Personal Democracy Plus Our premium content network. LEARN MORE You are not logged in. LOG IN NOW >

Pawlenty Pointedly Posts RFP for Online Overhaul

BY Nancy Scola | Thursday, October 22 2009

The Republican National Committee might have been a bit red in the face when a skeletal Request for Proposal on the revamping of its website became public, but Minnesota's Republican Governor -- and possible 2012 presidential candidate -- Tim Pawlenty has decided to make shine sunlight on the innerworkings of the process for upgrading his TimPawlenty.com. Pawlenty, whose PAC Freedom First has reportedly been working with new media vets like Mindy Finn, Patrick Ruffini, and Liz Mair, pointedly posted the RFP for the site's redesign, an overhaul that will include design and branding, a new content management system (home-grown or out of the box), an email backend, platform features like user accounts and event planning, fundraising capabilities, a contact database and plan, as well as a recommendation for a mobile provider. "PAC staff," details the RFP, "will have the ability to send text messages to its base of supporters, with an ability to segment geographically and on any other data points we collect."

Posting the RFP -- and having allies like Ruffini tweet out that the RFP had been posted -- is probably a double win for Pawlenty. First off, a more open process might just attract new talent and new thinking in a field that has traditionally been monopolized by a few vendors, some of whom work by developing one site template for one candidate or campaign and then replicating to near the point of total exhaustion; Pawlenty makes a point of inviting bids from "from all comers, even if your firm has not traditionally been involved in politics." Secondly, peeling back the curtain on a PAC's internal happenings helps paint Pawlenty as a new kind of politician, one embracing of the strain of openness and transparency that is proving to have some political appeal on both the right and left.

Better get cracking, though. Proposals are due by November 4th, which is two weeks from yesterday. And Team Pawlenty wants a first version of the new site up and running within 45 days of the awarding of the contract.

News Briefs

RSS Feed yesterday >

City of Joplin, Mo. Launches New Online Center Ahead of Tornado's Anniversary

The city of Joplin, Missouri launched its new web site over the week-end ahead of the May 22 anniversary of the massive tornado that devastated the city and killed 161 people. The new site enables Joplin citizens to sign up for emergency alerts via text message, e-mail and RSS. In addition to those alerts, individuals can also sign up for ... GO

In Virginia, City Council Debates to Include Questions Posed Online

The Alexandria Democratic Party in Alexandria, Virginia has partnered with online civic engagement platform ACTion Alexandria to include questions solicited in an online forum in the final Democratic primary debate for a City Council election there on June 4, ahead of the June 12 election, according to a statement released by the group. ACTion Alexandria hopes to work with both parties during the general election.

Participants in the project can add questions to the forum, or vote on questions that have already been posed, although each user is only given three votes to distribute. Users are also encouraged to use their real names. Questions submitted so far hit on topics ranging from broadband access to a ban on food trucks in the city.

GO

Motion Picture Association Names Marc Miller As Its New Online Copyright Cop

The Motion Picture Association of America on Monday named Marc Miller its vice president of online content protection. Miller comes to the MPAA from Nintendo of America, where he was the company's anti-piracy counsel for the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. GO

friday >

Google to Charlie Rangel: You Are Dead to Me.

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) might be facing particularly challenging reelection odds this year, at least acording to Google: based on its new Knowledge Graph interface, the search engine says that the very-much-alive Congressman died on November 20, 2004, as Colin Campbell first reported for Politicker via Azi Paybarah and Anthony Adragna. GO

Roemer to Americans Elect: Thanks Anyway

Americans Elect announced recently that it would suspend its online candidate selection process, leaving organizations in several states with an open slot on the ballot. Naturally, potential candidate Buddy Roemer is not enthused. "I am taking the next few days to review with supporters how best to proceed from here," he says. GO

Chris Anderson Says That Nixed TED Talk Was Rated "Mediocre," Links To It Anyway

TED's Chris Anderson responds to criticism of how his idea-spreading operation handled a talk about inequality — and posts video of the talk online. GO

Was the "Ricketts"/Fred Davis Obama-Wright Ad Pitch a Good Deal?

As if the content of the now-discarded plan for a new Super PAC-funded attack campaign against President Barack Obama wasn't controversial enough to grab attention — it would revive attempts to link President Obama to the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright just before the beginning of the Democratic National Convention this summer — the now-discarded plan featured a two-page pitch for a pricey social media component meant to boost its exposure. GO

Facebook's Growing Political Importance, Visualized

To commemorate Facebook's impending IPO, the Sunlight Foundation's* reporting group has a new story chronicling Facebook's increasing political spending. Accompanying the story, though, is an instance of their Capitol Words tool that shows Facebook's increasing relevance in Congress as well. GO

More