. Peace.
Blogroll•
on November 6th, 2009•
If Kevin Rose, Chris Sacca, and Gary Vaynerchuk are all involved in a new web service, chances are that it will boom.
I signed up for dailybooth.com a few months back after reading an iJustine post. I put it down but just started playing around again recently. DailyBooth is exactly what it sounds like – a daily photo booth. You take a picture of yourself each day and upload it to the web. That’s it.
I’ve been thinking about whether or not dailybooth.com can have any practical use in a political campaign. I haven’t come up with an answer yet so I’m soliciting your thoughts. What do you think?
Blogroll•
on November 6th, 2009•
It happens every Vandy game. I think about Connie and spend the week reflecting on life.
Connie Tingin was one of my best friends. We went to high school together in Goose Creek, but we weren’t very close at all. Besides having a few classes together and hanging out at the “Groo Spot” (someone wrote Groovy on the sidewalk, but the ‘vy’ wore off) during lunch, I didn’t spend a lot of time with her. But then came college where our love for the band Jump, Little Children brought us together. We traveled the Southeast going to concerts, hung out nearly every night, and carpooled home to Goose Creek often. She was one of the most happy, energetic people I have ever met. Her attitude just rubbed off on people and it was impossible to be around her without smiling.
Connie was a member of the USC flag team and she collapsed in the stands shortly after the USC – Vanderbilt pre-game performance. It was hot enough to drench all our clothes in sweat, so there’s no surprise everyone thought she collapsed from heat exhaustion. But it wasn’t the heat. It was a brain aneurism and she sat at Williams Brice stadium while her brain bled for way too long before being rushed to the hospital.
It was a long week of surgeries and ups and downs. Connie lost the fight and died at the age of 21, eight years ago this week.
I carried Connie’s casket as a pallbearer and the white gloves I wore still lie in my sock drawer. They make me think about Connie everyday, but its right after the Vandy game that I really start reflecting on life.
This website doesn’t exist for me to talk about my feelings or my personal life. It’s here to talk about politics. That’s why I’m sharing this story.
Recently it seems like everyone is stirring up crap for no other reason but to spew hate. Most of it doesn’t accomplish anything real. Many people just hunger for drama and those sorts of people are drawn to politics and power. While the Internet has given a voice to many who want to contribute to the debate, it has also unfortunately given a voice to trolls who have nothing else to do but to attack. And its not just in politics. It’s everywhere.
Maybe today instead of being a troll, you should think about life a bit and how short it is. Quit being an idiot. Live life and have fun.
Blogroll•
on November 6th, 2009•
This past Sunday my pastor, Dr. Wendell Estep of First Baptist Church of Columbia, told the story of David, and as always, my mind wrongfully started thinking about work. Dr. Estep taught that David was able to kill Goliath because of he learned how to fight from his past experiences, citing 1 Samuel:
Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- 1 Samuel 17:33-36
Sometimes nothing is better than experience. As Dr. Estep stated “don’t go looking for giants, but be prepared when one comes your way.” I’m sure having killed a lion and a bear with your bare hands is pretty good training for giant killing preparation. But growing up one saying has always stuck with me “it’s smart to learn from your mistakes. It’s even smarter to learn from the mistakes of others.”
Going up against a giant could have been a huge mistake. Luckily for David, it wasn’t and we learned a valuable lesson. When fighting a giant, make sure you have a slingshot and a rock. Oh, and having God on your side helps a good bit too.
What does all this have to do with the Internet?
Experience is becoming less and less important in many tasks. Not every task, but in many. In my line of work nothing beats real campaign and management experience. But modern communications is becoming much more about word of mouth and learning from the mistakes and accomplishments of others.
I don’t need experience or college training to learn how to edit a new video or how to build a blog. I can learn from others on websites, Facebook, and Twitter for free. Not only has the Internet given us the abilities to communicate around the clock and to search for content easily, but people are willing to give away their experiences.
Just think about how many more giants could have been knocked down if David had the Internet. =)
Here’s what you should do today. Find some great bloggers that you can trust and learn from their experiences. I learn every day from bloggers on problogger.net, techcrunch.com, techpresident.com, and techrepublican.com. I’ve joined listserves, forums, and other communities where I can ask people about their experiences when I lack them on a particular topic.
