Hello fellow Kossacks:
I'm a long-time member of dKos (UID 14987). I don't remember exactly when I joined, but it was probably around the spring of '04. I used to post all the time, but my life got complicated, and now I'm more of a lurker. But I still visit the site just about every day, and I do my best to stay well-informed. Please bear with me and read what I have to say today; I'll try to be brief (not my strong suit, alas).
Kos' frontpage diary about Jim Webb today caught my eye because it pointed up a dynamic I've been aware of for a while.
Background:
I watched Webb's incredible Dem Response last night, and spoke to a few friends to rejoice about it.
"Webb is the Man!"
"First his exchange with Bush in December and now this!"
"I am so glad he put us over the top in the Senate!"
The reaction, amongst many of my friends, was more or less blank stares: "Who is this guy again?"
Are you kidding me? Who is Jim Webb? How could you not know him by now? Have you never been to dKos?
See below the fold for where I'm going with this....
As I stated above, I'm a devoted Kossack. The excitement and information on this site was what led me, in 2004, to do some things I'd never done before: donate to a campaign; make calls for a campaign; mobilize friends for a campaign; and eventually, fly out of state (to Florida) to actually volunteer for a campaign and engage in poll-watching.
DKos moved me to do all those things for the first time in my life. And, no doubt, I will do them again in the upcoming elections in 2008.
"So what?" you might ask, "there are lots of people here who donate/mobilize/volunteer. What makes you so special?"
Nothing. Except my circumstances have changed since 2004. My life got super complicated. My job got busier, my wife was diagnosed with cancer, my father passed away, I bought a house that is undergoing major repairs—life happened to me, in other words—and now I can't be here as often as I'd like or devote the time and energy I had back in my 30s (ha!).
But I represent an audience that dKos can—and must—find a way to connect to.
Here's the deal: Most of you reading this probably visit the site every day. Many of you post diaries and comments. You're the choir, and you're all preaching to each other. When 2008 rolls around, I have no doubt that the general membership of dKos will be incredibly politically active.
But there is a huge population out there of people who, for whatever reason, do not have the time, the passion, the stamina, to devote themselves to politics the way you all do. They are concerned citizens, and—most importantly—they have some time to devote and do the right thing. But due to extenuating circumstances, they'll never be as hard-core as the people here.
Folks like these are going to arrive at dKos more and more in the coming months—to this day, I am shocked when my Dem friends don't know about this place—and it's important that they not be overwhelmed when they get here.
These are passionate Democrats, to be sure. My good friend Lisa lurks here all the time; but she's also her family's primary breadwinner, she travels all the time, has two kids in school, and is in the process of renovating the Brooklyn townhouse she just bought so that her family and tenants can live peaceably there. When 2008 rolls around, she'll have some money to throw, and maybe a week or two of her time to donate at most; probably right before the election itself.
Then there's my neighbor, Bill. When I told him in '04 that my wife and I were going to Florida to volunteer for Kerry, he decided to take a couple days off from his vacation there and join us. He's definitely a Dem, through and through; but he's not the type who will read this website every day. In 2008 he'll want to be involved, but will not want to spend hours of time figuring out the best way to make a difference. I brought up Jim Webb above because I suspect Bill knows very little about him; and I know literally dozens of people like Bill who are committed Dems, but not as committed as everyone here. They will not become regular Kossacks because, for whatever reason, this site doesn't fit into their lives.
But they are a resource. And informed, but frantically busy people like Lisa are also a resource.
Finally, to my point:
How to best harness these folks in the summer/fall of 2008?
Sure, there are loads of organizations—Move On, ACT and the like—that will present volunteering and donation opportunities between now and then.
But if a friend asks me how to get involved, the first thing I always want to do is bring them here. I'd rather they start with dKos as a base of operations. When they have some time, I want them to get to know people like Jim Webb.
Okay, so I get them to visit the site, and they spend a little time, but they see a lot of diaries on a lot of different topics, and they want to cut to the chase. That'll be my friend Lisa especially: cut to the chase already!
SO:
I'm sure Markos wouldn't want to endorse any particular third-party mobilizing organization over another; but
Is it possible that Dkos could have its own spin-off Community devoted specifically to Volunteering and Contributing—something like Street Prophets?
So that when newcomers come here and want to volunteer/donate, there's an obvious, quick path for them to follow, and they don't have to wade through the sometimes staggering amount of front page stuff which might distract them from doing so. There'd be a prominent ad near the top of the front page that would carry them to this special site.
Think about it for a second. If you'd never been to DKos before and you just wanted to volunteer/donate, and today you visited the front page for the first time ever, and you had budgeted just a few minutes to start getting involved: Where would you start?
Past experience tells me that from spring to fall of '08, when volunteers are needed the most, there will be links all over the front page about this senate campaign, that house campaign, and also, yes, our nominee. But these links will primarily be directed at folks who spend a cumulative hour per day or more on the site. There will be nothing tailored to the casual/busy person who has some money, some limited time, and is doing a drop-in because I demanded they check out dKos.
I want that casual/busy person to be taken to a separate "Volunteer/Donate" dKos community. When they register they get asked a few quick questions pertaining to the 2008 election cycle: how many hours can they give? in a bunch or weekly? where do they live? would they rather make calls, or canvass, or do something else? are they more interested in the presidential campaign or the congressional races?
And with the answers to these questions, they get some kind of suggestion as to where to go. There are discussions devoted to where money is most needed today; there are links to volunteer organizations; there are diaries describing what's involved with difference activities (e.g. "How to Poll Watch"); and overall, there's a simpler, more-streamlined community for busy/casual people to return to; especially those who just want marching orders.
Some of these people, of course, will cross back over and become regular Kossacks. But others will find the spinoff community best suits their needs.
A nice bonus is that it could also clear the front page and Rec list for more policy/issue/poll discussions and prevent the clustering of diaries whose sole purpose is to say PLEASE DONATE! and PLEASE VOLUNTEER!.
Again, I'm sure there are already other organzations that do this sort of thing. But I bet none of them do it as well as dKos would. When I signed up with MoveOn in '04, I got about a thousand emails from them asking for money and very few containing helpful direction. The reason I went to Florida—the sole reason—was that I was hanging around DKos, and people I trusted here were spelling out the best way to help.
Basta. This is a long enough diary. I'm generally proposing a separate, dedicated "Volunteer/Donate" Community of DKos. And true to what I said about my life above, I haven't the time to organize such a thing. But if there are members here who have the hours and resources to pursue this, I think it'd be a very good thing.
Please recommend if you think it's an idea worth discussing, and thanks for reading a diary from longtime fan. :)