Follow up on my open letter to Senator Cantwell

Just six days after writing my open letter to Maria Cantwell, the new Cantwell.com was published.  Talk about a timely letter by me!

I will say that I think the new site is vastly improved and certainly much more in line with that of her challenger.  It’s certainly not there yet, but this is a big step.

One of the coolest parts about writing that letter was getting the set of comments that followed David Postman’s citation of my letter in the Seattle Times political blog.  Take a look at these excerpts from Doug Dobbin’s long comment:

My main issue was the fact that a consultant with the Cantwell campaign couldn't send out an email with working links. You don't have to be a tech person to know that a link is broken and having a website that isn't accessible to people with visual challenges is not only inconvenient it can be a campaign issue as well.

Meanwhile, Cantwell's opponent is following the new Republican playbook and using any sort of technology necessary to get his message out to voters. He even had ads on a combine at the Lind Combine Demolition Derby. Mike has podcasts, blogs and uses multimedia on his website. In addition, his campaign staff are spot on when it comes to follow up. I heard from them within about half an hour of my post on my personal that included me pointing out a problem with their site, and they fixed the within five hours. That's not even a direct contact with the campaign over an issue.

Friends of mine are surprised to find out that there is no podcast available for them to hear Cantwell 's position on issues, since she presents herself as a tech person. Almost all those people are over 50, where audio podcasts are catching on big.

Candidates complain that they can't get enough media time and ads cost too much but at the same time they pass up a medium which gives them the opportunity to get their message out unfiltered.

With the fragmentation of traditional media markets, effective use of technology at every level is what will determine the difference in election outcome. The candidates and campaigns that see this sooner rather than later will become the leaders that shape our future.

Wow!  And in case you’re wondering, I still haven’t heard back about volunteering opportunities on the Maria Cantwell campaign, two weeks after registering to volunteer, a week after writing my open letter, and two days after registering to volunteer on the new web-site.