Chris Hughes' Blog

Moving Forward on My.BarackObama

Chris Hughes — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:23:23 EST

Over the past 21 months, millions of individuals have used My.BarackObama to organize their local communities on behalf of Barack Obama. The scale and size of this community and its work is unprecedented. Individuals in all 50 states have created more than 35,000 local organizing groups, hosted over 200,000 events, and made millions upon millions of calls to neighbors about this campaign. There can be no question that these local, grassroots organizations played a critical role in Tuesday's victory.

What has made My.BarackObama unique hasn't been the technology itself, but the people who used the online tools to coordinate offline action. My.BarackObama has always been focused on using online tools to make real-world connections between people who are hungry to change our politics in this country.

And the site isn't going anywhere. The online tools in My.BarackObama will live on. Barack Obama supporters will continue to use the tools to collaborate and interact. Our victory on Tuesday night has opened the door to change, but it's up to all of us to seize this opportunity to bring it about.

In the coming days and weeks, there will be a great deal more information about where this community will head. For the moment, let's celebrate this victory and know that the community we've built together is just the beginning.

Announcing a New Design for N2N Calling and Walk Tool

Chris Hughes — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:04:41 EDT

For two months now, tens of thousands of people have been making phonecalls from the comfort of their own homes, and knocking on doors in their own communities.

With 12 days to go, we’ve upgraded our calling and walking tool to make it easier to use.

Some of the things that we’ve changed:

•   New look and feel that is consistent with the rest of MyBO and BarackObama.com
•   The call script window is wider and easier to read. The Save button is now at the top, making it easier to move from one voter to the next. Less scrolling means more time calling.
•   Easier to report contacts after having a conversation

You’ll notice that no functionality has been removed. We’ve tried as hard as possible to avoid making any dramatic changes with only a few days to go before the election. It’s simply been our goal to make the system more intuitive and easier to use.

Let's get started calling!

Reminder: A Special Invitation to join the Grassroots Finance Committee

Chris Hughes — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:09:18 EDT

On Saturday, Campaign Manager David Plouffe sent out a special message inviting our supporters to join the Grassroots Finance Committee.

It may seem a little intimidating to set a personal goal of raising $1,000, but you'll be surprised at how easy it is to get started. We'll walk you through how to set up a personal fundraising page, reach out to friends, and track your progress.

Chances are you know quite a few people who would be happy to get involved but don't know how. You can bring them into this movement and help them own a piece of this historic campaign.

I hope you'll help us build the momentum by joining the Grassroots Finance Committee today.

We've worked hard to build tools that make it easy, and our staff is available to help you along the way.

Together, we're changing politics by bringing ordinary people together to accomplish extraordinary things.

Thanks,

Chris

Chris Hughes
My.BarackObama

Announcing the MyBO Activity Tracker

Chris Hughes — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:26:36 EDT

Nearly a full year ago, we unrolled a new points system in My.BarackObama with a pretty simple goal: to make it easier for supporters to measure their impact on the campaign. The more you did on My.BarackObama.com, the more points you would accrue. A phone call got you three points. Hosting an event got you 15.

From the start, the emphasis was on quantifying an activist’s contribution to the campaign – not on encouraging people to rack up points for the sake of racking up points. For some people, that wasn’t always clear.

Today, we’re proud to roll out an updated points system called the Activity Tracker. The basic idea is the same: the Activity Tracker helps Obama supporters measure the work they’re doing on behalf of the campaign. Whereas before, the points system tried to measure lots of different activities down to a “point value,” the new Activity Tracker simply displays up front exactly what activity users have been engaged in.

The second major change is how the system formulates a total number to gauge activity. The previous Points system consolidated all activity into a single cumulative metric, but now, the new Activity Index is time sensitive. The more work you’ve done recently, the higher the number will be.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, the source of a given user’s points is now visible to everyone in the My.BarackObama community. Before, all a user could see when looking at another person’s dashboard was a total point value. Now, the full extent of the person’s campaign-related activity is available for other activists to see.

