Welcome to LocalPoliTechs.Com

By Henri Makembe on 04.23.09

welcome

What is Local Politechs? I envision LocalPoliTechs.com as being a blog dedicated to the use of technology in campaigns at the local and state level on both side of the aisle.

What do you mean by technology? By technology, I  mean the use of social media, but also volunteer management systems, email vendors, website hosting, video editing, online advertizing and list goes on.  I completely understand that not every campaign will utilize, nor to they need to, every tools and strategy that will be discussed.  However I hope that the discussion and information will make it easier to choose the right tool and strategy for their campaign.

Why another blog about campaigns and the internet? I asked myself this question numerous times before launching this blog.  There are very good blogs that cover politics and internet, Techpresident.com andepolitics.com being two good ones.  However, the vast majority of the blogs covering this topic are focused on the national scene and races with big budgets. Having  been a part of the local race that did not have the resources of a national race, using technology was a great (and most time inexpensive) way to get out the word about our candidate and keep in touch with residents we had met while canvassing or at events.  I hope this blog and the discussion that ensues will focus on small races and fill the void left by the other blogs.

What makes you qualified to speak on the subject? Currently, I am a web strategist at public affairs firm specializing in blogging, social networks, advocacy tools, web development, programming languages and databases. Prior to that, I was the director of web technologies at Be the Change, Inc – one of organizations behind ServiceNation Coalition that helped convene the 9/11 Summit between then-candidates Obama and McCain and called Serve America Act recently signed by President Obama. I also served on Cary Silverman for DC Council, Ward 2 Campaign as well as  a web developer at the National Association of Home Builders and as senior developer at Doceus Inc (now defunct).    While, I expect to be the main author on this blog, I very much hope that some guest bloggers will chime to share the experiences and knowledge.  If you or anyone you know has may be interested in sharing your thoughts on this blog, please email me at henri [at]  localpolitechs [dot] com.

I think that about covers it.  I really look forward to the discussions to come and the exchanges of ideas.