COMMENTS
I completely agree with you. The campaign site was exactly as you explained it, a hub. Change.gov I think is very close but is missing the component of connecting people. Many people visit the site and can share their story but they lose the aspect of organizing. During the campaign people could organize watch parties, canvassing events, and rallies. But here with Change.gov where can you take action to support a cause, a bill, or spread a great idea. The power of his former website was all about his ability to connect people to rally around the idea of change. I am not sure if this site is meant to do that but hopefully there will be something to turn the momentum into action.
Many of us small business people breath such a sigh of relief when our website is up and running, we kinda forget that the real work is just beginning.
SEO, blogging and relentlessly looking at our analytic tools to keep track of how we're doing. Whew. My head is spinning...
Until I met HubSpot. If a tree falls on one of my web pages and I'm not there to listen, I can track it on my web site analytic tools.
The Obama websites are great examples of how the HubSpot website grader can enable you to look at websites, compare, learn and draw information based conclusions. So many people recognize the incredible way Obama has used the internet to help him win the election. Once you see the numbers, you understand why he'll be dancing 'til dawn on January 20, 2009.
Nice job!
I'm glad he was such a great case study for online marketing and social media, I just wish he kept some of the more social things up... like Twitter...
You're missing a crucial element in that comparison, Rick.
barackobama.com was the online home of the campaign. By definition, a campaign is a money-making venture. The goal of the site was to raise money. Networking was built as a result.
By contrast, government websites cannot make money. Moreover, government agencies have Congress-mandated rules in place that restrict certain commercialism, e.g. YouTube videos and Twitter.
Folks in the public sector are looking at this every day, but nothing will be in place Jan. 20. I predict 2009 will be a year of decisions and groupthink, and 2010 will show some social media meat.
And... responding to Marce above about Obama's use of Twitter, the @barackobama account died when the campaign ended. The Presidential Records Act, among other laws, prohibits campaign activities and lists to be used in the White House. He can use that account again when he runs for re-election.
There is an @obamainaugural account for the Jan. 20 parties, btw.
Ari,
Thank you for that info - I had no idea (I'm in Canada, and although I'm sure we have a similar rule, I still plead igorance!). It's unfortunate, but I suppose something we must understand with these technologies. I am glad that he is still present in that world with his inaugural account.
Ari, Thanks for all the info. A lot of the issues you raise are reasons, as I said, it's hard to read too much into the numbers above.
That said regardless of what rules and functions change.gov must observe and serve, the fact is that it has not generated the level of traffic the the barackobama.com did. Barackobama.com was a hub for the Obama campaign's target audience; Change.gov is not. That's an important distinction for online marketers to notice.
Marce, I agree that it would be great if he kept the social tools up. Ari, I hadn't thought about how the Presidential Records Act would affect Twitter (just email), but I'm sure you're right.
That said, at the end of the day, he's president, and if he believes these tools are really important, he'll figure out a way to use them.
hoy,it's a great post.thank you for effort for collecting this informatin.thank you for deep strudying on online marketing.at last agree with you.please update this information.
vikram,
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4486/A-Pre-Inauguration-Online-Marketing-Report-Card-for-Change-gov.aspx#Comments
Hey this is a very interesting article. I like how you have broken things down and shown that creating a "hub" for our target markets/ideal clients can really, really make a difference. There is one person in my industry who comes to mind immediately and this is exactly what she has going--a hub for her clients and the industry in general. No wonder she has > 8000 people on her list.
Thank you for the clarity.