I'm blowing the dust off of this user diary because I want to start a conversation.
There are 7,382 legislators across the country, and they represent every conceivable kind of district. Most have been using radio, television, and mail for years, but for many, the Internet remains unfamiliar. They see its potential but have reservations about its cost, complexity, and challenges.
This cycle, our committee partnered with Wired for Change to introduce a resource that reduces the barriers for campaigning online. We call it DLCCWeb.
Our goal is to make the Internet simple and affordable enough that all of our legislative candidates can build and update their own websites. They can choose from a range of templates and color schemes to create the best design for their campaigns. Blog publishing is built right into DLCCWeb, along with advocacy tools, online fundraising, and social network integration.
This cycle, more than 200 candidates in 30 states (with a whole range of technology comfort levels) are using the Internet in a way that they haven't before because of this service. To me, that represents a major step forward in participatory democracy and a big advantage for Democrats at the state level. Check out a little marketing video that Wired for Change put together about DLCCWeb here.
We are also launching a new website to practice what we preach.
DLCC.org will be a clearinghouse for news about statehouses and legislative elections. The centerpiece will be a blog, hosted right on the front page, which will be updated multiple times a day, at least five days a week. Most posts will be short and quick, though each will include some sort of commentary and context. Most content will be written by our staff, but as we move forward, we plan to encourage contributions from our elected leaders and allies.
We are ready to talk about our nation's statehouses. We want to engage you to help us identify the next generation of Democratic leaders, to set real Democratic agendas in the legislatures, and to build new majorities before the next round Congressional redistricting.
I hope you'll take a moment to visit these sites and let me know what you think. Leave a comment here or there or send me an email at compton[at]dlcc.org. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.