Field organizing in a digital world -- new tools for old tricks?
April 20, 2:00 p.m., Meridian D & E
Description: In the 2008 presidential election, Obama used technology to enhance field
operations in a variety of new ways, from asking online volunteers to call voters from their
homes to creating special SMS channels just for staff to adding new transparent online voter
reporting systems for field staff and volunteers. But the campaign also employed a record 2,500
field organizers to capture the momentum generated by online buzz in key states to funnel that
online momentum into traditional real-world field activities. And in 2004, the Dean campaign
coordinated self-organized volunteer "meetups" in more than 1,200 cities worldwide to facilitate
volunteer activity. To what extend do new online organizing tools from the campaign (e.g. MyBO)
or third parties (e.g. Meetup and Facebook) facilitate tangible impacts on field campaigns, and where are the limits?
* Jeremy Bird (Deputy Director of the Democratic National Committee)
* Chuck DeFeo (General Manager for Interactive and Social Media at The Washington Times)
* Gina Glantz (Senior Advisor to President Andrew Stern of the Service Employees International Union)
* Michael Silberman (Founding Partner of EchoDitto)