|
Internet
rules for campaigns
Throughout
history, big technological innovation came during wartime.
The American Civil War, for example, spawned the submarine
and machine gun. The atomic bomb profoundly
changed World War II. All of these innovations had civilian
spin-off effects that profoundly changed our culture.
Politics
is a civilized form of warfare. It's educational to watch
political Web sites to find new forms of innovation and change.
These rules, gleaned from extensive analysis of political
Web sites, have applications that extend beyond the world
of politics.
1.
Be interactive. Make sure your Web site engages users
in novel ways through e-mail, chat rooms, discussion groups
and more.
2.
Update content daily. You want to give people a reason
to come back. If the content doesn't change, they won't come
back for more.
3.
Push candidate information. More than anything, Internet
users want information. Provide as much as you can to describe
the candidate and positions.
4.
Be user-friendly. If your page is a navigational pain,
people will get frustrated, go away and never come back. As
a corollary, avoid a bunch of huge images that take a long
time to load.
5.
Provide useful informational links. Using links allow
a page to be fresh and point users to content that might be
helpful.
6.
Ask for help from virtual volunteers. There's no reason
to do all of the work yourself. There are electronic volunteers
-- cybercitizens - who will help you maintain your site for
free.
7.
Ask for money over the Internet. Online campaign fund-raising
is about to explode. Make sure your campaign takes advantage
of this new source of funding.
8.
Provide online disclosure of your campaign funds. Many
states have some sort of online disclosure. You might as well
provide the information up front instead of seeming like you're
hiding it.
9.
Put opposition research online. Show why your opponent
is bad.
10.
Use the latest technology. You don't need all of the bells
and whistles but if you're not hip to what's happening, you
won't be able to maintain a site that is on the cutting edge.
©
Andrew C. Brack, 1997-2001
|
