There is one very important question that is not being asked on a daily basis by volunteers. That question is this: "Are you registered on My.BarackObama.com?"
On numerous occasions I've had volunteers ask me to fill out a form with my name, email address and phone number, and nowhere on these xeroxed forms is the question: "Are you registered on My.BarackObama.com?" If volunteers would ask that question every single time to every single person, perhaps more would respond: "What is that?"
I worked on a telephone bank for an Obama event a week ago. The scripted phone message said to give the name and phone number of the person in charge of the event. Nowhere in the phone script did it say to direct people to BarackObama.com where they could find events in their area by zip code and sign up online. But I did it anyway. Because real world consumer behavior says that someone will go to a website to search for information before they pick up the telephone!
This is a tragedy and a waste of a valuable resource! I totally "get" that talking to voters is more powerful than sending them someplace where we don't know who they are or if they've even been there. But the Internet has trained people to a certain set of expectations; and one of them is the "do it yourself" aspect of finding information online.
Even more important than encouraging voters to seek out volunteer opportunities online, is connecting them with EACH OTHER! It's not just about the campaign communicating with voters and volunteers, it's about connecting people on the front lines WITH EACH OTHER.
I read an article online this weekend about a woman in a rural town who felt she was "the only one" in her small community who supported Obama. Well if someone had told her about My.BarackObama.com, she would have been able to search for other Obama supporters by zipcode to see who in her town was also onboard this campaign. People in rural communities need this more than anyone else - they are isolated and live in such a small community they don't want to risk being ostracized or criticized. That's true of people within neighborhoods! I have neighbors who haven't spoken to me in the five years I lived here until they saw me walking around in an Obama t-shirt and noticed the Obama signs in my front windows. Suddenly I have friends I had not previously met because they know where I stand and they want an ally in their support of Obama! They want to know they are "not the only one."
We should make it a goal to ask every single person we talk to every single time: "Are you registered on My.BarackObama.com?" And don't assume that people in rural communities or older people don't use the Internet. They are busy emailing their grown kids, looking at pictures of the grandchildren, and shopping online! They just don't surf the net like younger people and unless someone tells them why they need to be on My.BarackObama.com - they aren't going to know! So they have never heard of social networking - who cares? They just need a "why" to be sufficiently motivated to go out there and connect with their friends and neighbors.
I honestly see this as a major weakness of the campaign. And I am doing everything possible to spread the gospel of online information so people aren't just connected to the campaign, but also connected with other Obama supporters in their own communities. Sometimes it's easier to do things online than to ask someone face-to-face who they are supporting. We all fear rejection and censure. This is a way to find out who your allies are before you ever reveal yourself.
Make it a personal goal to ask this question on a daily basis: "Are you registered on My.BarackObama.com?" Doing small things consistently is what carries the day.
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