The Machinery of Hope

Barack Obama Website - BarackObama.com

The main Barack Obama website is the best place to find information about Senator Obama and the campaign in general.  This includes policies, speeches, videos, etc.  Also, don't forget to check out the California page at the Barack Obama site.

MyBo - My.BarackObama.com

My.BarackObama (often referred to as MyBo) is the social networking component of the Obama for America campaign.  On this site, a user can post or find events, find local groups, network with other users, post entries to their own blog, manage your on fundraising campaign and generally find out what is going on in your neighborhood.  Use of most features requires the creation of an account which is very simple.

Fight the Smears / FactCheck

The Obama for America campaign has created a site, FightTheSmears.com, which is where supporters can research and refute the false claims that are being promulgated by opponents of Senator Obama's campaign.  Another good resource is FactCheck.org which is a non-partisan group that aims to help the public check the veracity of claims made by various parties.

Vote Builder - VoteBuilder.com

Vote Builder (VB) is our database of voters.  It is the tool we use when we phone or canvass voters to perform voter identification, persuasion or to "get out the vote" (GOTV).

Build The Hope - BuildTheHope.com

Build The Hope (BTH) is our database of supporters.  It is the tool we use to keep track of our supporters.  Any time someone signs up on MyBo, donates money to the campaign or signs up as a volunteer at a local event their information should eventually show up in Build The Hope.  Through this database we can identify where supporters live and how they would like to volunteer with the campaign.  This is a great tool for recruiting new volunteers and inviting supporters (who may not actively use MyBo) to your events.

Build the Hope is in transition and will soon migrate into Vote Builder as a function called "My Campaign".

Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) - Ca.BarackObama.com/N2N

One of the tools we are adding to our support of Nevada is Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N).  Most states are using this as a local tool but soon, when a California resident logs in to N2N she will be given voters from a neighborhood in Nevada.  As I understand things, this is how we will be "adopting precincts" in Nevada.

We have a good training video here:  http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/votercontactTraining

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page here:  http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/votercontactfaq/

We now have a simple "Quick Start" guide available here:  http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dxgzv9s_2grkp42hm

Torch Light - TBD

Torch Light was the database system we use to manage our precinct captain program during the primary contests.  This future of this program is currently on hold awaiting the assigned of a California Field Director.

Google Docs - docs.google.com

As Team Lead for our Congressional District, I often put documents on line for our organizers and volunteers to access and possibly update.  Google Docs allows us to share a single document so we don't have multiple versions floating around in people's mailboxes.  Don't worry, Google keeps a history of every version of every file

Google Groups

The MyBo groups are useful for sharing information with those who sign up.  However, the MyBo groups do not allow us to control who is subscribed and who is not.  Many local groups will have email groups through Google to facilitate direct communication with their organizers and volunteers.  For example, the team in Area 3 (Sonoma/Napa) has a Google Group called obama-ca-cd1-a3 for just such a purpose.

Google Sites

The site you are currently reading is hosted on Google sites and it is intended as a general launching point for people in Congressional District 1 to the organizers, groups and resources that currently exist.  This site is not intended to be a replacement for any other sites or pages, it just provides a road map to access the right information.