open source campaign technology

This past week Barack Obama proved that if any 2008 Presidential campaign has the potential to serve as the vehicle for a bottom-up people’s movement, his is by far the one. Reporting first quarter fundraising numbers that rallied right behind frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Obama’s staggering $25 million came from over 100,000 donors, half of whom made small online donations from their computers all across the nation. These numbers were more than double that of any other candidate in the race, and they clearly demonstrate a large and supportive base.

Obama has continued to frame his campaign as "a movement" and himself as a community organizer working on a national scale. “The movement for change begins with you!” he declared in advance of his first-of-a-kind Community Kickoff gatherings that took place on March 31st. This national call-to-action day titled “Hope. Action. Change.” set out to accomplish what Howard Dean’s campaign was unable to do in 2004: turning online support into offline action. More than 5,000 Community Kickoffs took place in homes, libraries, coffee shops, and community spaces throughout the country. Participants came together to network, fundraise, create local campaign projects, and to engage in community dialogues about pressing issues and the troubling state of our union.

While these community gatherings connecting Obama’s national movement with the local grassroots were an inspiring start, many were anxious to see Obama's campaign take its “participatory” potential to the next level.