Also, if we log-in to the DPVa website, there could be a calendar on the site targeted in the same way for us.

Keep your ideas coming, Rob.

They could have a lawn sign rating based on their property location ranging from "very important" to "the chairman will personally place the sign and kiss your butt".

The type of things that could be done based off of a name and address is enormus. The voter registration check, polling place directions and a detailed explanation about abesnetee ballots and thier voting rights would be a great place to send all of the folks asking these questions leading up to an election.

Question, though, about one part of your idea - could the DPVa report instantly on someone's registration status?

I guess you could do some online registration and email verification type thing but that would proably be viewed as a hassle or intrusion by most people just wanting info. Of course some online verified registration might be OK for volunteers wanting to have an "account" that they could update - things like type of volunteer help, email and phone number updates, etc.

Anyway its something to think about.

This is where you check:
http://www2.sbe.virg...

Here is pin info:
https://www.dmv.virg...

Also, the roll-out for the new "Prevail II" voter database will be in January or February.

Of course, both these jobs are huge undertakings, and those dates are vague on purpose right now.

All good suggestions here in the comments.

http://www.documenti...

So, they obviously need a blogger that updates their blog at least once every few days.  Plus, they should have a link to the blog at the top (not the bottom) of the main page.

I'll share any response.

I was hungry for info on political activism and didn't find squat in the places where I suspected help would reside.  National, State and local Dem web resources were either just a web interface to announce meetings or a place to promote and chronical fundraisers. 

There is a crying need to provide something to convert the typical couch potato Fox-junkie to a knowledgeable political operative.  Provided with stops on the way for those that may want to plateau for a while to check the fit before advancing.

Keeping this knowledge and experience unavailable to the novice has a huge potential of giving the budding activist the impression that they are up against some form of elitism. 

http://www.nelsondem... 

A calendar of events that is not hidden.

Democratic links through out the state.

A volunteer of the month, etc would be appropriate.

Contact info, etc.

But most of all user friendly. Not very one is an internet junkie, so it definately has to be user friendly.

I have a guess.

if... it takes notice of some of the (excellent, IMO) suggestions above and becomes both: a "bulletin board" (dates, places) and a place where people can "meet" to exchange ideas...

Then... I'll say "long live"

Can you do that for me?

Kingdem, I'm hoping you are not a DPVA staffer or a local Chair, etc.  What you said was good -- it's the last sentence that disturbs us all out here who want improvement, better communication, and a way to give feedback.  This is a democracy.

One thing I would like to see though, is a much more frequently updated and user-friendly blog with posts not just from a webmaster but about the things the DPVA is doing across the state from the POV of party staffers. A calendar function would be nice as well, perhaps something like the calendar at the VAYD page http://www.vayd.org/... or in the style of the calendars on many of the sites Brian Patton has put up. Those calendars list the next few upcoming events.

Toss in a news feed as well with political news from across the state.

It seems like the better route would be for them to just link to RK and send people here for their daily dose of blog reading. 

Then, if they had something they wanted posted on a blog, they could get an account, write a diary, etc. 

Plus I'd like to see DPVA staff blog if they'd like!!

If folks are not comfortable with the chaotic nature of typical blog economics or culture, and they are motivated to pursue an alternative model, they will build it.  I believe that some misperceptions may exist regarding notions of control and ownership, but they won't be cleared up overnight. 

Brian, what you say makes perfect sense, but that's not always what ends up happening. One object of value is space on RK and the going price is providing clarification via participation.  This notion doesn't derive from some overdone set of rules, rather it is a natural artifact of the process that's circumvented only under special circumstances.  Perhaps that's never been stated explicitly, and a potential for conflict exists between the collections of assumptions that folks bring to the table.  And other blogs function very successfully under entirely different models; NLS is a good example.  It's likely that a VADP blog would implement another vision.

Over the last few hellish years Conyers gifted substantive content to dailykos, and he was hardly alone among legislators. He, and many other highly visible public figures, paid for dailykos product by at least giving a nod in the form of limited participation.  They bridged the gap between blogs and traditional politics however rocky that road may have been.  And thanks to Lowell, there never was a gap between Jim Webb and RK.

