Part 1 – New Media
On the blogs, we all act as armchair pundits. Many people think our advice is worth what you pay for it, but the blogs do provide an insight into what the netroots is thinking. The netroots is fairly small compared to the whole Democratic party, but it does have outsize influence and is a source of money and “buzz.” So, what can Chris Coons do to generate some excitement in the netroots and translate that into the grassroots? Here’s my take:
Rock the New Media
What do I mean by new media? I mean blogs, social networking and You Tube.
— Hire at least one, possibly more aides to monitor and post on blogs. The blogs I recommend be monitored daily, if not more are the following: Daily Kos, Open Left, Think Progress, Fivethirtyeight, Talking Points Memo and Paul Krugman’s Conscience of a Liberal. Pundits to follow would include Ezra Klein (health care reform), Jonathan Cohn (health care reform), Glenn Greenwald (civil liberties), Spencer Ackerman (international policy) and TV pundits Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann. If you monitor these people you will definitely know what is exciting the netroots.
— Sign up for a Twitter account. Use it! Use the account to direct followers to articles of interest (Castle does this), position papers, appearances and hopefully give everyone a taste of your personality.
— Use Facebook. For an example of how Facebook was used effectively, look at Rob Robinson’s campaign. He used Facebook to contact his followers about events and opportunities for volunteering. I thought it was quite effective.
— Hire a videographer. Have your videographer record your public appearances and put them on You Tube. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I say a video is worth a thousand op-eds. Have your videographer tape Mike Castle’s public appearances as well. You want to know what he’s saying and also if he makes a gaffe, you want to be able to take advantage of it. Also, be prepared for Mike Castle’s team to have a videographer follow you as well.
Part 2 will be published tomorrow and will discuss the issues that motivate the netroots.
Now it’s your turn. Is my advice good or bad? What advice would you give Chris Coons regarding the new media? What blogs and pundits have I left off the list? The floor is yours.