How the Barack Obama Campaign Uses Wikis to Organize Volunteers

ReadWriteWeb ^

[mnehring]

The Republican nominating contest for President of the United States is all but sewn up -- Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee are footnotes and with 256 GOP delegates at stake today, John McCain may have enough pledged delegates to officially be his party's nominee by morning. The Democratic contest, however, is still close and all-important primaries today in Texas and Ohio (and important-but-less-so elections in Vermont and my own home state of Rhode Island) could decide the fate of that party's nominee. Yesterday I had a chance to talk with Isaac Garcia, CEO of Central Desktop, whose software is being used by the Obama campaign to manage field operations in Texas.

The biggest prize for the Democrats today is Texas, which has 193 pledged delegates at stake, and the winner of today's contest, where polls have Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a dead heat, may be the one whose campaign has the best get out the vote effort. However, organizing a campaign across a state the size of Texas, both in terms of number of people and geographical size is a daunting task. There are 254 counties and over 8,000 voting precincts, and a population that falls into all different ethnic, economic, and age demographics.

The Obama campaign is using software from business intranet provider Central Desktop to manage "precinct captains" -- volunteers who get out the vote and spread the campaign message in specific precincts across the state. The campaign started using the software during the run up to an earlier nominating contest in California -- the nation's most populous state. "The Web-based collaboration platform combined with a strong organized grass-roots effort, created unprecedented public involvement that is revitalizing politics in America," said Patrick DeTemple, the California Data & Systems Manager for the Obama campaign. "Not since Bobby Kennedy has there been such an extensive Precinct Captain operation for a presidential candidate in California."

Central Desktop is a wiki-based collaboration tool that competes with 37Signals' Basecamp (to put it in some perspective). Though most users are business clients who utilize the software as a private intranet, the Obama campaign is using it to power a public facing wiki to organize information for precinct captains in Texas. According to Garcia, the campaign is using the software on their own without much input beyond basic support from Central Desktop -- or in other words, the campaign has been savvy enough to figure out how to utilize an existing tool for a completely new use case.

In fact, Garcia told me that Central Desktop was actually unaware that the campaign had planned to use their software for additional states following California until they noticed an influx of traffic on their servers going to the campaign's new Texas site. Further, according to Garcia, the idea to use collaboration software to manage precinct captains was actually something that bubbled up in the campaign from the grassroots volunteers who were out in the field.

That the Obama campaign is so tech savvy and so open to using social software is unsurprising. They have run one of the most comprehensive online campaigns in recent memory -- perhaps ever -- generally outperforming opponents on nearly every social network or social media site, and according to a recent post from Ning's Marc Andreesen, Obama has long been very interested in social networking and how it can affect politics.

The specific appeal of Central Desktop's wiki-based approach is that allows volunteers to shape the messaging and quickly collaborate with each other without the need to go through a webmaster. The Texas effort, some of which was cloned over from the previous California site, was literally launched a couple of weeks ago in mid-February.

In 2004, the Howard Dean campaign famously used Meetup.com to mobilize supporters. But Dean's use of Meetup was mostly about bringing supporters together to share a common experience. It was not so much a focused and organized campaigning effort, as Obama's use of Central Desktop's software has been. Garcia was hesitant to say for sure, but he thinks Obama's may be the first campaign to make heavy use of collaboration software to help manage on the ground organization (though, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul both utilized Salesforce.com in their campaigns).

[mnehring]

This is about Obama, but it would be good for us to make a note of how this strategy was used for future elections.

[Squantos]

I'll rule this country by executive order if Congress won't adopt my agenda. Bill Clinton, 7/4/98

[mnehring]

..and you are posting that on every unrelated thread because????

[Squantos]

Because I have posting privileges and it is primary day in my state. If it changes one persons vote it was worth the effort.....Hillary needs to be in the lose and left the race column today.

Pipe dream maybe yet I tried .

Respectfully sorry if ya have issues with that.

Stay safe !

[mnehring]

You would be much better served if you post a thread, maybe with a ‘Flashback’ note in the title and link to the comment. Posting in these threads is really ‘speaking to the choir’. A new thread, however, will hit on headlines for lurkers and show up in Google Searches.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Just pulled a vote for Obama, just to get HRC out of the race today!

[Squantos]

I was just scanning the forum for threads with the words;

Election
Ohio
Texas
Obama
Clinton

Posting the quote on those threads for anyone keying on those subjects to read.

Again .....not intended to highjack yer thread as ya hopefullty know me here by now.

Stay Safe !

[Squantos]

That is my goal today as well here in Texas !

Good job !

[11th_VA]

Wow - for the first time I’m really proud of my country ... (/sarcasm)

[mountainbunny]

I'll rule this country by executive order if Congress won't adopt my agenda. Bill Clinton, 7/4/98

Oh my goodness! Where is he running for office? I certainly hope no one votes for him!

