GOP.com V1 is Almost Here

In October 2009, the RNC launched the beta version of GOP.com in order to give you a centralized hub for online activism. Since then, we've been working diligently behind the scenes to make your time with us more fulfilling for you. You may not know it, but the time you've spent here has gone a long way in telling us where we're succeeding and where we're failing. With that in mind, we're now we're ready to take the next step.

Pawlenty Kicks Off New Online Endorsement Contest

Tim Pawlenty's political action committee is launching a new online endorsement contest Friday, asking supporters to pick their favorite midterm candidate backed by the Minnesota governor.

It's the second such contest run by Pawlenty's "Freedom First" PAC, which was created last year to support Republican candidates and give the governor a chance to build a political operation as he mulls a possible presidential bid in 2012.

10 Easy Ways to Enhance Your Facebook Page

Last year, I looked into the way companies are using Enhanced Facebook Pages as a way to beef up the branding and interactivity available with Facebook’s default Page settings. On my company blog, I explored the enhanced Pages of big companies such as Starbucks and The Gap. And I also made a list of ten third-party applications that you could use to enhance Facebook Pages, based on what was available at the time. In that vein, below I’ve identified ten more third-party apps that can be easily plugged into your Facebook Page to offer a little extra functionality and interactivity.

22% of Online Time Spent with Social Media

Is social media taking over the web?

Just in the last year, the number of social media users has continued to climb at record speed and the audience demographics have widened. And marketers have noticed the trend.

For proof of social media’s steep rise, take a look at the number of statistics that surfaced in the last month.  These findings further support what most of us already believe:  Social media is only getting bigger.

Something you've been waiting for -- The Full Trailer For "The Social Network" Arrives

On Sunday night, Americans learned a great deal about Nancy Pelosi and her Far-Left Democrat allies. We learned that to achieve their dream of controlling every aspect of our daily lives, Pelosi and her cronies are willing to break any rule, offer any form of “inducement” and plainly defy the will of the American people. We learned that they are more than willing to violate the rights of citizens, while at the same time inventing rights for IRS agents. (Under Pelosi's plan, the IRS will be empowered to determine citizens have “appropriate insurance coverage.” Those who don’t will be forced to “buy” coverage from an Obama-approved insurance dealer.) We learned that Pelosi-Democrats' claims of working toward a more free society are nothing more than posturing.

Progressives are the new Oppressives, and Pelosi is their champion. But we also learned that as the Pelosi-Democrats try to tighten their grip on the American people, they will meet with resistance in the form of  new conservative, Republican and libertarian activists. These brave individuals have already made their presence known. Ultimately, they will triumph, and consign Pelosi's toxic brand of statism to the discount-bin of failed philosophies. And they'll do it by using the web to make their voices heard.

It's already begun. As Pelosi and her entourage crowed about their seizure of 1/6th of our economy, the RNC launched http://www.FireNancyPelosi.com -a money bomb designed to raise funds for one purpose: unseating Speaker Pelosi by winning 40 new Republican Congressional seats this November. Inspired by the firm, principled leadership of House GOP members like John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Paul Ryan, and an impassioned television appearance of RNC Chairman Michael Steele, TCOT activists organized themselves and took to the web, ready to make a difference.

With barely any advance advertising (ads only went up late Monday morning), these digital patriots adopted the #FirePelosi hashtag. http://www.newds.biz, which tracks conservative-leaning tweets, had “Fire Pelosi” at the top of their rankings within hours. Over 150 people per-hour were using GOP.com’s Tweet-Bomb to announce their donations and, to get the Fire Pelosi banner on the Twitter avatars. On Monday morning, “Fire Pelosi” was on Google Trends, and hours later, RNC and GOP had become ranked fourth and fifth on the same list.  Embeddable widgets provided on the site were quickly posted on pages all over the internet, and less than 12 hours after Pelosi passed her disastrous bill , the RNC blew past its fundraising goal of $402,010. (We've since set a new goal at http://www.FireNancyPelosi.com.) Monday at 8:00, we were closing in on our second fundraising goal of $842,010.

This is a tremendous success, and full credit is owed to the new wave of online Republican activists. They who turned this campaign to remove the gavel from Nancy Pelosi's hand into something special, and this November, they will see it through to its end.  The Republican National Committee is proud to stand with these patriots.

The work has already started. The counter-revolution has already begun. And the counter-revolution will be re-tweeted.

