We mentioned on Monday that we have been hard at work strategizing to find the best ways to enrich your experience at Politics4All.  So today, we are excited to let you know that we have added a new feature to make things a little more social and extend your community. We want you to be able to share your other social networks with the community at Politics4All, so we have created a place on your profile for you to do just that.

So let’s get started….when you login into Politics4All you will notice under settings we have added a new tab: Social Web.

Click on that tab and you will see you can add one or all of the services listed.  It’s really simple: just enter the link to your profile in the space provided, click add the link, and your profile will be shared.

We would love to hear from you.  Are there other features you would like to see us add to make things more social?  Have we left off any social networks you’d like to share?  This is your community and your input is important, so drop us a line and let us know what you think.

Technorati Tags: candidates, citizens, community, political groups, social media

This has certainly been a game changing week on the political front in the U.S. First with the election in Massachusetts, the people clearly sent the message that their seat belongs to the people and not any particular party. We are well aware that they are other factors at play here, however,we believe a critical factor was the grassroots effort by Brown. His campaign strategy seemed to embrace both digital and traditional media. There is no denying that candidates today have to embrace all the mediums of communication to reach their community.

Another interesting move this week, that has sparked lots of debate, is the 5 to 4 decision by the Supreme Court (PDF) to lift the ban on the corporate use of treasury funds for political speech. The majority agreed in the 180+ page decision that the government should not be regulating political speech, citing the First Amendment and our right to free speech. While the dissenters found that allowing corporate monies to be used would corrupt democracy. The timing of the decision is important in that it could be a game changer upcoming mid-term elections.

At Politics4All, we know the community here has something to say about the events of this week. We really do want to know what you think, so make sure you share them with us by commenting here, or alerting us to your blog post, or copying us as you tweet out the message.

Technorati Tags: candidates, community, local elections

Not so long ago, elections were won and lost based on a candidate’s level of engagement in their community. Candidates didn’t need to get the addresses of all their constituents to know who they were because they already knew them. Canvassing the community meant meeting with your neighbors, sitting at their kitchen table listening and discussing ideas and issues. Town hall meetings were real community meetings where candidates and constituents came together to discuss and resolve the issues of the day. It wasn’t a studio audience brought together based on questionnaires and hosted by a news anchor. A candidate’s platform was crafted based on their vision as well as real feedback from their community. The point is the community was there first.

Fast forward to the wired world of today.  The most successful people are the ones who have built and are actively participating in their communities through all of the various channels available to them – both online and offline. Chris Brogan, author of Trust Agents, speaks about this in his most recent installment of his video series – overnight success. The premise of this series is that success doesn’t happen overnight but through lots of hard work, commitment and through community. Take a minute, and watch the video.

At Politics4All, we believe the most successful politicians, advocates and citizens are the ones who are actively participating in their communities today. We believe that the community comes first, and we think we’re building a place that makes it easy to connect and build communities online and offline. Our community is a place where you can listen, connect, build support and even hold Town Hall meetings. Over the next several weeks, we’re going to share with you all of our best tips on how to leverage our offerings to assist you in building your community, crafting your platform and building support. Whether you’re planning a campaign, or trying to gain community support, an active community organizer, or someone trying to get the attention of the policymakers in your community, this blog series is one you’ll want to follow.

Now you know where we stand.  We think community comes first. What do you think?

Technorati Tags: campaign management, candidates, community