And that information is not just displayed on individuals’ dashboard pages – it also displays on groups pages. So within a couple clicks, you can check out your favorite My.BarackObama group and immediately know how active the members are.

The new Activity Tracker is just the beginning of some important new additions to the site that are coming up in the next few weeks. We’d love to hear your thoughts on how it works and how it can be improved.

** NOTE: The bug incorrectly calculating activity over the past seven days has been corrected.

Over One Million Supporters on Facebook

Chris Hughes — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:36:03 EDT

Today we crossed an important threshold: one million supporters for Barack Obama on Facebook. The Obama page has by far more supporters than any other page – whether it’s a politician, celebrity, or band – on all of Facebook.

For those who have touted the conventional wisdom that young people don’t care about politics, there couldn’t be a better testament to the energy and enthusiasm of young people today. One million Facebook users have made clear that not only are they engaged with the political process, they are ready for change to come to America.

The skeptics can still be heard to wonder, “But will these people vote?” In primary contests across the nation, young people already answered that question with a resounding yes, turning out in historic numbers.

But this is only the beginning. We now enter the general election when it will be even more important for Obama supporters to engage one another online and then to take that energy and enthusiasm to the ground.

There’s still plenty you can do on Facebook. Install the Obama application, where you can get up-to-date information on what’s happening with the campaign and show off your support even more easily. Find or create a local Obama group in your town or your school to organize supporters moving into the general election.

Reaching this threshold is only the beginning of what we can do when we work together. This is our time.

Welcome to the Obama Organizing Fellows Blog!

Chris Hughes — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:19:53 EDT

Welcome to the blog for the Obama Organizing Fellows program. Over the coming weeks, fellows will use this blog to share their experiences with their peers and with the world.

Be sure to check back here often to keep up to date on the program!

Updates to My.BarackObama!

Chris Hughes — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:16:35 EDT

My.BarackObama just got a facelift.

From the very beginning of this campaign, supporters have been logging onto My.BarackObama to find groups, events, and other people in their area. Over 80,000 people use the network regularly to connect to other supporters, to organize events in their neighborhoods, and to discuss what's going on in the campaign.

Yesterday we made a couple improvements to the network. In the past, in order to find things going on in your area you needed to enter your zip code on the My Events page. To find a local organizing group to join, you needed to re-enter that same zip on the My Groups page. It was the same story with blogs and finding other people.

A new feature called My Neighborhood now pulls together all the information about what's happening around you locally. When you click on the tab My Neighborhood in the right-hand navigation bar, you can find information about groups, events, and people in your area. Just as My Dashboard consolidates information about your own groups, blogs, and events, My Neighborhood displays groups, blogs, events, and people that may be interesting to you.

You'll also notice that the pages in My.BarackObama, including this one, look a little lighter and simpler. It’s our new look. Like it?

We have more changes in store for the coming days, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date.

David Plouffe's thoughts on growing the movement

Chris Hughes — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:31:53 EDT

Campaign manager David Plouffe took some time tonight to sit down with hundreds of supporters on My.BarackObama for a conference call to talk campaign strategy. He talked about the strong organizations being built in the early states where we’ll build momentum with victories in January and February, but he also made clear that the road to the nomination goes through you.

For months now you’ve been pitching in to organize your local communities, to sign up new supporters, and more recently, to call other people and help mobilize for major events like this Thursday’s rally in New York City.

As David Plouffe said on the call tonight, the challenge that lies in front of us now is to bring new people into the movement. One of the easiest ways to do this is by creating a group fundraising campaign. We’ve had thermometers on individuals’ pages to help them track their personal fundraising since the campaign began, but we’ve now enabled groups to have the same thermometer-like tracking capability.

In our current Group Fundraising Challenge, the three groups that bring in the most new donors to the movement by September 30 will have the opportunity to have a frank conversation directly with Barack Obama and David Plouffe in the first weeks of October.