Todd Herman -@ToddEHerman- is the Director of New Media at the RNC but, his more important role is Dad + Husband.

*At the time of this posting, the RNC has already raised $958,410 toward its new goal of $1,002,010.

Saturday's first TechRepublican Google Digital Bootcamp at #CPAC10 is a signal that right-of-center activists are charging ahead online.

We were able to compile this feature video for those who didn't make it. Apologies to Erick Erickson, our keynote speaker, who is not included in this video, but we were able to capture tons of great pictures of his motivating speech below.

TechRepublican is particularly honored that Google joined forces with our team to help power this event that hosted well over 100 #CPAC10 attendees. Without Google, this event would not have been possible. At the event, Peter Greenberger at Google, offered a very detailed presentation and an insider's look at the importance of investing in an online presence in the 2010 cycle and beyond.

Peter noted that the 2009 McDonnell campaign in Virginia "shattered the norm" by investing 7.5% of its advertising budget, online -- a feat only topped by Scott Brown's team in Massachusetts who spent a whopping 10% on online ads.

Google's Greenberger charged charged every campaign and organization to commit to spending 10 in 2010. He says smart campaigns will understand that the Internet is where most people can be reached, and where you can reach them in a more targeted and direct way.

Our event didn't stop there.

Over the course of two hours, a standing room only crowd heard from 8 experts on everything from social media integration, online advertising, and raising the bar when it comes to best practices on the Internet. Speakers included: Rory Cooper (Heritage Foundation), Todd Herman (RNC), Peter Greenberger (Google), Saul Anuzis (Coast to Coast Strategies), David All (David All Group), Jeff Vreeland (VM Technologies), and Wesley Donehue (JUMP! New Media).

Rory Cooper of the Heritage Foundation emphasized the importance of 360 degree social media integration and the importance of incorporating online strategy into everything that an organization or campaign does.

"In everything we do, we think of the online component."

He also noted the importance of rapid response during a time when information is available immediately to voters online, on Google.

Rory, with the help of the David All Group, was able to integrate social media tools by incorporating Act.iv.ist into its latest site, NoEnergyTax.com. With the help of Act.iv.ist, thousands of supporters were able to share the liberty and pro-freedom message with their friends and peers, and get rewarded for their efforts. Currently, the Heritage Foundation engages over 124,000 Facebook fans - an unprecendented achievement due largely to their smart online involvement.

Jeff Vreeland of VM Technologies and Wesley Donehue also shared two new technologies with the group.  Vreeland launched a new tool called Roots of Liberty at CPAC, a social mobilization tool for conservative activists. Donehue talked about his phone from home tool, Voter Fetch, which allows non-traditional volunteers to contribute to a campaign from their very own homes, on the go.  Wesley emphasized that, "the Internet is not a strategy, it's a tool and a tactic."

Todd Herman, of the RNC, turned the focus on YOU by stating:

"We are in a state of message co-creation. Thanks to YOU and the user, we are much better off [as a party]"

And here's a closing thought from David All...

"The primary goal is to make a difference for the issues or the cause that you care about."

The Internet empowers people to make that difference and techRepublican is happy to have shared that message with over 100 activists at #CPAC10.

To wrap up the event, Erick Erickson, founder of RedState.com, gave a keynote speech on the state of the conservative movement online and where he thinks we're headed.

Thanks again to Google and to everyone who helped make our first event a success. We look forward to hosting more of these discussions in the future.

See you at #CPAC11.

I'm excited to announce that TechRepublican and the David All Group are hosting the 1st annual TechRepublican Digital Bootcamp at CPAC -

Saturday, February 20th from 10am - 12noon in the Wilson Room at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. The event is free to registered CPAC attendees -

The Bootcamp will consist of two tactical panels, discussion sessions, and a keynote speech from Red State founder, Erick Erickson.

I've gathered together what we think are the best of the best when it comes to 2009 online campaigns and several of our very own TechRepublican contributors.

Here's a look at the program and we hope to see you there.

The Right's Digital Grassroots: Best Practices.

• Rory Cooper, Heritage Foundation
• Todd Herman, Republican National Committee
• David All, David All Group

Grassroots Technology Spotlight: The year's most innovative political technologies.

• Ethan Eilon, David All Group - Act.iv.ist
• Jeff Vreeland, Techrepublican Contributor - Roots of Liberty
• Wesley Donehue, Techrepublican Contributor - Voter Fetch

Keynote: How grassroots activists can uproot the establishment and rise up online candidates and causes.

