Up to Bat at the 2009 California Republican Party Tech Summit
by DotNetAllDay on Jun.05, 2009, under FreedomSpeaks, Politics
So my partner, Kurt Daradics, has lined up some really strong power intros into the California Republican Party (which is pretty insane, if you ask me). We had a great lunch with Matt Robbins, their political director, on Wednesday and he’s asked us to come up to their first annual tech summit and speak as to what we’re up to with FreedomSpeaks. We’re both really stoked on the reception our product is getting, and we’re excited to be an integral part of this new “Government 2.0″ initiative (cheesy, I know). Supposedly, there are going to be some heavy hitters at the summit tomorrow – Newt’s Director of New Media, the NRP’s Director of Media, and a handful of others. I’ll let you all know how it goes!
On a similar note, we’ll be pushing out our CitizenCamp concept soon – probably middle summer launch (maybe July 4 ~ish). The elevator pitch on that one is “online plus offline equals streamlined”. We are basically trying to take the concepts of FreedomSpeaks and adapt them to the offline world – taking our online social circles offline to greater impact civic and social change. We’ll have how to’s on any number of things – from how to start a petition to getting an initiative on the ballot to strategies on getting involved. Ultimately, we want people to give a damn. It’s time to wake up the neighborhood, y’all!
Thanks for tuning in. Feel free to contact me if you would like to get involved.
June 5th, 2009 on 2:29 PM
Nice site Jason. I admire the fact that you are taking the initiative to get people aware and perhaps active in the politics that shape our local communities, states and nation. I am curious however, is your aim to champion a specific political/ social perspective or are you just trying to get the American people to vote more in public elections than for their latest favorite American Idol?
June 5th, 2009 on 7:59 PM
I’m trying to improve citizen engagement overall. Ideally, I’d love to see more conservatives get out there and vote, but that’s me being selfish.
I believe an overall increase in our involvement would be an incredible feat. It’s actually kind of sad that more people vote for their favorite American Idol than the president of the United States (but then most are voting more than once for Idol – and that’d be illegal in an election – ha!).
June 20th, 2011 on 2:06 PM
I think the most imperative topic that needs to be revisited by Republicans is their views on the role of the government. There are two divisive ideologies at work here, but aside the political demagoguery, and if we just put aside our fixed views it is not difficult to conceive that government, and our hard earned tax dollars should be put to use on making every element in our country consistently improve. Government should be accountable, transparent, and open to engaging in public discourse. The number one solution in making these leaps and bounds in making government more accountable is by providing internet access for everyone. By enabling everyone to participate in the civic process, we will revitalize our country’s spirit for creative decision making.If more people had access, more people could make educated decisions about the people they are electing into office. The digital divide certainly reflects racial and socioeconomic divisions in our society as it is- i think its time we change that.
check out this petition to support San Franciscans in their effort to gain citywide internet access!
http://www.resetsanfrancisco.org/petition/san-francisco-guarantee-universal-internet-access