At the start of last fall’s federal election, I wanted to bring attention to the non-sexy electoral reform issue. Thanks to Google, I discovered pair voting had been used in the U.S. but not in Canada. Seemed like a novel idea that might interest and inspire people. After a few hours of effort, http://www.pairvote.ca was launched and then I went away for the weekend. Upon returning, over 50 people had registered to swap votes and national media was asking for interviews.
Social networking and free tools are game changers. Who would have thought one person could use free, online tools to launch a vote swapping service and thrust voting reform back into the spotlight? In the presentation below, you will see how one person using Facebook, blogging, Twitter, Skype, Google maps and a mailing list garnered thousands of registrants, dozens of media interviews and most of all the growth of a grassroots movement for electoral reform.
You’ll learn about people like Kris, a person discovered through Twitter who became a key contributor by writing online, giving interviews and devoting countless hours in the final days.
If you are relatively new to engaging people online, you will discover ideas and tips you can use in your own work and volunteer efforts.
Watch presentation in full screen.
Original presentation delivered to TAG audience at Sault College, January 28, 2009. OT: the multimedia centre has cameras that follow the speaker, very cool indeed.