How UK political parties are adopting campaign technology
An interesting piece in the Financial Times, finished off with a quote from a (slightly misdescribed!) me:
Electoral software based on vast databases have slowly replacing the chaotic old system of strips of paper with names of voters typed out in long lines.
And the latest models are combining social media with electoral data to allow candidates to reach thousands of voters – and know whether they are genuine supporters – with more ease than ever before.
Los Angeles-based NationBuilder – set up by Jim Gilliam, whose unusual medical operation took place six years ago – is a technology start-up which hopes to become the Gmail of the election software world, offering its model to parties regardless of their political perspective…
Not long ago staff might use multiple different software platforms for different tasks, whether handling fundraising or managing volunteers. NationBuilder puts all of these in one place.
Mr Gilliam told FT Westminster in an interview that the company was his attempt to “democratise democracy” in the same way that popular culture, music and film had been by the internet…
[Mark Pack said,]
“Grassroots campaigning is moving increasingly into the web, it started with basic things like mass email campaigns using things like MailChimp and Campaign Monitor. We’re now moving to a new level, services like NationBuilder go one step further because they don’t just have email but also a range of online campaign tools and website services.”