Technology Bytes

by Sarah Gonzales 

With the advent of the internet and automated technologies, the Democratic Party has fallen behind the curve in its utilization of technology to aid in the process of organizing and communicating with the Democratic constituency.   As a collective, we must work to revolutionize and transform our process by providing our supporters with the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and without reinventing the wheel. Training our communities to utilize these tools is vital to maximize our effectiveness in the political process. While this topic could be addressed on many levels and issues, this article focuses specifically on internet based technologies that exist for consideration and implementation.

Process Drives Technology

Too often I see in my everyday existence, that elaborate advances are made that utilize technology, but are basically unusable by humans largely because of complexity or because they don’t necessarily exist to fill a need, instead they inspire flash. It is critical that the process drives the technology and NOT the other way around and it is imperative that these tools be simple enough that the average individual with limited computer skills can use them effectively. That, in my opinion, is the ultimate litmus test as to the quality of the technology.

Stop Reinventing the Wheel

I would urge those of you in charge of technology efforts to at least consider the value of Open Source solutions which are freely (Democrats like free!) available and have the capability to be customized. Specifically look for tools that conform to open standards to aid with:

• information sharing
  Really simple syndication (RSS) allows groups from around the country to share information through automated aggregation. We should be able to share a variety of data this way including events calendars, articles, track legislation and other critical information.

• robust contact management
  Data is our gold mine - tracking voters, organizers, facilitating contact between clubs and organizations, aiding our candidates during elections. Our ability to effectively manage and facilitate contact with our constituency is critical to our success. Any technologies being considered in this area should at the least provide ease of use, robust search capabilities, ability to *easily* customize the data collected as well as provide a secure permissions structure to limit access to valuable data. 
• tracking progress
  Our efforts are ineffective without the ability to track our progress in a useful way and find out who is participating and who needs a little push. Tracking also provides activists with a rich history of what’s happened in the region, allowing them to determine which areas need improvement or attention. Lastly, this provides Democrats with living, breathing information that can be passed from one group to another as people and situations within the various organizations change over time.

Have fun!

Technology to Consider

• Civicspace
• SugarCRM
• Advokit