Beast Blog

Vote Nationally, Blog Locally

I think of the East Bay as a political incubator, both for practices and ideas. Alameda and Contra Costa counties have more than 2.4 million people, more than some states with flags and U.S. senators (Vermont? New Hampshire?). Three local groups are operating web sites.

East Bay 4 Dean was the first. It runs a local bulletin board but mostly pimps the local meetups, very successfully, I might add. A few design observations: Three photos make it local: a bayscape, a Dean rally with marching band, and an even larger crowd in an auditorium watching Dean announce he's running. The message: Jump on the Bandwagon.

East Bay Kerry came along next. Full disclosure: I started it. An active group weblog, the site is mostly about issues, a bit about the campaign, and a little about organizing. Most real organizing seems to happen on mailing lists. I'm shooting for the blog to look at national events through East Bay eyes and listen to campaign spew through East Bay ears. As important, EBK can inform national policy with East Bay issues. Blogging is such a first-person activity, I hope personality comes through. Built with TypePad. The message: Campaigns are Conversations.

East Bay for Clark is the most polished looking, has the most engineering underneath it. Sparse content but useful "upcoming events" info. Built by national campaign staff, the site feels like an empty shell at the moment. That may change if more people participate in feeding the site. Someone on the Clark campaign gets that politics is fundamentally local, so they built dozens of these sites so locals can move in. The message: Clark is in the East Bay.  

Where are local sites for the other 6 candidates?