You might have noticed some differences in MyConservatives today. Firstly and most obviously, the campaigns page has been revamped to include a map showing where all the campaigns are. This was one of the things that users thought would be useful – and I think they’ve been proved right.
Secondly, not all activism is about knocking on doors and delivering leaflets, it’s also about lobbying people in power with your views. That’s why campaigns can now set up their own petitions, and write templates for messages that supporters can either email or print out to send as a letter.
This online lobbying could be aimed at anyone who needs to hear a message, be it local councils, newspaper editors, trade unions, businesses or politicians. The power of this kind of activism has been shown by independent campaign groups like Avaaz and Amnesty – it’s time we harnessed that power.
The third thing that has been developed that campaign teams might want to use is a Facebook-style Wall. This means that campaign leaders can post news updates to their members (and they can restrict it to campaign members). It also means that campaign members can now post ideas, interesting links, and questions to each other.
This is the last major update to the site we’ll be doing before Christmas, but we’re already looking at what to prioritise for the next phase of development. By the time the election is upon us we want MyConservatives to be as effective as possible, and that means it’s up to you to use it – and to tell us what you’d like it to do.
With that in mind, next week on this blog we’ll be announcing the recruitment of a grassroots online campaigning team made up of keen party supporters. It will be a small team of volunteers who have a strong interest in online campaigning, and a strong desire for it to be used effectively at the election. Watch this space for details if you’re interested.
P.S. don’t forget: the campaign team with the most members by Tuesday wins some free professional photography, and the campaign member who makes the most calls wins a curry with Eric Pickles!
Comment by Andy Bugden on November 28, 2009 at 8:49 pm
can i win a curry with Lime Pickles instead
Comment by Alex G Briggs on November 29, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Afurther point for Romsey Southampton North being omitted from the new map.Recently Mr Eric Pickles visited the Constituency,would this not warrant an update of how the visit went ?
Comment by Kerry on November 30, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Something makes me think that the Tories haven’t quite got the hang of this online lobbying lark. It would take rather more than an email, offering me the chance to win a curry with Eric Pickles, to make me resign my position as a Government Whip and come and campaign for the Tories!
PS Would be interested to know how my email address ended up on your database?