• Erick Erickson, Red State Founder 

Stay tuned for updates.

TechRepublican, Campaign Solutions/Connell Donatelli, David All Group, Hynes Communications and Jamestown Associates are teaming to host a party welcoming Todd Herman, the RNC's New Media Director and his online team to Capitol Hill.

Thursday, July 16th - 6:30-8:30pm

Tortilla Coast - Washington, DC

This is an invitation-only, strict guest list event and we have a few slots left if you're interested in attending.

We will have an open frozen margarita and mexican beer bar from 6:30-8:30pm - Promises to be a fun party.

If you would like to attend please let me know - mparlett.grassroots@gmail.com by COB today. First come, first serve :)

A special thanks to our sponsors - the leading voices in online communications for the right:

Campaign Solutions

Campaign Solutions had led the industry in online politics and public affairs for over a decade.  They are the original online political pioneers - They set the trends that others follow. And chances are, they've already been where you need to go.

David All Group

The nation's first conservative web 2.0 agency. DAG is a small (but growing team of highly-skilled web strategists and conversation engineers who collaborate with a select group of clients to help them communicate smarter and better amplify their message.

Hynes Communications

Hynes Communications believes in the New Media conversation ranging across the country and the world on subjects that define our society, our industry, and our lives—a discussion that dominates digital, video, newsprint, electronic, and countless other forums every second. An open global exchange unencumbered by spin, packaging, and interpretation.

Jamestown Associates

Jamestown Associates is a full-service political consulting and public affairs firm specializing in television advertising, direct mail and issues communications.  Jamestown Associates provides the highest level of media advertising, strategy consulting and legislative communications.

And last, but not least a shout out to our Host Committee:

David All, David All Group

David Almacy, Edelman

Brian Donahue, Jamestown Associates

Becky Donatelli, Campaign Solutions

Ethan Eilon, David All Group

Katie Harbath, DCI Group

Patrick Hynes, Hynes Communications

Joe Mansour, David All Group

Stan Olshefski, Autumn E-Media

Meghann Parlett, TechRepublican

This morning I had the opportunity to attend a very special presentation at the headquarters of our Republican National Committee. Chairman Steele was personally on-hand to present the first-ever "Grassroots Logic Award" to 10,000 Pennies video guru Matthias Shapiro (@politicalmath).

In presenting the award, Chairman Steele said:

10,000 pennies demonstrates an effective use of new media. Breaks complicated issues down into simple, easy-to-understand format. And it has the ability to create a new environment for communication.

He continued:

From my perspective, as Chairman of a “Party that is broken,” this is one way to say you’re “full of you-know-what.”

Upon receiving the award, Matthias said:

Most people say “thanks for breaking this down, and making it simple.” It’s less an issue of making it simple and more an example of making it “real.” People get sizes, lengths, and scales. None of the numbers I’m using are controversial – they are out there. Important thing for me is to communicate these things visually and that’s what I’m trying to do.

Before the award presentation, I had a chance to speak with RNC New Media guru Todd Herman (@ToddEHerman) and Matthias for a short interview:

It's important that Chairman Steele brought Matthias to the RNC to demonstrate his commitment to the grassroots of our party. He has a long way to go -- and he knows that -- but he continues to make smart moves and it's important that our community recognize that.

Happy reading & Happy 4th of July weekend!

A Look at the GOP's Digital Future

Via TechRepublican, we have  video of RNC new media director Todd
Herman's presentation at PdF '09 earlier this week. Herman's talk
certainly caught attention, but what was also fascinating was to take
in the reactions to it amongst the conference crowd. Our Andrew Rasiej
described the audience as falling about 80% on the left side of the
political spectrum and 20% on the right, but the more interesting split
might have been between the political and the technological. While
generalizing is generally a dumb thing to do, one impression take from 
the contemporaneous Twitter stream was that some more tech-minded folks
applauded Herman's words about making transparency a "purple issue"
while the more political amongst the crowd tended towards skepticism of
the idea of a more open Republican Party.

A Growing Acceptance of Social Networking in the Workplace

A June survey released by Facetime, makers of a gateway appliance for
managing Web 2.0 applications, revealed the growing popularity of
social networking applications in the workplace. Out of 1199 survey
respondents, all IT professionals, there were more who felt that social
networks played an important role in the business world than those who
didn't. What's more, it appears that the IT folks are now seemingly
okay with providing access to these networks behind the firewall - even
for those who don't approve of their use!

