Thinking Digitally Isn't A Separate Job Function For A Campaign Either

from the everyone-should-be-thinking-digitally dept

Wed, Jun 20th 2007 3:27am — Mike Masnick

A year ago, we noted the silliness of companies having a separate "Chief Digital Officer" by noting that thinking digitally isn't a job function -- it's something that everyone at a company needs to take into account. Having a digital strategy isn't something you compartmentalize. It's something that has to be understood across the board. It appears that political campaigns don't quite understand this yet. David Weinberger points to political consultant Zack Exley, who is complaining about campaigns asking him to help them hire an "internet person" for their campaigns. He points out that the internet shouldn't be a separate part of the campaign -- but that the entire campaign staff needs to understand and make use of the internet. So, for all the talk of how digitally aware campaigns are this election season, perhaps the real turning point will be when the internet doesn't have its own separate strategy, but is simply a part of the overall strategy.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

8 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 20 Jun 2007 @ 4:09am

perhaps, but until the majority of ppl understand the how to deal with the information age it is wise to find some1 who does.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Shaun, 20 Jun 2007 @ 5:05am
  
  Re:
  I second that, if they don't know enough about "this internet thing" then it would probbably wise to hire an "internet person", or perhps "chief digital officer" is a better term to teach them how and to help them intergrate the internet into part of their strategies.
  
  On the other hand they probably arn't thinking of it this way, instead they would think of the way you seem to be taking it: someone to manage the internet part of their campaign.
  
  To sumarise I think that criticising them for hiring an "internet person" is wrong, what should be examined, analised - and perhaps criticised, is the reasoning behind their proposal.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Shohat, 20 Jun 2007 @ 5:21am

Misunderstanding of specialization
People often have very narrow specializations, and the narrower the specialization, the better professional.

I do not know what kind of knowledge do the Techdirt bloggers have on Televised political campaigns, but I assure you that a professional is needed to handle those.

Remember that the Internet is still a microscopic platform in terms of political influence, and a dedicated Internet guy would probably be a good idea, while the other staff members handle the more influential platforms.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sanguine Dream, 20 Jun 2007 @ 5:32am

I concure with comments 1-3
Seeing as how most politicians are just starting to try to take their campaigns to the internet it may not be a such a bad idea to have an internet person that can show candidates how to use the internet to their advantage.

The most widely used campaign method is the spoken word, usually in the form of speeches throughout the campaign period. It's common knowledge that not all politicians are great speech writers therefore they hire speech writers. The candidates aren't that well versed in writing speeches to they hire someone who specializes in it to assist them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jim Durbin, 20 Jun 2007 @ 5:46am

Zack's Point Is Valid
The problem is not having an "internet" person on staff. It's that having an "internet" person allows the rest of the campaign to move on to what they consider to be more important. Online strategies don't work that way. Online magnifies the reach of what the candidate is already doing. If the candidate (and the senior staff) treat the internet as a separate component, then invariably the internet becomes less important. Which means the candidate is wasting time having an internet person. Think of trying to hire an advertising company to promote your product, but then not letting the company talk to your product department. They may come up with a great commercial, but if it doesn't sell more product, it's a waste of time. If the internet strategy doesn't deliver votes or money, it's a waste of time.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Julia M, 23 Jun 2007 @ 7:00am
  
  Re: Zack's Point Is Valid
  Any position that is not represented in collaborative projects will be left behind. Having a specialist who is also highly skilled in involving others from each level is optimal. A politician who solely runs youtube videos is a waste of time, any one forum is not enough anymore.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nick (profile), 20 Jun 2007 @ 9:04am

How about chief paper officer or chief brick-and-mortar officer?

I think it is too early to expect these older strategists to think to the Internet as part of a cohesive strategy. Give it 10-15 years. But the ones that do see the big picture definitely have the advantage.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
xyb, 20 Jun 2007 @ 9:39am

Campaigners need to be trained in how "this internet thing" works, then apply their tried-and-true principles to this "new" (10-year-old) medium.

No, the "internet strategy" shouldn't be separate from the main strategy.

Yes, campaigners who don't get it should hire someone who can advise on carrying core messages into this medium.

You're 50% on, Techdirt.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]