I think you should always refollow your twitter followers. What do you think?

A new post for TechRepublican.com.

My reaction to a blog post by Vincent Harris which lays out the reasons campaigns should concentrate on Facebook. Read Vincent’s post here.

The iPad was predicted by MADtv 5 years ago:

Working on weekend to finish up SCGOP.com. We soft launched it on Thursday and now we need you to tell us what you think.

Hard launch comes on Monday. GET PUMPED!

CREDITS:

I am overseeing development concept and strategy, but the site was designed by Northbound Design and developed by Emotive.

This month, we witnessed a groundbreaking moment when Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley to take the vacated seat of the late Ted Kennedy, which had been filled in the interim by Paul Kirk. Before that, the position was filled by Ben Smith and John F. Kennedy. You have to go all the way back to Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was beaten by JFK in 1952, to find the last Republican to hold the seat.

How did this happen? Republicans didn’t sit back, disillusioned after the defeats of the 2008 elections. They did what you have to do to be victorious – go back, assess what went wrong, what went right, and how the other guys got over on you. Virginia Republicans, especially, could have been pretty dejected. But, they organized, got it right and whipped the Democrats.

Being out of power in Congress and the presidency has allowed the party to do some self-analysis. Certain factions are in favor of a strict, doctrinaire policy in which you have to be 100 percent according to a set of criteria to be legitimate. That’s no way to build a party, and no way to win an election. Elections are won by bringing together coalitions – ideally, among people who are with you all of the time, and people who are with you most of the time.

We won the recent elections by casting a wide net to bring in as many people under our banner as possible. We went to the people with our message, did a good job of it, and came out on the right side. It’s that simple. Should Ronald Reagan have eschewed the support of Rust Belt union members? Of course not. Campaigns in America are unlike Western Europe, including Britain. We don’t use proportional representation, and except for a few limited places, two parties are the standard.

That means broad-based campaigns. You have to go to people where they are, and do the best job of selling your message as you can. When conservatives do that, it works, without fail. We bring more people in. Then an independent, a conservative Democrat or even a rarely-voting Republican will cast their ballots for our candidates. And, you know, they just might enjoy it, and make it a habit.

Winning is about addition. We have to demand conservatism while communicating a message that connects with America’s working families. We won’t win by telling people that they’re not good enough to be with us.

Activists across the nation are calling into Massachusetts this weekend to help Scott Brown’s campaign for US Senate. Republicans are finally getting it and creating the online tools for grassroots action. And I’m PUMPED about it.

I believe traditional websites are fading away and more candidates and businesses will start using social networks as their central online hub, specifically Facebook.

Stay warm!

- Wesley

Campaigns get interactive
Candidates rely on technology to reach out

This ain’t your momma’s gubernatorial campaign.

Seizing on ever-changing technology, South Carolina’s gubernatorial campaigns are unleashing a cloud of new interactive approaches to make you feel connected to their candidates and gain your vote.

Last week, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Camden Democrat running for governor, unveiled the Sheheen Action Network, an interactive social component to his Web site.

Based on technology used by President Obama’s campaign, the network lets Sheheen supporters join or start their own groups, like Teachers for Sheheen and University of South Carolina Students for Sheheen, organize their own campaign events, write blog posts, and upload photos and videos from campaign events.

“No campaign that I’m aware of in South Carolina has done anything like this that’s so interactive,” said Laurin Manning, Sheheen’s new media director who did similar work for Obama’s presidential campaign.

“You may have a person who lives four doors down from you and you don’t know they’re also a [Sheheen] supporter. This is a way to connect.”

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, the Westminster Republican running for governor, is taking a more visual approach.

Anyone can ask Barrett a question by posting a short video or sending an e-mail to the “Ask Gresham” section of his Web site.

Each week, Barrett answers about three questions in his own short video posts.

“He’s very personable,” said Wes Donehue, who oversees Barrett’s new media. “He’s a very likable guy, and that comes across in the videos. Video works for him.”

Next week, the Barrett campaign will unveil another Web site feature allowing supporters to download scripts and phone numbers so they can phone-bank from home.

Barrett and state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, boast the largest followings on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites among the Republican candidates for governor.

“You’ve got to work on it every day,” said Grooms, who through the sites has developed a large, loyal following of Tea Party activists, among others. “It’s just a new way of communicating.”

It’s also a new way of self-promotion.

When Democrat Jim Rex, the state superintendent of education who is running for governor, decided to do a recent conference call about his campaign, he promoted the event entirely on Facebook.

“You have to meet voters where they are,” said Rex campaign aide Zeke Stokes. “And lots of them are on Facebook.”

Rex also soon will begin a series of Twitter town hall meetings, discussing his positions on issues. Twitter users will be able to ask questions and get direct answers from Rex in real time.

Henry McMaster, the S.C. attorney general and a GOP gubernatorial candidate, is using Google ads to target S.C. voters as they peruse the Internet.

Google shows the McMaster ad to computer users that it identifies as likely South Carolinians based on key words that the user types into the search engine.

Currently, hundreds of Web sites frequented by S.C. voters display the ads.

“They range from college football Web sites to political blogs,” said Rob Godfrey, McMaster’s spokesman. “Our plan – and it’s been very successful – has been to saturate those Web sites that S.C. voters visit often with Henry’s positive message.”

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, another contender for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, is dabbling in desktop broadcasting.

Soon, Bauer’s supporters will be able to sign up for campaign updates on specific topics – like education and job growth. A desktop icon will flash whenever Bauer releases new information.

On several fronts, technology is turning traditional campaign notions on their ear, according to GOP strategist Donehue.

“It used to be where you only heard from candidates right at the end of elections, when they went up on TV,” he said. “Now, [voters] can hear from the candidate throughout the campaign. Plus, from a monetary standpoint, it is the cheapest way to communicate with voters ever.”

But the new technology is not a political silver bullet, said state Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston, who is seeking the Democratic nomination.

The new technology is good, said Ford, adding he uses it. But it is only one small piece of running a campaign.

“I do all the shoulder rubbing and hand shaking I can,” Ford said. “I get out and help people solve problems every day.

“You can’t do that by Twittering or Facebook. That’s good to have, but it doesn’t take the place of good old-fashioned grass-roots campaigning.”

My latest post for TechRepublican.com.

I shot this video last week and hesitated to post it because I know I’m going to catch all kinds of hell with even suggesting using purchased lists. But I’m here to talk about the results I’m having and this is what I’ve found.

Purchased and rented lists typically have a HORRIBLE open rate, but you can have some strong success if you use them strategically and very sparingly with the goal of grabbing new organic subscribers – prospecting. NEVER dump a purchased list into your organic list and absolutely 100% never ever ever SPAM the crap of folks with tons of unsolicited emails every week. Use them in the midst of hot button issues only when folks will be spurred to action.

I should have also mentioned stolen lists in this video. This year alone I’ve ended up on about ten new mailing lists because consultants are stealing candidate’s lists and giving them to other candidates. Seriously people…quit with the dumb shiz.