Make History: Tweet the @WhiteHouse About Health Care and use the Hashtag #Handsoff

As you may know, President Barack Obama has been doing some
extraordinary things online to better communicate his message. And,
yes, I say that as a proud Republican.
Along with 126 Members of Congress and U.S. Senators, President Obama
has started Tweeting (@WhiteHouse). In fact, with a mere 247 updates,
the account has already grown rapidly to 550,253 Followers.

One of the issues the @WhiteHouse is Tweeting about is health care
reform so we thought we'd have a little bit of fun with it and propose
an experiment in online activism for an upcoming release of the next
Twitter @101Guide

 

This past Friday, on a conference call with the RNC Digital Action Team, Todd Herman gave insight to a new RNC initiative to revamp its website & digital content.

Earlier today, I linked to this video at Bivings of Todd’s speech at Tuesday’s Personal Democracy Forum – in which Todd continued to expand on his vision for the RNC’s online team – including a re-launch of GOP.com in 45 days.

You don’t have to wait for the beta to launch in July.

The GOP.com rebuild starts with YOU.

If you have a creative video project already underway or in the works, the GOP wants to promote it – whether that be through linking to your respective blog/site and/or including a profile of the individual producer.

We’re not talking about video from hot shot DC insiders. Todd hopes that Republicans everywhere will produce creative video messages so that by example, the GOP will highlight:

Positive Declarations of Republicanism.

In doing so, really tap into the heart of the grassroots -- Picture individuals answering this question:  How have Republican ideals affected your life?

The only stipulation is that the video cannot advocate for primary candidates.

Ultimately, there will be a place on GOP.com for upload capability so that the non-tapped political user can send in his/her own content.

Other things to look forward to at the RNC?

• Email improvement
• “Text is next, with more drama”

In the meantime, if you have a video project that you’d like to highlight or if you want to get involved with the Digital Action Team, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Todd Herman at therman@rnchq.org.

Intersection of Politics and Internet Continuing to Grow

According to a recently released survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 55% of the adult population are now what Pew classifies as “online political users,” or, people who go online to either get information about politics, or to get involved in the political process. When taking a look at the demographics of this group, several key things jump out:

1. Online political users are not overwhelmingly young.  While online political users do skew younger than the general adult population, it is not a group dominated by young people. 

Twitter Revamps Followers and Following Pages

Twitter has just rolled out an update to the pages where you browse the list of people you’re following and those following you. These pages – which you get to by clicking the following/follower counts on any user profile – now come with a whole lot more information about other Twitter users.

For example, on the page listing your followers, Twitter now shows a check mark of the people you follow back. There’s also a pull-down menu that includes options for direct messaging them, sending them an @ mention, following them (if you’re not already doing so), or blocking them.

And, in case you missed it - here's a link to a video of Todd Herman's talk at Personal Democracy Forum yesterday (Thanks to Alexis Matsui @Bivings) --

VIDEO: Todd Herman Discusses the Next Steps in Web Development

Later this evening, I'll be writing a post on the RNC online team's plans for the future of the party on the Internet and how you can get involved.

Something to look forward to.

Every now and then, the man, the myth, the legend, our friend, former RNC eCampaign Director Cyrus Krohn (@CyrusK), emerges to pass along a few nuggets of wisdom and more intel on why he straight up bolted DC.

Of note, today he was interviewed at National Journal Online where he heaped porridge for his successor, New Media Director Todd Herman:

But I do want to say that my successor, Todd Herman, who is overseeing new media at the RNC, is somebody I've known for a number of years. He'll do an exceptional job. I couldn't be happier with the fact the RNC hired Todd. He's one of the brightest people I know, and I think you'll see wonderful things coming out of the RNC in the coming years as he acclimates himself to the system.

On advice for Todd, Cyrus says:

I don't have any advice for my successor. Frankly, he's smarter than I am. [Laughs] He'll do a wonderful job. Maybe the best thing he could do at the committee would be to help temper Chairman Steele's comments when he feels he needs to speak freely.

Cyrus, we miss you buddy. As always, our blog is open to you for a guest or regular post. However, it's great to see that you're confident -- as those of us who have met and worked with Todd agree -- in your successor.

Onward to 2010 (and 2009 in VA and NJ ;).