10. The Blog
THE CENTER OF THE OBAMAVERSE
“THE GLUE THAT HELD OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH supporters together,” is how New Media Director Joe Rospars describe the Obama blog network. It was the hub that captured all activities in the Obamaverse and shared them with the world. The blog was the campaign’s content repository, a place where stories, videos, news, and pictures were captured and pushed out to Obama’s many social network profiles.
The blog was used as a storytelling platform, and had a different tone and style than Clinton’s and McCain’s blogs. For one thing, it embodied the spirit of “Yes We Can” by showcasing the grassroots efforts of supporters from across the country. The blog profiled highly active MyBO members, featured the latest campaign-made and user-generated videos, and provided a steady diet of Obama’s campaign stops, speeches, and interviews. It was an easy way for readers to keep a finger on the pulse of the campaign. The blog helped to build a sense of online community by weaving campaign information with compelling supporter experiences and stories.
The blog was used to drive readers to the campaign’s other online properties such as the YouTube channel, Twitter stream, or Flickr page, and to connect to the social networks. The Obama blog team wasn’t worried about keeping readers exclusively on the blog; instead, the focus was on making sure that supporters could find a clear and concise campaign message no matter where they were.
In this chapter, we’ll examine how the campaign’s blogging strategy was used to integrate Obama’s various online presences and maintain the MyBO’s high visibility, with some specific observations about their use of the existing social network sites.
TELL A STORY — The campaign regularly profiled grassroots organizers and featured compelling guest blogs, creating a narrative that effectively communicated Obama’s mandate without appearing preachy.
USE AN OLD FEATURE IN A NEW WAY — The blog team took the standard comment section on each blog post and transformed it into an area of lively discussion and debate.
PROVIDE A DIGITAL GATEWAY — The blog network encouraged supporters to subscribe to the campaign’s email list and social network by publishing all campaign emails and providing blog tutorials of various MyBO features. This positioned the blog as a gateway for supporters to discover other ways to participate with the Obama movement.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE — Obama’s desire for a more inclusive political process could be seen in the blogging team’s effort to publish content and feedback provided by supporters. Their dedication and attentiveness to supporters reinforced through example the philosophies that guided the campaign.
Tell a Story
SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT
In addition to the official Obama HQ national blog, there were state-specific blogs and constituent-specific blogs such as Students for Obama, Women for Obama, Environmentalists for Obama, and so on. The HQ blog often pulled posts from the state and constituent blogs into its own feed. Sam Graham-Felsen, Director of Blogging, was one of the earliest additions to the new media team and it was through his eyes that readers experienced the first stages of the campaign. The 27-year-old was a writer for The Nation and joined the campaign shortly after publishing an article about Obama’s online popularity with young people. “I wanted to be a part of the campaign instead of just writing about it,” he said.
Graham-Felsen regularly profiled donors and campaign supporters from all walks of life. Profile posts included a picture of the supporter and a list of the reasons why they were supporting Barack. The blog was also used as a platform to promote and spread creative ideas by sharing noteworthy fundraising or canvassing events that inspired readers to get involved.
Being featured on the blog was an accomplishment that many supporters were very excited to show off. Proud grassroots organizers and donors shared the link on all of their social networks, bringing in new readers who now had a personal connection to the campaign through someone they knew. Often, seeing the face of a friend or neighbor on the official Obama blog motivated readers to get involved. In addition to national recognition on the official blog, featured projects usually received financial support once they were showcased on the site.
GUEST POSTS
The HQ blog also featured guest posts from prominent politicians who shared their perspective on the campaign. They included former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, who served in the Kennedy Administration and helped to launch the Peace Corps. “I haven’t felt like this since the days of high hopes with John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.,” he wrote. “Barack Obama has picked up the torch that they lit.”
Wofford shared the story of John Kennedy who was campaigning in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1960. He spoke to a group of 10,000 people, mainly university students, about the cost of ensuring a peaceful America. “How many of you are willing to spend years in Asia, Africa, and Latin America?” he asked the crowd. “Our future depends on your willingness to do that.” After that speech a group of 250 students founded the group Americans Committed to World Responsibility and signed a petition documenting their willingness to participate in the peace effort overseas should Kennedy introduce such a program. It would be the inspiration for the Peace Corps, which was officially formed on March 1, 1961.