And of course, read my blog daily. =)
Blogroll•
on October 26th, 2009•
I’m a very big fan of Seth Godin. His posts always getting me thinking about how private sector marketing can be used in the political realm. This post about “Trolls” really hit me hard:
Lots of things about work are hard. Dealing with trolls is one of them. Trolls are critics who gain perverse pleasure in relentlessly tearing you and your ideas down. Here’s the thing(s):
1. trolls will always be trolling
2. critics rarely create
3. they live in a tiny echo chamber, ignored by everyone except the trolled and the other trolls
4. professionals (that’s you) get paid to ignore them. It’s part of your job.
“Can’t please everyone,” isn’t just an aphorism, it’s the secret of being remarkable.
In politics you have a lot of people complaining because, let’s face it, they should be complaining. Many elected officials at all levels of government are dropping the ball. I’m not talking about these people. I’m talking about people who spew hate just to spew hate.
You know who I’m talking about. And with the growth of the Internet, these trolls have a voice they wouldn’t otherwise have. Many of them are bloggers, paid to spew hate. They literally sit around all day just trying to find their next target or another bullet to shoot at a previous target. They add very little to public debate and their rants have become so frequent that they’ve become more like the boy who cried wolf rather than a political operative taken seriously.
But I have to disagree with Godin, something I do infrequently. Godin says that as professionals, we are paid to ignore them. In politics, we cannot and we must not because sure, trolls “live in a tiny echo chamber,” but so do some other very important people:
1. The Press – As budgets tighten and newsrooms shrink, reporters don’t have the time they once did to hit the roads looking for stories. Many are turning to blogs for tips.
2. Activists – Want to build that campaign committee of the state’s top activists? I know you do, so you best be paying attention to the blogs because they are reading every post. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never voted for a tax increase. If a blog has labeled you a RINO, you’re going to have some ‘splainin to do.
3. Donors – Like activists, big donors are super informed. They’re reading the blogs and that could hurt your bank account.
So how do you kill a troll? You quit feeding it.
Blogroll•
on October 25th, 2009•
Today one of my best political friends called and asked “how can I populate the first page with positive information when someone Googles my name?”
Don’t you hate that question? I mean, its good when it comes from someone who is serious about getting the job done, but when it comes from someone who wants to just snap their fingers and make it happen, its just annoying. Unless of course, it’s from someone who wants to snap his or her fingers and drop cash on it. Then we can make magic happen. =)
This particular person was not the type who wanted to work or drop cash. They just wanted their name at the top. And yes, I asked him if I could post this story. I gave him a hard time on the phone too.
So of course I did what anyone would do. I Googled his name and I swear to you, I just about went through the phone and punched him in the face. Here’s why: He hasn’t even created a Google profile for himself yet.
With Google profiles, Google has given us the opportunity to post positive text about ourselves on the first page of a search. You don’t have to do a darn thing except sign up for a Google account and fill out the form.
Yeah, I’m serious. Don’t believe me. Just try it. Like right now. Google “Wesley Donehue.” Heck, even Google “Wesley DonAhue.” See, I’m sneaky like that.
What you’ll find is my Google profile at the bottom: http://www.google.com/profiles/wesleydonehue Of course the bottom is not where I prefer it to be, but its positive, on the front page, and absolutely free. Here’s an explanation from the Google blog http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/search-for-me-on-google.html:
It’s no secret that from time to time many of us have searched on Google for our name or someone else’s. When searching for yourself to see what others would find, results can be varied and aren’t always what you want people to see — whether it’s someone else with your name, or the finishing time from that 5K you ran back in 2002. We want to make that better and give you more of a voice.
To give you greater control over what people find when they search for your name, we’ve begun to show Google profile results at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages. These results offer abbreviated information from user-created Google profiles and a link to the full profiles. We’ve also added links so it’s easy to search for the same name on MySpace, Facebook, Classmates and LinkedIn.
Setting up a Google should be one of the first things you do when you launch your online campaign.
How?
First you need to sign up for a Google account. Don’t get lost in the email, RSS reader, Calender, or other features that might just solve your life’s problems just yet. Mosey on over to http://www.google.com/profiles and snag your name.
