techPresident - mybo - Comments

Groundcrew / Citizen Logistics

Joe Edelman — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:16:23 -0500

I can't believe I missed this post!

My startup (http://citizenlogistics.com) is developing just such a tool.

It's not boring at all: when volunteering becomes real-time, GPS and text messaging-based, volunteer acquisition and coordination is actually quite exciting. Volunteers feel like James Bond, receiving just-in-time assignments. Coordinators feel like guildmasters in WoW. It's great.

Please, if anyone can help me get in touch with the right people at the administration, don't hesitate.

--Joe
http://citizenlogistics.com
http://nxhx.org

The tipping point where voting applications break down

Wegerje — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:23:54 -0500

Is when there are too many options, especially when they are un-categorized. Then when they are categorized, one would focus only on a few and even within those the number of options could grow beyond interest.

What is needed is a system of trusted editors within each category to whittle down where one should support and where one should oppose.

I would want to choose my own trustees and have the ability to change at any time.

Something along the lines of direct democracy by delegable proxy.

Jeff Wegerson

"you can transfer a list, but you can't transfer people ..."

JonPincus — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:15:14 -0500

Fascinating -- thanks for sharing, and looking for more as it trickles out!

The point about the focus on "the list" resonated strongly with me. The list gives the ability to contact 1.5 million people easily (and additional targeting info to get higher response rates), and that certainly has value ... really, though, it's the people who are the key assets. Get FISA Right is an interesting situation right now in that our list melted down, and so we don't have a straightforward way of contacting our members. Still, they're out there ... and they're a base to move forward.

jon -- http://talesfromthe.net/jon

trying to figure it out

geoffstephens — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:19:50 -0500

Micah,
thanks for this post... i've heard marshall talking about organizing the grassroots for the campaign. what a brilliant strategy. i can't tell you how motivated people are here in bozeman, largely becuase they felt they had ownership over the campaign. we won our county for obama because of intense volunteer efforts, and came very close to winning all of montana (mccain won by 2.8% vs bush win in 2004 of almost 20%!!)
we're now forming a local progressive action group to build on this enthusiasm. but the interesting challenge for us is how to go beyond simply supporting initiatives coming from the administration. we're all most interested in having a major impact on local and state issues by supporting progressive candidates and local issues like education, zoning, conservation, etc.
another important factor is the intense desire for building a community of like-minded people. here in small town america we don't have the same kind of intellectual stimulus as you big-city folks (!) and there is a real need to gather and discuss issues and ideas..
i'm sure we're just one of thousands of like-minded groups forming across the country and it will be interesting to see how the campaign, now administration, decides to work with us.

Both in the...

Lisa P — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:48:45 -0500

Both in the rumor mill and in press reports, an outline of an Obama administration has begun to emerge. Obama wants to know all about you if you plan to work in his cabinet or staff. Makes sense, doesn’t it? If a person is going to fill a high-responsibility position in America’s federal government, it is in the best interests of the nation and its people that the applicant meets all the requirements and qualifications and will not pose a threat in any form. With all the information Obama asks in his seven-page, 63-question application, you would think the administration would have enough to perform credit repair for everyone who applies. CNN reveals a copy of the questionnaire, which requires all applicants to not only thoroughly elucidate everything they’ve done in the last 10 years or more, but also do the same for their spouse. I hope applicants do indeed get the free credit repair as part of the deal. With that, I’d like to share a few of my favorite questions… (1) Writings: Please list and, if readily available, provide a copy of each book, article, column or publication (including but not limited to any posts or comments on blogs or other Web sites) you have authored, individually or with others. Please list all aliases or “handles” you have used to communicate over the Internet. (2) Electronic communications: If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an E-mail, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect if it were made public, please describe. (3) Please provide the URL address of any Web sites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, etc.) This is only a taste of the how deep the application goes. So remember, if you plan on taking part in the Obama-Biden “Change” Administration, you’ve better get to stepping. Click to read more on Credit Repair.

thank you

Dan Ancona — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:54:44 -0500

Micah & Dr. Ganz thank you so much for this conversation. This stuff is gold.

Is the flip side of this "It's only as open as we make it"? I know there have been some meetings here in SF with the local crew. I haven't made it to any but it seems like that's a good way to keep the social capital that's been built up from decaying. And my hope is we'll see a lot of those relationships reactivated in future campaigns, although it's going to take a lot of work to make that happen.

Ownership

Wegerje — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:10:20 -0500

In Illinois we didn't participate in the fifty state program. In fact even Howard Dean joked that it was a 49 state program. And why is that. Because the Democratic party is screwed up in Illinois. Rahm Emanuel is the least of its problems here.

But the point I want to make is that ownership by the DNC is not going to be a long term workable solution for the MyBO social/political networking database and software. It needs, absolutely needs, self ownership with a democratic (small d) governing structure.

Jeff Wegerson

Just how BIG is that table? Well, it's up to US.

MadamaAmbi — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:39:57 -0500

We are all here because we want change and we all have our own, experience-based, biased ideas of what that means and how we get it. I do, too. I am a feminist with pretty radical ideas. I don't lead such a radical life, but my theories go straight to the roots. I want a seat at the table & I'm confident I will have one because I am a part of so many vital circuits that belong to other vital circuits that belong to other vital circuits, and so on. IMO, this is the heart, soul & strength of how we got here and how we will MOVE into Phase II.

