Brother, can you spare a click?
November 16, 2011 8:02 AM Subscribe
I want to launch an online petition on a substantive political matter that's national in scope (and to the extent it matters, center-progressive). I have a semi-private FB account that I prefer not to associate with the petition; I do not have a Twitter account or anything else (e.g., Change.org), but could make one. What is the best means of creating a petition, getting eyeballs on it, and garnering popular support? Thanks!
You could try We the People. "If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response."
However, the signature ceiling has recently been raised, after the Obama administration was cornered into commenting on the existence of aliens.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 10:11 AM on November 16, 2011
However, the signature ceiling has recently been raised, after the Obama administration was cornered into commenting on the existence of aliens.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 10:11 AM on November 16, 2011
"Cornered"? More like an easy out - they ignored petitions that had far greater amounts of signatures.
posted by speedgraphic at 11:01 AM on November 16, 2011
posted by speedgraphic at 11:01 AM on November 16, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, all. Without going into the specifics too much, I am interested in something that can aggregate opinion and ideally generate a pledge for elected officials . . . so not sure the White House will be the best vehicle, and also not sure that I need to worry about implementation beyond that (yet).
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 11:38 AM on November 16, 2011
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 11:38 AM on November 16, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't think petitions themselves are particularly persuasive for actually changing things. Sure, you can collect names of people who support your mission, but part of the deal with petitions is that they are very easy ways for people to show support without actually turning that into action. It's a low-barrier activity. But you run the risk of fading into the woodwork if you're overlapping the work of people who are more well known, or don't have connections to stakeholders or "opinion leaders" (people whom other people trust to give them good advice and filter out things that aren't worth their time).
You should probably start by deciding what you would like to happen. Think of your absolute best-case scenario (changing a federal law, for example). Now think of some lower-level goals: making connections with local advocacy groups, then national ones; making connections with local, statewide and federal policymakers; creating a database of grassroots supporters who are willing to do various things (hosting gatherings, staffing signup tables at local events, adding their names to lists of supporters), then setting goals for how many people you want to be in this database.
Maybe that's much bigger than you intended. If you want to make an impact, there are still ways to start small. But if something is worth doing, even on a small scale, it's worth doing right.
Check out the book Fostering Sustainable Behavior and other Doug McKenzie-Mohr stuff for ideas on how you can persuade people to support your cause in low-risk ways. It's all about lowering barriers to participation.
posted by Madamina at 8:41 AM on November 16, 2011