Fireside21

This is the first in a series of post about the upcoming CMF Gold Mouse Awards.  CMF has announced that they are going to begin reviewing Congressional web sites in July.  So, do you want to win a Gold Mouse award?  Do you want to know how?  Here is where to start.

Deal Breakers
Just like Liz Lemon, the CMF has a list of things that will automatically take you out of the running for a Mouse award.  Here are some Deal Breakers for Liz Lemon:

And here are the CMF Deal Breakers:

1. Timeliness

Have you updated your web site this year?   I mean more than just press releases?  You need to have information on your legislative priorities along with current issue content for the 111th Congress.   To help with this task, we recommend that the web site be a shared responsibility among staffers to keep content fresh and accurate.  Use the Gold Mouse reviews to get your team focused on cleaning up all of your content.

2. Usability
Is it easy to find what you are looking for on your web site?   In order to answer this question, you need to take into account the various audiences that your web site communicates to, including press and various types of constituents.   Some constituents are looking for updates on the latest National headlines, others need help with agencies and some are only interested in sending you an email.   In looking at your homepage, is it quick and easy to navigate to these resources? Dedicated areas for “hot topic” links or buttons can be a great help.

3. Issue Content
This is related to the Timeliness Deal Breaker, but is worth repeating as most Congressional web sites miss out on awards because of the weight CMF puts on issue content.  The CMF evaluation will look for not only national issue content, but also information on state and local policy.   You might be best served by researching and linking to external resources.   External resources can be used to supplement you national issue content too.  Links to the clerk and Thomas for votes and legislative bill searches are pretty much required.

4. Constituent Casework
The final CMF Deal Breaker is not providing sufficient information about how your office can help constituents with federal agencies.   If a constituent is going online to research this topic, that information needs to be there on your web site.  The CMF does not like to see, “For information contact my office by phone.”  Now this might be debatable – I often prefer to speak to someone on the phone.  Many offices have procedures that have been in place for years and staff can be set in their ways of handling casework.  Often, to get past this Deal Breaker it may require some convincing of district staff to change how they disseminate information.

So those are the four CMF Deal Breakers that you are going to need to avoid to win a Gold Mouse Award.  More blog posts to follow with ideas on legislative, constituent service and press/communications content for your web site.

We are excited to announce the launch of Congressman Bob Latta’s new web site. This is another client who wanted a “green screen” welcome message produced by Fireside21.

Congratulations to David and Ryan!

We’re excited to tell you about another new member of the 111th Congress launching a Fireside Web site. Today, take a look at Congressman Mark Schauer’s new web site:

Congratulations to Sara and everyone in Congressman John Boozman’s office. This was the very first site that we built back in 2002 and we’re ecstatic to have had such a long working relationship with Matt, Patrick, Ryan and now Sara.

Take a look at their brand new web site:

Congratulations to Brock and his team in Congressman McHenry’s office for launching their new web site!  I think it is very clean and easy to navigate.  Take a look: