A movement is growing at Daily Kos to fix a key problem in our party — regardless of whether Hillary, Martin, or Bernie wins the presidential nomination. In the past couple of months we’ve launched Crowdsourcing the 50-State Strategy and are recruiting activists to join us in this long-term, bottom-up rebuilding process.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with this effort please send our group a kosmail and let us know how you want to help. Navajo, who is organizing volunteers, will send you an invite. Also please post your own diaries and recommend the work of others you think are good additions to the effort.
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At the beginning of Crowdsourcing the 50-state strategy, Evan Coren, navajo, Meteor Blades & myself have been working to try and build a new way to help candidates across the country. A key component to that? Connecting candidates with minimal budgets to talent who wants to provide help & resources.
We’ve had a lot of great response, from candidates who were considering races in deep red states, to almost 100 readers of Daily Kos wanting to share their talents. Now, we need to put some of the great talent present on Daily Kos and elsewhere to work. Whether you are a part of Bernie’s revolution or Standing with Hillary, your talents can help provide a revolution in our state houses and stand up a lot of candidates who need our help.
I’m writing today to help connect your work & skills with candidates in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Washington (state), Kansas, Colorado and any one else in another state who asks. Are you in? Let’s talk.
Local candidates, people who are running for the state house, state senate, county commission, city council, school boards and state school boards will find themselves overwhelmed this year as presidential candidates and news fills the airwaves, leaving them struggling at times to attract the volunteer help and talent they need.
How can you help? Many of the skills these candidates can make use of do not require you to be in their office, make calls, or walk on their behalf. If you’re in a safe California seat, but you are rooting for a candidate fighting for a city council seat in Ferguson, Missouri or a race in Dayton, Ohio, you can help save them money and time by offering your talents.
If you read Daily Kos for more than just the presidential back and forth, you’ve noticed we’ve had more than a few candidates make their announcements, ask for help & support. We tried a test of this in 2014 with great success; as members of Daily Kos donated their voices and skills to create web videos, graphic design and more for candidates in Missouri.
In 2016, I want to expand that. Several candidates have reached out and asked us how we can connect them, even members like our own Angela Marx — who is running in a Washington US House seat — could probably make use of some of your remote talent.
So what do we need, and how can you help us? State candidates in several states and local candidates have reached out with real need in the following categories. If you are able to donate your time, here are the skills most needed.
Are you a Graphics Designer?
A lot of us know a good graphics designer. Like any piece of art, graphic designers often express their own personal viewpoint, even in campaign work. As a result, one of the items I hear from local candidates is that they get “content fatigue”, too much of their campaign design work in small campaigns looks a lot like, well, someone else’s campaign from last cycle or from another campaign happening write now.
Style designs that people use in Tennessee can be different from what is used in Colorado, in part due to the person doing the design. How can you help candidates? If you’re good with photoshop, you like art and design work, and you have offered people your work as logos, banners, or any other graphic design, consider taking on an out of state client who will be grateful for your work and do it as an in-kind contribution to their campaign. If you’re strapped for cash and you can’t fund every small campaign in America, let your sweat equity power the 50 state strategy.
Do You Know Wordpress?
Many candidates use Wordpress for their websites. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s cheap. If you're running for your local county commission, school board or even state house, a simple and easy template can give you a place holder on the internet. Still, getting individuals who know Wordpress to clean up and customize a template? That often takes time and effort a candidate doesn’t always have. Candidates in multiple states have asked for IT related help. Even I, as someone who works in IT, doesn’t have enough time in the day to handle all of the Wordpress and other CMS type work that comes from candidates.
But if you have talent with wordpress, let us know, there are candidates who would love your help and expertise.
Are you a Fluent Spanish Speaker?
If you are a fluent Spanish speaker, and you are willing to help with the production of radio or TV spots, as well as help convert statements and public addresses into conversational Spanish, candidates — especially in states like Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Texas are eager to have your help.
Radio ads recorded in fluent Spanish help a candidate reach an audience with a unique message. When a candidate issues content written in Spanish, having it translated or reworked by someone who is a native speaker is far important — candidates shouldn’t use text translated by Google Translate and count on it representing them well. (Hint: it won’t)
Are You In?
If you’ve been following our Crowdsourcing the 50-State Strategy you know we are committed to more and better Democrats, everywhere. If you have the skills, and you have the time, let us ‘make you a match’ with a candidate who can use your services. Kosmail the Crowdsourcing group and Evan, navajo, Meteor Blades or myself will help find you the right kind of partner to work with.
If giving $20 to a local candidate is hard, but giving your time and skill is something you want to do, then step right up. We need your brainpower.
Background on the Crowdsourcing project:
The Crowdsourcing Steering Committee comprises Chris Reeves, evcoren, Meteor Blades and navajo. If you’d like to join this group, send our group a kosmail and let us know how you want to help. Navajo, who is organizing volunteers, will send you an invite. Also, please post your own diaries and recommend the work of others you think would be good additions to the effort.
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