Wofford’s example highlighted the importance of accountability, organizing, volunteerism, and patriotism without sounding condescending or preachy. It was a perfectly pitched call to action that resonated with readers. “Kennedy’s Peace Corps never reached the size and impact that we hoped for. We lost that opportunity, but the door to great new opportunities to serve at home and abroad is being opened again today,” he continued in his post. “Are you ready to be a part of history?” The former senator finished off with a message that encapsulated the heart and soul of the campaign. “The country needs you not only to answer his call to action,” he wrote, “but to be creative in your own right to discover the best way to serve and to build a better country and a better world.”
Use an Old Feature in a New Way: Leveraging the Comments Section
The comments section of each blog post became a vibrant platform for debate and discussion. Exchanges were usually hopeful, sometimes heated, and always interesting as a veritable culture emerged in the threads section. Each blog post would receive hundreds of replies as members of the community weighed in and shared their opinions. The campaign specifically fostered debate through open threads—posts devoted entirely to discussions in the comments section, usually on holidays or days of distinction. Sometimes there would be a theme to the open thread, for example, discussing what Martin Luther King, Jr. Day means to you, or supporters would simply be encouraged to share whatever they had on their minds.
This was a valuable way for the campaign staff to feel the pulse of the community and to get a clear sense of what readers were thinking about. The comments section (and the rest of MyBO) were self-moderated—each reader had the option to flag a post as offensive or inappropriate. Flagged content would then be reviewed by a member of the Obama team and action would be taken depending on the severity of the offense (a warning versus being removed from the site for violating the terms of service). This job was shared by the MyBO staff and volunteers who would spend hours every day wading through the content to make sure the site remained inclusive and welcoming. To be banned from the site you had to violate the term of service and act in a disrespectful way online. For example, using racial slurs or profanity, or deliberately being disrespectful to other MyBO users were all grounds for a warning; repeat offenders were kicked off the site. Any type of implied violence or threat of violence toward Obama was grounds for immediate expulsion from MyBO and the user’s information was passed on to the authorities.
The blog allowed users to embed links and URLs in their comments, including links to their fundraising pages. This enabled supporters to leverage their online relationships into donations through the creation of small competitions. For example, undirected by the campaign, a friendly competition for who would be the first person to comment on a blog post emerged. The winner would include a link and the rest of the group would then donate a few dollars to that person’s personal fundraising page.
An interesting practice emerged in the community in reaction to offensive comments that were posted anonymously on the blog. A supporter would take the offender to task via the comments section, usually including a link to correct any misinformation. The supporter would then add a link to their own fundraising page. Other users would post comments such as, “I am going to show how much I disagree with your remarks by donating to this campaign.” Essentially, the Obama online community was carrying on the empowered feelings of hope and change by turning a negative experience into fuel for positive support.
Frequent readers of the blog built friendships and congregated daily to discuss their support of the campaign. The comments section became a digital water cooler, a regular meeting place to catch up and share information about the campaign or their daily lives. Tidbits about their personal canvassing experiences, favorite Obama moments, and reactions to debates and interviews fueled the excitement and passion felt on MyBO.
Provide a Digital Gateway: Republishing Emails and MyBO Tutorials
The campaign used the blogs as another platform to publish Obama’s emails and focused on educating users about the various MyBO tools at their disposal if they chose to support the campaign.
EMAIL PLATFORM
Sam Graham-Felsen and the rest of the blog team also republished all official Obama emails that were sent out to supporters. This allowed the information to get passed on to people who read the blog but weren’t on the Obama e-mail list. This practice also enticed readers to sign up for email updates and kept regular blog readers updated on campaign happenings. From a communications standpoint, posting the emails was about repetition and ensuring that readers were aware of all the content being created by the campaign.
MYBO TUTORIALS
The blog, which enjoyed a large regular readership, was also used to increase awareness and usability of the new tools that were being introduced on MyBO. Graham-Felsen introduced a blog series titled “Eight in ’08,” where he profiled eight different MyBO tools in depth and showed readers how to use them. For example, he walked readers through the process of uploading an event to the events section and offered tips on how to make their listing comprehensive and enticing to other voters. This produced a reservoir of knowledge available to users who might not have actively searched for that information in the tutorial section.