As of tonight, the leaders in each of the three categories are:

For large groups with 85 or more members, the current leader in the challenge is NW Suburbs of Chicago for Obama.

For medium-sized groups (those with 30-84 members), the leader is Loudoun Country for Obama.

For small groups, which are those that have between 3-29, the leader is African Americans for Obama – Los Angeles.

There’s nearly an entire week left between now and the end of the challenge—plenty of time to move your group into the lead.

Take a second, find your favorite group, click on the thermometer and extend an invitation to a friend, family member, or neighbor to give.

Introducing Points

Chris Hughes — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:47:03 EDT

Today we’re unrolling a new way to measure your impact on the campaign: points in the My.BarackObama network. Just about every action you can take on My.BarackObama now will give you points to make it easier to see all the hard work you’re putting in to make this campaign succeed. If you host an event, that’ll show up on your profile and you’ll get 20 points. Write a blog post and you’ll get 15.

We’ve taken the time to look backwards and tally up the points from actions that your profile has taken in the past. That way, if you’ve been active over the past few months, your diligent work on behalf of the campaign is duly recognized. If you’re a new user, have no fear. Racking up points will come naturally as you participate in the My.BarackObama community. Joining groups, hosting events, and using the personal fundraising module are three easy ways to start getting active.

At the end of the day, earning points isn’t what this campaign is about. You’ve made this campaign into a grassroots movement which is clearly hungry for change and ready to get involved in the political process on behalf of Barack Obama. Adding a points system to My.BarackObama is just a simple way to measure the impact you are having day in and day out on the campaign. You deserve credit and recognition for your involvement and this is just one way to make it clearer how much you’re doing.

To add a little spice to this kick-off, we’re adding 50 points to the account of all hosts of Barbecues for Barack on August 25, which was the first action in our new Action Center. For those who host a Countdown to Change House Party--our second event in the Action Center--we'll add 100 points.

Your support and your activity is what will sustain this campaign throughout the fall and help us win in the important early states in January and February.

Make a habit of it.

Chris Hughes — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:11:15 EDT

We have a historic movement online on My.BarackObama: 80,000 profiles, 6,000 organizing groups, 7,571 events already held and another 528 planned for the next few weeks. It’s clear that the work being done inside the network is of historic proportion and significance.

The common doubters’ question in response to hearing such numbers is, “How are all those people actually making a difference in the election?”

Well, you’ve already proved several times over that you can. Thousands of you have participated in coordinated national days of action—events like the house parties day on March 31st and a nationwide walk for change on June 9th. These kinds of events would have been impossible without your energy and support and the online tools of My.BarackObama.

What we must do now is channel all of the enthusiasm and energy that you in this community have toward the completion of discrete goals that will help meet the campaign’s objectives.

Today we're announcing the launch of our My.BarackObama Action Center, a place where you can go to find out what exactly the campaign needs from you today.

Every two weeks throughout the fall, we will focus on a coordinated action that everyone in My.BarackObama should aim to complete.

We’re kicking off the program with a call to host a barbecue for Barack on August 25th. We’ve put together an entire guide to help you plan and organize your event.

The most important aspect of barbecuing for Barack is making sure that you engage at least five new supporters—and get their information back to the campaign. You should have a ton of fun at your event, but you should also leave it having brought at least another five people into the movement.

Over the course of the next few months, you will demonstrate the power of the grassroots to change an election and shape American history. Take the first step now and learn more about hosting an event.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Obama delivers 'goosebumps' "

Chris Hughes — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 17:21:36 EDT

Check out a great article on this morning's event from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Obama delivers 'goosebumps'
The rain stayed away, the weather was a cool 62, and a crowd of about 20,000 - war veterans, college students and parents pushing strollers - listened in rapt attention Saturday to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, at Atlanta's first public rally of the 2008 presidential campaign.
The crowd at least rivaled the largest so far for the campaign of the junior senator from Illinois. He spoke for 36 minutes and was interrupted by applause 116 times.

