IP: Political Spamming has arrived...

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

X-Sender: jseiger () popserver panix com
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 15:31:34 -0400
To: farber () linc cis upenn edu
From: Jonah Seiger <jseiger () mindshare net>


Dave -


Thought you might enjoy this...



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Candidates Canvassing By E-Mail
State Democrats harness technology=20


Carla  Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Saturday, April 18, 1998=20
=A91998 San Francisco Chronicle=20


URL:=
 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/1998/0
4/18/MN13037.DTL =20


In a pioneering move that may herald the dawn of the=20
cyber-campaign, hundreds of thousands of Californians will soon begin=20
hearing from political candidates via e-mail.=20


The unprecedented effort will allow a slate of statewide and local
Democratic candidates -- including gubernatorial candidate Jane Harman --
to reach Californians through the Internet without the cost and delay of
using traditional  ``snail'' or direct mail.=20


``What we're doing is creating a whole new way  of reaching voters,'' said
political consultant Robert Barnes, president  of the San Francisco-based
Informed Voter Network, which is spearheading the political Internet
technology effort.=20


Under plans now in the works,  at least a million Californians with e-mail
will in the coming weeks get  ``electronic slate cards'' providing
endorsements and information on a  roster of state Democratic candidates.
And both Harman and U.S. Senator  Barbara Boxer, in another first, will
contact those Californians through  ``electronic direct mail,'' Barnes said.


Some of that e-mail will even  be ``targeted'' to specialized voter groups,
such as gay and lesbian  activists, Barnes said.=20


Already, political observers are suggesting the  fledgling electronic
efforts to reach voters could change the face of  campaigning worldwide.
And it's no wonder that California, home to  Silicon Valley and a race for
the Democratic gubernatorial nomination that's already breaking spending
records, is the new frontier.=20


``It's  pioneering new ground in political communications,'' said San
Francisco  political consultant John Whitehurst, who helped run Democrat
Kathleen Brown's 1994 gubernatorial campaign. ``No one's ever had the guts
to go=20
e-mail. . . . (Informed Voter) is mining it for the first time, and the=20
novelty of receiving political information over the Internet will be=20
highly effective.''=20


Kam Kuwata, Harman's campaign consultant, called the new effort an
``intriguing idea. We're trying and reaching out, and it's part of a number
of things we're doing. We will find newer and newer ways to use technology
in campaigns.''=20


Intriguing -- and politically astute, according to the most recent Field
Poll. ``Forty-two percent of all voters say they use e-mail . . . and
within that subgroup (of e- mail users), Harman is preferred 19 to 10 over
(candidate Al) Checchi,'' said Mark DiCamillo of the Field Poll.=20


Kuwata said the use of political e-mail was inevitable, but many campaign
consultants -- who used to think ``direct mail was the only thing to do''
-- are only just familiarizing themselves with the possibilities.=20




Computer owners in five  California regions -- San Francisco, Los Angeles,
San Diego and the counties of Santa Clara and Alameda -- will get the first
e-mails before  the June 2 primary, Barnes said.=20


The ``cyber-slate'' will endorse Harman, as well as Democratic hopefuls
Cruz Bustamante for lieutenant governor, Michela Alioto for secretary of
state, Bill Lockyer for attorney general and Delaine Eastin for schools
superintendent. The=20
slate will include electronic ``links'' to candidate Web sites, where=20
voters can access information like position papers, biographies and=20
speeches, said Barnes.=20


E-mail recipients can also request personalized information, such as their
nearest voting place and sources for more political information. Or, they
can ask to be taken off the subscription list immediately, said Barnes.
Barnes, a well-known San Francisco Democratic campaign consultant, started
the project with technology  director Andy Wong after organizing dozens of
profitable ``slate cards'' distributed through conventional mail to
thousands of California voters.=20


``In San Francisco, we did a poll and found out 2 of 3 voters had access=20
to their own personal e-mail . . . at either home, work or school,''=20
Barnes said. ``So clearly, if you're a political consultant or=20
candidate, you want a way to tap into that.''=20


Informed Voter Network (www.informedvoter.com) began by developing its own
file server -- a repository of electronic information, said Barnes. Then it
culled the  e-mail addresses of millions of Californians from public and
private=20
sources, including from specialized groups, he said.=20


But ``you can't match that information to the voter file,'' said Barnes.
``That's been frustrating for political consultants.'' He got some answers
with a  ``prototype'' electronic campaign in San Francisco last November,
when=20
IVN sent out 40,000 electronic ``slate cards'' endorsing City Treasurer=20
Susan Leal and City Attorney Louise Renne.=20


Ten percent replied with names, addresses, registration information and
requests for additional information -- a rate virtually identical to
conventional direct mail.  And the electronic process is far less costly
and time-consuming for the=20
sender, Barnes said.=20


Barnes acknowledges that political consultants have balked at such e-mail
because of the widespread scorn for unsolicited junk e-mail, known in
cyberspace as ``spam.'' Barnes said Informed Voter Network is not
``spamming'' anyone because ``we're not selling anything.=20


We never ask you for money. We're not trying to get you to buy anything.=20
. . . This is political free speech, the highest form of free speech.''=20


=A91998 San Francisco Chronicle  Page A1=20