That's just a glimpse into a tiny bit of well-known blog legacy.  But here's another disconnect.  The low entry barrier is something highly valued by many bloggers, but others find this extremely threatening.  As a matter of fact there were a few posts strongly emphasizing the need to work one's way up through committees somewhat like a guild system.  Such a process has high value in traditional environments, but it isn't very important on most blogs.

I don't want to argue here about what view is optimal - just pointing out that they are quite different.

http://www.vademocra...

Instead of the full (and very long) platform being displayed, summarize each topic/issue and link it to the full discussion. Call it What We Stand For.  And write the summaries so we can use them as talking points!

A good way to attract Democrats to join and become part of the Party is to ensure early that every county and city's reorganization date is posted on the DPVA's home page or linked to a page devoted to that function.  Include date, time, type of reorganization, what a reorganization is, when officers will be elected, and most importantly the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the Chair so you can contact them early to find out the details and get the paperwork, etc.  I know that in at least one county, unless you read the DPVA-required announcement buried in a section of the newspaper that most people never read, you would have never known a "call for Democrats" ever happened or that a Democratic committee even existed. 

A single media database could easily accomodate hard copy vs email LTEs by "graying out" the email option and allowing a print download in text format or word doc, PDF or whatever format option wanted.

A single source database - and this does not have to be the DPVA, could be useable by all party web sites as an "include" page on the local committee web site. This would keep the vistor on the local web site and not direct them off to another site.

This would also have the benefit of allowing those without a local web site to go to any of the "participating" web sites and do an LTE customized for their local media.

Perhaps it is time to start up a "Democatic Technology Partnership" for all of the web masters and netroots to share ideas and resources and work together. If there is one thing that the netroots has done more than anything else, it is bringing people from across the state together. We should just carry this forward with something better than we have today

When ever Daily Progress accepts my snail mail letter, they always call me to make sure I am the author. Nelson Co. Times does not call me because they accept email letters. Coordination between the letter writer and the web site would have to be amintained, but I guess that could be worked out.

I really like the "Democratic Technology Partnership". It definately goes along with the more heads are better then one.

They also need to go out there and train local committees on how best to produce their own Demo Memos and build their own web-based subscription lists.  Send them to Virginia Beach first!!!

Along with the LTE help, the website should also post some of the best LTEs published from around the state.

I don't think it would work to publish contact info all the way down to the precinct level.  Some committees don't have all their precincts covered and that would look kinda embarrassing. 

We should look to form a Democratic Technology Partnership of committee web master and others, including the netroots community to help recommend standards and pracitices for web sites. It could certainly be an area where ideas are shared as well as resources. I mentioned to Gordie (above) that we could work on an LTE database and scripting that would allow any participating web site to "include" this as an option.

There are many things that could be done. It starts with talking with one another and leaving personal agendas behind. This should be a purely technology forum to connect people to ideas and resources.

If we begin the discussion and it begins to produce results, I am quite certain that the institutional folks will look to make it their own - which may not be a bad thing as long as agendas are kept in check

Are you offering to start a discussion on this and see if it can develop into something? 

I just sent Dave and about 40 other web masters an invite. If anyone else would like to be part of the discussion after the new year, just email the web master at albemarledems.org

It sounds like a good idea from here, but do you have some kind of list of those that don't have a web site?

I also hope that you sign on for the discussion group .. Nelson County always works as a team, right?

So I'm going to advocate for setting at least a general direction and a few goals in advance of your meeting, not when people go home with shiny new ideas.  That way you'll use your time more effectively.  Otherwise, build it, and they will throw it away.  No good.

One of Dianne's suggestions was about making it easy.  It's so simple that it's easy to overlook.  Extend it though - easy for users, easy for maintainers, and easy for committees.  That's not a bad ground rule.  But easy to do what?  Facilitate the exchange of information for starters. But set this aside for a sec..

In this thread, some commenters are focused on interface and some (e.g., Greg) are talking implementation.  Easy to talk past each other that way. 

Start with interface.  The first question is interface to what (back to para above).  That's coupled with the second question of who decides (ditto).  And there's no one size fits all answer there.