I capitalize MOVE because this IS a movement, and movements move when people move, when people create, disagree, listen, and make room to process. Some people have a bad reaction to the word "process" and I know why, and that's ok. Give me some time and I'll come up with a better word! But here's my point: we need all kinds of leaders in this movement. It's important to identify who has what skills.

I do not consider myself a politico although I spent the last 9 months being ALL Obama ALL the time and getting on the nerves of friends & family! But victory is ours, and I am ready for what's next. What do I have to offer Phase II? I'm a thinker, a writer, a trained group facilitator, a trained listener, a creative, an activist, a feminist, a self-taught artist, a podcaster, a vlogger, a blogger, a trained singer--I communicate! Whatever it takes, I communicate. Whatever it takes, I listen and mirror back what I'm hearing. Whatever it takes, I work it, work it, work it, hoping that convergences can be uncovered where once we saw only painfully raw divergence. I have many projects in mind to make the invisible women & girls in our country not only visible but also speaking for themselves. IMO, this is vital for the future of democracy. I will be writing more about my ideas and I hope to be in dialogue with all thinkers, activists and agents for transparent democracy.

Oh, and I'm not looking for a job. I'm retired, thanks to my husband's government pension.

very truly yours
MadamaAmbi

Interview4Obama http://madamaambi.blogspot.com
subversonance http://subversonance.blogspot.com
Patriarchal Disorder http://patriarchaldisorder.com
madamaambi at gmail.com

I've added some of your points to my post...

Troutfishing — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:34:25 -0500

I think they get to, in a sense, the heart of the matter; to what extent will the coming Obama Administration and the future DNC seek to exert control over, rather than promote, political social networks that don't always behave in ways that administration or the DNC want ? In the past, the inclination towards control over, rather than the promotion of, grassroots political energy has prevailed in the DNC.

It would seem very counter intuitive, I agree, were Barack Obama, with his background in political organizing, to try and exert control to the point that it squelched grassroots energy.

There is a way

crash83080 — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:19:19 -0400

There actually is a way to set up a whole new network quite easily. We in New Jersey have already done it, www.jerseyshore4obama.org, and it's very easy for anyone to set up and run. Check out Ning.com to see what I am talking about.

Stunning

Freedomfighter — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:53:17 -0400

There are many limitations to the myBO groups. Even searching them is difficult. However, I think you have pranced over the blatantly obvious.........the fishbowl effect. The anti-FISA Obama people are like fish which can see the world but are panicking over discovering they are all wet and can go no where because they are in a bowl. What would be interesting if the anti-FISA people actually teamed up with a civil liberties group and put out a video attacking Obama's flip-flop. However, the civil liberties groups, like the one at the link below, are stuck in protesting Bush as if Bush was running for office as he did in 2004. Things will become very interesting if such groups of people start actually interacting and get off the myBO site. Will Facebook or some other social network make it possible? Stay tuned.

http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/toolkit/declaration.php

Poll Driven versus Social Network Driven

owen93 — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:48:39 -0400

"Who gets the candidates ear" indeed.
Do we really want a President who runs their administration and therefore the country by "sharing power" with those who have a broadband connection and know how to use it ?
Poll driven candidates who blow hot and cold on policies based upon public opinion as derived from professional polling are usually treated with disdain. Is there a substantive difference between the Poll Driven Pol and the NetRoots driven Pol?
As has been pointed out the membership/registration policies of MYBO and the tools available there are apparently flawed and sparse. The social network movement is still very much in free for all mode and frankly needs to have some common sense structure applied to it. We zone our physical space, we do not allow anyone to shout anything they want anywhere they want. We allow judicial and legislative bodies to regulate the physical parameters of protest. Online Social Networks have no physical parameters though, and so we have not yet developed the tactics and tools to simulate common sense regulation of dissent.

We also have not had time yet to see what "Fresh Hell" can be raised by the trolls and flacks who get paid to be blogosphere agent provocateurs, but rest assured they are on their way. Ask yourself If you have any doubt that a handfull of such professional trouble makers can easily derail conversation into cat and dog fights and lead otherwise rational people to utter ridiculous pronouncements which amount to extensions of the attacks by the initial Guerrilla Ontology Warriors. I predict that once this becomes overwhelmingly obvious any resistance you might have had to common sense regulation will turn to demands that something be done about the situation.

LUX ./. owen

--------
Who shall follow the Thread beyond the Labyrinth of Words?

Solution

crash83080 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:08:31 -0400

The groups I belonged to on myBO got crazy with the listserv emails and it got quite annoying. So, I created a social network for our group to coordinate and organize on. It provides a hell of a lot more flexibilty than the myBO site and allows for interaction and collaboration among the members. Anyone can make one too. My groups website is www.jerseyshore4obama.org.

17,590 and Counting

Alan Rosenblatt — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:51:49 -0400

Well, it has been 8 hours since Micah's post and the FISA No Immunity group is closing in on 18,000.

Alan Rosenblatt
AKA DrDigiPol (drdigipol.com)

Opt out of email

cfinnie — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:18:08 -0400

I got the same flood of email when I first signed up. So I went back and found a box that allowed me to opt out of email--which I quickly did! You could also choose a digest delivery, the way I handle the email overwhelm from my political listservs.

Since Obama has said he wants to use the Internet to make government more transparent and interactive, maybe you should send him you post on what they're doing with government 2.0 in the U.K.