Obama took to the stage at the Yellow Jacket Park on the campus of Georgia Tech to the strains of Aretha Franklin's 'Think' and began by talking about his early interest in politics.

He recounted how early in his career, people had difficulty pronouncing his name.

"They'd call me Alabama or Yo' Mama," he joked.

Weaving in the theme of turning a page, Obama talked about the lack of universal healthcare, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal and the petty politics in Washington that thwarts meaningful change.

The crowd cheered loudest when he condemned the war in Iraq.

"This is the first time I have gotten goose bumps from any politician in a long, long time," said Jay Frasier, a 31-year-old attorney.
[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 04/14/07]
Click here to read the rest of the story.

Click here to view more photos of the event.

tearing it up in milwaukee

Chris Hughes — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:38:37 EDT

Barack is going to tear it up in Milwaukee on Monday night. He's coming to the Milwaukee Theater to greet thousands of supporters. Come on down after work--doors open at 6--and say hello to the next president.

To sign up for the event, go here:

Link />
Here are the details:

When: Monday, April 16, 2007, Doors Open at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Milwaukee Theater, 500 West Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203
How: The event has a $25 suggested contribution. Please RSVP at Link />

Atlanta Rally Saturday

Chris Hughes — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:43:51 EDT

I know that many of you already know about this Saturday's rally, but I want to make sure everyone who can get there goes in order to show your support for the Senator.

This is the moment to get out there and make yourself visible. You'll not only get to hear the Senator speak live, but you'll also get the chance to meet more people in your community who support the growth of this movement.

To sign up for the event, go here:

Link

Here are the details:

When: Saturday April 14, 2007 -- Doors open at 10:00 AM

Where: Georgia Tech, Yellow Jacket Park, Atlantic & 4th, Atlanta, Georgia

How: The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP at my.barackobama.com/page/s/20070414Atlanta for your free ticket.

Moveon town hall tonight!

Chris Hughes — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:06:37 EDT

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Barack will be participating in a town hall on Iraq hosted by Moveon.org. All the major candidates will be discussing the Iraq War and how best to end it.

Tomorrow after the debate is over, you'll have the opportunity to vote for Barack. Be sure to head to moveon.org to make your voice heard.

To find an event tonight, head over to www.moveon.org.

Mobilize.

Chris Hughes — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:59:48 EDT

Reviewing a list of the cities and towns that Barack has most recently visited doesn’t always convey the groundswell of support that is coming out for this campaign. Raw numbers—15,000 in Springfield, 20,000 in Austin—are impressive, but they can often mask the number of mobilizers that are the driving force behind this campaign.

This past weekend, on only a couple days’ notice, hundreds of volunteers came out to meetings to help organize Barack’s rally in Oakland this weekend. These were planning meetings, lacking the glamour or loud music of traditional rallies. What they weren’t missing was enthusiastic people willing to roll up their sleeves to work to make this campaign succeed.

By the end of the event, the sign-up sheets were overflowing with people not only willing to show up on Saturday to help out at the rally, but to begin the process of organizing in their communities.

Barack says often that this is a campaign about building a movement to change America, to reinvigorate our faith in the democratic process and rediscover its potential to bring about deep, lasting change. That isn’t rhetoric. It’s real. This campaign is different. People are noticing that, hearing this message, and getting up off the couch to volunteer.

If you want to follow the lead of others who are getting active, think about hosting a community gathering on March 31 in our day to kick off the nationwide grassroots campaign.

UPDATE : There was a great story about the 500 volunteers that showed up to volunteer in Oakland, not for the rally itself, but just to take part in organizing the event. Click here to read the story at the California Progress Report.

Coming out to Support in Iowa

Chris Hughes — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:41:36 EDT

Barack had a huge weekend, visiting five cities all across Eastern Iowa. The events ranged from large rallies to intimate gatherings.

Davenport threw open its doors to welcome Barack and well over 3,000 people attended a rally in the North High School gymnasium. In a more intimate gathering in Clinton, people from all over eastern Iowa got to know Barack a little bit better. Supporters in Muscatine, Burlington, and Dubuque came out to show their support in numbers as well.