Skipping forward to a specific, and I think this is closer to where you are, Greg, remember the old KISS adage.  Assume there's a decision to support LTEs. Having a centralized (and up-to-date) database of media outlets and contact info is a good idea.  Locals could then customize a subset, write their own, or just link to the central list.  Having flexible alternatives accommodates local skills or lack thereof. Add on suggestions for good LTEs, and this whole piece is almost static.

One motivation for LTEs is to express one's own unique view and another is to emphasize info/ opinion in a "me, too" kind of way.  The second type is not a real LTE; it's what we usually write to legislators (see diary: Rally to Restore Workers’ Freedom to Form Unions).  The facilitating organization usually has a pre-written letter that visitors can customize.  That doesn't help with LTEs really, because newspapers rarely publish non-original content. 

So, incorporating some kind of letter writing tool doesn't get you much more than a lot of hard work. People want 1) the media contact information and 2) talking points 3) someone to contact if they have questions about the process. The media contact info is either an email address, a pointer to an online form, or a snail mail address. (1) and perhaps (3) are easy enough to provide. 

But talking points for LTEs need to be timely because they often address issues with a timeline (legislative calendar). And someone - or a group of someones - has to make decisions about what talking points to advocate, especially on controversial matters.  Someone has to write the content.  Someone has to get it on the web site.  A better alternative is to incorporate talking points and suggest LTE structure in news releases, via email or on a web site. 

And finally, someone motivated enough to write an LTE probably already has a point or two in mind that they wish to express.

So all of that is just about LTEs.

A committee or group lets you get several sets of eyes on content to spot problems, enhance the material and develop consensus as to what to include or not to include. That's made easier because in stark contrast to blogs, it's appropriate for committees to come to the decision to avoid incorporating anything particularly controversial. I really doubt if you will find "bullshit" on any committee web site that hasn't been hacked, though I could be wrong. This is still a business type decision or assumption, and again, it doesn't have much to do with implementation.

In our group there was a great deal of discussion about the specifics of layout and what needed to be there, but it really doesn't matter much on that end if a participant is not very proficient technically.  As a matter of fact, it helps enormously to get input from non-geeks. 

All in all, having a group work on this was a reasonable idea.  But though the tasks were fairly simple and straighforward, the committee model brought its own set of problems.  We modified how we worked, and it still was a painfully slow process.  Straight from the committee secretary to the webmaster does work for us now; it may not work for everyone. 

My personal takeaway is that once you get started, however well-intended, every person-to-person interface is a potential bottleneck, even on a small committee.  If someone goes on vacation, gets sick, lacks commitment to the process, moves or even possesses a strong will to implement a personal vision, problems can arise.  Does that cover everything?  No.  Remember this is a political committee.

And there are externals, e.g., out here any face-to-face meeting however small, generally involves at least one person driving 30 miles or so.  That's a local factor; other groups would have other issues. All of this is important on a site that has timelines and deadlines of any sort.

On the face of it, our goal appeared to be a very simple one - a functional NCDC web site.  I must say that throughout all of the experimentation, a recurring thought was that it really shouldn't be so daggone difficult; half the 12-year olds in this country have web sites, etc. etc.

That's nothing more than my personal quirkiness, Meyers-Briggs N talking big time.  But that's a factor that colors whatever I as an individual bring to the table.  Another personal factor is utter burnout from various OS and app religious wars since the 80's. Not my game anymore, you win, have fun. That's my indiosyncratic POV, but therein lies my greatest potential to impede the process. And it's my personal responsibility not to let it get in the way.

I'd summarize the dynamics as sort of like a simplified version of a small company switching from paper to computers, and that reflects to some degree the age of those involved. It is definitely more complicated and more difficult than a kid's web site.

And to older folks who have always done things in a different way, who may or may not be web savvy, just having a web page represents a disruption in the long-accepted flow of information.  And it is a disruptive, no matter how simple it may seem to many.

This isn't just cultural or resistance to change, there are physical constraints.  I had dial-up when I moved here, and it was next to intolerable. We now have an expensive alternative which isn't all that great either.  And it's definitely not something I would have bothered with were I not involved in IT in the first place.

In the end, we could have the best web site in the world and won't reach all of our members, much less into parts of our community, especially the economically disadvantaged, without other venues. And those venues demand resources as well.  Furthermore, since there is so much dial-up out here, we can't ignore it, we have to be lightweight, and that isn't going to change overnight.

