Ben Self

a Biblical thought...
Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth. (Deut 23:23)

a Book thought...
The Sabbath is not a day off to pursue whatever fancy is attainable and affordable. Rather, it is a day to restore eternity to our souls. (p142)

a Dave thought...
The man who galvanised scores of Barack Obama voters with an unprecedented online campaign is in Australia to advise the Rudd Government on how it engages the public and fights elections.
As part of the Obama campaign, Self led an online donation drive that netted over half a billion dollars from over 3 million donors. He devised the MyBarackObama social networking website, which involved 13 million voters from the bottom-up and created an army of Obama volunteers who knocked on doors, collected donations through events and house parties and campaigned on his behalf.
Now, Self, who was enlisted by Obama 10 days before he announced he would run for President, is in Sydney for a series of speaking engagements. In an interview he confirmed he would be meeting with the Rudd Labor Government who the Opposition this month criticised for spending $1.1 million on 36 new promotional government websites.
By giving voters a legitimate stake in the movement and a say in its direction, Self said the Obama campaign was able to "leverage these people to do a phenomenal amount of things"."The sooner our politicians see the internet as a vehicle for two-way communication, not a new medium for old static press statements, the sooner the inclusive, democratic and liberating power of online engagement will be harnessed in the same way Obama did - to such a transformative effect," said Ed Coper, campaigns director at online activist group GetUp.

Like the Obama campaign did so well, the Salvos also need to work hard on a web strategy. One that encourages two-way communication, like Rudd maybe we too could benefit from a meeting with Ben Self.

Just a thought.