Lead by Example: Soliciting Content
The blog team also encouraged users to share their campaign experiences by inviting them to submit their own content. The blog had a weekly feature where the campaign would round up an assortment of user-submitted photographs of supporters organizing for the Obama. This was a great way to share the enthusiasm felt by supporters from across the country by rewarding them publicly for their hard work. The blog was also used to circulate content created by the other new media departments. Videos from Obama’s official YouTube channel and pictures from the Obama Flickr site were reposted on the blog. This provided another platform for the content and exposed supporters to the other social networks where the campaign had a presence.
The blog team also took comments and feedback that were submitted on other social networks and blogged about them. The campaign would pick interesting conversations and repost them to the blog to drive readership and increase the online buzz. For example, on August 23, 2007, the campaign blog posted some of the reactions from several social networks regarding Barack’s appearance on The Daily Show.
FROM THE OBAMA BLOG
Sarah in New York City texted us: “Just watched the recording and speaking as a student, the U.S. had lost that lovin’ feeling but Barack has brought it back!”
Julie in Seattle wrote us through Barack’s Facebook page and wrote, “WOW! You are the first politician... that has given me hope for our country. … Thanks and keep up the fight.”
Johanna from Oregon texted: “Obama just makes sense when he talks. He doesn’t talk down to people and is refreshingly honest. TDS is the perfect venue for him!”
Julie from Chicago wrote us through Barack’s MySpace page: “I turned off the Cubbies to catch you on The Daily Show last night! It is so refreshing to see an honest, intelligent politician. Thanks for keeping it real and talking about the things that matter!”
Shawn from Palm Harbor, Florida wrote us through our MySpace page: “It was a great move to make an appearance on TDS. Airtime well utilized, sir. Next up, Colbert.”
-Scott Goodstein, Aug 23, 2007, From HQ Blog
SPOTLIGHT
Molly Claflin,
NATIONAL BLOG ASSISTANT EDITOR
JOINED THE CAMPAIGN: June 2008
ON HER ROLE: I wrote for the national blog, and worked on the rapid response team fighting the anti-Obama rumors and smear campaigns. The goal of the blog was to help organize our supporters and get them excited about becoming more involved with the campaign. On the rapid response front, my job involved creating content for FightTheSmears.com, writing emails to help forward the truth about Obama, and creating some content for the anti-McCain websites discussing McCain’s voting record and ties to the Keating 5 scandal.
ON LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER: Most of us had never been involved in a national campaign before. Some had never been very politically involved before. We had to learn together. So the Team Email guys would ask me for help wording sentences. I would ask the ad team to help me choose the most compelling stories for the blog. Ads would ask Email which ad design layout was best. And so on. I liked the fact that though we all had a job to do, we helped each other on a daily basis.
ON ELECTION NIGHT: I walked into Grant Park just 5 minutes before the election results became official. Just as I grabbed an American flag from the stage, CNN called the election for Obama. I was jumping up and down, screaming, and beaming from ear to ear. It’s rare in your lifetime that you can accomplish something that has such a clear and tangible reward. After over a year of work on the campaign, suddenly you can watch all your hard work pay off in one monumental, indescribable second. One second, and you have changed the world.
ON HER FAVORITE CAMPAIGN MOMENTS: Hearing Tom Brokaw call Ohio for Obama. Meeting Joe Biden. Watching the debates together. Rooftop barbecues. Feeling like other people my age finally cared about politics. Waving an American flag in the air in Grant Park and feeling like we might have just saved the world.
MOLLY’S MESSAGE: The Obama campaign felt a lot like an unlikely dream. I first got involved with the campaign, assuming that I would eventually go to work for Hillary Clinton.
But then people started coming together. Millions of Americans became re-engaged in the political process, and took to the sidewalks in their communities, and set out to make a difference. And we did.
That’s what we need to remember from the Obama campaign—that however unlikely something may seem, all it takes is all of us working together, lending our voices to the cause, and standing up to make that goal a reality. That’s hope.