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

In this hard core GOP county you should have seen the lines at the DEM voting station. The judges were laughing and the people all in line were winking at eachother as the comments flew like "it wasn't like this last time..."

Hillary out now! regroup and restrategerize later.

[Squantos]

Very Cool !.........:o)

LOL!

[Nervous Tick]

>> Hillary out now! regroup and restrategerize later.

I’ll be pulling (or punching, or clicking, whatever) for Obama a little later today. I’m also in a very red area — I am SO looking forward to seeing how it goes at the polls! I know quite a few R’s who have pulled for one of the D’s, but most voted early. I prefer to vote on election day if I can swing it.

By the way — the orange tabby on your homepage looks just like mine!

[mnehring]

Sad part is when I stopped by our local GOP HQ at lunch about a half hour ago, they said most Republicans they are talking to are crossing over to the Dem side to vote for one candidate or another. I would not recommend this. Remember, in Texas, if you choose a Democrat ballot you will be registered as a Democrat until the next primary. You also will not have the opportunity to vote for any other primary candidates on the ticket (such as voting for Chris Peden over Paul). You also will not be able to take part in tonight’s caucus. The caucus has a lot more going on than just the Presidential race, you also will vote for the party platform and local party officials.

[Nervous Tick]

>> most Republicans they are talking to are crossing over to the Dem side to vote for one candidate or another

And why not? Many of us feel it’s the best use of our one vote. The R candidate has already been picked, whether we like it or not. (I don’t.)

>> I would not recommend this.

I know. We’ve had this discussion. I respect your points, but I respectfully disagree with you.

>> if you choose a Democrat ballot you will be registered as a Democrat until the next primary

Not exactly. From the Texas Secretary of State website: “we do not register by party in Texas. One becomes “affiliated” with a party by voting in a party’s primary and the affiliation lasts for that primary year.” Please see http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/primary.shtml

>> You also will not have the opportunity to vote for any other primary candidates on the ticket (such as voting for Chris Peden over Paul).

For those of you who CAN cast a (R) primary vote for Chris Peden (or in another similar race pitting conservative against undesireable), I strongly agree with you and suggest doing so. Neither Chris nor any other conservatives are on the ballot in my precinct. :-(

>> You also will not be able to take part in tonight’s caucus.

Sure I will! I’ll likely be attending the Dem caucus, which will be MUCH more interesting than a boring ol’ RINO caucus run by realtors and developers, which is all I have to look forward to here. I’ll bring a camera to record any fistfights.

[Squantos]

Now don't get angry at me as I am just asking......:o)

I looked all over my voter registration card and this online sample and can't find a party affiliation ?!?!?

Explain to me please how I get registered as a Democrat if I vote Rat in the primary only ! I have always voter republican and no where on my voter registration card does it say Republican or GOP etc ?

I get a ballot, it has neither my name etc on it to the best of my memory ?!?!? And I fold that ballot and place it into a box, I don't hand it back too a election worker too look at or add notes too and register me. If have time, and ya can link me too anything on the matter I would be grateful ? Stay Safe !

[mnehring]

Your party affiliation isn't chosen when you register, it is added when you vote. Your voter card is stamped, and your party affiliation next to your name on the roll is stamped. When you go to your caucus tonight, they will look your name up on the voter roll to ensure you have the Republican stamped next to your name. If you don't, you won't be able to caucus. Also, everyone on the voter roll with Republican (and Democrat) stamped next to their name are reported to their local party official as registered members.

From the Secretary of State's office:
A person affiliates with a particular political party during a given primary election year by either voting in a party’s primary or by taking the oath of affiliation (i.e., swearing that one has not voted in another party’s primary or participated in another party’s convention during that primary year). Id. §§ 162.003 & 162.006 (Vernon 2003 & Supp. 2005). Since an affiliation expires at the end of the year in which the primary election was held, the Legislature has also included the term "aligned" to indicate a person who may identify himself with a particular party regardless of the year in which appointments are made.

[Squantos]

Will voting Republican this fall negate the registration or alignment of the RAT party ?

BTW I vote using my Drivers License vs the Voter Card that I couldn’t find today on a bet ! Always been that way here in the Panhandle in my case. They usually just check my DL against a roster and hand me a ballot and point me too a corner to vote. We are a small operation here and 99.9% conservative / republicans so I may get shot if the others know I voted rat !.......:o)

I guess I can stack up the DNC’s mailings and such to use as fire building tinder this fall when it gets cold....should take some cash out of their pockets as well I suppose !

Thanks very much for taking time to educate me on that .....Your a saint of patience !

STAY SAFE !

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

if you like cats visit icanhascheeseburger.com. Full of cats funny. Are you going to the caucus tonight? I signed up to make sure as many RATS there know I am “on their team” till midnight. :o)