One of the mistakes we're making in rebuilding the party is failing to understand how technology enables powerful grassroots behavior. WOM, Word of Mouth marketing is hard to measure, but very important to understand in the context of elections.
We are always told about debate blunders (Ford, Dukakis, Gore) and commercials (Daisy, Bear in the Woods) being turning points in elections, but it is Word of Mouth which takes events and makes them the zeitgeist of the times.
So what are we doing to improve our Word of Mouth? Not a damn thing. The national party and the national blogs do very little to promote the little guys and girls, and that failure is the central roadblock to gathering a movement to retake the Congress in 2010. Big blogs and political consultants don't see it as their responsibility to get involved. They figure if the grassroots were really committed, they'd build it themselves. And they also are afraid of opening themselves up to losing influence, as they make their money driving opinion.
Thas has to change, and I'm writing the plan. With my background in social media, I can write out ways to take advantage of the traditional conservative strengths. It won't be a complete plan, but it will be completely different than anything you see. Obama is planning a $75 million arm of the DNC whose job is changing public opinion with propaganda. Add in Axelrod, and you have a very scary threat to the Republican message.
The good news is our message is stronger, and good marketing on behalf of the Democrats won't cover up a bad product. They waste a lot of money with unions and jobs programs for progressive activists. We can be leaner, meaner, and more effective.
One part of this plan is basic meetups for conservatives. Enabling technology like, uh, Meetup.org, used to tremendous advantage by Obama but also the Left in general, we should start pushing grassroots activists to meet with the purpose of sharing ideals. Learning to speak in public, in small groups and in large groups, is a valuable skill for conservatives. It is a learned skill, learned only by practice, and it's one we have let suffer in the days of teleprompters and sound bites for our politicians.
Conservative Meetups built up around the simple premise of "Why Are you a Conservative?" can be modeled on Toastmasters and Rotary club competitions, bringing local people together with the purpose of sharing why they're conservative, but also learning why they are conservative. Look - blogging over the years has given me a very firm grasp of my principles. Being forced to write thousands of posts and comments on different subjects has made me expert in what I believe. You can't write content, and not think about what you are writing.
Speaking is the same, but it's built in community. Speaking gives you confidence. Speaking gives you a common purpose. Done right, we might even discover a few real talents, who should be showcased at the state and local level.
How many Bill Whittle's are there in America? How many people with stories and heart and character? How many families who believe that freedom and individual responsibility are the cornerstone of the republic? And how many believe, but have been seduced by the Democrats because Republicans have lost their voice?
This is one idea, and a good one, but it ties together with an overarching theme and social media to provide a platform for a conservative comeback. I won't be sharing the full plan on this blog, but I will make it available to a lot of people who get it.
It's time for us to get to work.
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