How often does their Congressional Representative pop into a voter's mind? The occasional article in the paper with a truncated quote. A human interest story on the local TV news. But hardly is there any dialog, no engagement. You rarely tell us "why", and never ask us "what?" This is the reason a majority of people in the U.S. don't know who their Congressperson is; it's a shame, and you can change it.
So it always goes, until about June in the even-numbered years. The never-ending roadside signs, the slightly annoying and ill-produced television commercials. One-word slogans and attacks. It always feels like politicians are playing catch-up, and the voters who were content to be naïve about the politics going on around them have to wake up and re-form opinions. The solution is to ensure victory by "campaigning" for the district in Washington, that is, showing the voters the work you're doing while doing it and replying to their feedback publicly. Remember, in maintaining any relationship, listening is often more important than speaking.
When people identify with you as a human being, you become part of their conversations - "Steve said the tire plant didn't offer enough positives to offset the negative", etc. You will recognize this as word of mouth advertising - the best kind. You need to craft your personal brand. Do this by going to the constituents with transparency and engagement. In doing so, we show the value added not just from having A Representative, but from having You as their representative.
Across the bottom of your house.gov virtual office page is a row of icons linking to 21 social networking sites. This is a good start, but most of those icons are irrelevant unless you start participating in those sites. The reality is too, that a constituent won't go to your website until they have a problem. To show the people of the district how you're working for them, you have to be proactive and go to them. Fortunately, reaching the 90%+ percent of the district connected to the internet is incredibly easy and will have a huge return.
An accessible Congressperson transparently engaging and answering questions in a public and neutral forum where everyone can participate instantaneously is the logical evolution of democracy itself.
Action plan:
1. Leverage the subscribers to campaign emails by creating "This week in Washington". Outline the what and why of your votes. Recognize local heroes and events. Encourage replies. Start a conversation.
1. Leverage the subscribers to campaign emails by creating "This week in Washington". Outline the what and why of your votes. Recognize local heroes and events. Encourage replies. Start a conversation.
2. Wake up that Facebook account. Daily activity of any kind will get you in your friends' mini-feed, and provide subconscious reinforcement.
3. Videotape town-hall meetings and events. Get a Youtube account. Edit the public domain footage from C-Span to create discourse.
4. Start using twitter and social bookmarking sites to keep a finger on the pulse of constituents' daily lives and interests, and share your own as well. Vacation photos, a book you read, a movie you saw.
5. Be the best Representative this district has ever had.
During the great depression, people flocked to movies for social solace and solidarity. In these times, they will come in droves to interact on the internet and change society. By cutting out the middleman (media), you will be able to craft and control the message to your people, guaranteeing a long congressional career by being the best Representative possible through the embrace of technology.