Blogroll•
on October 19th, 2009•
I know it’s a bad trait, but I usually become motivated by things that p*** me off. I’m not unlike most people. Just look at the political environment right now. President Obama was catapulted to the White House by a bunch of folks angry with President George W. Bush. Now the President’s plans are being killed by people angry at the ideas of shutting down Gitmo, putting our nation even more in debt, and of course, socialized medicine.
Change happens when people are frustrated and right now, well…people are just plain p***ed off. But like they say, it’s better to be p***ed off than to be p***ed on, right?
That’s where I come in. You guys know that I like to turn away from all the blogosphere negativity, but I just want to pee on three groups of people right now.
The first are the folks who wake up in the morning and say “hey, I think I’ll be a political consultant today.” These people infuriate me. I can’t tell you how many “political consultants” I know that have never managed a campaign or worked for a political organization. They think because they watch Fox News all day, run a blog, or have read a few how-to books, they’re experts all a sudden.
Guess what folks? It doesn’t work like that. Consulting is based on experience and if you don’t have it, you ain’t a consultant. Go home. Email a campaign. Become a volunteer. And knock on a few hundred doors for a couple years. Hustle your butt off until you move up the ranks and learn a little bit about grassroots, finance, and communications. About 15 years later we might start referring to you as a consultant.
The second group of folks who get under my skin are these “social media experts.” For the love of God, just calm down a bit people. Sure, you have accounts set up on every single social media website known to man, but that doesn’t make you’re an expert. That makes you bored.
Social media experts should be people who understand communications and marketing. AND the Internet. Not JUST the Internet. The advertising and marketing medium and tactics are changing, but the talents, skills, and strategies have not. People are still people. They’re just communicating and connecting differently.
The third group is the people who make outrageous claims that will never ever- ever come true. This is nothing new to the marketing field. “Rock hard abs in 20 days.” “Land the smoking hot girl of your dreams.” You get it. Here’s the one that really irks me the most – “Be Like Obama, But Better – We’ll teach you how Barack Obama ran the first campaign of the 21st century. You’ll find out exactly what he did and how you can replicate his success at any level of government and from any side of the political spectrum.”
No joke. I received that little ditty from Politics Magazine.
So where does that lead me?
I’m thinking about really ramping up the how-to advice on the blog and publishing an e-book about Internet politics because the folks listed above have no clue what they’re doing. I’ve been thinking about this for a good while and I’ve run the idea past a few people and most of them ask the same question “why would you give something away for free that you’re charging other people for?”
That’s a good question. Here are the answers I’ve come up with:
1. People who pay get more access.
2. People who pay have someone to do it for them.
3. Content is not universal. People who pay get help with their content.
4. People who pay get advice much quicker than anyone else.
5. Publishing content to the web shows folks that you know what you’re talking about.
6. MOST IMPORTANT – Every campaign, district, and candidate is different. Cookie cutter strategies fail BIG every time. Strategies MUST be tailored to the individual campaign or organization every single time.
What do you think?
Blogroll•
on October 18th, 2009•
I’ve been hearing a lot of criticism of the media since the Balloon Boy incident and I think it’s pretty unfounded. Why shouldn’t the media stop everything they’re doing to cover a boy floating in a balloon 10,000 feet above the Earth that’s traveled over 100 miles?
I was glued to the television screen, as were many other people in my office. And from the conversations I witnessed on Twitter and Facebook, my office wasn’t the only one to have an unproductive weekend.
This was today’s Baby Jessica story. It’s had all the attention grabbing traits of a story that you’ll remember your entire life. I remember 9-11. I remember Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing and the Challenger and the Columbine shoots. And you know what…I’m going to remember Balloon Boy too. I’m going to tell my grandkids about the boy who wasn’t floating 10,000 feet above the Earth and the sick father who made freak shows out of his kids and stopped the nation with one creative hoax.
This story was newsworthy because of the questions everyone wanted answered (in order):
What in the hell is happening?
How did he get in there?
Where is it going?
How high is it?
How fast is it going?
How are they going to get him down?
Oh my God, he’s not in there. Where is he?
How are they going to find his body?
He’s where!?!?!
Did the parents know?
What did he just say to Wolfe Blitzer?
Holy crap, did he just puke?
And of course now – what are we going to do with this a**hole?
The media should cover this story. They’d be dropping the ball if they didn’t.