9:41 AM: I’m in DC sitting at the first morning plenary. Its starting a bit late–it seems there has been some sort of accident on the Red Line here in DC, so people are running a bit behind schedule. (http://polc.ipdi.org/)
The topic this morning is “On-Demand Politics: Lessons from the Business Web.” I’m going to live blog this session a bit, and share notes and tid-bits as I heard them Check back all day.
9:43 – The moderator, Andrew M Baron (Creator & Producer, Rocketboom) is being presented by the President of Politics Online.
Panelists include:
– Daniel Burton, Senior VP of Global Public Policy at Salesforce.com
– Laura Quinn – Chief Executive Officer, Catalist
– Keith Tomatore, VP of Sales Development and Operations & Manager of Newsweek and Budget Travel, Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive
– Jim Yu, VP of Relationship Management, United Way of America.
9:55 – each panelist is introducing themselves, and talking a bit about what they do. I was just commenting to my co-worker that Baron is REALLY bad at public speaking. You would think these guys could afford a public speaking coach.
10:15 – Some interesting things on the presentations. Burton talked about how the internet has been a catalyst for the evolution of software. His pitch is basically you should be using a Application Service Provider. The idea is that by using a web-based software like Salesforce.com, you don’t have to worry about upgrades, legacy software, and IT costs. He made some good points, but our company has found that Salesforce.com was not the best solution for online advertising revenue model. They don’t integrate with our ad systems, among other things.
10:20 – Jim Yun talked about the evolution of United Way. They are focusing more now on community impact, and going away from the fund-raising business model. It looks like they are providing some key technology infrastructure support to their local chapters. I’m not sure if he said whether their services are available to outside non-profits.
10:37 – Laura Quinn is talking about data sharing. I can’t find her company address, and I don’t see it on the printed material. Not a very “online” thing to do.
Side note: A special shout out to a faithful reader, Judith Martinez in Miami FL.
I think the session is about done. I had to step out to grab my boss, who is speaking on the next plenary, so I missed the discussion. I’ll have some pictures up in a couple minutes…
They are wrapping up with some QA. The questions can be very revealing about the challenges of doing business online. Many of the individuals here are experts in politics, but don’t really fully understand the potential of what’s out there (as far as tools).
Here is me blogging away…can you tell the presentation and exchange is not capturing my attention?
