November 02, 2003
Monthy Update from Campaign HQ
I'm still on hiatus (at least my blog is) and still working 16-hour days at Clark For President in Little Rock, AR. It's the wildest, craziest, most intense, most political and chaotic experience I've ever had in my life -- and I can't imagine myself doing anything else right now.
As with most campaigns, there are good days and there are bad days. You never know what's coming around the corner and have to be prepared for anything. We're still 90 days away from the first state primaries and we only expect it to get more chaotic and intense.
The team of technology people I have helped assemble is amazing. We've got the right people in the right positions to do some pretty amazing things online. Yesterday I pushed a private beta of some new tools out to about 50 testers and this week we're launching some more stuff that's been in the works for a few weeks.
I wish I could talk publicly about what we're working on but I can't because I know the other campaigns are paying attention (waves hello to the Deanies). One of the most difficult jobs I have is convincing some of the older, more traditional campaign people the importance of online community and providing access to information online. I come from the world of just throwing up content and letting it self-organize, whereas with campaign messages the content and message are very carefully crafted and planned. It's not necessarily a bad thing but it does require an intense amount of planning that sometimes causes conflicts with the rapid, high-speed nature of publishing content online.
I will try to put up a post on CamWorld occasionally, since I know a lot of people are interested in the behind-the-scenes activities of a political campaign. The issue is one of time, which I have very little of. I had to abandon some freelance jobs in new York when I came down to Little Rock and I feel terrible about leaving my clients hanging but this is one opportunity that could not afford to wait. I just hope they understand.
Posted by Cameron Barrett at November 2, 2003 01:43 PMIt's a shame you can't post any of the really interesting stuff. Have you considered keeping a private diary with the stuff that can't be posted publically yet and maybe releasing some of it after the election? I for one would be absolutely fascinated to hear how these campaign teams really operate.
Posted by: Simon Willison at November 2, 2003 02:20 PM
Sorry Cam, but Clark won't win AND web-based campaigns are overrated. Yes, the build buzz, but it's miniscule and really has no impact on the real vote. Show me real data that disagrees with me. We can get all excited about this stuff, but it's mostly insignificant besides ego building.
Posted by: Grandy at November 2, 2003 04:19 PM
Nice blanket statement, Grandy. You should show *us* data backing up your insupportable claims.
Posted by: Grant Barrett at November 2, 2003 04:58 PM
I'm with Simon... keep a personal log on your local machine and when the election wraps up a year from this today, you can post up some the of exciting ideas that made it and even some ideas that didn't make it public.
Posted by: Erik at November 2, 2003 05:10 PM
Cam, Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and enjoy the experience. If you get time for a monthly update great, if not, well we'll catch you when things settle.
Posted by: Morrie at November 2, 2003 05:49 PM
Grady, go jump in a lake. At least Cam is working for something he believes in and trying to make a difference. What are YOU doing to try to change things besides posting anonymously on a message board where no one cares about you or your trollish comments? Talk about lame...
Take care, Cam! We're proud of you!
Posted by: Sassy at November 2, 2003 08:53 PM
Preface: I work in politics in DC (GOP side - non web position)
As Grandy said, most web campaigns are a terrible waste of resources, but it's noteworty to look at the reasons why that is the case.
IMO, most web campaigning fails because no one puts effort into it, and the folks in charge are clueless on the tech stuff, so they end up signing the checks for things they get sold on by various leach-y vendors, with no clear vision as to where they're going.
But that isn't always the case. McCain's campaign was able to raise millions immediately after NH primary via the web site. In fast moving primary season, they were able to process all these donations and have the money banked for use in a few day's time. You can't do that with paper checks.
Posted by: Witold at November 4, 2003 09:43 PM