We've compiled some news coverage from the events.

Obama draws 1,000-plus in Dubuque
Des Moines Register

Obama pitches Iraq exit strategy
Quad-City Times

Obama fever arrives
Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Obama: 'Move History'
The Hawk Eye

Several of these articles mentioned a pamphlet that was circulated outlining Barack's De-Escalation Act and his 2002 anti-war speech in Chicago. If you'd like to download and distribute this pamphlet yourselves, click here.

Why you're giving

Chris Hughes — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:35:01 EST

As you can see from our counter on the home page and probably read about in Joe’s most recent campaign blog post, we began offering seasoned donors the opportunity to match someone else’s first-time donation. That way, a gift from a new financial supporter packs an additional punch and is doubly helpful to the campaign.

To my mind the best part about this effort is the communication that's happening between matching donors and the new supporters who are giving for the first time. Old and new alike are talking about why they believe this campaign is important enough to sacrifice hard-earned money to support it.

Listed below are a few excerpts from the thousands of conversations that have been going back and forth today.

Matching Donors

“I am a homemaker and the mother of five. I have never given to any political campaign before. I guess the reason for that is I have never had enough real trust in any political leader growing up in the 60's and 70's and becoming a voter during the Reagan years, but Obama has changed those feelings for me.

My husband and I struggle to make ends meet and our family is our priority but this donation can make a huge difference in our children's future. So the payback on a $10.00 has the potential to be huge! I would ask that any mother who reads this take a chance on a new kind of future for those little faces you love and give just $10.00 towards a new someday for them.” --Sandy from California

“When you donate to a candidate (just like you might donate to any organization in your community), you're speaking. And you're saying you believe in something. I believe in Sen. Obama's prospects to become the next President of the United States. And, even if I didn't, I would WANT Sen. Obama to be the next President of the United States, and to do all I can to make that possible.” --Jason from New York

New Donors

“I wish I could have given more, but money's very tight this month. I decided to take the money out of my son's college fund, because he's only 3 years old and I believe with all my heart that the $25 I spent today will better serve my son (and all children) going towards the Senator's campaign fund than it will sitting in a bank account for 15 more years. I definitely plan on "tithing" to the cause every month, though : )” --Laura from Washington, DC

“Simply because he believes adequate health care is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy, Obama has my support.” --Amanda from New York

“In a country where the government and its people grow increasingly different, history may view this as one of our last opportunities to really turn the tide and take back what is ours. Obama is the people's candidate, the candidate of the hopes and dreams of generations cynical and sick of business as usual in Washington. I hope you will agree and make this a personal fight, staking as I did, a small portion of what you work for in this country.” --Reuben from California

Some initial reflections

Chris Hughes — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:41:22 EST

People are saying all the time that this campaign is going to be historic. If you take a look at what’s happening online, you don’t have to look far for evidence that's true. In the mere three weeks since Barack’s announcement, what we’ve seen occur at barackobama.com is mindblowing. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed up to get emails from the campaign, and tens of thousands have created profiles, groups, and events on my.barackobama.com. People are meeting up in their local communities, talking about their support for the campaign, and brainstorming what they can do next to support it. Nothing like this has happened before historically, which makes this whole experience feel like the beginning of the movement that Barack so often talks about.

But all this activity means little unless we take advantage of the enthusiasm and energy that is pushing this campaign forward. In the next few days and weeks, we’ll be launching initiatives to help supporters tap into this support and bring new individuals into a nationwide effort. But no matter what we from the campaign do, it’ll be up to you, the supporters across the country, to make sure that Barack Obama’s message and presence is felt in your individual communities.

In the meantime, take the time to write a blog post about some of your first experiences with the campaign. Post it to your groups, send it to friends and family, and send it to us at the campaign (just message me a link to the post). Sharing your own experience is one of the best ways to inspire others to create their own.

Thanks for your support. Barack on.