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Your message didn't get posted on sust-mar? Probably it contained html coding. Use your "Format" pull-down menu to switch to plain text format. ____________________________________________________________________________ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Lessons learned from online antiwar activism =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Over the past weeks and months, the antiwar movement blazed some new ground on online organizing. While they were not successful in achieving their ultimate goal of stopping the war, they did an impressive job of making visible sentiments that the powers that be would have rather suppressed. And we've not heard the last of them. Particularly visible were the online efforts spearheaded by the organization MoveOn.org. MoveOn was able to run a number of online antiwar petition drives that resulted in hundreds of thousands of virtual petitioners. MoveOn helped use the power of the Internet to mount a "virtual march" event consisting of a barrage of carefully timed phone calls and faxes to Congress. And, perhaps most impressively, MoveOn was able to raise a few hundred thousand dollars from small individual donations to help fund the creation and broadcast of antiwar television commercials in key media markets. A number of folks have asked us, "How can we do a 'MoveOn' for the environment?" We're not sure, but here are some of our observations on why MoveOn was successful: 1) MoveOn worked on an issue that millions of people care *passionately* about. It's impossible to over-emphasize this. MoveOn worked on the #1 public issue, which has been getting months of nonstop media coverage. Does this make a difference? You bet! MoveOn wasn't nearly as successful when it worked on lower-profile issues such as energy policy or judicial nominations. Environmental issues are relatively low priority for most folks -- despite the fact that the public tends to support our stands. Environmental activists need to be very careful about assuming that the public is as highly motivated on environmental issues as it was for the antiwar movement. 2) MoveOn fused online appeals and offline actions. Sure, sometimes MoveOn did "online petitions." But MoveOn printed those petitions out and delivered 'em in the flesh to the real-life decision makers they targeted. And MoveOn coordinated hundreds of meetings between antiwar activists and elected officials. MoveOn also used email to drive folks to their phones -- and to the Web to report on the offline actions they took. 3) MoveOn aggressively earned media coverage MoveOn worked with Fenton Communications, one of the country's top progressive PR firms, to help sharpen its message and build relationships with reporters looking to cover the antiwar movement. The resulting favorable media coverage helped MoveOn reach out to even more people. While earning media is easier when you're working on a hot button issue, MoveOn made sure to make the most of their limited media window. 4) MoveOn wrote compelling, personal emails that made people feel empowered to make a difference Over and over again, as we read MoveOn's emails, we commented to ourselves on how incredibly well-written they were. They were always *from* somebody specific at MoveOn, and every email told a clear, compelling story about what MoveOn was doing, why they expected it to succeed, and why our participation would help. Even when the news was bad, the message was positive, and users responded. MoveOn's emails put into words a lot of their readers' thoughts and feelings, and readers passed those emails on to their friends and family members -- the best form of outreach there is! The best way to get a feel for this kind of writing is to read some of it -- and to this end, we've put up a short gallery of MoveOn campaign letters at: http://www.onenw.org/bin/page.cfm/pageid/486 5) MoveOn took advantage of coalition partners MoveOn positioned itself as the online destination for a large coalition of antiwar groups. When the coalition ran a joint campaign, MoveOn provided the online activism engine -- and gathered the names. Thus, MoveOn was able to leverage the outreach work of its coalition partners to build its list of names -- and its organizational muscle. 6) MoveOn used its lists to raise money for specific campaign activities MoveOn was able to raise money to purchase a number of ads, including an ad during the Super Bowl. They did this by sending timely, urgent appeals to their list that were focused on achieving a specific, short-term goal. While only a small percentage of participants opened their wallets, MoveOn's list was so large that it added up fast. The bottom line: there is much we can learn from MoveOn, but also much that is hard to replicate "at will." The biggest factor MoveOn had working in its favor was its choice of an urgent issue that was very important to millions of Americans. On top of that foundation, they were able to build a series of creative online and offline actions by writing eloquently, aggressively earning media coverage, and working effectively with a large array of campaign partners. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ONEList provides the Northwest environmental movement with information about powerful new ways to communicate with the public and to collaborate with peers. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or read back issues, go to: http://www.onenw.org/onelist/. ONEList is published by ONE/Northwest, which powers the voice of the Northwest conservation movement. For more on our work, and how we can help your organization, see: http://www.onenw.org. Check out our monthly update on innovative approaches to environmental protection and organizational happenings at ONE/Northwest: http://www.onenw.org/connection/. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ____________________________________________________________________________ Did a friend forward this to you? Join sust-mar yourself! Just send 'subscribe sust-mar' to mailto:majordomo@chebucto.ca
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