Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Obama: What will Moving Forward Look Like?

Washington, DC -- There was a very interesting article in yesterday's New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26grassroots.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=todayspaper) about how President Obama is going to move forward and utilize the tremendous asset of his campaign supporters, volunteers and new media techniques.

A couple of things strike me as intriguing about this story. One, how does Organizing For America, already fairly well-branded by the "Obama" name achieve its grassroots organizing and community engagement goals without being perceived too much as an arm of the President himself? And two, how do the campaign's volunteers stay engaged over the course of the long-term without experiencing fatigue and without the direct connection to Barack Obama himself that was such a motivator during the campaign?

One thing is certain from these questions, the talent, effort and dedication of the individuals that worked on and volunteered for the presidential campaign is great and is well-equipt to take on many challenges. Further, if the vision of an organization that can communicate and educate the general public becomes a reality, that entity could have long-term benefits to our national community as a public service institution.

It seems to me that the more we can continue to use technology and new media tools to connect and organize our communities, the more you will see these tools evolve and innovate. Remember, many of these techniques have never been used before so we are going to have a learning curve with successes and failures. Keep your eyes on how tools the campaign used to organize communities evolve into regular communication strategies and tactics for private companies, non-profits and other political candidates.

1 comment:

  1. this is my new favorite blog. Hope all is well Nick!

    -Zach aka your ex roomie in Vegas

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