Rarely divulged email list stats proving that it exploded in size when we started picking topics based on community interests.
Yesterday Chris
wrote about how we engage in activism:
Since the beginning of 2012, I implemented a new strategy of choosing what we take action on that cedes significant editorial control to the Daily Kos community. Specifically, looking at recommends and Facebook likes / shares for every single diary posted on Daily Kos (and on our Facebook page), the campaigns and activism team here at Daily Kos tries to 1) find the topics that are trending within the Daily Kos community at any given moment and 2) work to generate actions on those topics.
We've learned that certain topics, like anything having to do with Texas, Walmart or Michele Bachmann are big winners, while things like drones, immigration and the environment aren't. Even marriage equality lags. It doesn't mean we devalue those less hot-button issues. Immigration, after all, is my pet cause, the one I
personally value most. It just means that we're not going to run actions on topics that aren't guaranteed to get people excited (including immigration reform).
But wait, you say, people are excited about the environment on Daily Kos! Haven't I seen all those Keystone XL diaries? And yes, to some degree, that interest is growing. But compare candidate fundraising for Robin Kelly in the Illinois 2nd Congressional District—a race that revolved around the NRA (white hot topic), and that of Ed Markey in the Massachusetts Senate special election, who would be among the biggest environmental champions in the entire Senate if elected. Kelly raised $114K from nearly 6,500 community members. Markey has raised $3,277 from 138 of you.
When we sell Markey, we do so on environmental grounds, and quite frankly, the environmental community on Daily Kos hasn't responded. Some of you may not like that. We at Daily Kos HQ don't like that, but the broader community guides us. After seeing several appeals for Markey fall flat, we pretty much gave up on it. You want more reason to be depressed? Look at how little the community has raised for the marriage equality ballot initiatives. It's abysmal.
So if you're not happy that we don't focus enough on certain issues, understand that we take our cues from you. Sure, I'll write about immigration and marriage equality even when the response is tepid. Meteor Blades will write about drones and environmental issues. Other writers will write about topics they care about despite a lack of community huzzahs. And of course, we celebrate the issues that DO get traction—anything NRA, the war on women, social security, etc.
But if you're going to complain that we don't take actions on your issue, or we don't cover it enough, or that we don't ask it on the candidate questionnaire, or whatever—first check to see if you've built the requisite level of community support. Ultimately, the bulk of our efforts are going to focus on where the community wants us to go. So if you want to make the case that your cause has built that effort, be prepared to show us the multitude of diaries with tons of comments, tons of recommends, tons of Facebook and Twitter shares. And if you can't do that, understand that you still have work to do selling your cause to the broader community.
And if you find yourself in that position, don't despair! I've been plugging away at immigration for years, and even with my soapbox I usually get only the most tepid response. It is what it is. But people who are persuasive and persistent and don't make arguments like "my issue is the most important!" can and do break through the noise. And never forget the power of breaking news—gun control advocates weren't getting anywhere until the tragic events of last December. So just because your pet cause isn't getting traction today, doesn't mean it won't be relevant tomorrow.
In any case, if there's one lesson I've learned running this site for nearly 11 years now, is that I can't create something out of nothing. Chris's chart at the top of this page proves it. For better or for worse, we are most successful when you guys are in charge.
And by "you guys", I mean the collective you.