Fireside21

An article in today’s Roll Call highlights progress being made in revising House rules that hinder web site functionality. I’m glad to hear that these discussions are finally happening and hopefully new recommendations will be implemented soon.

In particular, members of the franking commission who met this week discussed options that would allow YouTube videos to be compliant with the rules:

The commission has asked the House Administration Committee to develop a policy that allows Members to post videos on an outside Web site that “meets requirements which ensure the integrity of the House,” according to an e-mail from commission Chairman Mike Capuano’s (D-Mass.) spokeswoman, Alison Mills.

“It’s a good first step,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is a member of the commission. McCarthy first brought the issue to the commission a year ago, after revamping his Web site and realizing he couldn’t post YouTube videos.

Still, McCarthy said he hopes the commission eventually finds a longer-lasting solution. With new technology and new Web sites popping up every day, the commission should recommend rules that would allow Members to keep up with their constituents, he said.

As the article mentions, there is widespread disregard for the current rules. The fact remains that most of the rules regarding web site and email communication are derived from decades-old language drafted to regulate franked mail and other physical advertising.

The YouTube example is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how these regulations don’t make much sense.

What is that gibberish all about? Well, the garbled symbols and letters that some of your email recipients are seeing in their inboxes are the result of a formatting issue. This is a common issue that occurs with both emails and websites.

Basically, different internet browsers and email platforms like Yahoo, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook each display characters and read emails in different ways. The same email may look perfect in Microsoft Outlook and terrible in Gmail. The problem generally occurs with special characters and symbols like apostrophes, ampersands, and quotation marks.

The good news is that there is an easy fix to this problem using what are called HTML character references in place of these characters and symbols. A quick reference of these symbols can be found here. Simply match the desired character in the right column with the code in the left column.

When you are drafting your email you simply need to replace any special characters with their standardized code that is recognized by almost all email platforms. In order to make this change you need to switch to the “code” or “html” view when drafting your email. Then locate each special character and replace it with the standardized HTML character reference.

Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or would like us to walk you through the process.

Blogging is a great way to cultivate new audiences for your web site, but even if you don’t blog, you can still reach out to the blogosphere!

Step 1 - Identify “friendly” and “unfriendly” blogs

This can be as easy as searching Google Blog Search, Technorati or Icerocket (blog specific search engines) for your boss’ name. Once you find them, keep track of them using a feed reader like Google Reader or Bloglines. In addition to reading the blogger’s post, it is important to look at comment threads to get a feel for other reader’s opinions.

Step 2 - Comment thoughtfully

If you have something to say–leave a comment. It is important to be thoughtful, factual and transparent with your identity. Don’t try to be sneaky with your identity or your argument, because you will get caught! Emotional rants should be discourage, but counter arguments to “unfriendlies” is an important component of your outreach.

Step 3 - Contact bloggers directly

Every blogger has their own preference for communicating, but consider reaching out to “friendly” bloggers with an email to introduce yourself asking the best way to contact them. They may prefer you to send them a message another way–perhaps by Facebook.

Step 4 - Provide exclusives or other privileged information

Bloggers love special treatment. Scheduling a regular blogger conference call, for instance, could give the participants access directly to your boss. When you are pushing out informaion, keep in mind that bloggers inboxes are swamped just like the rest of us, so don’t inundate them with every press releases.

Step 5 - Ask for feedback

This is a two-way street, so provide mechanisms for bloggers and their readers to interact with you. Providing surveys and polls on your web site is a great way to continue the conversation without jamming up your back office. Added bonus to those of you who can gather email list opt-ins from your surveys.

More on identifying and developing a relationship with bloggers.

Go on a diet, exercise more, save more money…I thought I would help with a couple of more resolutions! These ones apply to your web site and email outreach to your constituents.

1. Use more video. Specifically, use Flash-based video. You can use YouTube, BrightCove or do it yourself so that video plays in place on your web site and your constituents don’t need any pre-installed software. Here’s a new service called Ustream to webcast live events. Consider using video on issue and survey pages…
2. Keep an eye out for the “Gold Mouse” Awards. The Congressional Management Foundation is “a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting a more effective Congress.” They will be publishing their latest Gold Mouse Repost this month. More important than whether or not you win is to take heed of their advice! Here is last year’s report.
3. Take a look at the Sunlight Foundation. Sunlight’s mission is to encourage the government to use the Internet to provide better transparency and access to information. Their Open House Project has provided recommendations for many House organizations.
4. Target your emails. Tired of low open-rates and high unsubscribe requests? It is time to get more sophisticated with your email strategy by targeting your emails.
5. Interact and engage your constituents. The Internet provides the best medium to interact with and serve your constituents. Blogs, social networks and many other new technologies make it easier than ever to connect online and exchange information.

More to come on the Congress 2.0 blog to help you stick to these resolutions!