It's pretty clear that what ended up working here won't work for every single committee. In a way, a committee's web site becomes it's official public face.  In a committee undergoing internal changes or factions, ownership of that "face" could become a bone to grapple over, consolidating perceived power in one individual or group could be begging for trouble.

I hope this is helpful. I'm sure that others in Nelson may post-mortem that experience in an entirely different way.  In retrospect, I think working through the process as a group was very helpful in gaining shared experience and arriving at a common understanding of appropriate content more than anything else.  That seemed to be a source of some anxiety. Very short term, the free ranging content of blogs may add to that concern.  That shouldn't be hard to clear up. 

Picking up on the thread, it would seem that there are different elements to consider:

1. Organization: What are the goals? What measures can be put into place to help determine if those goals are being met? Should a web site be an element in an overall marketing strategy? Should a web site provide specific organizational tools for organizers? What kinds of services can be offered? What is the plan for dial-up users and those with no internet connection?

2. Technology: What tools are available to help create the means to accomplish our goals? Do the tools meet the KISS rule standard? Is it possible to provide a sophisticated tool-set to non-geek end users (our customers)? Is security an issue? Can we provide templates to use and what about technical support?

3. Design/Content: What content is right for a given local committee web site? Who decides? What is the structure of the decision making? Are there guidelines that can be applied or does a committee decide everything? Is all content the same? Is there content that reflects directly on the local committee and other content (republished article, letter from local Dem) that is OK to showcase an individual or allied organization? What about design? Does a committee design the look of a web site (yikes!)?

4. Legal/Ethical Stuff: What do I have to watch out for? What Federal and State requirements do I have to be worried about? What is “Fair Use” and does that mean I can print anything I want on my web site?  What about ethics? Should there be some ethics guidelines, if so what would that be? Can I be a partisan and ethical at the same time?

It would seem that a state wide discussion group would be most helpful on the technology aspect. It could also help in framing the options for organization. The tricky area is content. This is probably the area that many local committees are most nervous about … and rightly so.  The content should certainly be focused on helping elect Democrats because that is our goal. It should be focused on building the party because that too is our goal. However the content used to meet that goal make look a little different in Mecklenburg than in Charlottesville.

The discussion group probably should touch on all of the areas of concern to participating web masters. I think it would be helpful to share the challenges we face as well as our ideas on how to best meet those challenges.

The core focus of this discussion group probably should be technology and how to put the best possible tools in the hands of Democrats across the state to kick Republican butt. The LTE idea is probably more down the line and fairly advanced. The things that have been pointed out about that are good and should be thought through.

We can’t cure world hunger here but given the fact that there has been absolutely no discussion between web masters about the challenges they face or even what a web site is supposed to be doing, its past time for us to start talking with one another.

It will be important to hear from the other web masters and their ideas in terms of overall direction and specific goals. I think we can begin to do that in the coming weeks.

So far I’ve heard from 7 web masters responsible for 17 web sites that are interested.

May I suggest a "quick and dirty" requirements analysis.  The users' requirements (the requirements of those maintaining the website and those actually using the website) need to be addressed. You've said the tricky area is content and you're right.  The users' content and their requirements should drive the other aspects of the effort. You've asked the right questions but I believe they need to be put in a process structure to make it manageable for you guys.  For example, you've asked "Should a web site provide specific organizational tools for organizers? What kinds of services can be offered?"  The users should be asked these questions, be they Chairs, members, etc.

Once it's determined what the users' needs are, then I would think a technical solution would follow.  The best-designed "systems" meet the users' needs however the system is implemented (on what platform).  It would give you all the dimension and scope of what might be delivered.

Also, I think it would be a help if some guidance comes out of the DPVA (hint, hint, hint).  Or at the least, they should support you all and give you the assistance that you might need. 

By the way, each committee is responsible for it's own website's content... "Authorized and Paid for by the....." or another disclaimer and should be held responsible for the ethical and legal aspect of what they decide to put on their site, I would think.

Regardless, I think what you have volunteered to do is so incredibly commendable. 

PS  Why don't you guys at some point start a new diary on this matter so it doesn't get buried on RK.