D3an 4 Am3r1ca

A timely post from Steven Johnson about creating “mob spots” for political campaigns. Well, timely for me because I was thinking about something similar last week. As the next step in the utilization of the Web in his campaign, Howard Dean should open up a b3ta-like forum for people who want to create digital media (photos, movies, music, Flash animations, etc.) related to Dean and the election. Give people starting material (photos, soundbites, talking points, important issues, logos, colors) and let them go nuts (you know, participate in the political process). Create ratings systems so that the good stuff bubbles to the top. Use that good stuff (with the permission of the creators) to get ideas for the ads you put on TV and in magazines or run the actual ads on Web sites, on TV stations like MTV, on radio stations (Web & not). And don’t sweat the “negative” results (the anti-Dean ads that will inevitably appear) too much…moderate down or delete anything offensive, study the rest for good ideas, and, if necessary, create a separate forum for dissenting views.