Reagan21 and the Web

Like most conservatives, I was pumped to hear about the Reagan21 coalition — and then deflated once I saw their web site. All that’s missing from this 1995 vintage are <blink> tags.

(A staff member for one of the group’s more forward thinking members assures me they’ve heard us, and that changes are on the way.)

One of the things I try to impress upon people when I give talks on Web strategy is the idea of leading with the Web. The only way for someone outside Washington, D.C. to interact with the cause or group you’re launching is through the Web. Your online presence should be the very first thing you think about when launching your group, not the last. Though I’m sure this was the work of a well-intentioned press staffer who had a dozen other things to do, this leaves exactly the wrong impression with grassroots activists across the country. Just by sticking on a “Join” form, placeholder sites can be an opportunity, not an afterthought.

The messaging on this is also dramatically off. Maybe this is the 29-year old South Park Conservative in me speaking, but for a group committed to ushering in a 21st century political movement, this seems old, strewn with overly formal, self-important language.  Setting the presentation aside, how does talking down to me with language understood only by other Members of Congress inspire me to join the cause? The beauty of the Contract with America is that it was written in language real Americans could understand.

Efforts like Senator Jim DeMint’s 100,000 Strong for Earmark Reform provide a much better way to engage people in a cause. Each time you go to JimDeMint.com you see one thing: a big honking signup form with a personal invitation to join a movement. That’s compelling. That builds lists. That raises money. That gets you real power.

Tagged: conservatism movement online politics

Comments (2) Trackbacks (2) del.icio.us digg it subscribe