November 2004 didn't exactly turn out the way I had hoped, especially for my own race. But let's be honest....when you're a rookie candidate, you HAVE to run twice. The first run is all about building name recognition. I'll discuss the reasons to run twice on a later date, inspired by my colleague Christine Cegelis.
We didn't run the best campaign locally. As rookies, we were bound to make lots of mistakes. We did, but we learned from those as we went on.
But we thrived as campaign experts in one area.....on the internet. In my opinion, we ran the absolute best online campaign of any congressional campaign. We were so successful that my opponent, who has been in Congress since 1973, quickly ordered his first campaign website ever (we used to visit it and laugh around the office).
As we gained popularity in the online community, local candidates (and sometimes beyond) asked us how to campaign on the internet. Well, I just went back and re-read a piece by my communications director....he wrote it in December, and it is the best advice on how to campaign online I have ever seen.
Read Tim Tagaris' "My ATM Pin Number, or On-Line Fundraising"
If you're a candidate, or just somebody who loves politics and the inner workings of a campaign, this is a must-read.
Tim's now working for a Senate campaign in PA (Chuck Pennacchio), and it is no surprise that his candidate is VERY popular on the internet. I do not know if Chuck was in-tune with the internet community before meeting Tim, but he certainly is now. Tim and I met because we both knew a lot about the people online and how to treat them.
Last week, he was referred to as a "blogging guru".
That's an understatement.
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